19. Sapphire

Sapphire

Hours pass as Riven and I ride on Ghost’s back through the valley.

Every shift of his muscles reminds me of our fight earlier. Of the anger in his voice when I accused him of wanting to drug me, and of the way that anger melted into something gentler as he taught me those breathing exercises that lulled me to sleep.

“The stars still singing to you?” he asks, startling me at the sound of his voice after such a long time of silence.

“Still north.” I try my hardest to stay calm—to not let him know how much he’s affecting me. “A few miles or so, and we’ll turn right.”

He nods without looking back. “Got it.”

We lapse into silence again, and flurries begin to fall, catching in Ghost’s fur and swirling around us like glittering specks.

It’s beautiful. The kind of moment that feels pulled from another life—one far simpler than the one I’m living now.

But then the wind picks up, and the snow starts coming faster. Heavier.

A low rumble echoes across the valley.

“Was that—?” I start to ask, but Riven answers before I can finish.

“Thundersnow.” Tension threads through his voice. “We need to find shelter. These storms?—”

Lightning splits the sky, painfully bright.

In seconds, the wind howls louder, and the stars vanish, swallowed by the storm clouds churning overhead. The snow’s whipping in every direction, and I tighten my grip on Ghost’s fur to keep from slipping.

Another flash of lightning brightens the valley, followed by an earsplitting crack of thunder.

Ghost rears back.

It happens too quickly. So quickly that I lose my grip, the wind tearing me off him, even as I search for something to hold onto.

“Riven!” I scream as I hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of me.

I try to scramble to my feet, but the storm is ruthless, the wind pushing me back down as snow blinds my vision. The world’s turned into a wall of white, the wind screaming so loudly I can barely hear myself think.

I can’t see Ghost. I can’t see Riven.

Panic claws at my chest, my breathing shallow and frantic.

I’m lost. Alone.

I’m going to die out here.

Focus, I tell myself, closing my eyes and thinking. Air is one of my elements. Feel the wind currents. Just like how I harness it when I run.

Taking a deep breath, I reach for my magic and release it through my palms, letting it fan out like invisible threads.

It’s like opening my eyes underwater, and suddenly, the roaring wind isn’t just noise anymore. It’s a symphony of currents that carries everything—sounds, movement, and presence. A song like the one sung by the stars.

Finally, I feel it.

A disruption in the flow. A solid body in the raging storm.

I stumble in the direction the wind tells me, the storm fighting me every step of the way.

Lightning flashes again.

With it, I catch a glimpse of Riven, his dark form moving against the blinding white snow.

“Riven!” I shout again, pushing toward him.

He turns just as I reach him and locks his arms around me, as if he’s terrified of losing me again.

“Where’s Ghost?” I have to scream to be heard over the wind.

Another crack of thunder shakes the air around us, and the snow swirls harder, reducing visibility to nothing.

“We got separated,” he replies, holding me tighter. “We have to find him.”

“We will,” I say, and as we search, he releases me with one arm, keeping the other locked around my waist. His ice magic creates a partial shield against the worst of the storm, and I do my best to lower the strength of the wind howling around us, making it a bit easier to fight against the gusts.

There’s only so far Ghost could have gotten. He has to be here somewhere.

But he’s nowhere to be found.

Eventually, we stop in front of a pine tree that offers us a slight break from the chaos.

“Nothing,” I say, shaking from a mix of the cold, frustration, and fear.

Riven’s jaw tightens. “We can’t stay out here. The storm’s only getting worse.”

“What about Ghost?” I ask.

“Ghost is smart,” he says, although from the way his body tenses up, I can feel his anxiety. “He knows how to survive. But we need to get out of this storm. No amount of magic will save us if we stay out here.”

He’s right. The wind is getting stronger, the snow so thick I can barely breathe.

“There’s a cave.” I point toward the outline of the mountain ahead—one that I felt earlier with my air magic. “We can go there.”

“All right,” he says, and together, we push forward, the storm battering us as we make our way to the mouth of the cave.

The moment we’re inside, he spins toward the entrance, using his magic to create a thick barrier of ice that seals us in. It’s like when he turned that tent into an igloo back at the lake, but on a far larger scale.

The sudden silence is jarring. Especially since we can see through the ice, at the storm raging outside.

“Ghost is smart,” Riven says again, but his voice is tight with worry. “He’ll find shelter. He has to.”

“How long do these storms normally last?” I wrap my arms around myself, since even with the entrance sealed and the warmth amulet hanging from my neck, the cold is continuing to seep into my bones.

It doesn’t help that my clothes are drenched.

Riven reaches forward, touches my shoulder, and within seconds, I’m dry.

“Better?” He watches me closely, not moving his hand away.

“Yes,” I manage to say, my heart pounding, my entire body feeling trapped under his intense, silver gaze.

After a few long seconds, he brings his arm back to his side.

My heart drops.

But what was I expecting? For him to kiss me again?

It’s hardly the time for that. Which is saying a lot, given that this is Riven we’re talking about here.

“These storms can last for a day,” he says, glancing around our small shelter. “Maybe two.”

“Two days?”

He places his pack on the ground, which thankfully stayed on his shoulder through our fall, and starts going through it. “We have some food,” he says. “Not much, but if we ration it, we’ll be fine.”

I watch as he sorts through what’s left of the berries and bread, mentally calculating how long it will last.

For him, it might be enough.

For me...

Soon, the hunger will start gnawing at me again. That deep, primal need for blood that no amount of foraged food will satisfy.

Being trapped in this cave with Riven while that happens…

“Here.” He hands me a small portion of bread. “We should eat something now. Keep our strength up.”

I take it without argument, but my stomach twists.

Up to two days in this cave. Two days of hiding what I am, and what I need to survive.

Would his blood taste as sweet as his lips?

No. I step back, fear rising inside of me at the fact that my thoughts even went there. I can use the least amount of magic and energy as I can. I can control myself.

I won’t do that to him. No matter how much I hate him.

“He has to be okay,” Riven interrupts my dark thoughts, staring at the ice barrier, clearly referring to Ghost. “He’s always okay. From the moment he found me in that forest when I was a boy, he’s always...” His voice catches. “He’s never left me.”

The pain in his voice makes my chest ache. I’ve never seen him like this—vulnerable, worried, his walls stripped away by fear for his familiar.

“We’ll find him,” I say, reaching out and touching his arm before I can stop myself. “As soon as the storm breaks.”

He looks down at my hand, then up at me, and something shifts in the air between us. The cave suddenly feels smaller. More intimate. And I’m achingly aware of how alone we are—of how much I want to comfort him, even though I know I shouldn’t.

“You should rest.” He pulls away from me, and my heart drops in disappointment. “I’ll take first watch.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You’ve been using your magic more than I have. You need sleep.”

“I won’t be able to sleep.” He settles against the wall, his sword already out and across his lap. “Not until...”

He doesn’t finish, but he doesn’t have to.

Not until the storm’s over, and we know Ghost is safe.