Page 74 of Midnight Star

Remind him.

Yes.

That’s what he told me to do.

So, that’s what I’mgoingto do.

“The frozen lake. During the trial,” I say quickly, the words tearing from my chest as I claw for every detail he told me. “That was the moment you fell in love with me. You saw me disappear under the ice and realized you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if I didn’t come back up. Then you used the whisper stone to teach me how to breathe underwater and help me get the key. And when I came back up and you saw me again—and you knew I was safe—that was when it all changed.”

He stills and sizes me up, taking in every inch of me, as if he’s considering each word I said.

I hold my breath, searching for a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

“If I recall the conversation correctly, I said that moment at the lake was when Istartedfalling in love with you,” he finally says, and I lean forward, waiting for him to remember. Really, trulyremember.“You see, I know I said all those things to you. The dryad didn’t take my memories. But it was just a game, Sapphire. All those words, all those nights together, all of it culminating with seeing you break right now… it’s been a game since the beginning. And guess what? I won.”

“No.” I step back, shaking my head. “You don’t mean that.”

“I absolutely do.”

He doesn’t budge. Doesn’t care.

“Maybe you believe it right now,” I say, scrambling for an explanation. “But you told me you loved me. And we both know you can’t lie. Which means what you said was true.”

“I’ve been dancing around truths for my entire life, Sapphire. Long enough to know that while I can’t lie, I can omit. Which is what I did every time I said I loved you,” he says, and ice-cold dread rushes through my veins at the cruelty that passes over his once familiar eyes. “After all, I never specified which part of you I loved. I can love the power I have over you. I can love the challenge, the game, and the fire in your eyes when you think you can change me. I can love the way you bend for me, even when you fight. I can love the way you crave me—the way you throw yourself at me and shatter into pieces when I touch you. But lovingyou?That was your mistake—not mine.”

The water droplets floating around us splash to the ground.

The air stills.

Pain twists into anger.

Anger turns to shock.

Shock gives way to numbness. Cold, unyielding numbness. Worse than when the ice was about to kill me before Riven stripped me of my free will.

I knew he was guarded, devious, and calculating.

But I didn’t realize he was this cruel.

No. None of this is true. This isn’t him,I remind myself, but as much as I try to convince myself, it doesn’t make it any less painful.

Then, he does something worse than standing here saying these horrible things to me.

He shakes his head, turns away, and checks on the progress of the sap. As if he’s growing bored with me. As if he’s wasting his precious time by talking about this with me.

But after what he said to me, he’s not the one who just wasted his time.

Iam.

After all, actions are what’s really important here. He’s not going to remember his love for me simply because of my words.

Which he stops me from saying, anyway, because he turns back around to face me—his eyes just as cold—to get in a few final blows.

“Now, if you’ve decided you aren’t ready to accept the truth of what thisreallyis and have some fun together, might I suggest focusing on why we’re here inthe first place?” he says, and with that, whatever hope I had inside me snaps.

I don’t care that my words aren’t going to trigger his memories.

I have to say them, anyway.

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