Page 73 of Stolen Star

I stare out the window, watching the clouds part before us, drowning in the thoughts and feelings that have been threatening to consume me whole since… well, since I don’t know when. Everything since the dryad’s deal has felt surreal. My love torn away, only to be replaced with the pain of taking the brunt of Sapphire’s hatred from Eros’s lead arrow, and then her fusing our souls together in the Tides…

I feel like I’ve been completely rewired, rebuilt from the ground up. Every thought, every breath, every heartbeat, is now anchored toher.

After a stretch of silence that feels both endless and insufficient, Sapphire finally speaks.

“She knew what she was doing,” she says, her voice quiet—not meant to comfort, but to acknowledge the weight of everything we faced in the Vault.

I don’t respond at first. Because of course Thalia knew what she was doing. She was a warrior—she had been for centuries. She understood sacrifice better than most.

But it’s not Thalia and Maeris I’m thinking about.

“If it had been you or me, it would have broken the other,” Sapphire continues, apparently blissfully unaware of what’s truly going through my mind.

“Yes,” I say, my voice rougher than I intend. “It would have.”

For a moment, I look at her—really look at her. Her white-blonde hair with those blue streaks that catches even the dull cabin light, her eyes that shift between shades of blue depending on which magic she’s pulling from, and the soft glow of starlight that always seems to shimmer across her skin.

This is the woman I’ve died for, who I’ve frozen time for and killed for. The woman whose soul I share, who unmade me and remade me into somethinghers.

I hope she knows. I think she does. She must feel it through the bond—the way I burn every time she’s near. The way there’s nothing left in me untouched by her. It’san endless, aching desire, bound together in a soul-deep connection that defies logic and reason.

And now, she’s watching me, waiting for me to say something. Likely to express grief for Thalia and Maeris.

However, I can’t lie to her. I can’t express something I don’t feel.

“I made the right call,” I say instead, pulling my frost back inside me. “And I’d make it again if I had to.”

And again. And again. Even if it means losing everything else.

Even if it means losing myself.

Her head tilts slightly, studying me with those eyes that take my breath away. “With Maeris and Thalia?” she asks, and with that, something inside me snaps.

Because I don’t want to talk about Maeris and Thalia.

I want to talk abouther.She’s the only thing that matters now. I need her to understand that, and for her to accept it. If she doesn’t, and if she walks away like the Lonely King said she would, then he’s what I’ll be forced to become.

And a future like that isn’t worth living.

“With all of it.” The words come out cold and precise—the Winter Prince speaking an undeniable truth. “Because anything and anyone who threatens you will freeze and shatter, and I don’t feel guilty about itanymore. That’s the way I love you now. Without remorse. Without hesitation. Without limits. My universe begins and ends with you, and I’ve never felt more at peace with anything in my life.”

My fists clench as I brace for her to pull away. To show some sign of horror at the monster I’ve revealed myself to be.

Instead, her water rises to meet my ice, twining together in impossibly beautiful, delicate patterns.

“Good,” she breathes, her eyes blazing, her magic an echo of my own. “Because I don’t want your guilt. I want you exactly as you are—ruthless, fierce, and able to love with a depth and intensity I never thought possible.”

I cup her face, pulling her closer, desire rushing through me as our bond pulses hotter than ever between us. “Do you mean that?” I ask, the question raw, almost broken. Because it’s not just longing—it’sneed.Crushing, all-consuming need.

“With all my heart,” she says, the four words meaning more to me than she could ever possibly realize.

“Then I’m done pretending I care about anything other than you,” I admit, relaxing in a way I haven’t since executing my guards in that clearing. “You’re my world now, Starlight. Forever.”

My words hang between us, electric and fierce, slicing through the quiet hum of the jet engine until there’s nothing left but charged silence.

“Good,” she says softly. “Because I want all of it. And I don’t want you to pretend to be something you’re not. Not to me. Never to me.”

Heat flares through me at her words, and I lean closer, my fingers tangling in her hair, the blue streaks catching the muted cabin lighting like a reflection of her magic. My thumb traces her jawline as I tilt her head back gently, capturing her lips in a fierce kiss that steals the breath from both of us.

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