Page 76 of Midnight Star

“No,” he curtly replies. “Having you stand by my side supporting me while we speak with the queen makes you an extremely valuableassetwhen it comes to getting her attention. You’re imperative to thismission. You wouldn’t have made it this far if you weren’t.”

Frustration coils inside me, mingling with the ache in my chest.

I know I resolved to stop trying to make him fall back in love with me in this very moment. But I refuse to let him act like I’m some tool at his disposal. Especially not here, in the Summer Court, where I have the upper hand.

So, I immerse myself in my magic, combining the warmth of the air with the gentle pull of water, focusing on the ice twisting around his hands as I do.

Then, I channel my air magic at him in a wave of heat, combining it with my water magic to create a suffocating humidity around him.

His frost dissolves into a misty vapor.

“What the hell was that about?” he snaps, his eyes flashing with warning.

“You forget thatyou’rethe weaker one here.” I lift my chin and let the warm, humid air wrap around us, emphasizing my point. “This is the Summer Court. Your magic is dulled here. Which means you need me if you want to make it to the palace in one piece.”

He flexes his hands, straining as he summons more ice.

Only a few crystals form.

Thanks to the air I heated around him, they melt almost instantly.

Sweat beads on his forehead, and he reaches for his sword, but the blade’s glow is dimmer here, and we both know it.

“What are you going to do with that—kill me?” I challenge, although I pull back on my magic, since despite everything, I don’t want to hurt him. “Because I’d advise against that. You can’t risk losing your most valuable asset.”

His jaw tightens, and I can see the gears turning in his mind as he recalculates.

I say nothing as he does. I just keep my stance strong, my chin lifted, and my magic humming under my skin.

And then—slowly—he sheathes his sword.

“Well played.” His gaze drifts over me, lingering a beat too long. “Although I wouldn’t recommend making a habit of challenging me. After all, I’m the one who trained you. Your magic may be stronger than mine here, but power means nothing if you don’t know when to strike. And let’s be honest—you hesitated. Just for a second. That’s all it takes for someone like me to rip victory out of your hands in a single heartbeat.”

The weight of the moment presses in, thick and heavy, laced with warning and tearing at my heart. But he doesn’t take his sword out again. Which, I suppose, is a start.

I take a steadying breath and ground myself, fighting to focus through the pain. And thereispain. A lot of it.

“Do you know how to get to the palace from here?” I finally ask.

“We need to find a stream,” he says, his tone returning to something more focused and efficient. “All water in the Summer Court flows toward the palace.”

He studies me for a moment, then adds, “Use your water magic. Reach out and sense the nearest stream.”

I bristle at his instruction, since the last thing I want right now is another one of his training sessions. I can do this myself.

So, I close my eyes and stretch my magic outward.

At first, there’s nothing. Just the whisper of the wind and the damp warmth of the Summer Court air against my skin.

As I search, I can practically feel Riven’s gaze burning into me, growing more impatient by the second. But after having put him in his place by melting his ice magic, I willnotgive him the upper hand again.

So, I take a deep breath and focus harder.

My magic rushes through me in a wave of power that flows through the earth, courses beneath my feet, and flows through the Summer Court like veins of liquid starlight.

Then, suddenly, I feel it. The gentle flow of water, weaving its way through the land like a silver thread.

I open my eyes and zero in on the direction of the pull.

---