“Fix what’s broken?” Eros laughs, the sound brittle and cold. “From where I stand, your love is working all too well. Especially for a couple that should be torn apart by hatred.”
“That’s the problem.” I step forward, gripping my Star Disc tighter, ready to throw it again if Eros attacks. “It’s working too well. Too intensely. It’s…” I hesitate, searching for the right words. “It’s consuming Riven, stripping away his self-identity and making it so all he can feel isme.”
Riven tenses beside me, but says nothing.
“Undying love.” Eros nods. “Just like I said. The question is… how?”
“When we were in the Cosmic Tides,” I start, holding Eros’s gaze, “Riven was dying. I couldn’t lose him. So, I forced my soul into his body. I filled every broken piece of him with my magic and love. I brought him back from death.”
“You did what?” Eros’s expression shifts from anger to genuine shock.
“I saved him.” I lean into Riven, as if Eros might try taking him from me at any moment.
The god’s grip tightens around the pieces of his bow. “That’s not possible.”
“Apparently itispossible, because I did it,” I reply. “I fused his soul with mine to bring him back. But like I said, there were side effects. The bond between us became... unbalanced.”
Riven’s fingers tighten around mine. “I can’t separate myself from her anymore,” he admits. “It’s like I’m drowning in her, being pulled further and further from who I am every day, and I don’t know how long it will be until I forget who I am entirely.”
“You’re describing true love’s darkest potential.” Eros rises to his feet, his eyes gleaming with a sick sense of enjoyment. “The kind that burns so brightly it reduces everything else to ash. The kind that doesn’t nurture, but devours everything in its path.”
“Exactly,” I confirm. “It’s like the arrow’s effect never really faded. It just… transformed.”
“And you want me to fix it,” Eros concludes, tilting his head. “To rebalance your souls so your undying love doesn’t consume you.”
“Yes,” Riven says firmly. “We want you to make it so we can love each other without losing ourselves in the process.”
SAPPHIRE
Eros circles us,studying us from every angle. I can almost feel him peering into the bond, examining the tangled threads of our souls. It’s unnerving, but I stay as still as I can, unwilling to let him see how much he’s affecting me.
I have the upper hand after obliterating his divine weapon, and I’m not going to lose it.
“Fascinating,” he murmurs, more to himself than to us. “You performed a miracle and created something beautiful and terrible at the same time.”
“Will you help us?” I ask, unable to keep the anxiety from my voice. Not because I’m worried there’s no way for him to help us, since Riven and I know from the research we conducted these past two weeks that Eroscanhelp us.
The question is—willhe?
Finally, the god stops his circling. “Yes,” he says simply. “I can help you.”
His words take me by so much surprise that I swear the entire world stills for a moment. They’re what I hoped he would say, but I suppose I didn’t expect him to agree soeasily.
Then again, like Riven said in the Night Court—I’m pretty badass and intimidating with my Star Disc.
“Your issue can be fixed with my blood,” Eros continues, lifting his wrist, “givenwillingly.In this case, the only way I’ll give it willingly is if you repair my bow first.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You’re assuming I can repair it.”
“I’m assuming you’re not stupid enough to enact revenge on agodwithout being able to fix what you’ve broken, and without having an ulterior motive. Otherwise, you’re two of the most foolish fae I’ve ever encountered. And say what they will about your kind, but fae are rarely foolish.”
Frost spreads from Riven’s feet toward some of the vines in the garden, freezing the life straight out of them. “I’ll propose the terms,” he says, his voice quickly taking on the formal precision of a Winter Court negotiation.
Eros arches a golden eyebrow. “The afflicted one offers the terms? A bold choice.”
“The terms are simple.” Riven ignores the jab. “Sapphire will repair your bow, restoring it so it functions exactly as it did before she broke it. No exceptions, and no tricks. In exchange, you’ll use your blood, freely given, to rebalance the love that was changed when Sapphire saved my life in the Cosmic Tides.”
“Rebalance,” Eros repeats, testing the word. “That’s rather vague for a fae bargain, Winter Prince.”
