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SAPPHIRE

She—theother me, the one from the vision—stands above Zoey and Riven’s broken bodies, dagger raised and ready. Blood’s splattered on her dress, and her eyes are hollow. Empty. No remorse in sight.

They’re my eyes—sapphire blue—but at the same time, they’re not.

Because they’re also the eyes of a cold-blooded killer.

Her expression is a mask of perfect calm. As if killing the people I love most in the world is nothing more than crushing an insect beneath her boot.

She reaches into the darkness and pulls out a torch, flames licking at the air. And from the way she stares down at Riven and Zoey’s bodies, the fire casting shadows across her face…

No,I try to scream, but the word claws at my throat, refusing to break through.

I try again.

Still, nothing.

All I can do is watch as this version of me smiles.

It’s not cruel—cruelty I could hate.

It’sknowing.Satisfied. Like this was always the plan.

“No,” I mouth again, the word silent and useless.

My chest tightens as panic, fury, and desperation swirl inside me, like an avalanche of sound trapped beneath skin and bone. But still, my voice betrays me. My feet won’t move. I claw at the invisible force holding me back—tearing at the magic, or the fear, or whatever the hell else is paralyzing me—but it doesn’t budge.

“Do you see now?” she asks, her voice soft and melodic, blending into the hiss and snap of the flames. “This is what we’re capable of. This is what we become. This is the power we’ll have.”

The torch leaves her hand, arcing through the air in slow motion, like a comet trailing destruction.

It hits Riven’s chest first, swallowing his body in an instant.

Then it spreads to Zoey.

I can’t move. I can’t scream. I can’t even cry. It’s like I’m drowning, my chest burning more and more with every passing second, and then?—

A sharp breath tears through my lungs as I’m jolted awake, my heart pounding, my body shaking.

Beside me, Riven sleeps soundly.

He looks younger in sleep, the razor-sharp edges of the Winter Prince softened by vulnerability. And as I gather myself together, I brush a strand of midnight hair from his forehead.

He’s here,I tell myself.Alive. It was only a dream.

Ithasto only be a dream. Because I would never take him from the world. I don’t care what that twisted version of my future self says. I couldn’t become her. I justcouldn’t.

But as much as I want to hear Riven’s voice telling me that it’s okay—that he’s here, and he’llalwaysbe here—I won’t wake him. Not when he’s finally found peace in sleep.

He’s been sleeping deeper since we gave his father the potion. Like he’s finally let himself stop waiting for disaster to strike.

I envy him in that peace. But after that dream… I don’t want to go back to sleep. I don’t want to be pulled into that nightmare all over again.

So, I slip out of bed, pulling a robe tight around me, and quietly step onto the balcony.

The cold hits me immediately.

It’s not uncomfortable. Not anymore, with the ice that’s been running through my veins since my soul fused with Riven’s. Now, his winter magic runs alongsidemine, turning what should be discomfort into something almost... pleasant.