River huffed a laugh. “Fucking tracks.”
Maybe before, there would’ve been a part of her that was upset by her mother’s blatant lack of care. Now, though? It was expected. Par for the gods-damn course.
Tertia snarled, crossing the room and stopping a few feet away from River. “Don’t use that language with me, daughter. It isn’tproper.”
Sands fucking save her. River rolled her eyes. “Propriety. That’s all that matters to you, isn’t it?”
Stupid social rules.
“Propriety is important. We have a reputation to uphold.”
Reputation.
Because even now, after everything, that was Tertia’s primary focus. Not River or even her favorite child, Ryker. For fuck’s sakes, Tertia hadn’t even inquired about her daughter’s health.
Something inside River splintered, then shattered into a thousand pieces.
“Iam important!” River screamed.
Her words rang around them, and her magic crashed through her veins, but she kept it in. She would not break. Not now. Not ever again.
“Me! I am your daughter!”
The Representative just... stared at River. As if her words didn’t bother her.
“Don’t you fucking care?” River gripped the bedrail so hard it cracked. “Doesn’t it bother you at all, the way you’ve treated me?”
“You ungrateful child.” The words were quiet, yet they slammed into River with the weight of a thousand pounds. “I have always taken care of you, even though you’ve been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day you were born. I gave you a roof over your head. Provided the best education money could buy. And I saved you after the Incident.”
“You did that foryou!” River shouted as loudly as she dared, remembering their location. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she didn’t pay them any heed. “All of it was foryou!You kept the Incident out of the press for yourself, not me. It was selfish, wasn’t it? Gods forbid people know the Waterborns are cursed with too much power.”
Chest heaving and lungs barely contracting, River released the bed, clenching her fists. “I’m right, aren’t I,Mother?”
The Representative stared at her.
“They would’ve been frightened. After they came for me, they would’ve come for you. They would’ve learned aboutyourcurse.”
Tertia’s eyes widened a fraction, and that was all the confirmation River needed.
“They would’ve taken away your position as Representative, right?” There was such a thing as too much power, and River had an intimate knowledge of what that was like. “They would’ve stripped you of everything.That’swhy you helped me.”
That was the conclusion River had come to in the days after learning why her mother hated her. It burned just as much now as it had the first time.
Tertia didn’t deny her daughter’s claims. For the longest time, she didn’t say anything at all. River’s tears dried up, anger replacing her frustration.
Anger thatthiswoman was her mother.
Anger that she’d spent years trying to gain her approval.
Anger that this was yet another conversation that proved just how little her mother cared about her.
“You’re different,” Tertia said calmly. “Something has changed.”
Not a question. Also not a denial of River’s previous accusations. That was probably as close as Tertia would ever come to acknowledging the truth.
“Yes,” River bit out.
Another drawn-out moment passed.
