Page 17 of Frozen Star (Star Touched: Fae Bound #7)

The battlefield is a storm of clashing magic, searing screams, and blades clanging against armor.

Nebula moves with graceful, lethal speed, her spotted coat glistening in the morning sky. Riven is alongside Ghost, his sword carving deadly paths through the night fae guards.

The Winter Court’s army surges forward, a disciplined wave of steel and frost, easily overwhelming the Night Court’s smaller force.

Night fae glide down from above, wings spread wide, but their movements are sluggish, weakened by sunlight.

They’re too soft and accustomed to a life of luxury and shadows.

Their air magic ripples in windy waves, but our weapons pulse with the combined power of winter and summer, tearing through their defenses like paper.

“Above!” Riven calls out, his voice clear and fierce as his sword slices through two night fae so quickly that it looks like he killed them at the same moment.

The Star Disc’s power surges through my fingertips, and I release it into the sky. It spins, leaving trails of stardust, a meteor of lethal grace that cuts through four night fae attempting to swoop toward us, their bodies falling to the ground as the starfire burns their hearts.

But there’s no time to celebrate before another group dives from above, their wings spread wide, the wind swirling in defiant bursts.

My grip on the Star Disc tightens, my magic pulsing with determination. “Come on,” I whisper to the weapon, throwing it again.

It arcs beautifully, its starlight searing through the attackers before returning to my hand.

Beside me, Riven is merciless, his ice magic spreading like frostfire. His eyes are cold, his expression ruthless with each swing of his sword, a Winter Prince exacting vengeance against his enemies that have been abducting his people and turning them into night fae against their will.

He casts a glance my way, his eyes sharp with calculated fury. “They can’t hold against our combined strength.”

“Good,” I say, my voice tight with determination. Because Zoey’s so close, and I’m not going to let her slip out of my fingers again. I’ve come too far and survived too much to fail her now.

Two more attackers dive from above, and the Disc flies from my hand again, slicing through the air with a sound like singing metal and cutting them each in half.

Water surges through me, responding to the adrenaline flooding my system as the Star Disc returns to my hand.

I can feel drops of blood on the battlefield.

I can sense the moisture in the air. I can even feel the sweat beading on Riven’s forehead as he cuts down four more night fae.

Ghost roars beside Riven, his claws raking across a night fae who tried to hamstring him.

We’re not just beating them.

We’re destroying them. With the Winter Court and Summer Court’s magic combined, plus my Star Disc, and the fact that we’re attacking in the daylight when the night fae are weakened by the sun, we’re unstoppable.

“Retreat!” someone bellows from their ranks. “Fall back to the village!”

A small faction of night fae breaks away, scrambling toward the safety of their homes.

But Riven lifts his sword high, frost shooting from his blade to block their path. In seconds, a wall of ice erupts from the ground, cutting them off and trapping them in the open, where Winter Court soldiers close in around them and effortlessly take them down.

“More incoming!” someone yells from our lines.

That’s when I see them.

A massive wave of night fae bursts from the court’s main gates.

These aren’t the scattered, disorganized fighters we’ve been cutting down. Instead, they’re a proper military formation. Hundreds of them, their wings snapping open as they take to the air with coordinated precision.

Fear hits me like ice water in my veins, sudden and paralyzing. Through our bond, I feel Riven’s matching terror. Not for himself, but for me. For us.

“Sapphire.” His voice is tight with control, but I can hear the edge of panic underneath. “Stay close to me.”

Our shoulders are touching as the night fae army descends like a storm cloud, creating vortices of wind that send our soldiers stumbling back. Water and ice explode around me, condensing from the air into spears of ice that hover around Riven, Ghost, Nebula, and me like a defensive barrier.

But even as my and Riven’s power responds to protect us, we’re outnumbered.

Riven’s eyes lock on mine, silver flashing through the swirl of frost and magic. “No matter what happens next,” he says, his voice steady despite the chaos around us, “I need you to know how much I love you.”

His words hit me like lightning, and our bond flares so bright it’s almost blinding. I can feel him everywhere—in my blood, in my magic, and in the core of my soul. The connection between us pulses with such raw power that the chaos of the battlefield fades away completely.

“Riven—”

“I won’t let them hurt you,” he cuts me off, reaching into his armor and pulling out the Stillpoint Compass, its metal glinting in the sunlight. “I won’t let anything hurt you. Ever.”

“The compass only works once per moon cycle,” I say as I slice through another group of approaching night fae with the Star Disc. “If you use it now, that’s it. We won’t have any more chances.”

“Look around, Sapphire,” he snaps, blasting a group of night fae with scalding hot water he created with his summer and air magic. “If this isn’t the right time to use the compass, then I don’t know what is.”

A quick scan of the surrounding chaos confirms he’s right. The night fae are taking down Winter Court soldiers from all angles. If we keep losing numbers this quickly, our odds are going to be way worse than what we anticipated in our battle strategy sessions.

“Do it,” I tell him, and his eyes darken as he twists the compass in his palm.

The world freezes.

The diving night fae are caught with wings spread, weapons raised, mouths open in silent war cries.

Our own soldiers are locked in time, some mid-swing, others preparing to defend against attacks that will never come.

Even the wind stops moving, leaving the battlefield eerily quiet except for the sound of our breathing and the soft padding of Ghost and Nebula’s paws against the snowy, blood-stained ground.

Riven stares out at the frozen battlefield, his expression blank, his eyes hollow.

“Listen carefully.” He pockets the compass and raises his sword, ice spreading along its blade. “I’ve been improving with the compass each time I use it, so we have about forty-five minutes before time resumes. In that time, we’ll kill them while they can’t fight back. All of them.”

My stomach churns at the thought, but I force myself to nod.

Because this is war. This is survival. Killing them while they’re frozen isn’t any worse than doing it while they’re attacking.

It’s probably better, since we can ensure their deaths are swift and merciful, like when Riven sacrificed the pig on Circe’s island.

If we hit the soldiers in the right spots while time is frozen, they won’t feel any pain.

Besides, somewhere in that palace, Zoey needs us to win.

I refuse to let her down.

“I’ll take the ones closest to us and spread out on the ground,” Riven continues without waiting for me to respond, already moving to the night fae nearest our position.

“You’ll use the Star Disc on the ones in midair.

Then project yourself to the far edges of the battlefield so we can quickly and efficiently cover as much ground as possible.

Keep snapping back to your body and projecting to different locations until it’s finished. ”

He gestures to Ghost and Nebula, who are prowling around us, the only other living things in this frozen world. “They’ll handle the middle distance. Between all of us, we can eliminate their forces with time to spare.”

The casual way he says it— eliminate —sends ice through my veins.

The scariest part? I understand completely. Because if this is what it takes to save Zoey, then I want it, too.

“All right.” I grip the Star Disc so tightly my knuckles turn white. “Let’s finish this.”

Instead of starting, he moves closer to me, grips the back of my neck, pulls me to him, and kisses me in a way that makes me feel like time has frozen around us more than it already has.

“I love you more than anything in this world,” he says after pulling away, his voice rough, his eyes pleading for me to see him beneath the ruthless winter warrior. “Everything I do—every enemy I strike down—is for you. Without you, I’m nothing.”

His eyes blaze with so much intensity it takes my breath away.

Reaching up, I cup his face between my hands, my heart aching at the fear in his gaze. “I love you, too,” I whisper back. “We’ll get through this together. We always do.”

For a fraction of a second, he looks lost—like a man desperate to hold onto something he’s afraid is slipping through his fingers. Then he blinks, rebuilding his expression into something steady again.

“We’ll meet back here soon,” he says quietly, and with one last longing look between us, we part.

He launches himself forward, his sword slicing through the frozen ranks of night fae with merciless precision. He doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t slow down. Each strike is fast and efficient.

But I can’t just stand here and watch my beautifully lethal Winter Prince destroy everything in his path.

So, I focus on the farthest part of the battlefield I can see, grip the Star Disc tighter, and project.