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“I feel that, Princess,” he murmurs in my ear, and my stomach flips at the intimacy of the wholesharing soulsthing.

“We have to jump, Riven,” I say, my heart leaping as his hold tightens. “Before I forget how to breathe again.”

“I’m not letting go.”

Three simple words.

But in them: everything. His vow, his guilt, his love, and his need.

“Ready?” I ask, poising the Disc like a shield in front of us.

“With you? Always,” he says, and then together, we leap into the stars.

SAPPHIRE

The Star Discblazes to life—an explosion of light and power—and we’re soaring through the Tides, air currents guiding our way.

“It’s working!” I shout, exhilaration coursing through me as we glide toward the spectral ship.

Riven laughs, wild and free, his arms locked tight around me. “Of course it is,” he says, his breath cool against my ear. “Your magic is extraordinary.”

“And your existence is distracting in the best way possible,” I reply with a smile, although I manage to keep my focus on the spectral ship, which is calling to the Star Disc like a magnet.

The three pigs stand on the deck. They’re watching our descent with what almost looks like boredom, as if sailing through cosmic space on a glowing disc is perfectly ordinary. One of them even yawns.

Then, we land. Not with a jolt, but with a slow deceleration of starlight. A perfect glide.

The moment our feet touch the ghostly wood, the Disc dims in my hand.

Riven doesn’t move. Not right away. Instead, he lingers behind me, his body pressed to mine like he wants to stay like this forever.

I’d let him if he did.

But eventually—reluctantly—he steps back.

“That,” he says, slightly breathless, “was incredible.”

I turn to him, my pulse still racing. “The flying part, or the trusting each other with our lives while riding a cosmic death disc part?”

“Both,” he says, his voice laced with something softer now—wonder, maybe. “Although, let’s be honest—I’ve been trusting you with my life since tasting the pink drink you made me. Not to mention that I helped you through those trials, killed my knights for you, became a fugitive of my own court for you, faced down monsters beside you, bled for you, married you, died for you, and let you fuse your soul to mine.” He lifts a brow. “And you’re worried about a flying disc?”

Each incident he mentions sends a thrill through my spine.

“When you list it all like that, we really do have a problem making rational life decisions,” I say, and then I’m scanning the deck of the ship, making sure there aren’t any cosmic monsters about to jump out at us.

“Rational is boring,” Riven replies, sword out, also checking our surroundings. “And if there’s one thing you’ve never been, it’s boring.”

My water magic ripples around my fingers, responding to the warmth spreading through my body. But as much as I want to pull Riven into the ship’s cabin and finish what we started at the top of the tower, we need to sail out of the Tides first.

“Celeste said we just have to think about where we want to go, and we’ll go there,” I say, forcing myself back into focus. “Out of the two of us, you’re obviously the expert on the Winter Court’s geography. So, where should we go? What should we think about?”

“I don’t want to find awhere,”Riven says, a shadow crossing his eyes. “I want to find awho.”

“And who’s that?” I ask, curious.

“Ghost,” he says simply, and from the longing way he says his familiar’s name, I don’t think finding him is awantas much as aneed. “We should have him by our sides when we return to the Winter Court.”

“Then we’ll go to Ghost.” I nod, squeezing his hand that’s not holding his sword.