Page 46 of Broken Star

E.

He’s so focused, as though every sweep of his fingertip is an oath, and I swear I’m falling more in love with him by the second.

Another tap on my palm.

Another nod.

I press closer, my free hand sliding over the ridges of his shoulder, tracing the lines of his muscle as I urge him to continue.

Y.

O.

U.

The final letter shatters something inside me. Because this ismyRiven—the one who spoke to me through the whisper stone, who taught me to breathe underwater when I thought I’d drown. The one who poured his soul out to me in the cave, who taught me how to use my magic with more patience than I deserved. The one who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, who told me I could project across the universe and made me brave enough to try.

The one who looked at me like I was his entire world.

The one I lost when he finalized the deal with the dryad, and when Eros’s lead arrow pierced my heart.

The one I’m likely going to lose again when we surface.

But I can’t think about that. Not yet.

Because right now, this moment—this short, impossible bubble of clarity under the water—is the only truth that matters.

I take his hand next.

Carefully, I trace the letters onto his palm with trembling fingers. Slow, deliberate, and desperate. Like if I press hard enough, I can carve my love into him, burying it into his bones so deeply that not even a fae deal or a god’s arrow can erase it.

I.

His eyes close at the first letter, like he’s burning the sensation into his memory.

When they open again, they’re filled with so much love that it physically hurts to look at him. Because in minutes, those same silver eyes will be cold and empty, viewing me as nothing more than a means to an end.

But right now, we’re together. We remember. So I continue, and with every letter, the love between us grows stronger, sharper, carving itself deeper into my bones until I think I might break from it.

U,I finish tracing, the letter slashing through my heart, leaving it open for him to see.

When I’m done, he presses his forehead to mine again, and I clutch him desperately, trying to freeze time. To live in this perfect moment where the love between us is stronger than any bargain or arrow.

His hands frame my face, and I can feel him shaking. Actuallyshakingas he holds me, like he’s fighting the inevitability of what’s to come, too.

I want to scream. To rage against the unfairness of it all. To beg the universe to let us keep this one thing—this love that burns brighter than any star.

As if reading my thoughts, Riven’s lips find mine again.

This kiss is different. It’s softer, sweeter, and filled with promise.

We’ll find our way back to each other,it seems to say.No matter what it takes.

When we break apart and his eyes lock with mine, I see everything. The love, the fear, and the heartbreaking knowledge that we’re about to lose each other all over again.

His fingers tighten on my waist, and it’s like he’s trying to anchor this moment. To hold onto it for just a few more seconds.

But no matter how much I wish otherwise, we can’t stay here forever.

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