SAPPHIRE
The spectral shipglides across the ocean, its sails blowing in the wind, not needing my and Riven’s magic to direct it. Because the ship knows. It senses our intertwined fates, as if it can feel the echo of every promise we’ve broken and remade.
It knows we’re looking for Ghost, and hopefully, it will bring us to him.
Riven’s been on edge for the entire trip, closed off to me again. He stands near the rail with his shoulders locked, his gaze fixed on the horizon, as if daring anything—man or monster—to stop us from finding Ghost.
But now, I’m not hurt by it. I don’t worry that he’s retreating inside himself because he doesn’t care about me, or because he was using me to escape the Tides. Because my soul beats in time with his. I canfeelthe love projecting from him, even though he’s lost in his worries about his snow leopard familiar.
So, I move to him, grab his hand, and squeeze it.
His skin is cold, but the frost melts slightly at my touch. And when his stormy eyes meet mine, some of the hardness melts away.
“He’s going to be okay,” I say softly.
He exhales, his thumb brushing my knuckles. “He has to be. Because Ghost isn’t just my familiar. He’s the part of me that knows how to survive, no matter how dark things get,” he says, and when the final word escapes his lips, the ship slows, coming to a stop.
There’s… nothing.
No land in sight. No cosmic whirlpool sucking us into the ocean’s depths. No full moon opening to let a waterfall rush out of the sky. There’s only dark ocean water, as far as the eye can see.
Then, the sea shudders and parts, a massive building rising from its depths.
Riven’s arm moves around my shoulders as we gaze out at spires of ice shimmering under the stars, sharp yet delicate, wrapped in emerald vines that glow in the moonlight. Waterfalls pour from terraces high above, freezing mid-fall into sculptures that defy nature—flowing and frozen, beautiful and dangerous.
It’s not cold or harsh like the Winter Court. It’s not wild and overgrown like the Summer Court. It’s a perfect balance of ice and bloom, frost and sun.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, staring up at it in awe.
Riven’s arm tightens around me, frost rippling across the ship’s deck.
“The Lost Fae Temple. I thought this place was only a myth,” he says, studying it as he continues to explain. “The legend is that this temple was built long ago, before the courts divided. When Winter and Summer were one.”
I tear my gaze from the temple long enough to glance at him.
He looks… awestruck.
“You’ve never seen it?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No one has. It was sealed away. Lost. Until now.”
We’re both silent for a few minutes as the ship glides forward, heading for the island where the temple hums with a deep, ancient magic that presses into my skin and curls around my bones.
“Do you feel that?” I ask Riven.
He swallows hard, his eyes meeting mine in quiet intensity. “Yes.”
The ship slows as it nears the dock, stopping when it reaches it, the gangplank lowering on its own.
“Ready?” Riven asks, reaching for the hilt of his sword.
I draw my dagger, its weight steadying my racing heart. “Ready.”
Side by side, we step onto the path leading up to the temple, magic thickening with every heartbeat. Frost blooms under Riven’s steps, while flowers unfurl beneath mine, as if the temple is recognizing and greeting us individually.
As I walk, my clothes dissolve into silver mist, weaving themselves into a gown that’s not fabric, but starlight. Sapphires gleam along the bodice and cascade down the front in delicate chains, and the corset hugs my waist, the skirt flowing in layers that sparkle like starlight.
And I’m not the only one experiencing a cosmic makeover.
