Page 8

Cetus just laughs again. It’s almost like he knows that the part of me once capable of loving Sapphire the way she deserves is gone, leaving a hollow, haunted space in its wake.

How moving,the beast mocks, slithering closer to Sapphire.The Winter Prince, ready to die so you can live. But are you willing to inflict that pain on him, star touched one? Are you willing to end him to save yourself?

Every muscle in my body screams to blast him with ice, impale him with my blade, and tear him apart piece by wretched piece.

Instead, I clutch my sword so tightly that my knuckles turn bone-white, my jaw aching with the effort of holding back.

“You have to kill it, Sapphire,” I plead, my voice raw and desperate, breaking in ways I no longer care about hiding. “Do it now—fast and clean.”

She flinches, as if I struck her.

“No,” she whispers, and gods—it isn’t defiant. It’s broken. It’s a single word fractured with grief, destroying what remains of my soul.

Cetus takes the opportunity to lunge, his jaws wide, his tail whipping toward her.

At this speed, he’ll kill her instantly.

So, I leap forward, my sword slicing through the creature’s scales, icy magic erupting from the blade.

Cetus roars, the sound rattling every cell in my body. But Sapphire’s scream pierces deeper as she collapses, trembling, her hands pressed to her side, her blood seeping through her fingers.

I fall to my knees beside her, the world reduced to the crimson across my hands as I try and fail to stop the bleeding.

“Why won’t you fight?” I demand, and her eyes find mine, stormy blue and beautiful, even as the life drains from her body.

“For the same reason you won’t.” She smiles sadly, reaching up for me and tracing her finger along my cheek. It’s like she’s already accepted it, while I’m over here drowning, screaming inside my own skull.

I failed.

And she’s the one suffering for it.

Even if I tried to save her—even if I gave her my blood and forced her to drink—it wouldn’t be enough. Because as long as Cetus’s heart beats, our injuries won’t heal. Anything I give her will flow through her wounds and pour uselessly onto the cosmic sand.

“If you won’t fight, then we’ll both die here,” I choke out, cradling her face between my bloodied hands. “Because I won’t stop protecting you, Sapphire. I can’t. You know I can’t.”

So much devotion,Cetus purrs, circling us, savoring our suffering.Such willingness to sacrifice yourselves for love.

I barely hear him.

The rage is too loud. The grief is too loud. The breaking of whatever’s left of my soul is too loud.

So, I turn toward Cetus, and my magic surges, ice exploding outward in sharp, jagged spears.

“You want a sacrifice?” I snarl at him, raising my dagger. “Then fine. You’ll get your sacrifice.”

With that, I drag the blade’s tip across my forearm, cutting through flesh, through reason, and through anything left of my control.

Because if Sapphire won’t kill me… I’ll do it myself.

RIVEN

Blood wells from the cut,dripping onto the cosmic sand, dulling its sparkle where it lands.

Sapphire’s hand grabs my wrist, her eyes wide with horror.

“What are you doing?” she whispers, her fingers tightening around my arm, her nails biting into my skin.

I don’t reply. I don’t need to. Because she already knows. And the pain in her eyes—that unbearable mix of fear and accusation—is sharper than any dagger could ever be.