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River inhaled sharply, her magic whirling in her veins.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like Alana Pierce.

She was a Light Elf from the Western Region, and she’d always been nice to River.

By all accounts, she was a good doctor. But this would be a difficult procedure, and River had spent hours prepping.

She was ready for it, and now Alana was just going to sub in for her?

The unfairness had bile rising in River’s throat .

“Lila’s parents know me,” she pleaded, widening her eyes and clasping her tablet to her chest. “I’ve done all the prep work and the pre-op appointments. Please let me scrub in.”

“No,” he sneered.

Was River imagining it, or was Doctor Collins taking perverse pleasure in administering this punishment?

Most people would have given up and accepted their fate by now, and maybe River would’ve, if Lila’s glowing orange eyes hadn’t flashed through her mind. She couldn’t let this go without a fight. This wasn’t just about her—she wanted the best for Lila.

“But sir, I arrived at the hospital before my shift started,” she begged.

Tertia would be positively appalled to know that her daughter was pushing back against her superior, but River didn’t care. She had become a doctor to save lives, and she didn’t want to fail the Howlers.

“Were you, or weren’t you late?”

He wasn’t going to let this go. She could sense that, but she couldn’t give up.

“I was a minute late, if that.” Widening her eyes, River tried to appeal to any sense of kindness Doctor Collins might possess. “Let me operate. Please.”

She infused the last word with as much desperation as she could. It wasn’t a lie—she really did need to get into that surgery. This was her life’s calling.

The fire fae’s eyes narrowed, and a shiver ran down River’s spine. Danger lurked in his gaze as he moved towards her. The air thickened, and drawing breath became more difficult. Doctor Collins wasn’t a big man, but he still towered over her.

Everyone towered over her.

Not for the first time, River cursed her short stature. Men like Ignatius Collins seemed to think that because she was short, they had every right to use their size to intimidate her and make them do what they wanted.

The joke was on them, though, because no towering fae male would ever be as frightening as Tertia Waterborn when she was displeased.

“I said, no .” Her superior’s voice was low, but thanks to her fae hearing, she had no problem making out his words.

“This is a teaching hospital, Doctor Waterborn, and I’ve put up with you for almost a year.

Do you think I asked for the spoiled fae princess to be put on my team?

That I wanted to work with the one person who could go cry to Mommy whenever things didn’t go her way? ”

His eyes flashed, and embers sparked above his hands. That had to be a safety hazard in a hospital, right? But who could she report it to—he was her boss.

“Get it through your pretty head, little girl,” Doctor Collins continued.

“I’m not a little girl,” she snapped, even though she knew talking back to him would make the already bad situation worse.

He kept going as if he didn’t hear her. “I don’t care who the fuck you’re related to, or who you had to bribe to get your grades.”

Bribery? How dare he make such an unfounded accusation? River had never paid for a single grade. She’d studied for countless hours and clawed her way to the top of every single class she’d taken. She’d earned each A with blood, sweat, and tears.

“Sir, you’re mistaken.”

A low, warning snarl rumbled through the doctor as he closed the distance between them. River refused to cower, even though her magic flared as the man tried to frighten her into submission.

In and out .

She forced herself to breathe and steady the flow of magic within her.

“If you want to remain in this residency program, you will learn to be early , Doctor Waterborn,” her superior said harshly.

“Should you continue to fail to abide by the simple rules the rest of us, whose parents aren’t Representatives, have to follow, then you’ll be gone.

Just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Is that clear?”

Rude, awful man. Pure, unfiltered malice radiated off him in waves.

It was so potent that River wondered why she hadn’t known her boss hated her before now.

Sure, she knew he didn’t like her, but this was the kind of hatred that festered and grew over time, that required feeding and nurturing like a plant taking root in soil.

His hatred stung, and silver lined her eyes. She blinked back the tears, refusing to let them fall. She would not cry in front of this horrible man, would not give him any more ammunition to use against her.

Set me free, her magic whispered, slithering through her veins. How dare he speak to you like this? Let’s show him who is more powerful .

The magic continued, urging River to get closer to the man, to move into his space and make him submit to her.

You’re powerful , it reminded her. Take what you want; it’s yours by right .

For a moment, River considered doing what her magic demanded. After all, she was the one who had prepped for this surgery. She was the one the parents were comfortable with. She was the one who should be scrubbing in .

But then she remembered the screams of the dying during the Incident. The waves. The death.

Her magic wasn’t a blessing, but a curse. She couldn’t risk unleashing it here. Even though she’d expended massive amounts of power before coming to the hospital, the curse remained in her veins. It was always watching, always waiting behind the dam she’d created to keep it at bay.

In the end, when River lowered her chin, it wasn’t out of submission. It wasn’t because she’d been bullied into it. It was because death resided in her veins, and she refused to give it any power.

“I understand, sir.” The words tasted like chalk in her mouth, and River’s face was a blank mask, even with the tears lining her eyes. She refused to let a single emotion show, refused to let Doctor Collins know her feelings were a whirling storm within her.

So, her boss hated her. Plenty of people had bad relationships with their superiors. There wasn’t anything she could do about it. Asking Tertia for help would be a moot point.

For one, that would simply confirm her boss’s suspicions that she was a spoiled brat.

For another, she didn’t really think her mother would help her.

If anything, the Representative would laugh and say that this was what River deserved.

Didn’t she know that Cursed Ones didn’t get to live regular lives?

Doctor Collins removed his hand from the elevator call button and stepped away from her.

“ICU. Now.” There was no mistaking the command in his voice. “If you come anywhere near the Howlers or their daughter’s surgery, missing the tumor removal will be the least of your problems. Is that clear, Doctor Waterborn?”

Hatred churned in River’s veins, a bitter stream flowing through her, and she clenched her fists. “It’s crystal clear,” she ground out.

She didn’t wait to be dismissed. Holding back her tears with hope and a prayer, she jammed her finger against the elevator call button.

Thank the Blessed Obsidian Sands, the silver doors opened a moment later. She got on without looking behind her and punched the button for the ICU, hitting it until the doors shut.

The last thing she saw was her boss’s scowling visage.

The elevator lurched up, and she grabbed the silver railing. Then, and only then, did she allow a ragged half-sob, half-gasp to rip out of her. A single hot tear raced down her cheek, and she watched it fall to the floor.

One sob.

One tear.

That was all she allowed herself to feel. She clamped down on the pain running through her. She would not break, nor would she give Doctor Collins the pleasure of knowing how deeply he’d hurt her.

Waterborns are not weak. Waterborns do not bow to others. Waterborns do not cry .

By the time the elevator reached the fifth floor, River was standing straight. The picture of the perfect surgical resident, she was unbothered. Untouched. Strong.

She could do this. At least, that’s what she would keep telling herself until it was the truth. There was no other option.

River was a Waterborn, and no matter what hurdles life threw at them, they did not break. They did not shatter. They did not bend.

Waterborns were always strong, no matter what.