Page 67 of Midnight Star

“No,” I say, my tears spilling freely now. “I don’t want to start over. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’ll still be here,” he promises. “We have a long road ahead of us. Just think of this as a car breaking down andneeding to take a detour. It delays the journey, but we can fix the car. We can make it even better than it was before.”

“I’m guessing you’re the car?” I ask, somehow managing to smile through the tears.

“Yes, I’m the car. But you’re the road I want to travel on for the rest of my life,” he says, and I commit his words to memory, so I’ll never forget them. “Even if I lose my way for a while, I’ll find my way back to you. You’re my compass, Sapphire. And you don’t just navigate the stars—you navigate my heart.”

When he’s done, I memorize every detail of his face and the way his hands cradle me so carefully, like he’s terrified of letting go. I memorize the sincerity in his voice, and the quiet, unshakable conviction in his promise.

If this is all I’ll have left of us, I will burn it into my soul so deeply that nothing in this world will ever be able to take it from me.

“How touching,” Chryserra’s voice cuts through our moment, sharp and cold. “But I’m growing tired of these dramatics. Return to your body, or I’ll kill it, and you’ll never see your winter prince—or anyone else you love—again.”

Panic grips me as I glance at my physical form, immobilized and helpless.

The roots constrict around it further, curling aroundmy chest and throat. I see my own lips parting, gasping for air, and my fingers twitching in a reflexive plea for freedom.

It’s surreal to watch my own body being crushed while I feel nothing. Like watching a horror movie where I’m the victim, but only seeing it through a screen.

“Sapphire, please,” Riven’s voice breaks through my panic, rough and raw. “Go back. Iwillfall in love with you again. But if you don’t go back into your body right now, my heart will be frozen forever, and I will never, ever forgive you for it.”

I lock eyes with him, trembling under the weight of his words.

I don’t want to break his heart, like he’s about to break mine. I also don’t want to leave Zoey in the Night Court, with those dark vampire fae who are doing who knows what to her. I want to see Aunt Martha again, to let her know I’m safe. I even want Matt to know that despite my turning down his proposal, he’ll always be an important part of my past—which is saying a lot, given that he basically left me in the woods to die.

And I want to help Riven make this potion—not just because of our deal, but because I want to help him get his father’s sanity back, so he can have a family again.

On top of all that, Celeste trusted me with her star magic. She believes I can be a guiding force in ensuring Ambrogio and the Blood Coven never rise to power.

Riven was right that trading it away would have been reckless. Foolish. A sacrifice that might not have only weakened me, but one that might have thrown the entire world into darkness.

Would I have been able to go through with the trade?

I don’t think so. Because yes, my magic doesn’t define me. But this magic wasentrustedto me. Keeping it safe is—and will always be—my responsibility.

Not to mention that there are others out there like me—other star touched. And I intend on joining them to stop Ambrogio, the Blood Coven, and the Revenants.

I love Riven with all my heart. And if I’m right that we’re soulmates, his promise to find his way back to me is one that will be impossible to break.

On top of all that, I’m not going to sit back and let a dryad crush me with a tree before I can make any real difference in the world.

So, I snap back.

Agony explodes through me. My skin’s rubbed raw, and every heartbeat is pure torture as my crushed lungs fight for air.

But just as quickly as the roots tightened, they loosen, giving me space to breathe again. And my body, with its supernatural healing, is already starting to repair itself.

However, nothing can stop the frost, which is swirling from my hands up to my elbows, demandingme to follow through with my deal to help Riven with the potion.

“Much better,” Chryserra says, looking me over in approval. “Now, about our deal...”

I glare at her through the tears pooling in my eyes. “You’re a monster.”

“So harsh.” She tilts her head, unaffected by the venom in my words. “And so inspiring that now, I’d like to add an addendum.”

Hope rises in my chest. She’s going to offer something else. She sees what she’s doing—the pain she’s causing—and she’s not enough of a monster to follow through with it.

“What?” I ask, although the coldness that crosses her eyes crushes every ounce of momentary hope I had.

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