Page 68 of Stolen Star

A giant, twin-headed dog, its body rippling with veins of lava. And its eyes, which glow like pools of liquid fire, are zeroed in on us.

SAPPHIRE

The double-headeddog-monster throws back both its heads and roars.

“Orthrus,” Riven says, drawing Frostbite with a metallic hiss. “I suppose every treasure has a guardian.”

“You think?” I snap, and then the monster—Orthrus—is bounding across the chasm, leaping from stone to stone, each landing sending shockwaves through the chamber.

Riven hurls a jagged ice spear toward the creature. It melts before making contact, but the resulting steam buys us precious seconds.

“In here!” Riven shouts, pulling me toward a narrow crevice in the tunnel wall.

We squeeze through the opening, Orthrus’s jaws snapping inches from my leg as we tumble into an alcove. The monster howls in frustration, one headattempting to force its way through while the other slams against the rock, trying to break the opening wider. One of its heads hits the wall so hard that the chambershifts,and I hold my breath, waiting to be flattened in an instant.

“That won’t hold it for long,” I gasp, pressing my back against the stone wall.

Riven’s expression shifts, that calculating gleam I’ve come to know so well entering his silver eyes.

“The Compass,” he says, reaching into his pocket. “If I freeze time?—”

“We can slip past it,” I finish, hope flaring in my chest.

The Stillpoint Compass rests in his palm, its face glimmering softly in the dim light of our hiding spot. Its power radiates from it in waves, and the light coming off it makes Riven look undeniablydangerous.If he has any qualms about using the artifact after what happened in the clearing with his guards, he’s doing an excellent job of masking it.

“We’ll collapse the tunnel behind us,” Riven continues, the mechanisms in his mind whirring so quickly that I can see it on his face. “The Star Disc can cut through the support columns while time is frozen. When it resumes?—”

“The beast gets buried under half a mountain,” I finish.

He shoots me a proud smile. “Exactly.”

The wall beside us cracks as Orthrus rams it again, stone fragments showering our heads.

“Now or never,” I say, gripping the Star Disc at my hip.

Riven flips open the Compass.

For a heartbeat, he doesn’t speak. He just stares down at the Compass like it’s alive. Like it’s whispering to him. And while his face doesn’t change, something sharp flickers through the bond. Not fear. Not urgency. No—it’s something colder. Something distant, focused, and dangerous.

When he finally looks up, his silver eyes are gleaming with something I can’t name. Something that makes the air feel thinner and my chest tighten. Because for a moment, it feels like I’m looking at a stranger.

“It’s time,” he says, and then the dial spins, the world around us freezing.

Orthrus’s jaws are locked in mid-snarl. Falling debris are suspended in the air. Even the magma beyond is hardened into unnatural stillness. But it’s not just stillness—it’s absence. Not even an echo remains, and the very air feels like glass, delicate and ready to shatter at the slightest touch.

“Ten minutes,” Riven says, the Compass ticking steadily in his hand. “Let’s make them count.”

We slip past the frozen beast, careful not to touch itsmotionless form, although I can’t help gawking at it as we make our way by.

Once in the main tunnel, I survey the structure, looking for weak points.

“There,” Riven says, pointing at four massive columns supporting the ceiling. “Take out those pillars, and the whole tunnel will collapse.”

“I didn’t realize you had a PhD in architecture,” I say with a small smile.

“Architecture, weaponry… my talents are endless,” he quips. “Calder used to say I could break anything—even stone ceilings. Especially stone ceilings.” He hesitates, his expression sobering. “He taught me how to see weak points in everything.”

His pain pulses through the bond like a living thing.

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