Page 11 of Frozen Star (Star Touched: Fae Bound #7)

I search Riven’s face, the earnestness in his eyes making my stomach twist.

He really means it. He would abandon everything—the war, the realms, the people counting on us—just to be with me.

It should be romantic. But part of me—a large part—is terrified by the sheer magnitude of it.

“To the stars,” I echo, letting the words float into the silence around us.

“Maybe Celeste could bring us to the Midnight Star.” He leans forward, his expression brightening. “We could live there forever, in a world of peace, just the two of us.”

For a second, I let the vision bloom in my mind: Riven and me, untouched by the war, happy and safe in a celestial paradise. Thanks to the vision of us in the Tides, it’s easy to imagine.

But the more vividly I picture it, the stronger the pang of loss becomes, reminding me of everything we’d leave unresolved.

Saving Zoey from the Night Court, getting to know my mother, meeting the other star touched, and the guilt of knowing I let down Celeste after she chose me over everyone else in the world.

“As beautiful as that sounds,” I say slowly, choosing my words like I’m navigating a minefield, “this world is our home. You have your father now. His sanity is restored because of everything you did to save him. And I have to rescue Zoey. I need to make sure my aunt knows I’m okay.

” I pause, a breeze stirring around us. “Plus, I just learned that Lysandra is my mother, and I haven’t even met my father yet.

As far as I’m aware, he still might not know I exist.”

Riven’s expression doesn’t change. It’s like these things I’m listing—the people I care about and the things that used to be important to him—are merely inconveniences.

“Celeste chose me to fight in this war,” I continue, my voice growing stronger, needing to get through to him. “Not to run from it. These things matter to me, Riven. They’re important.”

He blinks, and for a moment, something like the old Riven flickers across his features. It’s slight, but it’s there.

“You’re right,” he says quietly, and just like that, I can breathe again. “I got ahead of myself. I thought…” He trails off, shaking his head, frost patterns forming around his fingers as he glances out at the stream. “I don’t know what I thought.”

But even as he says the words, I feel through our bond that his heart isn’t in them. The only thing that matters to him anymore is me. Everything else—his father, his court, the fate of the realms—it’s all secondary to keeping me safe and by his side.

My chest tightens with a realization that makes me feel sick.

Because this isn’t the same man who made that deal with the dryad.

This Riven, the one sitting beside me now, would never have sacrificed his love for me to get the ingredients for the potion that saved his father’s sanity.

He wouldn’t have been able to do it, wouldn’t have even considered it an option.

As for Eros’s arrows… I’m not sure what he would have done if he was like this while we were in the arena.

Maybe tried harder to make me take the gold arrow, so we didn’t have to fight the god at all?

His love for me is so consuming that I think he’d be glad if mine turned into undying love for him, despite the warnings Eros gave us about how undying love is just as destructive as hatred.

When I fused my soul with his in the Cosmic Tides, did I save him, or did I break something essential in who he was?

“You’re upset,” he says, and it’s a fact, not a question. He can likely feel the truth of it through the bond.

“I’m fine,” I say automatically, but even I can hear how unconvincing I sound.

“You’re not.” His voice is quiet and careful, as if he’s afraid of making it worse. “Talk to me.”

I shake my head, looking away to avoid the intensity of his gaze. But I can still feel him through the bond, the worry rolling off him in waves, threatening to consume me completely.

“It’s okay to be afraid of the war.” He brushes his thumb along my cheekbone, bringing my focus back to him. “You’re allowed to feel it.”

Frustration rises in my chest, sharp and sudden. He’s completely misreading me. He’s misreading everything.

“It’s not that,” I insist, harsher than I intended. Because the pressure of his worry, the overwhelming intensity of his feelings, keeps pouring into me. It’s too much. I need space, only for a moment, to clear my head.

And so, I do what he did during our mission at the Pyros Vault. I mute the bond.

The sudden silence feels deafening.

Riven’s breathing quickens, frost racing up his arms, ice crystals blooming and shattering in rapid bursts.

“What did you do?” He reaches for me like he’s afraid I might vanish. “Open it again,” he continues, and then he swallows, and adds, “Please.”

The desperation in his voice breaks something inside me.

Because this is still my Riven. The man I love with every fiber of my being.

The one I returned to in the Cosmic Tides.

The one I fought to bring back to me. Whatever changes the soul fusing caused—whatever unhealthy intensity now drives him—he’s still mine.

And I’m still his. Nothing will ever change that.

I don’t want anything to ever change that.

I didn’t bring him back just to let the consequences of the soul fusion shut me down. I’m better than that. I’m stronger than that. This is something we can fix. Something we will fix. Together.

So, I take a shuddering breath and gather the scattered pieces of my composure. This conversation can wait. It has to wait. Tonight, we’re celebrating our alliance, and in two days, we march to war. I won’t let my fears fracture what we have when we need each other most.

Slowly, carefully, I reopen the bond.

The relief that floods through Riven is so profound it nearly knocks me off the log we’re sitting on.

He exhales heavily, like he’s been underwater for hours and is just now coming up for air. “That’s better.” He pulls me closer, pressing his forehead against mine. “Please don’t ever do that again. Don’t leave me like that.”

“I won’t,” I promise, steadying myself and reaching for his left hand. My fingers trace the scar on his palm that matches mine, carved with the Star Disc and sealed with our blood and magic. It’s a symbol of his devotion—his fierce willingness to give me everything, even his own life.

I’ll help him find himself again when this is all over.

For now, I trace eight letters onto his palm with my fingertip: I LOVE YOU.

He shudders, closing his eyes as understanding passes between us. When he opens them again, there’s something steadier there, more like the Riven I know.

He takes my hand in both of his and traces the same words onto my palm.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “I shouldn’t have?—”

“It’s all right.” He pulls me close, his arms solid and comforting around me. “I just can’t lose you, Sapphire. Not again. Not ever.”

I pull back to meet his eyes, spellbound by the love shining there.

Riven loves deeper than anyone I’ve ever met, and I’m so lucky to have him that it makes my heart feel like it’s bursting out of my chest. And this deep love of his isn’t just there because of the soul fusing.

It’s always been there. It’s a core part of who he is.

He showed me that when he told me how much he loved me before he sealed the deal with the dryad. The fusing just… intensified it.

A lot.

“I didn’t dive into your soul and bring you back from death for me to leave you now,” I finally say with a small smile.

“I suppose that leaving would be a bit counterproductive,” he murmurs, his voice lighter now, but still edged with sincerity. “Considering all the trouble you went through to bring me back.”

I laugh softly, leaning into him, savoring the reassuring strength of his arms around me. “A bit?”

His silver eyes sparkle mischievously. “Maybe more than a bit,” he concedes, pulling me even closer. “But luckily for you, I’m exceptionally skilled at rewarding you for your efforts.”

I tilt my head, meeting his gaze. “I suppose you’d better remind me again, just in case I’ve forgotten.”

“Forgotten already?” A slow, wicked smile spreads across his lips, his eyes burning into mine like silver flames. “Clearly, I’ve been neglecting my duties. Allow me to fix that immediately.”

The kiss he presses to my lips is gentle at first, tender and careful, as if he’s afraid I might disappear beneath his touch. But the moment I lean in, his fingers trail along my jaw, sliding down my neck, leaving a line of frost that blooms and melts beneath his touch.

My heart quickens, my magic rising to meet his, water and ice spiraling in shimmering patterns around us.

He pulls back just enough to speak. “Are you ready to join the Portal Stream Forest Clearing Club?” he asks with that smirk I love so much, bringing me back to our conversation in Central Park about the Mile High Club.

A laugh bursts from my lips. “I’m starting to think you’re determined to start a club everywhere we go.”

“Absolutely,” he murmurs, his voice low and teasing. “You deserve a membership to every single one of them. And I’m more than happy to provide it.”

“Well, in that case…” I spare a glance at Ghost and Nebula, who are already making their way into the woods to give us privacy. “I think it’s time for you to give me an unforgettable initiation.”

His gaze darkens with desire, and he brushes his thumb across my lower lip. “I guarantee you’ll be begging for a lifetime membership by the time we’re finished.”

His mouth captures mine immediately, and this time, there’s no slow buildup. It’s like a dam breaking, a tidal wave crashing down over both of us.

I let myself get lost in it—the taste of him, the feel of his body pressed against mine, the intoxicating blend of ice and water magic swirling around us.

We sink onto the fresh snow in the clearing, and the connection between us hums to life, bright and intense, amplified by everything we’ve been through. Every touch sends another pulse of magic through my veins, sparking a fire deep inside my core.

I tug at his shirt, eager to feel the smooth, familiar coolness of his skin beneath my fingertips.

He chuckles low in his throat, leaning back just enough to look at me. “Impatient tonight, Princess?” he teases as he pulls his shirt over his head, letting it drop to the ground beside us.

My eyes roam the perfect planes of his body, impatience firing in me even more.

“Just following your royal lead.” I let my fingers trail down his chest, tracing the frost along his skin. “I thought we had a club to join.”

“Then allow me to formally welcome you—with full honors.” His voice is rougher now, his fingers sliding beneath my shirt and peeling it away, each brush of his fingertips igniting sparks that cascade through me.

The bond thrums between us, and in this moment, I let myself stop worrying. Instead, I let myself fully feel him— my Riven. The man I chose, the man I love, the man whose soul is bound to mine in every way possible.

“I love you,” I whisper against his lips, and his love crashes over me like a tidal wave—fierce, consuming, and absolute.

“And I love you,” he murmurs, his forehead pressed against mine. “Forever, Starlight.”

With that, every lingering doubt fades away. Because tonight, there’s only Riven.

My soulmate, my prince, and the love that binds us stronger than any magic in existence.