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Cetus regards us with ancient,hungry eyes, his jaws opening to reveal teeth like shattered planets.

When he speaks, his voice isn’t a sound. It’s a feeling. A vibration through the air, through our bones, and through the very threads of fate.

Trespassers,he rumbles.You’ve come to steal what is not yours.

Sapphire steps forward, lifting her chin, ready to fight this creature that could crush her in a single second.

“We’re here for the Star Disc,” she says, and the wind curls around her, responding to her awe-inspiring power, her breathtaking defiance, and her remarkable refusal to bend. “Because I’m star touched, chosen by Celeste herself. She forged the Disc for me. It’smine.”

Cetus laughs, and stardust swirls around his massive form as his body coils tighter, preparing to strike.

Many claim the blessing of the gods,he rumbles.Few prove worthy.

I step closer to Sapphire, sword ready, frost crawling along its blade as I stare down Cetus with a look that could shatter ice.

“We faced the trials,” I say sharply. “We endured the visions. We earned the right to?—”

Earned?Cetus interrupts.Nothing is earned here, in the deepest part of the Cosmos. Everything is tested, and nearly every test is failed.

My grip tightens on my sword. Of course he’s not going to make this easy. But I don’t care. Whatever twisted test he throws at us, I’ll take it.

For Sapphire, I can take anything.

Her dagger shakes, but her stance remains firm.

“Then tell us how to prove it,” she says, and here in the Tides, she’s so beautifully determined that it takes my breath away.

I wish I could freeze this moment and live in it forever. Because as much as I try to push it away, I have a sinking feeling that we’re about to be shattered beyond repair. And considering how broken we already are, that’s saying a lot.

But as powerful as I am, I can’t freeze time.

All I can do is stand here and watch as Cetus grins, the expression terrifying and monstrous.

Then, he lunges at me.

He’s fast, but not fast enough. Because I meet his attack in an instant, my sword slicing upward, cutting deep into his arm.

Sapphire screams and doubles over, clutching her side.

When she lifts her hand, her fingers are slick with blood—from a wound identical to the one I just inflicted on Cetus.

Love is destruction,Cetus hisses, his voice slithering into my mind.You will always destroy each other, no matter how hard you try to protect her.

No,I think, ice flooding my veins as horror sinks in.

I want to tear this monster apart. I want to watch him bleed, collapse, and die.

But I can’t. Because my strike wounded Sapphire, too. She bled for my attack just as much as he did.

She lifts her head slowly, her brilliant blue eyes meeting mine.

“Riven—” she starts, but there’s no time.

Cetus lunges again, straight toward her.

She blasts a wave of water that hits the monster with staggering force, sending him reeling.

At the same time, agony rips through my ribs. I hit the ground hard, pain racing through me, stealing the breath from my lungs.