Same old River. I leave without a word, and when I come back unexpectedly, he’s not angry, just mourns our time apart. “Listen, River, I need to tell you something.”
“Start at the Yule Ball and end at today. I want to know all of it.” He leans back in his chair.
“Actually, that’s why I asked to see you. I feel terrible about what happened. You were so kind to me the night of the Yule Ball. What you did for me was incredibly brave and noble, and if I were a better person, I would have written you to tell you so. I would have found a way to keep in touch. You were my friend, and I disappeared on you. I’m sorry about that.”
He scoffs. “All I did was bring you some hot chocolate.”
“It was far more than that, and you know it.” After Chance Delaney had delivered his “Seven did you a favor” speech, it was River who showed up in his truck to drive me home. I hadn’t had the strength to walk or fly, and calling my parents would have added insult to injury.
His brown eyes flare. “Oh, come on, Sophia. You must know I had a crush on you back then. I just wanted time in that sleigh with you and to revel in you finally realizing that Seven was an arrogant fuckstain.”
I snort. “Truth.” Even as I say it though, a little voice in my head tries to tell me that he can’t be that much of an asshole if he arranged to have me rescued. I push the thought aside.
Flashing a grin, I say, “Besides, I seem to recall you had something going with Crimson Everleigh at the time?”
“Crimson Never-laid? Yeah, we dated for a while. It never went anywhere.”
We both giggle childishly. “You’ve never wanted for company, River.”
He lowers his voice. “You know satyrs aren’t really into the whole monogamy thing, right? We love broadly and with open hearts. And we’re always fair and honest about it.”
I chuckle darkly. “So I’ve heard.” Satyrs are horny, in every sense of the word, and are notoriously caring and generous lovers. But they don’t regularly practice monogamy like pixies and leprechauns do. Affairs and multiple partners are culturally accepted among their kind even after marriage. I’ve always admired the freedom of it, but also wondered at how no one gets hurt. I’ve never heard of a jealous satyr.
His face grows serious. “One thing I can say for Seven though, I think he did look for you after you left. He seemed almost remorseful.”
“Hmm? Why would you think that?”
“When school started back, we had it out over what happened. I took an imprint of his face with my fist.” River waves his hand in the air and smiles.
“You did not.”
“I did. Fuck, he had it coming.”
I snort. “He did.”
“Anyway, I thought that was the end of it, but after you left, he kept coming around to ask if I’d heard from you. Over and over.” He narrows his eyes. “And I started thinking… With all that luck, I shouldn’t have been able to get a hit in. You know, I get the feeling he let me punch him.”
I tuck my chin in and gape at him. “Why would he do that?”
River shrugs. “I’ll never understand leprechauns. I just thought you should know.”
I squirm in my chair. I don’t know what to do with that information. Why would he care where I was? Guilt? Fear that he’d be blamed for my leaving? But then I realize it couldn’t be true.
“Whatever he was trying to do, his goal wasn’t to find me. With the amount of luck at his disposal, if Seven had actually wanted to find me, he would have. Fuck, hedidfind me when my parents asked Godmother for help.”
He nods. “True. So he’s well and truly an insufferable asshat then.”
“As far as I can tell.”
River knocks on the desk twice. “I heard you’ve already gone to see Godmother.”
“Just this morning. Did you know Seven is working for her?”
“Yeah. Has been since right after you left.”
“Do you know why? He told me he’s practically running the casino. He has more money than the gods. Why would he work for her too?”
River gives me a sideways glance. “You know how Godmother works. It’s never about money. He must have either made a deal with her for something he wanted or done something fitting of her punishment. But if you’re asking me what it was, I don’t know, and neither does anyone else in this town. If they did, I’d have heard it. You know this place is a rumor mill. I knew you were back the moment you left your parents’ house this morning.”
