Page 59 of Golden Star

Zoey does the same, with the same result.

“I don’t care if that worked or not,” she says with a smirk that rivals Riven’s. “That felt good.”

Despite the situation, it feels good to see Zoey smile.

“It definitely felt good,” I agree. “But I melted that icicle in the trees. I can probably do something similar now.”

“It’s either that or chipping away at this ice until we freeze to death,” she says. “And I’d rather not turn into a popsicle today.”

“That makes two of us.” I take a deep breath and focus on the ice beneath us, where the key’s glow is pulsing like a heartbeat under the frozen surface. “Standback.Wayback. If I end up melting too much of the ice, well… I don’t want you to be anywhere near it.”

Fear dances in her eyes, and she puts almost fifteen feet between herself and where I’m standing.

Satisfied that she’s far enough away, I kneel and place my hand on the ice—on the place where it’s glowing the most. Eventually, it starts to melt under the warmth of my skin, creating a layer of water.

Now I need it to heat up faster. Otherwise, this will take forever.

With the icicle I used to hunt the deer, I heated up the water with my palm to speed up the process. I don’t exactly know how I did it, but it involved tapping into the warmth I feel while using my magic and expanding it out to the water.

Heat up, I think, pulling on the magic buzzing inside me and pushing it out through my palm.

Slowly, the frozen barrier melts, turning into a small hole with glowing water splashing inside of it.

As it expands outward, I keep my hand on the ice and back away, continuing to heat it up until the hole is large enough for me to jump through it.

Some of the water splashes up at me.

It’s freezing. So freezing that it makes me lose hold of my magic.

I glance over my shoulder at Riven. His smirk is gone, replaced by something that looks more like intrigue.Ghost sits calmly next to him, his tail circling Riven’s legs, as if he’s trying to stop him from doing something stupid.

Although, despite all the highly descriptive words I could use to describe Riven,stupidisn’t one of them.

But itwouldbe stupid to sit here staring at the winter prince instead of jumping into this icy hellhole before it has a chance to freeze over again.

I take a moment to glance back at Zoey.She’sthe last person I want to see before I do this—not Riven.

She’s fidgeting with her dagger’s hilt, as if readying herself to fight all the knights at once if it comes down to it.

“Saph, please—be careful,” she says, and I don’t like the way she’s looking at me—as if she thinks these might be my final minutes alive.

“I will,” I promise, even though being careful won’t guarantee I’ll survive this.

Heart racing, I stare back down at the hole, hoping and failing to see the key now that the water isn’t covered by a layer of ice.

I see the glow, but all around it, it’s dark. Really, really dark.

But I can’t afford to hesitate. If I do, I’ll freeze—literally and figuratively.

So, I take a deep breath, clench my fists, andjump.

The cold slams into me like a steel wall.

It’s worse than I expected. So much worse.

Every muscle seizes up. My skin is burning, my nerves screaming as the cold sinks into my bones.

I sink fast, panic clawing at my chest as I struggle to swim. I’ve always been a good swimmer, but as I kick, it’s like swimming through quicksand. I’m being dragged deeper and deeper into the lake’s icy depths, far faster than I can handle.

---