Page 35 of Frozen Star (Star Touched: Fae Bound #7)

With Zoey and Aerix gone, my gaze falls to the battlefield below, my breath catching at what I see.

Bodies of night fae litter the ground like fallen leaves after a storm, their wings spread in final, desperate gestures of flight.

Blood stains the snow in patterns of crimson and black.

Further beyond are the ones Riven and I killed while time was frozen.

Their bodies are arranged differently—no signs of struggle, and no defensive wounds.

Just clean, efficient deaths from a prince and princess who became ruthless executioners when the world couldn’t touch them.

As I stare out at the devastation, the enormity of what we’ve lost crashes over me like a tsunami.

Zoey’s gone, carrying an impossible child, bound to a man who’s our enemy. Riven’s lost family he didn’t know existed until it was too late.

The wind rushes around us, cold and unforgiving, tugging at my hair and clothes as if it’s trying to pull me apart. The sky above us is too bright and open, an expanse of blue that feels like mockery after the darkness we’ve endured.

But then Riven’s hand finds mine. His left hand, the one bearing the scar I carved into his skin in the Cosmic Tides.

We press our palms together, frost and water crawling down our arms when the marks align, our souls bound as one.

A heartbeat later, he pulls me to him, his lips crashing onto mine, and we’re claiming each other as if we might break apart at any second.

Water spirals up from the ground in a vortex that envelops us both.

Ice crackles up Riven’s arms, spreading across his shoulders and down his back.

And from the moat below, a crimson mist rises, swirling upward in a dance of blood and magic.

Riven’s hands move through my hair and fall to my waist, gripping me tighter as if he fears I’ll vanish.

“If you hadn’t been with me down there, I would have lost myself completely,” he says, shaking from the intensity of everything he’s trying to process and control.

“Your voice, your magic, and your soul anchored me when my world was being torn apart. Because you’re the only thing that makes me feel real anymore.

You’re the only thing that makes me whole. ”

There’s something in his expression that twists my heart. A vulnerability that goes beyond mere emotion.

“Riven—”

“No, listen to me. What you said at the stream was right. The soul bond is tethering me to you, and I’m losing my grip on who I am.

” He takes a shuddering breath, frost spreading from his fingertips where they touch my skin.

“You’re in every thought, every heartbeat, and every breath I take.

I don’t know if there’s anything left of me beneath my love for you, and I don’t want to be just a reflection of your light.

I want to be something real. Something whole. ”

The water floating around us falters as my heart clenches, guilt flooding me like ice. Because the way he’s been unraveling… it’s my fault. It wasn’t on purpose, but it’s my fault, all the same.

“I never meant for this to happen,” I tell him, tears forming in my eyes with each word I speak. “I didn’t mean to become your reason for existing. I just wanted—no, I needed —to bring you back to me. I didn’t want to live without you just as much as you didn’t want to live without me.”

“And I love you for it.” He cups my face, his thumbs brushing my cheeks with a tenderness that makes my chest ache.

“But how do we fix this? I can’t lose you, Sapphire…

but I can’t lose myself, either. And I don’t know if or when I’ll get my grip on reality back again after we leave this rooftop.

I don’t know if it will all fade away, and all I’ll want is to run to the Midnight Star with you and forget the rest of the world exists.

Because that’s not who I am. You know that’s not who I am.

And it’s not the type of person I want to become, either. ”

I reach up to trace the line of his jaw, feeling the magic that hums beneath his skin. “The bond didn’t just save you. It rewrote you,” I realize, another soul-crushing wave of guilt hitting me so intensely I can barely breathe.

“I’m grateful for what you did. I love you for what you did, and I’ll always choose you. But this…” He gestures at himself, at everything he’s become. “It isn’t a choice anymore. It’s compulsion. It’s obsession. And in the rare times I’m able to think clearly… it scares me.”

His expression breaks, and I know the admission cost him.

“I’m scared for you, too,” I tell him, and just saying the words feels like a weight lifted from my chest. “But we can fix this. I’m going to help you find yourself again, no matter what it takes.”

His hand tightens around mine, ice spreading in delicate patterns from our joined palms. “How do we fix something we barely understand? And if we do fix it, what if…” He swallows, as if whatever he’s about to say hurts so much he can’t bring himself to continue.

“What if whatever’s left of me isn’t enough for you anymore? ”

The question hangs between us, heavier than all the ice and water swirling around our bodies combined.

“Listen to me.” I grip his hands tighter, as if I can anchor him to reality through sheer determination alone.

Which, to be fair, I’ve done a few times already.

“I didn’t fall in love with you because of magic, fate, or soul bonds.

I fell in love with the Winter Prince who challenged me at every turn.

Who pushed me to the brink and made me fight for everything I earned.

Who taught me how to use my magic to protect myself.

Who made me furious, who made me strong, and who made me fight for myself even when I wanted to surrender.

Who believed I could project myself through outer space.

Who looked at me and saw more than a tool or a weapon or a means to an end, even though it took you long enough to admit it. ”

Recognition crosses his face, like he’s remembering who he was before all this, and I cling to that spark of hope with every fiber of my being.

“That Riven is still in there.” I press my palm against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart beneath my fingers.

“The one who made his own choices. The one who risked everything to restore his father’s sanity.

The one who loved me with his own free will, before jealous dryads, vengeful gods, and the universe itself tried to rip us apart. ”

“But what if he’s not?” His voice drops, ice crackling around us as his control starts to slip again. “What if the only thing inside me is you, and without you, there’s nothing?”

“Then we’ll find you together,” I promise fiercely enough to leave no room for doubt.

“Just like how I shattered every wall your father built around your heart. Just like how you chased me into the Wandering Wilds and refused to let me run from who I truly am. No matter what happens, I’ll be here.

Not as your other half or your soul’s tether, but as the woman who loves you, chooses you, and fights for you. ”

His hands frame my face, his thumbs brushing over my cheekbones with an aching tenderness that makes my heart race.

“And I’ll still choose you,” he promises me. “Bond or no bond, you’re my compass, and I will always choose you.”

“I know,” I say softly. “That’s why we have to fix this. Because what we have should be a choice, not a compulsion. It should strengthen us, not consume us. And I refuse to settle for anything less.”

He draws me into him, and I bury my face against his chest, his racing heartbeat matching mine. This is Riven— my Riven. The one I’m going to fight like hell to bring back, no matter what it costs.

But before either of us can say more, a familiar tug of magic pulses through the air—the Star Disc spinning back to me. It lands in my palm with a satisfying weight, warm and vibrant against my skin, as if it’s been energized by its journey.

They’re safe, it seems to tell me. Zoey and Aerix made it past the border.

Relief that they’re okay, along with grief for the friendship I lost, rushes through me at the same time. And as I trace the sapphire inlaid on the center of the Disc, an idea begins to form. It’s dangerous and maybe impossible, but it’s an idea, nonetheless.

“Care to share?” Riven asks, gazing down at me as if he can see the wheels turning in my mind.

“I have an idea about how we can fix this.” I tighten my grip around the Star Disc, my pulse steadying with newfound determination. “And it starts with the god who tried to control our love in the first place.”