“Why should I believe you?” I demand, even though deep down, I already do.
“Because fae can’t lie.” Aerix spreads his hands in a gesture that somehow manages to be both mocking and sincere at the same time. “Therefore, I’ll speak plainly, with no room for interpretation. I am your brother, Riven. Half-brother, to be precise. So, how about you put down that sword? Because I can see in your eyes—which, in case you were wondering, are the same color mine were before I was turned—that you don’t have it in yourself to kill me.”
RIVEN
My sword isheavy in my hand, the blade shaking with every shuddering breath I take.
My eyes flicker to Sapphire. Her face is pale, her eyes wide with shock and urgency as she maintains her hold on Zoey.
“Riven,” she says gently, her voice pulling at the edges of my mind. “I love you. I’m here, and I’m not leaving. Ever.”
But as she speaks, her voice seems distant, echoing as if she’s calling through a void.
My chest tightens, panic clawing up my throat, and I stumble back, one hand bracing myself against the frost-covered wall.
Aerix stands calm and controlled, as if he didn’t just shatter everything I believed about myself and my life.
“You saw us at the waterfall,” I say, trying to piece it together. “You knew who I was.”
Aerix inclines his head, a bitter, knowing smile curving his lips. “I did.”
“Why the hell were you even there?” Wind rushes around me, anger rising through the shock. “Why didn’t you justtalkto us?”
“Talk?” He raises a brow. “Like how you ‘talked’ to Zythara?”
I narrow my eyes at the mention of the night fae we brought to the cave. “She attacked us,” I reply, staying perfectly still, knowing better than to make any sudden moves when I’m standing on the precipice of getting more information. Because that’s what I need to focus on right now—information.If I get that, maybe the world will feel right again. “Not to mention the night fae at the ravine who nearly killed Sapphire.”
“Precisely my point.” Aerix gives me another smug smile that reminds me sickeningly of my own. “But I watched you, Riven. I saw you look at your summer fae like she’s the sun and stars. Like she belonged to you, and only to you.”
My magic surges, ice racing across the stone beneath my boots. “Sapphire’s my wife. My soulmate,” I growl. “She’s everything to me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her safe.”
“I understand exactly how you feel.” Aerix glances at Zoey, who’s no longer fighting Sapphire’s restraints. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, aren’t we, Brother?”
“Don’t call me that.” I step forward, ice crawling along my blade.
“Why not? Because you don’t want to face the truth? Because you don’t want to know more about me? Are you so consumed by your summer fae that you care about nothing other than her?”
The truth behind his words hit me like shards of ice—sharp, jagged, and impossible to ignore. And while my sword remains steady, my heart is unraveling, torn between fury and curiosity for what I might learn.
“Talk, then.” I keep my eyes locked on his, needing to understand, even though the truth might rip me apart piece by piece. “You seem to have plenty to say. So go ahead, Night Prince. Tell me the story you think matters so damn much.”
“I was hoping you’d ask.” Aerix’s lips curl with something colder than amusement. “You see, centuries ago—long beforeyou were born—the Winter King wasn’t quite the mad tyrant he became. He was cold, yes. Ruthless, certainly. But he was strategic. Powerful. Respected.” He steps forward, his wings extending behind him, each movement so calm and deliberate that it’s like he’s savoring the way his words are slicing into my soul. “He met my mother during a diplomatic visit to the northwest provinces. She was a seamstress, and she was called on for her services while he was there. From then on, he pursued her relentlessly, despite her common birth.”
The thought of my father pursuing anyone with genuine passion seems impossible. Yet, that was how he captured my mother’s heart. And hedidlove her, deeply and truly. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have broken after her death.
Just like how I’m breaking now. The gods must hate me more than I realized to throw this final, brutal twist at me when my soul is only hanging on by the string Sapphire used to pull me back to her.
“Go on,” I tell him, hating that I need to hear this as much as I do.
Aerix circles me slowly, his eyes locked on mine, as if he’s gauging every reaction.
“My mother was young,” he continues. “Beautiful. Terrified of the attention. But also flattered. After all, the Winter King himself desired her.” His voice takes on a strange, distant quality, a breeze forming around him. “Their affair was brief but intense. When she discovered she was with child, she knew the danger immediately.”
Ice crackles beneath my feet. “Danger?”
“A common woman claiming the king’s child?” Aerix laughs. “She would have been punished for seducing royalty. Cast aside at the least, executed at the worst. So, she claimed another father—a local fisherman who’d once courted her. She was so skilled at dancing around truths that no one questioned her. Not like therewere many to convince. A seamstress and a fisherman are rarely given second glances, even by others in their village.”
“She was the one who told you the truth?” I ask, needing more—always more.
