Rive (4 page)

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her father smiled, but Celeste knew it was his professional fake smile that he used by default.

“Forgive me, but I can’t place your accent and I thought…” Celeste let her voice trail off. She flushed deep red. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean anything, I’m just…”

To her surprise, he laughed in a deep natural way that told her laughed a lot. “Dear girl! Are you wondering why I’m not Irish? I bet you are! Where are my manners? Come all, sit!”

She sat at the table, flanked by Rylan on one side and her father on the other. Her father draped his hand over the back of her chair. Casual, yes, but protective. She could feel the unease rolling off of him.

Regina sat primly on the end of the table, next to Usha and Mateus.

Mateus leaned forward in his chair, placed his elbows on the table, and clasped his hands together. A broad smile painted his face, making friendly lines appear on the side of his eyes. He looked to be about her father’s age. “My accent is Portuguese. I’m from Brazil, born and raised, yet I am
Tuatha
. I’m what we call
New Tuatha.
We have discovered that in fairly recent history, over the past five hundred years or so,
Tuatha
bloodlines have emerged from all over the world, outside of Ireland. Brazil, Somalia, Japan even.”

“Wow,” Celeste said. “That’s amazing.”

She glanced at Usha, as still as a statue next to Regina. “And you are
Sidhe?”

“
Sidhe
, yes. The S
idhe
are allowed one member on the board of three. It is the ancient law passed down for thousands of years.”

“Oh, I see,” Celeste said, swallowing all of her burning questions.

“We have so much to explain to you,” Mateus said. “What are your questions, Celeste? Mrs. Shreeve? Mr. Shreeve?”

“We are concerned for her safety.” Her father’s deep voice echoed through the room. “We’d like to clear all bodyguards before they are assigned.”

Mateus shook his head vigorously up and down. “Yes, yes. We are on the same team, Mr. Shreeve. Nothing is more important to us than the preservation and protection of the
Tuatha
and the associated bloodlines. I deeply share your concern.”

Her father turned his attention to Usha. “And you?”

Usha gave one solemn nod, sending gossamer silver strands airily around his face, leaving Celeste with the impression it was made of something lighter than human hair. “I will protect the child as well, even from my own kind.”

The sounds of stomping feet and the click of the door distracted all of them from their conversation. Celeste turned her head to see who had so loudly entered the room.

It was Rylan, or at least what Rylan would look like in twenty years. He shared the thick black hair of his son, but his was long and braided, snaking down his back. Bright green eyes glinted, but they were shaper, less kind than Rylan’s. He strode into the room as if he owned it. He scanned the room, resting his sharp gaze briefly on Celeste before settling them on Rylan. “Son,” he said. The lack of warmth in his voice did not escape Celeste.

Rylan stood and gave a curt, quick nod. “Father.” His voice was as cold and distant as she’d ever heard it.

Her parents glanced back and forth between Rylan and his father.

“I hope you are well, Rylan.” His father moved further into the room, his steps becoming more hesitant.

“I’m fine,” Rylan said, still glowering.

They appraised each other for a second, and then his father drew him into an awkward quick hug.

Rylan stepped away. “This is Celeste, my girlfriend.”

She stood, smiling and extending her hand forward. “Nice to meet you. You may call me Sean,
Tuatha
.” He shook her hand quickly, and then pulled it away. His skin was cold to the touch, matching his chilling tone.

“And her parents,” Rylan said.

He glanced at her parents.

“I enjoyed laying eyes on you, son, but I must go. Business.” He smiled, looking eerily like Rylan, and then slowly dissipated, leaving a lingering cloud of black smoke. She felt his essence move through her, using her
Tuatha
power to move to the Otherworld.

“Business, my ass,” Rylan muttered. “I haven’t seen that jerk-off since I was eleven.”

She grabbed his hand and they went back to the table.

Mateus was watching them carefully. “He is very busy. He is working on a special task for us. It was so nice of him to stop by.”

“Right,” Rylan said. “Sure.”

“Where were we?” Regina asked, still sitting primly next to a very still Usha.

Her mom answered. “Bodyguards. We’d like to meet them, please.”

“Ah, yes. Of course,” Mateus said. “Her primary bodyguard I have chosen myself. He is a trained fighter and bodyguard, and you can trust him. He comes from a
Tuatha
bloodline, but he is also half-
Sidhe
. A very rare, powerful being.” He leaned forward to push a button on a phone in the middle of the table. “Sophia? Please send in Victor.”

A crisp, feminine voice came over the line. “Right away, sir.”

The door clicked open, revealing a tall, muscular boy about Celeste’s age with black hair and golden skin. Celeste couldn’t help but notice he was mega-hot, like from a magazine model-hot.

“Dad? You called?” he said.

“Victor, this is Celeste. Celeste, my son, Victor.”

“Oh, hey!” His face lit up in a bright smile. He shook her hand vigorously. “So awesome to meet the new
Tuatha.
I’m glad you’re here.”

She returned his warm smile.

He flipped her hand over in his, bringing her inner wrist closer to his face. “Wow. I’ve heard about your light. It’s really cool.”

Rylan shifted closer. Victor quickly dropped her hand. “And you must be Rylan. Nice to meet you, man.”

Rylan’s jaw worked, but he smiled stiffly and returned the handshake.

“You guys want the grand tour of this joint? Leave the old people to talk?” He swept his hand toward the board and her parents.

“Um…” She looked to her parents. She was afraid to leave them alone in this new, strange place.

“That’s fine with me,” her father said.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Mateus said. “We’ll go over your training plan with your parents while you kids get to know each other.”

Celeste waited for her mom to nod in agreement. “All right, sounds good.” She waved goodbye before stepping out of the room with Rylan and Victor.

Victor led them back through the doorway toward the lit rotunda. His massive, muscular shoulders filled the space in front of them. He had to be at least six feet tall and then some, ringed with thick muscle.

She threw worried glances back at the board room, wondering what her poor parents were going through.

“Don’t worry. Usha’s a weird old fart, but he’s harmless. My old man rocks, though. He’s a good man. He’ll look after them,” Victor said.

“Good. I feel bad for them.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot take in. They seem like they really love you, though. Regina said they’ve been really cool with everything.”

“They’re amazing,” Celeste said.

One more step, and they were back in the tall, bright rotunda. “So here’s the lobby of the building, or the atrium, as we call it. Everything is built in a circle, and this is the center. If you ever get lost, come back here.” He waved his hands in front of her face. “Follow the light,” he said in a dreamy voice.

She giggled.

Rylan rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

“Speaking of light,” Victor said. “It’s gonna be hard to guard you if you’re lit up like a Christmas tree all the time. We notice.”

The
Sidhe
shifted around them, always present with her as they were now, moving through her as she acted as their portal to the Otherworld. “Right.” She forced her light back down except for the little ball of fire in her palm. “I keep this always,” she showed him.

“Right on. We need to spend time together so I can learn more about what you can do.”

“Cool,” she said. Her eyes slid to Rylan, but he was staring straight forward. “So your mom is
Sidhe?
” she asked.

“Yeah. I’m a rare bird.”

“It’s not common for
Sidhe
to mix?” she asked.

“Nah,
Sidhe
mix all the time with humans, like Rylan here.”

Rylan froze in his tracks, but said nothing.

“It’s
Tuatha
bloodlines that don’t mix. They try to keep them pure, so they can make more
Tuatha
potentiates.”

“What are potentiates?” she asked.

He leaned against the curved wall. “Hasn’t Regina told you anything, yet?” He shook his head. “
Tuatha
potentiates are children from known
Tuatha
bloodlines. A lot of them live here when they near their seventeenth birthday just in case.”

“In case what?” she said.

“In case they become
Tuatha
. There was a bunch of excitement when the
Tuatha
could feel you coming, but then none of the potentiates turned.”

Her knees were a little wobbly. “How many are here now?”

“Twenty or thirty. We grow up around here. Hang out with each other. That’s how the counsel wants it.”

Rylan snaked his arm around her waist. “Counsel wants you here so you all know each other and marry each other and make more
Tuatha
babies,” he said. “Disgusting.”

“Agreed.” Victor pushed his hands off the wall. His handsome mouth twisted into a devious smile. “Wanna see where we live?”

“Sure.”

Chapter 5

“This is our section. Minimal adult supervision, private rooms, lots of entertainment,” he said.

The cool formal structures of the massive atrium gave way to carpeted hallways and casual spaces filled with couches, TV’s, books, and ping-pong tables.

“Cool,” she said. It was like a college dorm, or at least what she imagined a college dorm would look like.

“Weird,” Rylan muttered.

Each door was decorated differently to reflect the personality of the person who lived behind it. She smiled as she passed by a particularly girly door with “Ashley” written on the front in bright pink lettering, and every single inch plastered with sparkly stickers and famous tweens.

The door popped open as she stared, revealing a pretty girl with long, golden blond hair that tumbled around her shoulders. “OMG, are you Celeste?”

“Yep, that’s me,” Celeste said.

She flew out of the door, pulling Celeste into a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you! I hope you come stay with us! You’re so pretty!”

“Thanks,” Celeste said.

Ashley leaned around Celeste, taking in Rylan, who was standing back a few feet, hands shoved into his pockets. A bright smile lit her face. “Is this your boyfriend?”

“Yep, this is Rylan.”

“Welcome.” She shook his hand. “Super cute,” she whispered into Celeste’s ear.

“I’m showing them around. Celeste will be joining us in the facility for some training, but she won’t be living here.”

“Cool! See you around.” She tossed a wave before heading back to her room, leaving a cloud of perfume in her wake.

“She seemed nice,” Celeste said.

“She is,” said Victor. “She’s the newest one here. She comes from an old
Tuatha
bloodline, like you. She couldn’t wait for you to get here.”

Celeste nodded. “What kind of training do you get here?”

“Secondary school stuff, mixed in with physical training and learning about the
Tuatha
and
Sidhe
.” He nudged her. “Don’t worry. You’ll catch up quickly.”

Rylan put his arm around her waist. Victor backed off a few feet before leading them back to the Atrium.

“Want to go outside? The grounds are awesome.”

“Sure,” Celeste said. “Let’s go.”

A huge, tiered terrace circled the back half of the building. A lush green lawn started at the foot of the steps and stretched a few acres back to meet up with thick, green trees. Perfectly manicured bushes dotted the green grass, like living statutes.

“Romantic, no?” Rylan slipped both of his arms around her waist, pulling her backside into his warm front side.

“Very,” she whispered back.

“You two lovelies need a moment alone?” Victor asked.

“Nah.” Rylan planted a kiss on her cheek. “We need to talk about guarding her.”

“Right, of course.” He sat down on one of the stone steps, motioning for Celeste and Rylan to join him.

Rylan plopped next to him, pulling Celeste snug next to him. He bent his legs and slung his arms over his knees. “I’m not thrilled about this. I’ve been protecting her so far, and I don’t like the idea of strange
Sidhe
around her. No offense.”

Victor lounged back, resting his shoulders and back on the step higher than his seat. “Dude, none taken. I totally get it, but I’ve been trained in defense since I was four. This is what I do for a living.”

“You guard
Tuatha
for a living?” Celeste asked.

“Yep,
Tuatha
and others. I’m helping to keep an eye on the potentiates.”

“The dorm, do they always have guards like that?” Rylan asked. Celeste thought of five or six
Sidhe
guards she saw milling about the dorm area, so quiet and still they almost blended into the walls.

Victor sat up straight. “No. Never before. Not like that.”

“What’s going on?” Celeste asked.

Victor stood, brushing off his jeans. “Nothing you need to worry about. You guys want to go inside now?”

“Hold on there.” Rylan stood too, blocking Victor’s path to the building. “We need to know.” He pointed at Celeste. “She deserves to know.”

Victor ran his hands through thick black hair. “Look, I’m not supposed to talk about this stuff with you guys. I’m the professional, I’ll handle it.”

“Tell me,” Celeste said.

Victor glanced around, eyes scanning the green lawn, trees, and turning to the building before he answered. “We’ve heard chatter. From the some of the
Sidhe
. That’s why all of these liaisons are working now, including your dad.”