Page 81 of Burning Star

Something in his expression breaks as he studies the potion.

And then, suddenly,hebreaks.

“Maybe I deserve to share her fate.” He releases a strangled laugh, his eyes glistening with madness and grief. “To have it burn through me and silence the noise. Maybe that’s the only way I’ll be free.”

My heart twists. Because for all his cruelty, he loved her. And losing her broke something inside him so deeply that not even the weight of his crown or the strength of his power could fix it.

“You don’t have to join her,” I say quietly, refusing to let him escape into his madness again. “You can honor her instead.”

“Honor her?” He barks a bitter laugh. “I dishonored her every time I told her to harden her heart. I killed her long before the potion did.”

I tighten my grip on my sword’s hilt, knowing far too well what it feels like to be pushed to turn my heart to ice.

“You didn’t kill her,” I say firmly, pressing the blade harder against his skin. “You lost her—and you punished yourself and me ever since.”

His body shakes as he stares up at me, like he’s begging me to understand.

“Let it burn me from the inside,” he says, his voice breaking, reminding me of myself when I thought I’d lost Sapphire forever. “Let it tear me apart the way I tore her apart. Maybe then, when I lie frozen beneath the ice, I’ll see her face again… and she won’t turn away.”

“Or maybe you could become the king she wanted you to be.” I swirl the potion in the vial, as if doing so can tempt him.

He squeezes his eyes shut, a tear freezing on his cheek.

A tear.

One that meanseverything.

“Live in a way that would have made her proud,” I continue, holding the vial steady. “Because I can assure you—the potion has been brewed correctly this time. I can’t think of a single reason why it wouldn’t give you the clarity I’m promising.”

His fingers twitch. A telltale sign of his madness.

A slow, painful breath shudders out of him.

And then, finally… he nods.

“Very well,” he says, the words barely audible. “I’ll drink your clarity. But I’m not doing it foryou.I’m doing it forher.”

RIVEN

I movethe vial to my father’s lips, my other hand keeping the sword at his throat.

Sapphire’s anxiety floods our bond—her magic pulsing in waves that match my quickening heartbeat—but I don’t look back at her.

She’s here for me. She loves me. And I no longer have to see it to believe it. Especially not here, as my blade presses hot steel against my father’s throat, in this moment that could changeeverything.

He parts his lips, and I tilt the vial, the potion flowing into his mouth.

He swallows once, then twice, his eyes locked on mine.

For a heartbeat, nothing happens.

Then his body jerks, magic sparking off his skin in erratic bursts. It’s only my instinct to pull my sword away that ensures the blade doesn’t dig deeper, killing him and landing myself in the future I’ve been fighting to avoid.

A strangled scream tears from his throat and echoes through the arena, chilling my bones and silencing the crowd.

Fear tightens my chest. Because he’s thrashing violently now, collapsing onto the ice, fighting the potion’s magic as if battling a demon within.

The arena is dead silent, every soul frozen in place, watching their king unravel.

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