Rive by Miranda Kavi Read Free Book Online Page A

that his life would be a flash of light, while hers would burn for a long time.
    She walked toward him, holding her smile the best she could. She knew the horrible truth. This little slice of happiness with him wouldn’t last because he wouldn’t last.
    Her parents stood behind him, hand in hand, waiting for their daughter. Her heart crumbled as she realized how truly short their light would be. It would flicker and flash, then be gone, even before Rylan. Tink, too.
    There would be many, many eons of time after they were gone. Her future would be filled with lonely dark masses of time. For the first time, oppressive weight of immortality pressed down on her shoulders.
    “What happened up there?” her mother asked. They followed the last few people out of the room.
    “Oh, just a ritual.” She tried to speak normally, but her voice came out all weird and weak.
    “Just a ritual? That didn’t look like just a ritual,” her mother said.
    Celeste stopped walking, holding her mother’s arm. “What did you see?”
    “You guys were in a circle, then you held hands, then there was a bright flash of white light, so blinding I had to look away. Then it was over in a second, and you guys were all standing their dazed and confused.”
    “Oh. Hmm. I didn’t see the light.” I just saw the history of the world, that’s all.
    “Are you okay?” her dad asked.
    “Yes, I’m fine.” She forced another smile, working hard so it came across as genuine. Nobody looked convinced, though. Rylan was a few feet away so her parents could drape their arms around her, but he was watching. There would be questions later.
    She stepped into the atrium, filled with strange Sidhe , Tuatha and humans. She took a sip of the punch Tink pushed into her hand. She looked around the open space around them while Tink engaged her parents in polite conversation.
    Rylan skillfully grabbed her hand and whisked her away into a small, dark hallway before anyone noticed she was gone.
    They were alone.
    “Where are you?” he asked.
    “What do you mean?” she said. “I’m right here.”
    “You know what I mean.” He moved closer to her, using his finger to tilt her face up gently to his. She had nowhere to look but into his swirling gold and green eyes. “Where did you go? What happened to you?”
    “I need you,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be without you.”
    “You have me.” He cupped her face. “Tell me what happened up there.”
    “Rylan.” She whispered his name, let her love flow through her. She pulled him close to her. Their mouths met, tongues dancing, bodies molding together. She wrapped her arms around him, pushing her body into him until ever inch of her was pressed into every inch of him. She needed him. All of him.
    He pulled away for a breath and she clung tighter, her need and want filling all the space around them.
    Their lips separated and he pulled her into him, cradling her head against her neck. “I’m here. I’m always here,” he whispered into her ear.
    “I know. As much as you can be.”
    “What?” He pulled back. “You’re scaring me.”
    Regina’s voice sliced into their meeting. “Celeste.”
    “Yes?” She stepped back from Rylan, cheeks flushing with the intrusion on their emotionally intimate moment.
    “Please come to the boardroom. We need to talk.”
    ***
    She was back in the board room. It was hard to believe only a few days ago it was an unfamiliar place. The counsel were seated at the table, along with all the Tuatha . The silent guards filled the spaces humans couldn’t see. Even now, she felt Victor’s presence near her back.
    Regina, flanked by Usha and Mateus, spoke first. “We’ve done an extensive investigation as to why Naomi died. She was murdered, by Sidhe. ”
    Mateus spoke next. “I’ve been hearing rumblings for months. Talks of a revolution.” He paced around the table, looking at each Tuatha in turn. “A group of Sidhe has detached themselves from ranks in the