“It’s a warning,” Riven says simply. “One I wouldn’t bother giving to anyone else who stood against me.”
Aerix tilts his head slightly, his gaze hard but thoughtful. “Keep your warnings,” he finally replies, moving closer to Zoey. “And take care of Isla. I saw you already met her. Luckily,she has enough sense to have stayed back in the hall and not followed you into the tower quarters.”
Riven’s hand tightens around the hilt of his sword. “You care about a human girl?”
“Isla was born in the Night Court. She was raised by the king, and therefore, as my sister,” he explains. “She’s smart, and she deserves to be taken care of in the Winter Court.”
“The Summer Court,” I cut in. “She asked to go to the Summer Court.”
“As I said.” Aerix’s eyes narrow. “She’s smart.”
“Understood.” I give him a small, steady nod. “We’ll do everything we can to get her safely to the Summer Court.”
Aerix nods back, making it clear that the issue has been acceptably handled. It seems like the fae version of thanking me, without speaking the words that would bind him to a favor of my choosing.
With that settled, I step toward Zoey, the Star Disc cradled in my hands. Each heartbeat feels heavier, each second stretching unbearably long.
She moves forward too, meeting me halfway, and I look at her, trying to memorize every detail of her face. The hazel eyes that watched over me since I saved her life when we were children. The stubborn set of her jaw that’s gotten us in and out of more trouble than I can count. The small scar above her left eyebrow from when she fell off her bike defending me from neighborhood bullies when we were twelve.
“Here.” I extend the Star Disc to her, unable to stop my hand from shaking. “It’s time.”
SAPPHIRE
My fingers brushZoey’s as she takes the Star Disc from me, and a spark of magic jumps between us, the sapphire at its center pulsing brighter.
“So, this is it,” she says softly. “After everything we’ve been through.”
“Not an ending.” I somehow find strength in my voice, despite it all. “Just… a different path than the one I thought we’d walk together.”
“We were each other’s whole world,” she says, one hand drifting to her stomach in a protective gesture that makes my heart ache. “For so long, it was us against everything.”
“And now we’ve both found something else.” I glance back at Riven, feeling the pull of our bond, warm and steady. “Something we never thought we’d have.”
“Our futures.” She smiles sadly.
“Yes,” I agree. “Our futures.”
The Star Disc gleams between us, and I let my fingers brush its edge, silently telling it to keep Zoey safe until it returns to me.
“Glimmercut will protect you,” I tell her, the nickname slipping out before I can stop it.
Her eyebrows shoot up, a flash of the old Zoey breaking through the vampiric composure. “You named your Star Disc?”
A laugh escapes me, surprising us both. “Riven named his sword Frostbite. And when he suggested Glimmercut for my Star Disc… they sound sort of perfect together, don’t they?”
“Glimmercut.” Zoey shakes her head with a small smile. “It’s such a Sapphire thing to do.”
“Says the girl who named her plants after characters fromHarry Potter,”I playfully shoot back.
“Snape the snake plant was a noble companion… until I overwatered him.” She squares her shoulders with mock indignation, and for a fleeting moment, we’re us again—Sapphire and Zoey, best friends since childhood, sisters in all but blood.
Then her eyes drift to Aerix, who’s watching us with barely concealed impatience, and the moment shatters.
“He’s your future now,” I say to her softly. “He and your child.”
“And Riven is yours.” Her gaze shifts to the Winter Prince behind me.
Water swirls around my fingertips, as if it’s reminding me it’s here for me, even after Zoey’s gone.
