Page 57 of Fallen Star

First impressions are important.

And I willnotlet him see me as weak.

“My queen, Ravenna,” he says, gesturing to the woman beside him.

Where the king radiates cold authority, the queen is darkness incarnate, with her jet-black hair and dark red velvet dress that trails out onto the floor around her feet.

Her gaze meets mine, and it takes every ounce of will power to not look down at my feet.

“And my children.” The king motions the others. “Prince Malakai, Princess Mirena, and Princess Cierra.”

Each one is beautiful in their own terrifying way. But most interestingly of all is that none of them resemble their parents, and they definitely don’t look like each other. Which makes me think that while he mightcallthem his children, they’re likely not related by blood.

If vampire lore in this realm is anything like it is back home, I assume they were turned by their parents—not born to them.

“And I believe,” the queen adds with a cruel smile, “you’ve already met my son. Prince Aerix.”

Sapphire

Riven staresat the storm raging outside the wall of ice barricading the cave, lost in thought as he worries about Ghost.

I don’t like seeing him like this. It’s unnerving. Different from the Riven I’ve known since that night at the Maple Pig.

So, I walk over and settle beside him, relieved when he doesn’t stand.

“Tell me about Ghost,” I say, keeping a respectable amount of space between us. “How did you meet?”

He’s quiet for so long that I think he won’t answer.

“I was eight,” he finally says—still looking at the icy barrier and not at me. “Lost in the forest at the edge of Winter Court territory after sneaking out of the palace. I was angry at my father, for the fights he kept having with my mother. I thought if I ran far enough, I could leave it all behind.”

His words surprise me—both the vulnerability in his tone, and the fact that he’s telling me this at all.

“What happened?” I ask, curious, but also not wanting to push.

“Ghost found me. He appeared through the trees, like he was made of snow itself.” His fingers trace absent patterns in thefrost beneath us, as if he’s back there in that forest instead of here with me. “I thought he was going to eat me.”

I try to picture Riven as a child, lost and terrified, staring into the eyes of a wild snow leopard. It feels wrong somehow—to imagine him vulnerable and helpless.

“But he didn’t,” I say, drawing him out of the memory.

“No.” He smiles, as if he’s watching it all happen again. “He just… walked up to me. Sat there, staring like he was trying to figure me out. Eventually, I stopped shaking long enough to reach out, and he let me touch him. That’s when the bond formed.”

“The familiar bond?”

He nods. “He led me back to the court,” he continues. “Saved my life. I’ve never doubted him since. No matter what, Ghost has always been there.Always.”

He says it as if he’s reminding himself that wherever Ghost is out there, there’s no way he’ll get lost in that storm.

“He found you once,” I say, wanting to be encouraging, but also not wanting to lie. “Which means he can most likely find you again.”

“He’d better.” Riven chuckles. “He’s my only friend. The only one who doesn’t care about titles or politics. Who sees me, and not my crown.”

My heart aches at the loneliness in his voice. “I always wanted a pet,” I admit. “Something to care for. But Aunt Martha refused. She couldn’t stand the thought of an animal ‘dirtying’ our home.”

“Ghost isn’t a pet.” There’s no anger in his voice, just certainty. “He’s my constant. The only one who’s always been there—who hasn’t become lost to me.”

My heart aches at what I suspect is going through his head.

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