“You don’t know that!” The water droplets fly toward him, but he deflects them with his sword. “You just assumed I couldn’t handle it, like how you assume everything about me, all the time, in a twisted, selfish attempt to protect me.”
“Protecting you isn’t selfish.”
His words are like a slap, sharp and unexpected.
Then he’s sheathing his sword and moving forward, closing the space between us until I’m forced to lift my chin to meet his eyes.
“Is it really so impossible for you to understand that I care about keeping you alive?” he continues, the air growing colder around us. “That I care aboutyou?”
I freeze, his words echoing through my mind like a punch to the chest.
“You only care about what I can do for you,” I finally say, since that’s what he told me at the dryad’s tree. “You don’t actually care aboutme.”
His jaw tightens, and a flicker of something dangerously close to pain flashes in his expression.
And then—like always—he buries it. Locks it beneath the ice before it can surface.
“Fascinating,” Circe purrs, watching us like we’re her favorite form of entertainment. “Such passion. Are you certain there’s nothing left between you two?”
“This was a marriage to unite the Summer and Winter Courts,” I snap at her, more magic stirring inside me as I remember Riven’s proposal in Lysandra’s throne room. “So we can stand strong against the Night Court.”
I glance at Riven, watching his frost spread out beneath his boots, crackling along the ground.
“You say you want the truth,” he tells me, stepping forward, the frost on the ground traveling with him as he moves, “but every time you get it, you twist it into another reason to hate me.”
I flinch, but I don’t back down.
“Given that you bargained away your feelings for me, I didn’t think you’d care whether I hate you or not,” I say, and water droplets spiral in the wind around us, matching the storm of emotions in my chest.
The temperature plummets, and delicate frost patterns climb from his fingers to his elbows.
“A lack of love isn’t the same as pure hatred,” he says softly, and I’m speechless as the words hang between us, heavy with meaning I can’t fully place.
“At least I still feel something,” I finally say, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “At least my heart isn’t made of ice.”
He sucks in a sharp breath, and his fingers twitch slightly at his sides, as if he’s resisting the urge to reach for his sword.
Circe claps her hands together, unimpressed. “Men,” she sighs, rolling her eyes. “Always so dramatic. This is precisely why they make better pigs.” She turns her palm to the sky, and flames dance around her fingers. “At least pigs don’t spend their time arguing in séance circles about their feelings—or lack thereof.”
Riven opens his mouth—no doubt to shoot something icy her way—but Circe silences him with a single pointed look before turning back to me.
“Dawn approaches,” she says. “You’re welcome to stay in my palace. It would certainly be more comfortable than that ghastly vessel you sailed in on.”
“We’ll return to the ship,” Riven cuts in, leaving no room for argument.
Circe’s lips curve into an amused smile. “The invitation wasn’t extended to you, Winter Prince,” she says, turning back to me. “As for you, Princess, my palace has plenty of room. Warm beds, hot baths, and homemade meals. You could rest properly before beginning your journey to the Cosmic Tides.”
The offer is tempting. More than tempting. Space to breathe without Riven’s constant presence setting my magic on edge—without the temptation of his blood, and the threat of pain from his touch. A chance to process everything we learned about Matt and Zoey without his scrutiny hanging over me like a blade...
But even as I consider it, I know I can’t accept.
“Your offer is generous, and your palace sounds lovely,” I say to Circe, keeping my voice steady, “but I should stay with the ship.”
“Are you certain?” she asks.
“Yes,” I reply, refusing to look at Riven. “I’m certain.”
“Such a shame.” She sighs dramatically. “However, since the sun won’t rise for another hour or so, I trust you can use the stars to navigate your way back to the beach?”
