Page 37 of Frozen Star (Star Touched: Fae Bound #7)

Riven and I turn to Ghost and Nebula, who wait patiently behind us, their intelligent eyes watching our every move.

“Stay close to the entrance,” Riven tells them. “Make sure no one else comes through.”

The familiars settle into position as we step through the archway. And the moment we cross the threshold, the air shifts, like we’ve entered a place that exists outside time and space.

An endless garden of breathtaking beauty stretches before us.

Flowering trees form arches over endlessly winding paths.

Fountains of crystal-clear water catch the sunlight, casting rainbows across carefully tended flower beds.

Everywhere I look, there’s magic—subtle and ancient, woven into every leaf and stone.

But what draws my attention are the statues. They stand throughout the garden, hundreds of them, perhaps thousands.

Each one depicts a pair of lovers.

“They look…” Riven starts quietly, his voice tightening.

“Ruined.” I step closer to the first statue, unable to avert my gaze.

A woman stands with a hand pressed against the chest of a man who leans desperately toward her. Her expression is pure fury, carved with ruthless precision, her eyes cold and hard. His face is twisted in anguish, hopeless longing etched into stone.

I swallow hard, memories surfacing too vividly. Riven and me, and the pain I’m sure was splashed over my face every time he touched me while I was affected by the lead arrow.

Unable to look for a moment longer, I tear my gaze away from the statue.

My attention falls to another a few feet away, where a man kneels, his hands wrapped around the waist of a woman turning her back on him.

He clings to her like she’s the only anchor in a storm, his expression shattered, helplessly obsessed.

Riven follows my gaze, his jaw tight. “It feels like looking in a mirror,” he murmurs. “One that shows every twisted possibility of what love can become.”

“Of every way we almost destroyed each other,” I say, reaching for his hand.

He pulls me close, and we move through the haunting statues together, each pair another portrait of love turned to ruin.

Couples frozen mid-argument, mid-scream, and mid-heartbreak.

A woman with her back turned to a man who reaches for her, his eyes full of pain.

Another of two lovers holding each other tightly, although their expressions are bitter, as if each is blaming the other for their misery.

I stop at the next one, my heart feeling like it’s been pulled out of my chest. Because this statue is a woman kneeling over a man who’s dying in her arms. Her face is contorted with such anguish that I have to look away.

“It reminds me of us,” I say as Riven pulls me close, grounding me. “In the Tides, when you...”

I can’t finish the sentence. The memory of Riven’s lifeless body in my arms, drained of blood because he gave it all to me, is suddenly too fresh for me to speak it out loud.

His eyes lock onto mine, full of burning resolve. “When I think of that moment, I remember what it felt like to slip away from you. And it terrifies me, because I don’t ever want to leave your side again. Not even for an instant.”

I reach up, framing his face with my hands, my thumbs brushing over the frost-kissed angles of his jaw.

“That’s all in the past,” I tell him, fighting with everything I have to ground myself.

“We’re here because we’re fighting for our future.

And these statues around us… we’re not going to become them. Ever. I won’t allow it.”

“Always so stubborn, Starlight.” He gives me a small, sad smile, as if he doesn’t know when—or if—he’ll see me clearly again.

“I learned from the best.” I pull him closer, holding his gaze, my determination tightening as I stare into his haunted eyes. “Now, come on, Winter Prince. We have a god to put in his place.”

Understanding fills the air between us, and we move forward again, stepping cautiously through the haunting display. Each sculpture feels like another ghost from our past, another reminder of how close we came to losing ourselves completely.

It’s going to be okay, I tell myself. We’ll fix this. Everything’s going to be okay.

But the thoughts feel hollow in my mind. Even my magic feels uneasy, restless under my skin as the path narrows and twists.

And then, through the shadows, there’s a faint sound of chiseling. Slow, rhythmic taps of stone against stone.

Riven and I exchange a glance, and I know he senses the same thing I do.

We’ve found him.

Together, we step around the final bend of hedges and into a clearing ringed with blossoming cherry trees.

At its center stands a tall, graceful figure, his back turned to us, his wings glowing in the sunlight as he chips away at a statue taking form before him. Even half-finished, the faces of the man and woman already reflect ruin, anguish etched into the unfinished stone.

“Eros,” Riven says calmly, his voice strong despite how tightly he holds my hand.

The god’s chisel pauses mid-strike, his posture stiffening.

Then, slowly, he turns.

“Impossible.” His golden eyes widen as they sweep over us. “No one can enter this place without my permission. The wards make it impenetrable.”

“We’ve become experts at breaking wards lately,” Riven says, frost patterns spreading from his feet.

Eros’s gaze drops to our entwined hands, lingering there with growing confusion, the issue of the wards apparently forgotten.

“I hit you with the lead arrow.” He looks at me, bewilderment clear in his voice. “You should hate him, not...” He gestures between us, at the obvious connection binding us together. “This isn’t possible.”

Riven’s arms tighten around my waist. “With Sapphire, anything’s possible,” he says, and then he’s kissing me, his love pulsing through me, dangerously overwhelming and insanely intoxicating at the same time.

With tremendous effort, I pull back, breaking the kiss.

He chases my lips for a heartbeat before stopping, his silver eyes hazy with desire and confusion.

“Riven,” I murmur, framing his face again, brushing a thumb over his lower lip. “Stay with me. Focus.”

Slowly, he blinks, awareness returning to his gaze. “Sapphire,” he whispers my name like a plea. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…” he trails off, a flicker of shame crossing his features. “The magic is stronger here. It’s everywhere.”

A chuckle breaks through our moment, and we turn to face Eros.

The god of love is watching us with a smug, amused smirk, golden eyes glittering with a fascination I don’t trust.

“Remarkable,” he drawls, shaking his head. “Truly remarkable.”

“What’s remarkable?” I narrow my eyes, shifting protectively toward Riven.

“The energy I feel between you two.” Eros tilts his head, studying us. “It’s the sort of love caused by the gold arrow. Undying love. Consuming love. The kind of love that devours everything in its path.”

I raise an eyebrow, deliberately casual despite the unease prickling along my spine. “Maybe your bow’s broken,” I suggest, watching carefully for his reaction.

“Broken?” He scoffs. “My bow is divine. It’s crafted from the threads of fate itself. It can’t break.”

“Interesting.” I shrug again. “Maybe you should check?”

“There’s nothing to check, Star Touched.” Eros laughs, the sound like golden bells ringing through the garden. “My bow has been perfect since the beginning of time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.” He reaches behind him, and his bow materializes in his hands, a stunning weapon of gleaming gold and silver.

Even from here, I can feel the power radiating from it, ancient and potent.

“Divine perfection.” He holds it up with pride. “Crafted by Hephaestus himself.”

In a flash, my fingers close around the Star Disc, and I hurl it toward Eros.

Not at his body, but at the bow in his hands.

The Disc slices through the air, a streak of starlight against the garden’s vibrant colors, connecting with Eros’s divine weapon with a sound like a thousand heartstrings snapping at once.

The bow splits cleanly in half, and then into quarters, falling from Eros’s grip as the Star Disc returns to my hand.

The god staggers back and drops to his knees, scooping the pieces into trembling hands. Desperately, he tries to fit them back together, fingers fumbling, his breath catching in panic. As he keeps trying, his wings droop, their glow dimming, as if the light within him is fading out.

The bow refuses to mend. Its power is gone. Extinguished. Broken, like the twisted love he forced upon us.

For the first time, he doesn’t look like a god. He looks… small. Vulnerable. Lost.

Slowly, he raises his head, confusion and fear glittering in his golden eyes. “What did you do?” he says softly, his gaze darting between us and the pieces of the bow in his hands.

“Balanced the scales,” I reply, my voice steadier than I feel. “You shot a lead arrow into my heart. You tried to make me hate the man I love. Consider this repayment for the trouble you caused.”

Riven steps forward, his hand firmly in mine. “It’s also a reminder that some things, once broken, can’t simply be forced back together,” he says, and there’s something in his tone that tells me he’s not just talking about the bow. “They need to be reforged. Remade. Changed into something new.”

Eros’s fingers curl around the pieces of his bow.

“What do you want?” he demands, his voice tight with barely controlled rage.

“You broke into my sanctuary, destroyed my divine weapon, and now you’re standing here looking.

..” He gestures at us with one hand. “Expectant. So, tell me, Princess of Summer and Winter, what exactly do you want from me?”

“We need your help,” I say simply. “We want you to fix what’s broken between us.”

“Fix what’s broken?” Eros laughs, the sound brittle and cold. “From where I stand, your love is working all too well. Especially for a couple that should be torn apart by hatred.”

“That’s the problem.” I step forward, gripping my Star Disc tighter, ready to throw it again if Eros attacks. “It’s working too well. Too intensely. It’s…” I hesitate, searching for the right words. “It’s consuming Riven, stripping away his self-identity and making it so all he can feel is me.”

Riven tenses beside me, but says nothing.

“Undying love.” Eros nods. “Just like I said. The question is… how?”

“When we were in the Cosmic Tides,” I start, holding Eros’s gaze, “Riven was dying. I couldn’t lose him. So, I forced my soul into his body. I filled every broken piece of him with my magic and love. I brought him back from death.”

“You did what?” Eros’s expression shifts from anger to genuine shock.

“I saved him.” I lean into Riven, as if Eros might try taking him from me at any moment.

The god’s grip tightens around the pieces of his bow. “That’s not possible.”

“Apparently it is possible, because I did it,” I reply. “I fused his soul with mine to bring him back. But like I said, there were side effects. The bond between us became... unbalanced.”

Riven’s fingers tighten around mine. “I can’t separate myself from her anymore,” he admits. “It’s like I’m drowning in her, being pulled further and further from who I am every day, and I don’t know how long it will be until I forget who I am entirely.”

“You’re describing true love’s darkest potential.” Eros rises to his feet, his eyes gleaming with a sick sense of enjoyment. “The kind that burns so brightly it reduces everything else to ash. The kind that doesn’t nurture, but devours everything in its path.”

“Exactly,” I confirm. “It’s like the arrow’s effect never really faded. It just… transformed.”

“And you want me to fix it,” Eros concludes, tilting his head. “To rebalance your souls so your undying love doesn’t consume you.”

“Yes,” Riven says firmly. “We want you to make it so we can love each other without losing ourselves in the process.”