Page 49 of Frozen Star
“Did I?” Aerix glances at where Sapphire’s restraining Zoey with bands of magic. “Look at her, Brother. Reallylookat her.”
Despite myself, I follow his gaze.
Zoey’s eyes are fixed on Aerix, filled with naked desperation—not to escape, but to reach him. To comfort him. To love him.
I know that look, because it’s the same way I’ve found myself staring at Sapphire since she fused our souls in the Tides. Like she’s the last breath of air in my lungs, the anchor that keeps me from losing myself in the cold, dark ocean.
But my love for Sapphire is real. Zoey’s fixation with Aerix, on the other hand, is there because he’s been manipulating her. He made her believe he loves her, just like how the queen made Matt believe she loved him. Except Aerix’s reasons for capturing Zoey are far more twisted than I ever could have imagined.
Water trembles around Sapphire’s hands as she struggles to maintain Zoey’s restraints. I’m vaguely aware of her attemptsto reach me through the bond—pleading with me to breathe, to focus—but she feels distant, like a fading echo calling to me through layers of unbreakable ice.
Aerix turns back to me, and his eyes search mine, something almost vulnerable in their depths. “I expected you to come alone—you and your summer fae. Two fugitives from the Winter Court, desperate and untethered. I had no idea you’d bring the entire winter army and wage war on us.”
“Then consider this a valuable lesson—I love surprising people who make the mistake of underestimating me.” I scoff, finding a twisted amusement in his words. “Although if it’s any consolation, disappointing delusional relatives is turning out to be my specialty.”
His wings twitch at the worddelusional,although he maintains that unnerving calmness that makes me wonder how much of his sanity remains intact.
“I know what our father did to you. How he treated you,” he continues, something like genuine anger darkening his features. “Which is why I thought that out of anyone, you’d appreciate what I’m offering.”
I blink, caught off-guard by the sudden shift in the conversation.
“And what, exactly, are youoffering?” I ask, venom dripping in my tone when I speak the final word.
“A family. A dynasty forged in darkness.” His eyes gleam with a fervor that sends ice crawling up my spine, and I realize that if I thought I was drowning in the chaos of my mind, it’s nothing compared to the madness I sense in Aerix and saw in my father.
Maybe this is my destiny, too. Maybe in a few centuries, I’ll be twisted and broken, reveling in the darkness that threatens to consume me. Maybe I’m already too far gone to escape it.
At that moment, Sapphire’s warmth filters through the bond. It’s not much—just a thread—but it’s enough to remind me what I’m fighting for.
“I don’t need your dynasty of darkness.” I sneer at Aerix. “I have enough dynasties to deal with already.”
“You amuse me, little brother.” He circles me again, sizing me up, and I rotate with him, my sword pointed at his heart. “And you’re misunderstanding what I’m offering. You see, I always intended to leave the Night Court with Zoey. She and I were going to join those who wield more power than those in the Night Court could ever dream of having.”
I tense, the ice coating my sword cracking and crashing to the floor, shattering at my feet. “You were going to bring her to the Blood Coven.”
“Yes.” Aerix grins. “Zythara told me you knew. You did an excellent job getting truths from her, Brother. I suppose ruthlessness runs deep in the family bloodline, does it not?”
“I told you tostop calling me that.”All my magic—ice, water, and air—thrums beneath my skin and pounds in my skull, threatening to release in a sudden burst of power if I can’t get back in control.
Aerix’s eyes harden. “You’re ashamed of me.”
“You wanted to use me.” I advance on him, the frost patterns on my skin moving now, glowing veins of power with lives of their own. “You wanted to write me into your twisted vision of what a brother should be and join you in serving the cult that wants to kill my soulmate and plunge the world into darkness.”
“It’s not darkness.” His wings flare, an unsettling resolve shaping the lines of his face that undeniably resembles my own. “It’s evolution. We’ll be the rulers of a new world where we’ll finally have everything we deserve—power, love, and family.”
His expression borders on zealous, his gaze unwavering. And that’s when I realize—there’s no talking any sense into him. He’sfar too gone, his heart and mind lost to the same chaotic cruelty that claimed my father.
But unlike in the Frost Arena, I have no potion on me that will save him from the darkness. I can’t be his salvation—I can’t even be my own salvation. Not when I’m teetering on the edge of the same cliff he’s already fallen off of.
“It’s an interesting offer.” I pause, as if considering it, surprised by how quickly hope flashes in his eyes. “However, I never wanted to rule. There are only two things I want right now. The first is to free Zoey from the Night Court and get her back to Presque Isle, because that’s what Sapphire wants. Then, I want to run far away with Sapphire, so we can escape war, politics, and diabolical siblings. I’m going to bring her to a place where we can finally behappy.A place where no one will ever find us, where we’ll be free to live the life she deserves instead of this mess I’ve gotten her into.”
Just like we were in that vision she told me about.
“Such a waste,” Aerix murmurs, his voice softening as he studies me. “You could have had power beyond anything the Winter Court could offer you. Family. Freedom.”
“Freedom?” I laugh bitterly, frost spiraling along my blade, wind biting at my cheeks. “The same sort of freedom you gave Zoey when you used her to get to me by hurting Sapphire?”
Discomfort flashes across Aerix’s face.
