Page 47 of Burning Star

My heart races, and it takes me a few seconds to gather myself together enough to speak.

“The only thing I need isyou,”I tell him, magic pulsing between our palms, a heartbeat connecting our souls. “But right now, we need to find Ghost. And it seems like the temple’s the key to doing that. So, as much as I’d love to stay out here with you and forget the rest of the world exists, we’d better get moving.”

He sighs dramatically, his eyes sparkling with exaggerated resignation. “Fine, you win,” he says. “Let the records show that I graciously admitted defeat—thisonetime.”

Laughing softly, I shake my head and lead him toward the massive double doors, where vines and ice form an archway so tall it seems to touch the stars.

“Should we knock?” I ask when we reach it, only half-joking, my muscles tense and ready.

Hopefully this place turns out friendlier than the one inLegends of the Hidden Temple.I’m really not in the mood for guards jumping out at me in creepy masks.

The temple answers before Riven can, the doors slowly swinging open. It leads to a grand hallway lined with towering statues—fae made of ice and stone, each one with arms outstretched, palms glowing with golden light.

“Look at this place.” I turn in a slow circle to take it in, my gown moving with me as I do. “It’s incredible.”

Riven pauses beside me, his eyes narrowed in wonder and confusion, brushing his fingers against the intricate carvings on the wall.

“Did you know that according to legend, fae magic wasn’t always divided by seasons?” he asks, his voice soothing despite his caution. “Once, it existed as one unified force.”

“I’ve been a bit preoccupied with staying alive since getting here to study the history of the mystical realm,” I tell him with a teasing smile. “But if the courts weren’t always separated, then what changed?”

He hesitates, shadows flickering behind his eyes.

“War. Betrayal. The usual story of paradise lost. All because of a forbidden love.” He glances at me, vulnerability flashing beneath his usually guarded expression. “Between the daughter of Winter and the son of Summer.”

Energy hums between us.

But before I can ask more, the hall opens into a vast chamber with soaring columns and a domed ceiling that reflects the night sky in perfect detail. More passages branch off in every direction, leading deeper into the temple.

“Which way do we go?” I wonder aloud, glancing around at the overwhelming beauty of it all.

A trail of light illuminates the floor ahead of us, guiding us toward the largest passageway.

“I guess that answers that,” Riven says wryly.

“But aren’t the most beautiful things often the most dangerous?” I say, recalling what he told me while we approached Circe’s Island, where the cloud-shrouded island—the one Circe later told us held Blaze Academy—also waited.

“We asked the universe to lead us to Ghost.” His eyes turn serious again. “We need to trust that it knows what it’s doing.”

And so, we follow the light, passing through a series of increasingly grand chambers, each more beautiful than the last.

Finally, after what feels like hours, we reach a set of doors made of frost and wood.

“I can feel him,” Riven says softly. “Ghost is in there.”

I squeeze his hand, anticipation vibrating through our bond.

“Then let’s not keep him waiting,” I say, and the doors swing open at our approach, revealing a circular chamber with a high, domed ceiling that mirrors the cosmos above.

At the center of the chamber stands an ancient stone altar, covered in a layer of ice. And upon it...

“Ghost.” Riven exhales in relief, dropping my hand and rushing forward, his urgency echoing through our bond and piercing my heart.

SAPPHIRE

Ghost liesmotionless on the altar, his white fur luminous against the dark stone.

But he’s not alone. Beside him lies a cheetah, golden and graceful even in stillness, its body covered with delicate ivy that pulses with a gentle green light.

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