Page 1 of Fallen Star

Sapphire

Zoey’s bloodseeps through my shirt as I carry her through the forest, leaving a trail that anyone—or anything—can follow. Her breathing is shallow, her skin burning with fever despite the freezing air around us as I use the wind behind me to run through the forest in the Wandering Wilds.

A place that’s apparently more dangerous than the Winter Court.

A place where a dark angel with black wings and mesmerizing eyes, with both air magic and water magic, tried to kill me and Zoey the moment we left Winter Court territory.

And then… I killed him.

I ran my dagger through his heart, killed him, and satiated my growing hunger by draining his corpse of blood.

Who’s more of a monster? Me, or him?

I don’t know.

Right now, all that matters is getting to safety and saving Zoey’s life.

“Just hold on,” I whisper to her, keeping momentum, refusing to slow down. “We’re going to make it.”

She doesn’t respond. She’s as unconscious as she’s been since the dark angel flung her aside like trash, slamming her into a tree.

But she’s not going to die. I refuse to let her die.

Head west after crossing the ravine, until you see a grove of frost-tipped pines,I repeat Riven’s instructions in my mind as I run.

A rabbit darts out from beneath a bush, stopping when it sees me. Its eyes go wide, and it bolts away so quickly that snow sprays up behind it.

I keep going.

As the small animal knows, it’s the prey. I’m the predator. Best to get as far away from me as possible.

Eventually, the grove of frost-tipped pines appears ahead, their crystalline needles sparkling under the starlight.

It’s beautiful. But I’m not here to sightsee.

What’s next?

Look for a cluster of stark white birch trees with twisted trunks,I remember Riven saying to me.

Zoey and I repeated his instructions dozens of times so neither of us would forget them.

As I continue running through the pine grove, the memory of drinking the dark angel’s blood flashes through my mind. The way his life force strengthened me. The way my new fangs pierced his skin.

But I can’t think about that now. I have to follow Riven’s directions. I have to bring Zoey to safety. Every minute that passes is a minute she’s closer to death.

Suddenly, a shadow moves through the trees to my left.

I spin toward it, clutching Zoey closer.

Nothing’s there.

But that doesn’t mean nothingwasthere.

“Riven?” I call out softly.

Hopefully it’s him. Hopefully he heard me through the whisper stone when I reached out to him while the dark angel was trying to kill me. Hopefully he’s coming to help me as I navigate these mysterious, magical woods that hum with a dark sort of power that’s impossible to ignore.

Silence answers.

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