Page 51 of Stolen Star

I want to stop. To push. To make him open the connection between us so I can know what he’s hiding.

But I can’t. Not right now. There’s too much at stake.

“When am I not careful?” I say instead, and he raisesan eyebrow, frost patterns swirling around his fingers and up his wrists.

“Would you like the list alphabetically or chronologically?” he replies, and despite the tension of the moment, I can’t help but smile.

“You remember them all, don’t you?” I ask softly.

“Of course I do.” His eyes don’t leave mine, his hand drifting to his pocket where he’s keeping the compass. “Because I should have stopped them—every single one of them—before they happened.”

His words echo in my chest, sharp and cold as the magic between us. I want to argue. To tell him that everything that’s happened in the past isn’t his burden, and that all we can do is focus on the future. But I don’t. Because if I do, I’ll fall apart.

So instead, I do what I always do—I focus on what’s coming next andact.

“Here goes nothing,” I mutter, and then, determined to not overthink this, I throw.

The Disc flies from my hand, trailing stardust as it arcs toward the dome. When it strikes the center, the impact sends a spiderweb of cracks across the surface.

For a heartbeat, nothing happens.

Then the dome splits open with the sound of shattering glass, the pieces dissolving into embers that float upward like fireflies.

The Star Disc boomerangs back into my hand, humming with satisfied energy.

Thalia actuallysmiles.

I’m about to look at Riven to see his reaction when the stone floor opens with an ear-splitting crack and two massive forms rise from the fissures—serpent-bodied creatures with wings made of smoke and flame. Their torsos tower above us, their menacing eyes burning like hot coals. And, most alarmingly, they’re holding whips blazing with fire.

Riven draws his sword, coating it with a layer of frost that’s already melting in the intense heat.

The monster on the left snaps its whip.

“Maeris, Thalia—take the one on the right,” Riven commands them. “Sapphire and I will handle this one.”

The Summer Court warriors nod, already positioning themselves to face their opponent.

“Stay close,” Riven tells me, his voice low and fierce, his grip tightening on his sword. “These creatures are fire incarnate. Water magic will be our best defense against them.”

Before I can respond, the one facing us roars and its whip lashes out with blinding speed—directly toward my face.

Water surges out of my palm that’s not holding the Disc, creating a wall between us and the attack. But the moment the creature’s fire meets my water, my shieldevaporates with a hiss, turning to scalding steam that billows around us.

Through the cloud, I hear Riven’s furious growl, followed by the crackling of his frost magic. The steam clears just in time for me to see a barrage of ice shards aimed at the monster’s face melt midair.

Across the crater, Maeris and Thalia have combined their water magic to create a high-pressure blast that disrupts their opponent’s balance, buying them precious seconds to reposition.

Zeroing in on the one Riven and I are set to kill, I take my Star Disc, focus on the place in its chest where its heart should be, andthrowwith every ounce of magic I can muster.

Stardust trails behind it as it cuts through the air.

The monster twists with impossible speed.

My weapon glances off its molten skin, leaving only a shallow groove before returning to my hand.

I curse and tighten my hold on the Disc, reaching deeper for its magic, feeling it thrum through my soul as I back up to stand closer to Riven. He doesn’t speak—but the second I move into his shadow, he exhales. Just once. Like my proximity pulled him back from a ledge I didn’t see.

“We need to—” he starts, but he doesn’t get a chance to finish. Because the creature spins its whip overhead in widening circles, generating a cyclone of flames thatspirals outward toward us. The heat is overwhelming, my lungs burning with each breath as Riven and I are forced away from each other.

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