23. Sapphire
Sapphire
The Summer Court.
My heart jumps.
I finally have a reason to go to the place that might hold answers about my heritage. At least, for the summer fae half of it. I know I’m not defined by what I am, but it sure would be nice to learn more.
“Riven’s going to love that,” I say sarcastically instead.
Amusement dances in Celeste’s eyes, but it’s quickly replaced by seriousness.
Then, with a wave of her hand, she creates a shimmering projection in the air between us. Images shape together inside it—a towering tree with golden sap dripping from its bark, a berry gleaming in the twilight, flowers opening to the dawn, a crystal glowing with pale light, and a vial full of blood .
I recognize the crystal and the flowers. They’re the two ingredients that Riven knew of before meeting me, and he carries them with him, always. The crystal amplifies emotional magic, and the flower represents new beginnings and fresh perspective.
“We already have the moonshard crystal and dawn’s first dew,” I tell her, since those are the names of them.
Out of all the other ingredients, the one that makes me sick to look at is the blood. It reminds me of when I had to kill the dove to create the healing potion for Zoey. Yes, the dove came back to life, since I performed the ceremony correctly, and yes, I now have more experience with hunting for blood. But it was different with the dove. The bird was so pure. I don’t want to do something like that again.
“You’re on the right track,” Celeste says with approval.
“What are the others?” I ask, studying them in the projection.
“First, there’s the amberdew sap,” she says, and the image of the towering tree with golden sap comes into sharper focus. “It flows from an ancient Black Tupelo tree in the Summer Court. The sap has a unique property—it captures and preserves fleeting emotions.”
“And that will help stabilize the king’s mind?” I ask.
“Correct.” She nods. “His emotions are volatile and unstable. The amberdew sap will act as an anchor, helping him maintain emotional balance once the potion takes effect. However, the tree’s importance is not lost on the summer fae, and they do not give its sap freely.”
“So, what do we need to do to get it?” I ask.
“It’s different for everyone who ventures there,” she says, although from the trouble that crosses her features, I have a feeling that getting the sap is going to be harder than scraping it off the bark. “But the tree thrives off strong emotions. So, be prepared to deal in them.”
Unease expands in my chest. But before I can ask another question about the sap, the projection shifts to the dark, luminescent berry.
“That’s a duskberry,” she explains. “They’re incredibly rare, even in the Summer Court, found only in its queen’s garden. It’s essential to use one for the potion’s base, because duskberries open pathways to locked emotions.”
“They’ll help the king remember how he felt before the Winter Queen’s death,” I say, recalling the devastation on Riven’s face as he told me about his father’s descent into madness after his mother’s death.
“Exactly.” Celeste waves her hand, and the final image comes into focus—the vial of blood. “For the final ingredient, you’ll need summer fae blood.”
My stomach drops. “My blood.”
“Your blood will suffice.” Her galaxy eyes study me intently. “Though I suspect Riven already knew this. It’s part of why he’s kept you close, although his reasons have grown far beyond the practical by now.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks as I think of how our relationship has evolved—from his cold manipulation when we first met, to the depth of feeling between us now.
“That’s why he was so insistent at first about keeping me alive,” I say. “Even before he...” I trail off, remembering the moment outside the cave when he first told me he loved me.
“Before he fell in love with you?” Celeste smiles knowingly.
Butterflies form in my stomach as I remember the moments Riven and I spent in the cave and igloos together. The desire in his eyes when he looks at me, the shivers he sends through my body when he touches me, the way I feel perfectly whole when he’s…
Realizing where my mind is going, I snap back into focus. Fantasizing about Riven isn’t where my head should be right now.
The ingredients, I remind myself as I ground myself in the present. The blood.
“The blood has to be mine specifically?” I ask now that I’m focused again. “Because I’m also half vampire?”
Celeste shakes her head, and from her small smile, I have a feeling she knows exactly what I was thinking about a minute ago. “Any summer fae blood would work,” she says. “But yours is readily available, and you’re willing to provide it. The fae in the Summer Court would be... less accommodating.”
I nod, since her point is valid, and listen as she goes on to explain how to brew the potion.
“Do you have pens and paper around here?” I ask when she’s finished, glancing at the door that leads inside the building. “So I can write this all down?”
“I have something better,” she says, and with a flick of her hand, she sprinkles glittering silver sparkles over my bracelet.
The sapphires strung in it ignite with a brilliant, pulsing glow, each gemstone catching the light as if a piece of the night sky has been trapped within. The magic doesn’t just settle—it seeps in, burrowing deep, threading through the metal and embedding itself into the core of the stones.
Then, as quickly as it surged, the glow dims, the bracelet settling back into quiet stillness. But it’s different now. It’s heavier, charged, no longer just an accessory, but something alive.
“Stardust,” Celeste explains. “I used it to enchant your bracelet. Now, whenever you need to remember the ingredients or brewing instructions for the potion, focus your magic into the sapphires and think about what you need to know. The information will project itself, just as I showed you with the ingredients moments ago. Try it.”
I run my fingers across the cool gems, picturing the ingredients we discussed. Immediately, spectral images appear above my wrist—the Black Tupelo tree, the duskberry, the flower, the moonshard, and the vial of blood, along with the instructions for brewing the potion written on a parchment in warm, glowing script.
“Perfect,” she says. “You learn quickly.”
The praise sends a flutter of pride through me, but it also reminds me of how much I still don’t understand. About being star touched, about my dual fae vampire nature, and about everything that’s happened since I fell into the mystical realm.
“I have so many questions,” I begin, but Celeste holds up a hand, cutting me off.
“And no time to ask them,” she says. “You need to leave. Now.”
“What? Why?”
“Because to reach the Summer Court, you must be in Central Park before one,” she explains. “During the hours the park is closed to mortals—between one and six—the wall between realms grows thin. Anyone inside the park during those hours shifts into the mystical realm the moment the clock strikes one.”
I stare at her, confusion mounting. “But we’re already in the mystical realm. And even if we’re near a portal to the mortal realm, we’re nowhere near New York City. There’s no way we’ll be able to?—“
“The pond where you found me is no ordinary body of water,” she interrupts. “I’ve transformed it into a portal that will take you directly to Central Park. But you must hurry. You have less than fifteen minutes until the shift occurs.”
My mind spins as I process what she’s saying. “So, we just jump in the pond, and we’ll land exactly where we need to be?” I ask.
“You’ll emerge from a lake near the Black Tupelo tree, in an area of the park called the Ramble.” She steps closer, her expression serious. “But you’ll need to be careful, especially with the Winter Prince by your side.”
“Will Riven be okay there?” I ask. “The heat?—”
“Will weaken him,” she confirms. “But he’s strong, and his love for you is stronger. Trust in that. Always.”
“I will,” I say, meaning it with every piece of my heart. “But what about Ghost? Can we bring him with us?”
“I’m afraid not,” she says. “But don’t worry. He’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure about that?” I ask. “Because he almost wasn’t okay in that winter storm a few days ago.”
“My sisters and I will ensure his safety,” she says. “We have ways of predicting where the next storms will appear.”
“Because one of them is a storm goddess,” I remember.
“Precisely. ”
As she says the word, the galaxy above us pulses, as if sensing the urgency of the moment.
“It’s time,” she says. “Return to your body and make the jump. And remember—being star touched means you’re never alone. When you need guidance, all you have to do is look to the sky.”
With that, the world around me fades, and the last thing I see is Celeste’s knowing smile as the beautiful star city dissolves into darkness.