SAPPHIRE
“Who are you?”I say to the cloaked girl, my grip firm on my dagger, water droplets rising in the wind as my magic responds to the threat.
She pushes back her hood, revealing dark curls streaked with gold, and bright green eyes that catch nonexistent light. But what unsettles me most is her composure—she’s staring down two powerful, armed fae without a hint of fear.
“Names aren’t important right now.” She glances at the sky before returning to me. “Time is.”
Riven steps closer, the temperature around us dropping by a few degrees. “You’re standing in front of two armed fae,” he says the same thing I was thinking. “You should be more concerned with surviving than making demands.”
The girl doesn’t move. Doesn’t even blink.
“If either of you were going to attack me, you would have done so already,” she says, speaking with the certainty of someone who’s seen this conversation play out before.
Riven tenses as he analyzes her, searching for a weakness, a lie in her stance.
But even as frost climbs up his blade, the girl is unfazed. Unreadable. Clearly not human, but not quite fae, either.
But I make no moves—not to kill her, and not to lower my weapon.
Instead, I glance at Riven. Because despite how much I hate him, he’s the one who’s experienced with this whole “navigating through the supernatural realms” thing.
He simply nods, keeping his gaze fixed on the girl, making it clear that if she makes one wrong move, she’ll be a beheaded popsicle.
She makes no sudden moves.
“The Winter King’s madness grows stronger each day,” she says, steady and sure. “The Night Court’s alliance with the Blood Coven strengthens. And your friend...” She glances up, checking the sky again, then focuses on me. “Zoey’s in more danger from the darkness by the minute.”
“What do you know about Zoey?” I ask, but Riven continues with his questioning before she can answer.
“Did someone send you here? From the Winter Court?” he asks her, giving me a warning glare while also keeping her under the threat of his blade.
Despite how unreadable he’s been lately, his meaning now is clear.
Don’t trust her. Not yet.
“You want me to prove myself,” the cloaked girl says, as if she can read his mind.
Who knows—maybe she can.
Calmly, she returns her focus to me, as if she’s growing impatient with Riven.
Her and I both.
“Zoey has a scar on her knee from when she was eight,” she says easily, as if reading from a script. “You were there when shefell. She tried to jump the railing behind the convenience store, but her foot caught, and she went down hard.”
I smile at the memory.
“Sapphire,” Riven brings me back into focus. “Is it true?”
“Yes,” I tell him, and my heart breaks when I find him studying me with what could beconcern.“No one knew about that but me and Zoey. We lied and told her mom that she got hurt in their backyard.”
He nods, apparently satisfied with that answer, and I turn my focus back to the girl.
“Where’s Zoey?” I ask her. “How do you know her? Is she?—”
“That dagger won’t be enough,” she cuts me off, sharp and precise, reaching into her cloak. “You need the Star Disc—a weapon forged by Celeste, imbued with power beyond anything your blade can offer. Forged foryou.”
She narrows her eyes, as if daring me to lie and say I don’t know what she’s talking about.
