At the center of the storm stands Riven, my Winter Prince, looking less like himself with every passing second.
His silver eyes have gone almost white with unrestrained power, frost patterns racing across his skin like living tattoos. His sword trembles in his grip, the blade coated in layers of ice so thick I can barely see the metal beneath. He’s holding it at an angle that speaks of imminent violence—a killing blow waiting to be delivered.
But it’s his expression that terrifies me most.
There’s something wild and unhinged in his eyes that reminds me of the cold, ruthless madness that once claimed his father. It’s that same disconnection from reality, the cold fury that recognizes nothing but the object of its rage.
Right now, that object is Aerix.
Riven’s brother.
The universe truly has a twisted sense of humor.
“Riven!” I scream, tightening the bands of ice and water around Zoey, even though every part of me wants to rush to my soulmate instead. “You have to stop. You have to breathe.”
He doesn’t hear me. He doesn’t even flinch. The bond sputters and cracks, energy snapping and flickering in my chest like a frayed wire about to explode. I can feel it—the pain, the confusion, and the terror surging inside him—but even my love can’t pierce the storm that’s swallowed him whole.
Aerix watches him warily, shadows moving around his wings. But the Night Prince doesn’t yield. Instead, he stands defiant, ready to meet the lethal force hurtling toward him head-on.
As I look back and forth between them, I see that they’re more similar than they likely realize. Both are so heartbreakingly self-destructive that they’re on the verge of obliterating themselves and those they love in the process.
Riven steps closer to Aerix, a chunk of ceiling dislodging behind him and smashing into the floor.
The entire tower groans around us, threatening to collapse under the weight of Riven’s pain if he can’t control himself and his magic.
I need to get closer, to ground him physically, since our bond is failing. But Zoey’s still straining against my magical restraints, her vampire strength surging as my focus splinters.
“Stop fighting me!” I snap at her, tightening the bands of ice and water around her body.
“Let me go to him,” she snarls back, her eyes fixed on Aerix with single-minded devotion. “He needs me.”
“Did you not hear anything he just said?” I reinforce the bonds with a rush of magic, rage coursing through me as I resist the urge to grab her by her shoulders and shake her back toreality. “Aerix used you to get to Riven. It was never about you. It was always abouthim.”
“Aerix loves me,” she insists, her lips curling in what seems to be genuine hatred. “Or is it really so hard for you to believe that you’re not the only one who deserves a soulmate?”
“Zoey, please.” I brace myself as Riven’s magic shatters a second window, raining shards of glass across the floor. “Aerix took you from us at the waterfall. He manipulated you. He’s been using you to get to Riven this entire time.”
“You’re just jealous because I found happiness without you.” She glares at me, her fangs extending, a painful reminder of when she sank them into my neck and drank from me. “Aerix loves me, Sapphire. Why do you refuse to see thathe loves me?”
Her words break something inside me, a devastating ache spreading through my chest as another wave of Riven’s ice splinters through the room.
Aerix just stands there, watching Riven fight the urge to kill him—his own brother—as if it’s another night of courtly entertainment. From the look in Riven’s eyes, I actually think hewillkill him. And I know Riven well enough to know that if he goes through with it and has to harbor the guilt of killing his brother for the rest of his life, it will ruin him.
Which means that now, I have to make an impossible choice.
“I’m sorry.” The words taste like ash in my mouth as I reach for the Star Disc, hold my breath, and slash one of its points across Zoey’s thigh.
The weapon cuts deep, slicing through muscle and tendon, infusing the wound with celestial magic that slows supernatural healing.
Her scream pierces the chaos, and she collapses, clutching at her leg as blood seeps between her fingers.
“I’m so sorry.” I back away, my stomach twisting as I watch her blood drip onto the stone floor. “But he’s part of me now. I can’t lose him. I won’t.”
Swallowing down the self-hatred crawling its way up my throat, I turn before she can reply and hurry toward Riven.
His magic lashes out in waves, ice and frost swirling chaotically, the walls and ceiling cracking with the sheer force of his power.
“Riven!” I scream his name, fighting the freezing cold wind with everything inside myself. Shards of ice cut into my skin, each step forward more agonizing than the last, but I have to reach him. I can’t lose him to this. Losing him would be worse than losing myself.
