Page 30 of Frozen Star (Star Touched: Fae Bound #7)

Relief washes over me, mingling with desperation, each breath hitching in my throat as I fight to keep him here, with me, where he belongs.

O

The wildness in his eyes recedes, replaced by something softer, something achingly familiar.

My heart clenches at the sight of the man I love emerging from the storm, making me want to cry with relief, but I have to keep going. I’ve gotten this far, and I won’t lose him now.

V

His breathing changes, becoming less erratic. Icy wind still rushes around us, but now, it’s different. Less chaotic and more contained, swirling in tight circles like it’s searching for an anchor.

My own magic surges forward to meet his, water intertwining with ice, trying to hold him steady, afraid he’ll slip away again if I make one wrong move.

E

His breath catches, his eyes squeezing shut as if he’s trying to hold himself together, as if the mere act of staying present is too much. The wind picks up, the temperature plunging so much that a chill settles deep in my bones.

“No,” I whisper fiercely, refusing to let him retreat. I can’t bear the thought of his gaze turning distant again, of never seeing recognition and love in those silver eyes that I know better than my own. “Look at me, Riven. See me. Stay with me.”

His eyes snap open, wide and haunted, but clearer. More him.

“Sapphire…” His voice cracks, edged with a desperation that tears at my heart. His fingers curl slightly against mine, not yet gripping, but not pulling away, either.

Slowly, carefully, I draw the last letters onto his palm.

YOU

A tear slides down his cheek, crystallizing into a perfect diamond of ice before it falls. His magic settles around us, no longer violent, but protective, curling around my water shield in layers of delicate frost.

“I love you,” I say aloud, reinforcing the message I traced on his skin. “I’m not going anywhere, and I’m sure as hell not letting you go anywhere. Everything we’ve been through these past few months should have already taught you that.”

He looks at our joined hands, his eyes glistening, steadying his breathing. Then he lifts his gaze to mine, and I see him—my Riven—staring back at me.

I barely have time to process everything before he drops his sword and pulls me into his arms, burying his face in my hair as his body trembles against mine.

He’s holding me like he’s terrified to let go, like he’s clinging to the last shred of reality and I’m the only thing stopping him from falling off the edge.

“Don’t let me become him,” he says, the words torn from somewhere deep and vulnerable inside his soul.

My heart breaks at the fear in his voice.

He’s terrified of the darkness living in his blood.

The madness that claimed his father, possibly his brother, and is trying to claim him, too.

I feel his fear like it’s my own, and it tears through me, lighting every nerve on fire, needing to shield him from the ghosts that haunt him.

I hold him tighter, one hand cradling the back of his head while the other maintains our protective elemental bubble.

“You won’t become them,” I promise. “Because you’re not like either of them.

You love more deeply than they’ll ever know.

Plus, you have me, now and always. We’ve survived battles, broken curses, and conquered death itself.

I’ll never let anything take you away from me.

Because I love you, Riven Draevor, and I won’t let you face this alone. ”

For a moment, it’s just us, the world beyond our bubble fading away as we cling to each other in the eye of the storm. His heartbeat steadies, syncing with mine as his magic settles, no longer fighting my shield but merging with it, strengthening it.

Finally, he pulls back, reaches for my hand, and traces those same eight letters onto my palm.

Electricity surges through my body with every stroke, like he’s branding the words onto my soul.

“I thought I lost you,” I say when he finishes tracing the last letter on my skin, although he keeps his finger there and rubs small circles across my palm, as if he can’t believe I’m here with him. “For a moment, you were gone.”

“I was,” he admits. “But you brought me back. You always bring me back. I love you so much it hurts.”

“I love you, too.” I study his eyes, now returned to their familiar silver, feeling like I could lose myself in them forever. “Always.”

He cups my face between his trembling hands, his thumbs brushing my cheeks, wiping away tears I didn’t realize were falling.

“You’re my Starlight. My salvation. My everything,” he says, and then his mouth crashes against mine in a soul-deep kiss that pulls every ounce of his fear and my determination into the bond between us.

It’s like he’s trying to carve himself into me, to merge our souls again, this time by choice instead of necessity.

Our magic twines together, ice and water and air dancing in harmony as the bond solidifies, stronger than ever. And for one perfect moment, there’s only me and Riven, together and unbreakable, in a world of our own making.

Then, a pained cry echoes through the room, and reality crashes back down at full force.

I spin around, my heart jolting when I see that Zoey is no longer sprawled on the floor.

Instead, Aerix has her in his arms. Her blood trails from the wound on her thigh, a stark crimson against her pale skin, her arms looped around his neck as he carries her in a rush up the stairs that lead to the rooftop.