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His laugh is soft. “Just carve, Sapphire.”

I press the edge into his skin, carving the same pattern—a star at the center, with an ice crystal woven through it. My strokes aren’t as clean as his, but there’s a raw beauty to the result.

The air grows colder as frost spreads out below his feet, responding to the pain.

When I finish, I draw in a shaky breath and step back.

Our blood stains the Disc, blending along its edge like proof of what we just gave each other.

Then, stardust begins to fall—thick, silvery, sparkling flakes that land on our open wounds, mingling with our blood and sinking into our carved flesh.

“Now,” Riven says, watching me in a way that’s dark, beautiful, feral, andcertain.“We make our vows.”

SAPPHIRE

Riven takesmy marked hand and presses his palm to mine. The sensation is electric, magic crackling between us as our stardust infused blood seals the wounds together.

And then, he begins.

“I, Riven Draevor,” he says, his voice rough with emotion, like it’s coming straight from his soul. “Take you, Sapphire Hayes, as mine. Not because fate decreed it. Not because politics demanded it.”

His grip on my hand tightens.

“But because I choose you.”

The words slice through me, clean and deep, like the Star Disc itself.

“In a universe that has tried to tear us apart at every turn,” he continues, his voice stronger now, more certain, “I will always choose you.”

Frost forms around our joined hands like a crystalline embrace.

“I vow to stand with you against whatever comes,” he says, his silver eyes locked on mine. “To fight beside you, and to be your equal in all things. To remember this moment and every moment we’ve shared, even if the universe tries to steal them from us.”

His magic spirals up our arms in delicate, intentional patterns, like promises carved into eternity.

“I vow to love you with every broken, frozen piece of me,” he continues, “for as long as I exist in this realm or any other.”

Like a dam breaking, tears well and spill out of my eyes. Dozens of water droplets rise from the deck, until they’re suspended midair, like a constellation of heartache and hope.

Riven exhales, steady but waiting, and gives me a single nod.

My turn.

“I, Sapphire Hayes,” I begin, and somehow, my voice doesn’t shake. “Take you, Riven Draevor, as mine. Not because I had to, and not because I was bound to you, but because I want to.”

His breath catches.

“Because every time I’ve had a choice, I’ve chosen you,” I say. “Even when I shouldn’t have. Even when it hurt. Even when it nearly destroyed me. And I’ll bring you back from death itself, again and again, because I won’t ever let you leave me.”

My water magic dances between us, swirling alongside his frost in perfect harmony.

“I vow to be your strength when you falter, and your light when darkness closes in. To call you out when you’re being an arrogant ass—“ I’m stopped when Riven laughs, a genuine sound that makes my heart swell, “—and to stand with you, even if the world turns against us and the universe feels like it’s falling apart.”

The glow from our joined palms intensifies, veins of light racing up our arms in a cosmic promise.

“I vow to love you with every star touched fiber of my being,” I finish, “until the end of time.”

The light from our palms spreads, enveloping us in a cocoon of magic so intense it’s almost blinding. I feel everything—not just my emotions, but his, too. The fear he never voices, the ache he hides behind cold logic, and the ice that clings to his heart like a curse he thinks he deserves.