Page 20 of Burning Star

If love is destruction, then let it destroy me. At least this way, I’ll be part of you forever.

His blood is inside me. Hislife.The essence of everything he is.

I just have to give it back.

My hands tremble as I clutch his shirt, my nails digging into the ice-laced fabric. His lips—the ones that should be smirking, teasing, or kissing me with that irresistible arrogance of his—are parted just slightly, like he was whispering my name with his last breath.

“I love you,” I whisper, my tears falling onto his cheeks and mingling with the blood staining his skin. “I can’t lose you. Not when I just got you back.”

My hands move to his face, my magic crackling at my fingertips.

“You told me you’ll be part of me forever,” I say, and since he always enjoys a good challenge, I add, “So if you love me as much as you claim, prove it. Come back to me. Don’t give up on us when we were only just getting started.”

With that, I call on every last ounce of magic inside me. More, and more, and more, until it bursts from my skin like liquid starlight.

The world trembles, my power raging, searing with determination.

And then—I kiss him.

Hard. Desperate. Bruising.

I pour everything into it. My love, my rage, and my refusal to accept his sacrifice. I kiss him like I can force life back into him through sheer willpower. Like I can bind his soul to mine so tightly that the universe won’t be able to tear us apart.

And then, I reach for that place between worlds where my consciousness can separate from my body.

But this time, I don’t project outward.

I projectinto him.

Not just my consciousness. Not just my thoughts. I send my soul into his body, shoving it inside him with every ounce of resolve I have left.

It’s agony and ecstasy. A supernova collapsing inward, tearing me apart and weaving me back together inside him. Power burns through my veins, threads of golden light weaving through his heart, his lungs, and his magic.

The Tides shriek in protest.

They want to take him back. They want to takemeback.

But I won’t let them. Because his blood is in me. And now, I’m dissolving into him, seeping into his heart like water in cracked ice. I’m filling every hollow space and every frozen void, until all that remains isus.

Live,I think, kissing him harder, sending spirals of magic through his soul as if I can bind every broken, shattered piece of it together.

Then, the universesnaps.

It’s like a lock is clicking into place. Like the cosmos have rewritten their laws to make room for us.

And finally, miraculously…

His heart beats.

RIVEN

A force slams into me—aviolent, desperate impact, like two stars crashing together at the end of the world. Threads of light wrap around my heart, warm magic braiding itself into my essence, interweaving with every single piece of me.

Sapphire.

She’s not just calling me back. She’sdraggingme back.

And then, memories explode through me and into me, until I’m not just seeing them—I’mlivingin them.

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