28. Sapphire

Sapphire

“No!” I reach for Zoey, my pulse pounding in my ears, magic swelling my veins as I try with everything I have to keep my feet steady and not plummet to the bottom of the ravine.

And then—somehow—the bridge steadies.

I’m not being battered by the cold anymore. The trees are still blowing wildly on the other side of the ravine, but it’s like the wind is moving around us, protecting us and keeping the bridge from trying to throw us off.

I manage a glance over my shoulder at Riven.

He’s standing at the start of the bridge, as if he’s ready to run onto it at a moment’s notice. And from the way he’s staring at me, I’d almost bet he’d jump into that ravine to save me if it came down to it.

“What’s happening?” Zoey asks, and I snap my attention back to her, where she’s gazing out at the wind whipping through the branches of the trees at the opposite side of the ravine.

The knights that Riven sent over there are waiting at the end, although they’re stealing glances around themselves as well, seemingly just as confused as Zoey.

“I don’t know,” I say, and while the bridge sways again, it’s so gentle that I barely have to try holding on. “Let’s just keep moving.”

“Good plan,” she says, and we press forward, each crunch of the ice spikes in our boots louder than ever in the now quieted wind.

Eventually, Zoey lets out a shaky laugh, breaking the silence. “So,” she says. “Do you think Riven will be impressed that we made it this far?”

“Really?” I ask. “We’re navigating a deadly bridge and you’re thinking about Riven?”

“Only because you’re thinking about Riven,” she says. “I saw the way you were staring at each other across the bridge just then.”

“Just making sure he wasn’t about to come after us to finish off what the wind started,” I say.

“He’d never,” she replies, and even though her back is to me, I can practically see the smile that I know is on her face. “Not with the twisted, icy version of a crush he has on you.”

“Riven does not have a crush on me,” I say, exasperated and still focusing on crossing the bridge, despite the wind calming down and sort of getting the hang of it. “He’s using me. And he’s using you. Because that’s what he does. Uses people. He already told us this. And he’s fae, which means he wasn’t lying.”

Zoey’s laugh is shaky, but persistent. “So, you don’t think he’s a little bit into you?”

I grit my teeth, crunching the ice spikes on my boots harder into the snow. “I think he’s exactly what he appears to be,” I say. “Cold, ruthless, and very willing to watch us suffer.”

“Keep telling yourself that if you want to,” she says with an annoyingly entertained giggle. “But I see the way he looks at you. If that’s cold-hearted, I bet it’ll get hot when he warms up.”

I huff, seriously not having the energy to deal with her chatting on top of trying to stay alive.

“Could you maybe think about surviving for two minutes instead of matchmaking?” I snap, a little sharper than I intended.

“If I think about what we’re doing too much, I’ll fall,” she says simply.

“That literally makes no sense.” I roll my eyes, even though she’s not looking back at me.

“It makes perfect sense,” she says. “Isn’t that how you make your drinks at the bar? Chat with the customers while letting your hands do their thing?”

“That’s different,” I say .

“Why? Because it’s magic?”

There’s challenge in her voice—something that sets me even more on edge than I already am.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“You’re good at making those drinks because you’re a natural with your water magic,” she explains. “But just because I’m good at things that aren’t magic doesn’t make what I can do less important than what you can do.”

“I never said you weren’t important?” I ask, confused about how we got here.

This isn’t like Zoey.

She’s never been… well, I suppose she’s acting jealous? Of the fact that I have magic, and she doesn’t?

“You implied it,” she says.

“I absolutely did not imply it.”

“Yes, you?—”

Crack.

Wood splits, the plank in front of Zoey gives way, plummeting into the ravine.

One a few feet ahead follows in its wake.

My chest tightens, fear rising in my throat.

We have to get off this bridge. Now.

“Run!” I grab Zoey’s hand and leap in front of her, pulling her with me across the weakening planks.

Every inch of me is wired with magic, every nerve in my body sparking as I hurry us forward. I push with all I have, ignoring everything except the need to reach the other side.

Finally, with one giant leap, we land on solid ground, crashing into it so hard that it knocks the air out of my lungs.

Zoey rolls forward, although her tumble is perfectly graceful—the type you’d expect from a trained gymnast.

I can’t say the same about my own.

A powerful whoosh sounds from behind us, and Ghost lands with a heavy thud on the ground beside me, with Riven steady and calm on his back.

Riven dismounts with practiced ease, so focused on me that you’d never guess the entire bridge was crashing to the bottom of the ravine behind him.

Ghost, however, leans his massive head down toward me and sniffs my hair, as if double-checking that I’m in one piece. His presence is comforting—even more so when I see the hardness in Riven’s eyes soften as he watches the two of us.

“You’re remarkably good at not dying, Summer Fae,” he says, glancing back at the splintered remains of the wooden planks dangling over the ravine.

“Or maybe I have a good teacher.” I raise an eyebrow, suddenly finding it impossible to not goad him, despite the three knights who are watching us and taking in every word .

The other knight is still at the other side of the ravine, stranded.

Riven’s hand goes to the hilt of his sword. “Are you willing to reveal his name?” he challenges.

“No.” I keep my gaze locked on his, since we both know exactly which teacher I’m referring to.

The same one who coached me through breathing underwater.

The same one whose silver eyes are staring down at me over the gleaming tip of his sword.

And I’m keeping our secret. As much as I hate it, having him on my side is the best chance I have at getting out of this realm alive.

Zoey stands up and brushes some snow from her pants, bringing our attention to her.

“Well, that was fun,” she says, her hands on her hips as she gazes over the ravine like it’s the setting of a grand adventure.

“Fun?” Riven’s voice drops to a dangerously low rumble, and I reach inside myself for my magic, ready to do something with it in case he decides to attack her. “Let’s see how much ‘fun’ you have when you’re being hunted through the forest for the final trial.”

“Then we’ll have to bring our A-game, won’t we?” I ask, trying to sound a lot more confident than I feel after nearly drowning in the lake and plummeting into a ravine .

His frosty gaze locks onto mine, seemingly unimpressed by my attempt at a joke. “I’d suggest more than just your ‘A-game,’ Summer Fae,” he says. “We’re not holding back in this hunt. There will be nowhere to hide, and if you think taking a long ice bath and crossing an old bridge was difficult…” His voice trails off, leaving the threat hanging in the air like a blade ready to drop.

“Then what?” I ask. “Because we passed your first two trials, even though they weren’t fair from the start. We can pass the next one, too.”

“This is the Winter Court,” he says—as if I needed reminding. “Fairness doesn’t exist here. Only strength, survival, and sacrifice. You might have demonstrated the first two so far, but as for the third…”

His gaze drifts to Zoey in a way I don’t like.

The third.

Sacrifice.

Zoey and I would never sacrifice each other or leave the other behind.

Not now, and not ever.

And if that’s what the final trial requires of us, then I guess we’ll be stuck figuring out how to turn this insane, deadly realm into our new home.