Page 8 of Riftborne
I stared in silent confusion. My mouth opened, and then closed as I searched for the right thing to say.
“At some point Fia, you’re going to have to grow up and–”
“Osta… Bekha and Jordaan. Near the woods... I... Ikilledthem. It was me. They mentioned the accident… The River. The Dam….and I.... I just lost it. I just completely lost my mind, Osta. It happened so quickly… I knew it was a risk, I knew I shouldn’t have gone. I didn’t want you to worry about me, but my… well, the powers… they’ve been raging out of control the last few weeks. I thought maybe I could handle them, that I could get through it… I’m such a fucking idiot, Osta.” I crumpled to the ground as the words tumbled out. How could I explain something I didn’t even understand?
"Fia, slow down," Osta interrupted as frustration etched her features. "No one died. What are you going on about?"
How did she not know?
“Osta. Bekha and Jordaan Fairbanks. From the House of Unity? They aredead,” The whisper escaped me as my eyes crept up to meet hers. “They really haven’t found their bodies yet?”
The creases above Osta’s brow deepened. "Fia, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you sure you're okay? Did you take any of that damn… genesia tincture? Or whatever it’s called? You look like you’ve been up all night."
The weight of her skepticism hit me like a punch to the gut.
"Osta. He saw me. The General. He fucking saw the whole thing," I insisted, my voice shaky. "He saw meattackthem."
“Fia. If a Sídhe General saw you commit murder, I highly doubt you’d be a free woman right now.”
I considered her words. She was right. None of this made sense.
Osta took a small step toward me, raising her hands as if to calm a wild beast. "Fia, I saw Bekha and Jordaan tonight. I watched them leave with soldiers from Emeraal, very muchalive," she knelt next to me on the uneven floorboards, reaching for my hand.
“That’s not possible. I swear to Fírinne, I watched them die. I watched the blood flow from their noses after I... Their eyes literally glowedwhite. The General saw. He seemed... Well, I thought he was going to kill me right there. I don’t know... I don’t understand any of it.”
I shook my head, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Then, he walked away… I figured he was high or drunk... But... he definitely saw me. You must be mistaking them for different girls. I can… I can show you where their bodies are.” I was nearly yelling. “I swear it.”
“The General saw you? You’re sure?”
I met her concerned gaze and nodded.
“Do you think... Maybe he was able to find a healer? I’m sure there were several in attend–”
“Osta, he wouldn’t need a healer, he would need a damnresurrectionist.” I cut her off.
She responded quietly. “Either way... Maybe that’s what happened… I mean… He is the General, I would assume he has access…” Her words trailed off, and she looked away. Both of us knew how ridiculous that sounded. Why would he let me walk away if he was sober enough to go fetch help?
He watched me kill them with my fuckingmind. Osta knew what it looked like. She had seen me do it once before, but we didn’t talk about it.
I didn’t talk about it.
“I’m not crazy,” I whispered.
“I don’t think you’re crazy, Fia. I just know the dreams have been getting worse. I could imagine what seeing Bekha and Jordaan might do to you, especially if you haven’t had much rest. They always treated you the worst of all of us. Perhaps it didn’t happen like you saw. Maybe… it wasn’t real,” Osta offered. She peeked at me cautiously.
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. It had all seemed so real, there was no way my mind created that horrifying sequence of events… was there?
Osta looked at me in contemplation for what felt like hours, she sat down next to me and rubbed her eyes before inhaling deeply. “Fia… it’s not that I don’t believe you… I know you well enough to recognize when you’re telling the truth. I just don’t understand what to make of this. I saw them leave. Hours after you disappeared.”
We sat together in shared silence until I felt Osta’s head on my shoulder. Her breath deepened with the hums of sleep.
It wasn’t long before I slipped into the darkness myself.
CHAPTER 4
The river wassmooth and calm, and the sun basked across the horizon. I glanced down, eyeing the foamy peaks, glistening as the current pulled them south.
It was early morning. Clouds wafted through the sky, filtering the dawn with pastel rays. A slight chill clung to the breeze, sending a shiver down my spine as it always did during the last few days of Spring.
