Page 2 of Stolen Star

The Winter Court sleeps below me, peaceful and still. But I know better than to trust this calm. Because the Night Court is still out there, needing to be stopped.

Zoey’sstill out there, needing to be saved.

I close my eyes, and for a moment, I see that vision from the Tides—that other version of Riven and me. The one where we laughed at our perfect wedding, surrounded by friends and family. Where his mother lived, and we never endured the trials that forged us.

There was an ease to their happiness. Something untouched by darkness.

They weren’t us, but at the same time, theywere.

Will we ever have that? Or are we destined to always live on the edge of catastrophe, bracing for the next battle, the next betrayal, and the next impossible choice?

“You should be sleeping,” Riven says from behind me, low and soft.

I take a deep breath and savor the awareness of him—the way my body responds to his presence, even before he touches me.

“So should you,” I say, turning to look at him.

He stands in the doorway, moonlight dancing across the beautifully perfect sharp angles of his face. Even in soft linen sleep clothes, his body is all lean muscle andgrace—the body of a warrior, of a prince... of my husband.

His lips quirk upward, eyes locked on mine.

“Iwassleeping,” he says. “Then you left, and the bed got cold and emotionally empty.”

He gives me a small smile, but I can’t return it—not after the images haunting my mind from the dream.

“Sorry,” I say, running my fingers through my hair, trying and failing to shake it off.“I just needed…”

I trail off. Because whatdoI need?

I need to stop having that dream. I need to stop seeing Riven and Zoey dead at my feet. I need to stop feeling like I’m one terrible choice away from becomingher.

Riven crosses the balcony in three silent strides. His hands find my shoulders, his touch grounding me, pulling me back from the nightmare’s edge.

“I know that look,” he says softly. “You had the dream again.”

“It was worse this time,” I say, and his gaze sharpens, the sleepy warmth in his eyes turning alert. “She burned you. She didn’t hesitate. I love you so much, and shedidthat to you, and I couldn’t do anything to stop her, and…”

I suck in a sharp breath, my cheeks wet with tears. I don’t even know when I started crying, but they’rethere, hot behind my eyes, more of them threatening to break free at any second.

Riven’s arm slides around my waist, pulling me flush against him.

“You’re not her,” he says firmly, his lips brushing my temple. “You could never become her.”

“But what if I do?” I close my eyes, leaning into his touch. “What if everything we’ve been through turns me into someone you don’t recognize?”

“If that ever happened, I’d feel it,” he says, brushing away my tears. “Through our bond. I’d know.”

“You make it sound so easy,” I say.

His eyes flicker with amusement. “Says the girl who fused her soul with mine to bring me back from the dead.”

“That was different,” I say, although I can’t help smiling slightly.

“Yes, it was,” he agrees. “But the love between us? That’s the same. No—it’s stronger.” His voice deepens, conviction ringing through every word. “I love you, Sapphire Hayes. And I will never let this world—or anything else—take you from me.”

I press my forehead to his chest, letting the truth of his words fill the cracks the nightmare left behind.

“I feel it, you know,” I whisper. “Your love. In everything you do.”

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