Page 27 of Broken Star

“The Winter King’s madness grows stronger each day,” she says, steady and sure. “The Night Court’s alliance with the Blood Coven strengthens. And your friend...” She glances up, checking the sky again, then focuses on me. “Zoey’s in more danger from the darkness by the minute.”

“What do you know about Zoey?” I ask, but Riven continues with his questioning before she can answer.

“Did someone send you here? From the Winter Court?” he asks her, giving me a warning glare while also keeping her under the threat of his blade.

Despite how unreadable he’s been lately, his meaning now is clear.

Don’t trust her. Not yet.

“You want me to prove myself,” the cloaked girl says, as if she can read his mind.

Who knows—maybe she can.

Calmly, she returns her focus to me, as if she’s growing impatient with Riven.

Her and I both.

“Zoey has a scar on her knee from when she was eight,” she says easily, as if reading from a script. “You were there when she fell. She tried to jump the railing behind the convenience store, but her foot caught, and she went down hard.”

I smile at the memory.

“Sapphire,” Riven brings me back into focus. “Is it true?”

“Yes,” I tell him, and my heart breaks when I find him studying me with what could beconcern.“No one knew about that but me and Zoey. We lied and told her mom that she got hurt in their backyard.”

He nods, apparently satisfied with that answer, and I turn my focus back to the girl.

“Where’s Zoey?” I ask her. “How do you know her? Is she?—”

“That dagger won’t be enough,” she cuts me off, sharp and precise, reaching into her cloak. “You need the Star Disc—a weapon forged by Celeste, imbued with power beyond anything your blade can offer. Forged foryou.”

She narrows her eyes, as if daring me to lie and say I don’t know what she’s talking about.

Joke’s on her, though, since I can’t lie.

“Go to Lost Pier in Montauk,” she continues, speaking so quickly that we don’t have time to ask more questions. “When night falls, you’ll find your spectral ship. Follow the Algol Star to find the island you seek, and once you’re there, tell the sorceress that you seek no path, no descent—only the wisdom of those once forged in flesh. I’ve written it—and other things you’ll need to know—down for you. Be honest about your identities when you speak to her.” She pulls a set of keys and a folded map out of her pocket, holding them out to us. “You’ll find the car on West 74th Street, between the trees and the old brownstones. It’s a red Prius—it’ll be hard to miss. But you need to leave. Now. The storm’s coming, and you have to be gone before it hits.”

“What storm?” I ask, tightening my grip on my dagger.

“Don’t worry—nothing like the one that trapped you in that cave.” She shrugs, as if those days in that cave are common knowledge instead of a secret world where Riven and I once lived.

Pain rips through me at the memories of when it was just me and him in a dreamlike bubble of time designed purely for us.

No,I tell the wave of heartbreak.Not now. Now when we’re finally getting closer to Zoey.

It obliges, but only for enough time for me to breathe again and register the hope rising inside me. Because if this girl magically knows about private moments I’ve had with Zoey and Riven, and if she knows what we’ll be facing next, maybe she has insight to some other questions of mine, too.

“Can the sorceress reverse the dryad’s deal?” I ask her, my heart racing at the possibility of Riven remembering whatever feelings for me he might have had.

“And Eros’s lead arrow?” Riven adds, which makes me glance at him in surprise.

Why does he care about the arrow?

The answer slams into me the moment I see the hard, determined look in his eyes. Because if the arrow’s spell is reversed, it won’t hurt me every time he touches me. If it doesn’t hurt me when he touches me, I’ll be more likely to give in to his endless attempts at seduction. Which I’m sure would make him—mainly, a certain part of him that he didn’t want me to break last night—very, very happy.

“I don’t know everything.” The girl shrugs, the simple motion yet another blow to my heart.

Riven seems unfazed, instead snatching the keys and the folded map from her hand. “Sapphire,” he says, snapping me back into the present. “Get out of that infuriatingly frustrating head of yours and focus. We’re wasting time.”

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