“I hope you’re able to find happiness,” I tell her, meaning every word. “I hope you both do.”
She nods, her grip on Glimmercut tightening. “You too, Sapphire. You deserve it more than anyone.”
I want to hug her. I want to pull her into my arms and tell her what she’s meant to me over the years.
But if I do, I might never let go.
So, I step back, returning to Riven’s side. “When I count to three,” I say to Zoey, steadying myself and gathering my magic around me. “You and Aerix will run toward the edge. Just before you jump, I’ll give you the lift you need.”
Aerix moves to stand behind Zoey, his arms encircling her waist as his wings extend to their full, impressive span. There’s something both beautiful and terrifying about them together—something deeper than I think I fully know.
“Ready?” I ask, wind stirring around my fingertips.
Zoey raises the Star Disc, positioning it above her head. “Ready.”
“One...” I begin, feeling the magic building inside me.
“Two...” The air around us swirls, responding to my call.
But then Aerix looks over his shoulder at Riven with a satisfied smirk.
“You’re not cold like him, Riven,” he says, his voice smooth and dangerously soft. “But one day, you might wish you were. Because now you’ll get to wonder—every time you close your eyes—if you should have killed me when you had the chance.”
Before either of us can reply, Aerix tightens his grip around Zoey’s waist and launches into a sprint.
Her surprised gasp cuts through the air as they race toward the edge of the roof with supernatural speed, and for a heart-stopping moment, they hang suspended over the dizzying drop—Zoey clutching the Star Disc and Aerix’s wings fully extended, ready to either fly or fall.
I thrust both hands forward, and wind explodes from my palms, water swirling into the mix as I pour everything I have into creating a powerful updraft beneath them.
Aerix’s wings catch the air, stretching wide. The Star Disc flares to life in Zoey’s grasp. It blazes brighter as they rise, gliding them over the dark forest that borders the Night Court.
My heart hammers as I watch them go, anger and adrenaline burning through my veins. Because that manipulative jerk made sure I had no choice but to help them after his parting shot at Riven.
“Clever,” Riven mutters beside me as Aerix and Zoey glide farther away from us, growing smaller in the midday sky. “Forcing our hand while denying us the last word.”
Aerix and Zoey are far enough away that nature and the Star Disc’s magic have taken control, so I drop my arms and turn to look at Riven, studying the sharp lines of his face and his silver eyes that mirror the flecks in his brother’s.
“He can try to haunt us, but only if we let him,” I tell him. “And I refuse to give him that power.”
Gazing out at where Aerix and Zoey are nearing the horizon, he wraps his arm around my waist, the chaos of his emotions pouring into me stronger now that he’s touching me.
“Do you think he’s right?” he asks after a moment. “That I’ll regret not killing him today?”
“Would you have been able to live with yourself if you had?” I ask in return.
“I don’t know,” he admits. “All I know is that I couldn’t have lived with you hating me for killing the father of her child.”
“And that’s one of the many reasons why you’re not like your father.” I reach for his hand, ice and water mingling between our palms. “Because even when faced with an unimaginable enemy, you chose mercy. You chose love.”
“I love you, and I will always choose you,” he says simply, a hint of that smirk I know and love appearing on his face. “And I suppose family reunions were never our strength, anyway.”
“No,” I agree, a laugh bubbling out of me. “I suppose they’re not.”
The laughter dies as quickly as it came, leaving behind a hollow ache as Zoey and Aerix disappear over the horizon.
And I know, with a feeling that sinks deep in my gut, that the best friend I thought I’d always have is gone forever.
SAPPHIRE
