“Anton,” I repeated, River nodding in confirmation. Anton was as brainwashed as Lana, if not more so. His parents were also involved in the same cult, as far as I knew. He wasn’t attending sessions with me, he was on Carissa’s roster, if I remembered correctly.
“What exactly led to Anton trying to attack Skye?” I asked.
“He was referring to the attack on the academy, I think.” Riverchewed his thumb again. “I didn’t hear too much, but he was pissed at her. She pushed him away with some air and he got even more pissed.”
I flipped open my laptop as he spoke, skimming through my files before I came to rest on Anton Davis’ file.
His red-tipped file.
Internally, I threw my head back and groaned.Whydid Skye keep starting shit with students that had classified affinities? There was a small part of me that was glad to see I wasn’t the only one who found her utterly infuriating, but another part of me couldn’t believe she kept making so many enemies. Especially since she should have been keeping a low profile.
I mentally slapped myself. Ijustvowed to stop thinking the worst of her.
“That was noble of you,” I said lightly as I scrolled.
River scoffed. “It was hardly noble. I only stopped Anton because his parents would have gotten in a lot of trouble. They’re already on thin ice as is.”
“Oh?” I was scrolling through Anton’s record, reading about his fucking laser vision that he had little to no control over. Apparently he was on some new drug that was supposed to keep his eyes from shooting off laser beams whenever he got angry, but–
“Wait, what? You know Anton’s parents?” I asked.
River chewed his thumb again, and I was starting to think this was his nervous tell. He dropped his hand when he noticed my staring, rubbing his hands down his thighs instead.
“Your families are friends?” I tried. Fucking fuck, if I had another student who’s parents were involved in this goddamn cult…
River scoffed. “Family?Don’t have one. Can I go?”
“No, River.” I sighed. “This is important. You have to talk to me about something.”
“Just lie on your report.”
“I can’t,” I sighed again. “It’ll be both our asses if I lie, trust me, I’ve tried it before. Just give me something. You’ve told me about the incident. Isn’t there anything else you want to talk about? Nothing is troubling you?”
River sneered at me. “Yeah, I knocked a dude out because I’mtroubled. That’s predictable as fuck.”
“You clearly are, though.” I said, exasperated, immediately regretting the comment when River’s spine snapped straight.
“Clearly what?” he asked darkly.
I decided to go out on a limb. What did I even have to lose at this point?
“Troubled.” I said. “You’re clearly troubled.”
My heart pounded as River’s hands clenched into fists, but he made no move toward me, which was almost scarier than if he’d swung.
Several seconds of silence passed between us. I’d half expected him to get up and storm out, but since he didn’t, I had no idea what to say next.
I cleared my throat.
“So, you just appeared out of thin air one day? No family at all?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood. We still had twenty fucking minutes left in this session.
River didn’t answer for a long time, which meant the ticking from the clock on the wall ominously filled the silence. It was putting me on edge, and I wasn’t sure why. Students didn’t normally freak me out like this. River had a dark, brooding aura that seemed to follow him like a storm cloud, but this was something deeper.
“They’re not my real family,” he said finally.
I almost jumped at the sound of his voice, I’d been so lost in thought.
When his words sank in, I fought with every fiber of my being not to react.
