He draws me into him, and I bury my face against his chest, his racing heartbeat matching mine. This is Riven—myRiven. The one I’m going to fight like hell to bring back, no matter what it costs.
But before either of us can say more, a familiar tug of magic pulses through the air—the Star Disc spinning back to me. It lands in my palm with a satisfying weight, warm and vibrant against my skin, as if it’s been energized by its journey.
They’re safe,it seems to tell me.Zoey and Aerix made it past the border.
Relief that they’re okay, along with grief for the friendship I lost, rushes through me at the same time. And as I trace the sapphire inlaid on the center of the Disc, an idea begins to form. It’s dangerous and maybe impossible, but it’s an idea, nonetheless.
“Care to share?” Riven asks, gazing down at me as if he can see the wheels turning in my mind.
“I have an idea about how we can fix this.” I tighten my grip around the Star Disc, my pulse steadying with newfound determination. “And it starts with the god who tried to control our love in the first place.”
SAPPHIRE
Two weeks have passedsince the fall of the Night Court. Two weeks of uneasy quiet, of whispered reassurances and nights tangled in Riven’s arms, of trying to heal wounds deeper than skin. Two weeks since we stood on that rooftop, watching Zoey and Aerix vanish into a fate I can’t control.
Riven and I didn’t stay in the Winter Court for longer than a few days. Because like I promised him on the tower’s roof, we’re going to fix the imbalance of the bond… with a little help from the god who owes us big time.
Now, sunlight filters through the jungle’s dense canopy above, casting golden specks across the lush forest floor as Nebula moves beneath me with effortless grace. Her steady strides match Ghost’s, as if even our familiars sense the gravity of this moment.
We’ve been hunting for a week. And finally, given the information we’ve gathered, along with the hum of magic in the air, I know we’re close.
“I feel it, too,” Riven observes, glancing at me. “The magic is different here.”
“You’re a mind reader now?” I joke.
“No,” he replies with a small, sad smile. “Just a Sapphire reader.”
With a mental tug, I pull Nebula to a stop. Ghost naturally does the same.
“Riven.” I turn to him, taking a deep breath, my heart racing at the intensity shining in his eyes. “When we’re done with this, we’re still going to be us. Nothing is ever going to pull me away from you. Not gods, not fate, and not magic. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
“Bold of you to assume you’d be able to shake me off at this point.” He exhales a quiet laugh, the sound fragile beneath its casualness. But his eyes hold a fierce certainty—one that sends heat cascading through my veins.
“Good.” I reach over and brush my fingers against his hand, letting warmth flow through the bond. “Because I’m counting on you staying exactly where you are.”
“Then it’s a good thing that staying by your side and loving you is a promise I’ve never had trouble keeping,” he says, and as I think back on everything we’ve been through, I realize just how true it is.
Riven’s been a lot of things since we met—guarded, ruthless, passionate, haunted, insufferable, protective, broken, selfless, and impossibly complicated—but he’s never left me. Not once. Not even when his love for me was taken from him.
He holds my gaze, his eyes steady despite the vulnerability lingering beneath the surface. “Come here,” he murmurs, guiding Ghost closer until there’s barely any space between us.
Leaning in, he brushes his lips against mine, the icy familiarity igniting sparks beneath my skin. It’s a promise, an anchor, and a vow that we’re here, alive, and together despite everything the world’s thrown at us.
“We’re going to be all right,” he whispers after we pull apart. “No matter what happens next, we’re going to be all right.”
My heart swells as his fingers brush a strand of hair from my face, feeling the months of shared history between us. The pain, the love, the sacrifice, and the way we’ve refused to break. After everything we’ve endured—the Tides, the arrow, the dryad, and even death itself—I know the real Riven. Not the perfect version of him from the visions, but the complicated, fierce, loyal man who would tear the world apart to protect what he loves.
“You know,” I say, needing to focus myself so I don’t lose myself in him right here and now, “there was a time when I thought I’d never forgive you.”
A shadow of regret crosses his features. “There was a time when I didn’t deserve forgiveness.”
I lean into his touch, water rippling beneath my skin. “And now?”
“Now I’ll spend forever trying to be worthy of you. BecauseI love you, Starlight.” His eyes soften, and when he calls me that, it’s a promise that the love between us is stronger than any bond could ever be. “We could stay here, you know. You and me in this jungle paradise, letting the rest of them deal with the aftermath of the war on their own.”
“Riven.” I cup his cheek, pulling back enough so I can fully see his face. My chest aches at the longing in his gaze, at the way his soul calls desperately to mine. “You don’t really want that. You know you don’t want it.”
He tries to lean in again, his eyes heavy with intensity. “Maybe I do. Maybe I want it so badly it hurts. Maybe it would be easier if it was just us. No kingdoms, no war, and no gods.” He pauses, his voice softening to something fragile. “No more loss. Only us, loving each other for the rest of our immortal lives.”
