SAPPHIRE
I slashat the monster’s face with my dagger, and it arches back, screeching so loudly that my ears almost bleed.
Then, suddenly, Riven’s here.
His body’s pressing against mine, solid and unavoidable, the cold weight of him sinking into me like ice through flesh. And before I can pull away, he drives his frost-covered blade deep into the monster’s throat, the impact vibrating through my bones.
Agony rushes through me as his sword breaks the monster’s skin.
But the pain isn’t from the fight. It’s from the way Riven’s body curves perfectly along mine, a cruel reminder of everything I had and lost.
Suddenly, he’s bracing himself above me, pinning me in place beneath him as he creates a barrier of ice between us and the monster.
I stare up into his eyes, the air between us crackling with energy, his frosty barrier holding steady overhead. And projecting clearly isn’t an option, since it would leave me vulnerable and potentially crushed.
“Interesting time for a reunion,” he murmurs, his voice smooth, his breath cool against my skin. “Although I must say, I prefer the circumstances of our previous horizontal encounters far better than this one.”
I glare at him as the monster’s claws rake the ice overhead.
And behind the ice… there’s something pulsing beneath the monster’s skin. Right in the center of its chest. A heart, maybe? Or whatever passes for one in a creature like this. It’s almost like the ice ismagnifyingit, allowing us to see it now that we’re so close.
“Look,” I say, and it takes everything in me to sound normal—to act like my world isn’t collapsing around me as Riven remains pressed on top of me.
He twists his neck slightly to see. “I’ll melt a hole in the ice,” he says, his mind moving quickly. “You take the shot.”
I grip my dagger tighter, water and air swirling around the blade. The magic burns through my veins like lightning, demanding release as the monster thrashes against Riven’s ice.
“You might want to move,” I tell him, steadier than I feel.
He flashes me that infuriating smirk. “I trust you.”
The words hit harder than they should. Because he can’t mean them. Not anymore.
But then he’s creating an opening, and my magic surges through me, consuming every cell in my body until all Iamis water and air.
I scream and plunge my dagger forward, straight toward the monster’s glowing heart.
A shriek rips through the air, so loud that my bones feel like they might shatter from the force of it. The pier trembles beneath us, and for a brief, horrible second, I think it might break apart entirely.
Then the creature collapses onto Riven’s ice, its form dissolving into a sickening mixture of algae and blood.
For a moment, there’s only silence, minus the waves crashing beneath us.
Then, Riven pushes the ice away, melting it until all that remains is a dark stain on the pier’s wood, the lingering echo of those otherworldly shrieks through the freezing air, and the cold fire where his skin is touching mine.
Slowly, he props himself up on one elbow, looking me over like he actually cares.
“Get off me.” I shove his arm away, and my magic flares, water swirling around my fingers.
His eyes darken, switching between worry and something colder.
Silence weighs heavy between us.
“You have some monster ash on your face,” he finally says, standing and wiping the creature’s innards from his blade.
The temperature around us drops several degrees, frost spreading beneath his feet.
I reach for my face to rub off said ash and scramble to my feet, shaking from the searing memory of Riven on top of me.
