Page 14 of Frozen Star (Star Touched: Fae Bound #7)

Four days later, I’m sitting with my oil paints, bringing the fruit displayed on the table to life on the canvas before me.

Was it Monet or Manet who painted fruits like this? Maybe both? I don’t remember. But with my vampire vision and coordination, the painting comes together in a way none of mine did when I was human. Every brush stroke is more precise, the entire scene layered and alive.

No wonder Aerix felt so compelled to improve the painting I worked on of the fountain in the courtyard all those weeks ago.

But my focus keeps drifting. Because in two days, I’ll be free. My isolation period in the tower will be complete, and I’ll be welcomed into the Night Court as Aerix’s vampire consort.

Except… I still won’t be one of them. Not with this baby growing in my stomach. I’ll be a freak of nature. One that shouldn’t exist.

As far as I’m aware, Aerix has told no one. But there’s going to be a point where we can’t hide it anymore. And then what will happen?

I don’t know. Part of me wonders if he doesn’t, either.

Restless, I move my hand to my stomach. Every night when I wake, I half-expect to discover it was all a nightmare—that Dr. Lennox never came in here and delivered news that defied every natural law.

But then the nausea hits, or I catch sight of one of the dozens of new gifts Aerix has showered me with since we received the news, and reality crashes back with the weight of a thousand questions.

Aerix is ecstatic. When he looks at me, his eyes are full of so much wonder that I haven’t had the heart to tell him how scared I am. How his joy only deepens the dread twisting inside me. How every gift feels like a weight on my chest instead of something that brings me happiness.

There are so many gifts that the room looks like a dragon’s hoarding den now.

Silk gowns in every shade imaginable hang from hooks along the walls.

Jewelry boxes overflow with diamonds and rubies that catch the candlelight.

Books, art supplies, musical instruments—anything he thinks might please me has found its way here.

He even had a recorder made for me after hearing how much I struggled with the flute-like instrument in elementary school music class.

I can’t look around without feeling suffocated, without questions barreling through my mind so quickly that I can barely make sense of them.

What’s growing inside me?

Will it kill me in the process?

What will it become?

How can I voice these terrors to the man who looks at me like I’ve given him the moon and stars?

A soft knock on the door makes me frown. Aerix left hours ago, and the rest of the Night Court should be settling into sleep by now.

Maybe it’s a servant bringing more gifts? Although, they normally come with Aerix. Or maybe Aerix is bringing Dr. Lennox back for another secret checkup?

“Come in,” I call, not bothering to move from the window.

The door opens, and I find myself face to face with… Princess Cierra. She looks as coldly beautiful as always, her dark hair gleaming in the dawn light, her midnight eyes fixed on me with an intensity that makes my skin crawl.

I back up to the wall, flashing back to the moment in Aerix’s quarters when she pounced on me, wrapped her fingers around my neck, and nearly choked me to death.

I’d only been human then, so I had no shot against her.

If she attacks now, maybe I’ll have a chance, although she’s a much more experienced fighter, so I doubt anyone would place their bets on me.

Hoping to be subtle, I glance at the desk where I keep my dagger. Maybe I can stealthily make my way over to it without her realizing what I’m doing?

Although, the way she’s looking at me now is different from the fury in her eyes before she tried to kill me. There’s a bitter satisfaction in her expression that sets every instinct of mine on high alert.

I need to get myself together. I’m a vampire now—not a human pet for her to toss around. If I want to be treated like one of them, I need to act like I’m one of them.

So, I straighten, square my shoulders, and hold my gaze steady with hers.

“Princess Cierra,” I say carefully. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I’m sure you weren’t.” Her smile is sharp as a blade. “But I thought it was time you and I had a little chat. A heart to heart, if I may.”

I narrow my eyes at her, somehow even more suspicious than before. Because there’s absolutely no way that Princess Cierra came here to have a gossip session over a pint of champagne-spiked blood.

“I’m not supposed to see anyone except Aerix and Laura until my isolation ends,” I remind her, taking a step toward the desk, hoping to give myself a shot at getting that dagger.

Cierra laughs, cold and mirthless. “Oh, sweet baby vampire. Those rules hardly matter now.”

My hand instinctively drifts to my stomach at the word baby. “What do you mean?”

Does she know? Is that why she’s here? And if she does know, how does she know? Wouldn’t Aerix have let me know if he told anyone? Or maybe the doctor broke her word, and now everyone knows because of her?

If that’s what happened, I’m sure Aerix has killed her by now.

Cierra’s eyes glitter with malicious delight. “The wards around the Night Court have been broken. As we speak, our enemies are pouring through our defenses. We’re all going to die soon, so before we meet our ends, I thought you might want to know the truth about the prince who sired you.”

My blood turns to ice. “The wards have held for centuries,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady, despite my hammering heart. “They can’t just break.”

She shrugs. “All good things come to an end.”

Me, I realize, my stomach dropping, the floor swaying under my feet. I must be the “good thing” she thinks is coming to an end.

From her twisted grin, she seems to be getting a sick sort of pleasure from trying to scare me. That’s what she’s trying to do, right? Scare me? The Night Court has kept their existence secret for centuries, and from what I’ve heard, the wards are unbreakable.

“Are you here to toy with me?” I ask, since the more I delay her with questions, the more time I’ll have to get my dagger. “To get me to jump off the tower so I fail the test?”

Or worse… to push me? It would be against the rules, but she’s royal. If anyone could get away with some murderous rule breaking, it’s her.

Then again, Aerix would kill her if he found out. And even though I don’t know much about her, I doubt that Cierra—or anyone, for that matter—would be dumb enough to purposefully incur Aerix’s wrath.

“I’m telling you the truth,” Cierra purrs, stepping further into the room. “And since we’re all about to die anyway, I thought you should know what kind of monster you’ve been worshipping. What kind of creature you’ve been sharing a bed with.”

I stand straighter, meeting her gaze without flinching, although I’m sure the breeze stirring around me is giving away my unease. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re living in a delusion, Zoey,” she says.

“One I know all too well. Because back when Aerix and I lived in a small village on the outskirts of the Winter Court, I thought that when he and I were in the Night Court together, he’d see what was in front of him the entire time. That he’d finally see me.”

“You had Aerix turned into a night fae against his will.” I hold her stare without flinching. “I already know the story. He told me weeks ago.”

She smiles again—a cold, bitter twist of her lips. “I suppose Aerix told you just enough to seem truthful. But while he was confessing those little truths of his, did he tell you why he was at that waterfall on the day he found you?”

My stomach knots, memories of that day flashing through my mind. Aerix’s powerful silhouette, his wings spread wide, descending like a dark god as he pulled me from the cold water and saved my life.

“It was a coincidence?—”

“Think,” she interrupts, frost gathering around her feet. “Really think. Do you honestly believe that Aerix, Prince of the Night Court, stumbled upon you and your friends by coincidence? That the waterfall was an accidental meeting place?”

My pulse quickens, dread seeping through my veins. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” she continues, slowly and deliberately, “that Aerix had been watching you for days. You see, my brother doesn’t do coincidences. He chooses his targets carefully. From the moment he saw you, he became fixated. Not because of you, but because of them. The ones you were traveling with.”

“No.” I shake my head, confused about where she’s coming up with this. “He saved me because I look like Kallista. Because I reminded him of her. You even admitted to seeing the resemblance yourself.”

“And you believed that pretty little story?” She moves closer, and I step away, my back hitting the wall beside the window.

“You think a resemblance to a childhood crush from centuries ago is enough to drive a man like Aerix to stalk you through the woods? To risk everything to claim you against the king?”

“Yes, I do.” I hold my head up high, unwilling to budge. “And if you’re trying to upset me to the point where I’ll jump off the tower, it’s not going to work. Because I love him, and he loves me, and nothing will ever change that.”

“Your fake little fairytale love story doesn’t even matter, because we’re all going to die.

” Cierra laughs in a startlingly unhinged way and crosses the distance between us, grabbing my chin and forcing my gaze up to hers.

Her touch is cold, her long nails biting into my skin.

“But I wanted you to die knowing the truth.”

“And what truth is that?”

“It’s about family,” she murmurs, frost crawling up her fingers to my chin. “Real family. Bloodlines stronger than obsession and deeper than?—”

The door opens with so much force that it cracks the stone wall.

Aerix stands in the doorway, his midnight eyes blazing with a fury I’ve never seen before. His wings are fully extended, casting shadows across the entire room, and frost erupts from where his feet touch the floor.

“Get your hands off her,” he snarls, his voice so low and dangerous that the air vibrates with his anger.

Cierra’s grip on my chin tightens before she releases me, turning to face Aerix. “Hello, Brother,” she says with a bitter smile. “There’s no need to get riled up. I was just having a sisterly chat with your little pet.”

“I said get away from her.”

In one fluid motion, he crosses the room and grabs Cierra by the throat, lifting her effortlessly off the ground. Her feet dangle as he slams her against the wall, his fingers tightening around her neck with crushing supernatural force.

“You know the rules, Cierra,” he says, his voice deadly quiet. “No one touches what’s mine.”

“Aerix,” she gasps, struggling for breath. “I’m your sister. Your family.”

His grip tightens, and she wheezes in pain, her eyes bulging in terror.

“Family?” he repeats, leaning in until his face is an inch from hers. “You might be family in name, Cierra, but you have never been family by blood.”

Her eyes narrow, hatred mingling with fear as she stares into Aerix’s unforgiving gaze. “That’s all you’ve ever wanted, isn’t it, Aerix? Family by blood. Even if that family rejected you.”

A low, dangerous growl rumbles deep in his chest, his expression going frighteningly blank, a veil of ice dropping over his eyes.

“Aerix,” I say softly, stepping forward, my heart pounding.

But before I can continue, he twists his hand, snapping Cierra’s neck in a single, swift movement and driving his dagger through her heart.