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I think that might be what terrifies me the most.

“I will not risk your daughter’s life again,” I tell Lysandra, steel threading my voice. “I will not be forced to kill more people I’m supposed to trust.”

“Nonsense,” she says, brushing off my concerns with a wave of her hand. “In the Summer Court, our loyalties run deeper than ice. Maeris and Thalia have served me faithfully since before your father took the Winter throne. I would trust them with my life—and, more importantly, with my daughter’s.”

I narrow my eyes at her, frost forming beneath my boots.

“My guards were equally as respected,” I counter, my voice hardening as ice spreads further across the floor. “Some had served the Winter Court for centuries. And still, they turned. I had to look into their frozen eyes as I killed them one by one. I had to hear their bodies hit the ground. I had to build the pyre that devoured them whole.”

Each word burns Calder and the rest of them to ash all over again.

“You think I don’t understand betrayal?” Lysandra’s laugh is cold, at odds with the warmth of the Summer Court. “I am a queen, Prince Riven. Your decades of life are but a flicker compared to the millennia I’ve endured.”

Sapphire steps forward, water swirling around her, commanding the room with quiet power.

“Riven isn’t questioning your judgment. He’s simply concerned about my safety.” She squeezes my hand, and the bond surges between us—warm, aching, and full of everything I’m trying to contain.

That’s when I feel it again. The edge of something sharp in me, something growing. Something my father once carried. A willingness to kill, to destroy, and to let the world freeze over if it means she lives.

This isn’t destruction by sacrifice anymore. It’s destruction byannihilation.

Because I no longer want to die for her. I want tolivefor her. Mercilessly, violently, and without remorse.

“I’m also concerned for your safety,” Lysandrareplies, softening slightly, seemingly unaware of the silent war I’m fighting within myself. “Which is why Maeris and Thalia will accompany you. The journey to the Pyros Vault is perilous, even with your combined magic, and their presence is non-negotiable.”

I clench my jaw. Because I know how this works. Which battles are worth the bloodshed.

“Then I want a binding oath,” I say. “A magically enforced vow of loyalty—tobothof us. Especially to her.”

My hand tightens around Sapphire’s, and the Compass pulses in my pocket, as if agreeing with my words.

Because no one will ever touch my Starlight again.

Not unless they want to bleed for it.

RIVEN

Lysandra’s eyes narrow.“You dare question the loyalty of my warriors?”

“I dare to protect mywife,”I reply, my voice as cold as the frost spreading across the floor.

Through the bond, I feel Sapphire’s anxiety spike, her magic brushing against mine in gentle, rhythmic waves. She’s urging caution. Reminding me that not every threat needs to be met with a blade.

Reminding me that I’m not like the father who raised me.

Still… what if I’m more like him than I care to admit? Because I’ve killed for Sapphire before, without hesitation. But this was different. Istopped time. I made a choice to not disarm or defend, but to execute my knights while they were frozen, stuck in the moment before their blades could reach her.

I robbed them of the chance to fight back. Not because I had to, but because I wouldn’t risk her for a fair fight.

And I don’t know what’s worse—the slaughter itself, or the fact that I don’t regret it. That it makes me feel more powerful than ever, and that I wouldn’t hesitate before doing it again.

“Riven’s concern is valid after what we experienced,” Sapphire’s voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts, measured and diplomatic.Court-perfect.As if she was born for this—which, given her parentage, she was. “If Maeris and Thalia are as loyal as you claim, a binding oath should be no issue for them.”

My ice retracts, curling back into me. Not because I’m any less haunted, but because I can’t look away from her. From how flawlessly she’s adapted to our courts, and how quickly she’s learned to speak our language.

Soul-fused or not, I’ll never be able to express how deep my love for her runs.

But I feel it now, sharper than before. And maybe that’s the problem. Because I’m hers. Fully and completely. And with me, she’ll always be safe.Always.Even if it destroys me. Especially if it does.