Celeste's POV
A Void Hunter lunged straight at my face.
I screamed and threw my hands up, squeezing my eyes shut, waiting for teeth to rip into my flesh.
Instead, silver light exploded from my palms like a bomb going off.
When I opened my eyes, the hunter was gone—nothing left but ash drifting through the air. My hands were glowing so bright I could barely look at them, pure starlight pouring from my skin in waves.
"What—" I stared at my hands in shock. "How did I—"
"CELESTE, BEHIND YOU!" Orion's voice cut through my confusion.
I spun around. Three more hunters were charging at me, their red eyes fixed on me like I was prey.
Instinct took over. I thrust my hands forward, and silver light shot out like arrows, piercing through all three creatures at once. They exploded into ash before they hit the ground.
The chamber went silent except for the sound of my ragged breathing.
Everyone—the Celestial Court members, Nyx, the other knights, even Orion—stared at me with expressions ranging from shock to horror.
High Justicar Lyra's burning eyes narrowed. "Impossible. No mortal can channel pure starlight. That power belongs only to—"
"Constellation Heirs," Orion finished quietly. Through the bond, I felt his emotions churning—shock, realization, and something that felt like wonder. "She's not just half-celestial. She's descended from the original Starweavers."
"The Starweaver bloodline was destroyed five hundred years ago," the blue-skinned Court member said. "Every last one of them was hunted down and eliminated for being too dangerous."
"Apparently not every last one," Nyx muttered, cutting down another hunter.
More Void Hunters poured through the broken floor, and the moment of shock shattered. Everyone moved at once—the Court members wielding devastating magic, the knights fighting with deadly precision, Nyx spinning through enemies like a dancer.
And Orion... Orion was struggling.
I could feel it through the bond. Every emotion he was experiencing—fear for my safety, confusion about what I was, anger at himself for caring—was throwing off his fighting. His movements were slightly off, his timing a fraction too slow.
A hunter's claws raked across his armor, leaving deep gouges.
"Orion!" I started toward him, but two hunters blocked my path.
I raised my hands, and silver light poured out again, easier this time. More controlled. The hunters disintegrated, and I ran to Orion's side.
"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth, cutting down another attacker. But through the bond, I felt his lie. The emotions were overwhelming him. Three hundred years without feeling anything, and now it was all hitting him at once.
"You're not fine," I said. "The bond is affecting you."
"I can handle it." His sword swept through two hunters simultaneously. "Just stay close and keep using that starlight. You're more dangerous than half my knights right now."
More hunters kept coming. Too many. Way too many.
"This is a coordinated attack," High Justicar Lyra called out, blasting a group of hunters with white fire. "Someone planned this perfectly—waited until the Court was here to maximize chaos."
"The traitor," Orion said grimly. "Whoever let these things in is still here. Still watching."
I scanned the chamber, looking for anyone acting suspicious. But everyone was fighting desperately. If there was a traitor, they were hiding it well.
A massive hunter—twice the size of the others—crashed through a wall, roaring. Its red eyes locked onto me immediately.
"That's an Alpha Void," Nyx shouted. "Commander, get the girl out of here! Those things specifically hunt Constellation Heirs!"
The Alpha charged, and I raised my hands to blast it. Silver light shot out—
And the Alpha absorbed it like a sponge, growing bigger.
"Oh no," I whispered.
"RUN!" Orion grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the door.
We sprinted through the hallways, the Alpha crashing after us, destroying everything in its path. Behind us, I heard the sounds of continued fighting.
"Why is it only chasing me?" I gasped as we rounded a corner.
"Because you're what it was sent to kill," Orion said. "Alphas are created specifically to hunt those with ancient bloodlines. Someone knew what you were before you did."
We burst into a circular chamber with no other exits. Dead end.
The Alpha smashed through the doorway, too big to fit properly, tearing chunks out of the wall as it forced itself through.
Orion stepped in front of me, his sword raised. "When I give the signal, run past it and get back to the main hall."
"What? No! I'm not leaving you!"
"You have to. That thing will keep regenerating as long as you're near it." Through the bond, I felt his determination. He was planning to sacrifice himself to buy me time.
"Orion, don't you dare—"
The Alpha attacked.
Orion met it head-on, his blade clashing against its claws. They were evenly matched for maybe three seconds before the Alpha's superior strength started winning.
I couldn't just stand there. I couldn't let him die protecting me.
But my starlight made the Alpha stronger. What else could I do?
The bond. The golden thread connecting us pulsed with energy.
An idea hit me—crazy and probably stupid, but it was all I had.
I closed my eyes and focused on the bond, on the connection flowing between us. Then I imagined pushing my power through it, directly into Orion instead of out into the air.
The bond flared brilliant gold.
Orion gasped as silver starlight suddenly coated his sword, his armor, his entire body. His movements became faster, stronger, more precise.
He spun and drove his now-glowing blade straight through the Alpha's chest.
The creature shrieked and exploded into ash, unable to absorb the combined power of two connected souls.
Orion stood there, breathing hard, staring at his glowing hands. Then he turned to me, his silver eyes wide.
"How did you do that?"
"I... I don't know. I just thought if the bond connects us, maybe I could share the power through it?"
"That should be impossible." But even as he said it, the glow around him faded, and I felt exhausted, like I'd run a marathon.
Before we could discuss it further, Nyx burst into the chamber. "The hunters are retreating. We drove them off, but..." Her expression was grim. "We have a bigger problem."
We followed her back to the main hall. The Court members were standing in a circle around something on the floor.
Someone.
A Celestial Knight lay dead, a dagger made of void-corrupted metal buried in his back.
"Captain Theron," Orion said quietly. "He was one of my best."
"Look at his hand," Lyra said.
Theron's hand was clenched around a piece of paper. Orion carefully pried it free and unfolded it.
His face went pale.
"What does it say?" I asked.
He showed me. Written in blood were three words:
She is awake.
"Cassius knows," Orion said. "He knows you've awakened your powers. That's why he sent the Alphas—to test your abilities."
"And to send a message," Lyra added coldly. "That nowhere is safe. Not even the Celestial Sanctum." She turned her burning eyes on Orion. "This girl has brought war to our doorstep, Commander. The Court demands she be handed over immediately."
"No." Orion's voice was steel.
"That wasn't a request."
"And I wasn't asking permission." Orion moved to stand in front of me again. "She stays under my protection."
"Then you are both under arrest," Lyra declared. "For treason, for harboring a dangerous entity, and for refusing a direct order from the Celestial Court."
The other Court members raised their hands, magic crackling around them.
Nyx and the remaining knights immediately moved to flank Orion, weapons drawn.
"Stand down, Commander," Lyra said. "Or we will take you by force."
Through the bond, I felt Orion calculating odds, weighing options. We were outnumbered. Outpowered. The Court members were some of the strongest celestials in existence.
But Orion wasn't backing down.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to him. "I never wanted any of this."
"I know." His hand found mine and squeezed. "But we're in it now. Together."
The word sent a strange warmth through the bond. Together.
Lyra's patience snapped. "SEIZE THEM!"
The Court members attacked.
Orion's knights moved to intercept, and chaos erupted again. Magic and steel clashed as celestials fought celestials for the first time in centuries.
Orion pulled me toward a side passage. "We need to get you somewhere safe until I can negotiate—"
An explosion of dark energy cut him off.
The entire chamber shook. Cracks spread across the crystallized walls. And through those cracks, a voice echoed—smooth, ancient, and terrifyingly amused.
"Why negotiate when you could simply... surrender?"
A figure materialized in the center of the chamber, formed from shadows and corrupted starlight. Tall, impossibly beautiful, with features that looked carved from marble and eyes that swirled with darkness.
Lord Cassius Void.
Everyone froze.
"Hello, little Starweaver," Cassius said, smiling at me. "I've been searching for you for twenty years. Ever since I killed your mother and put that curse on you as a baby." His smile widened. "And now, here you are. Right where I wanted you."
My blood turned to ice.
He killed my mother. He cursed me. Everything—my powerless childhood, my suffering, my awakening—it was all his plan.
"Stay away from her," Orion snarled, moving between us.
"Or what? You'll fight me?" Cassius laughed. "You're barely holding yourself together, Commander. Those pesky emotions are destroying your legendary control. How does it feel, experiencing three centuries of suppressed feelings all at once?"
Through the bond, I felt Orion's struggle intensify. Cassius was right—the emotions were overwhelming him.
"Here's what's going to happen," Cassius continued. "The girl comes with me willingly, and I let the rest of you live. She refuses, and I tear this entire Sanctum apart, killing everyone inside." His dark eyes fixed on me. "Choose quickly, little Starweaver. How many lives is your freedom worth?"
My heart pounded. Everyone in this chamber—Orion, Nyx, the knights, even the Court members who wanted me arrested—they would all die if I refused.
"Celeste, don't," Orion said, reading my thoughts through the bond. "Whatever you're thinking, don't—"
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
And I stepped forward.
"I'll go with you," I told Cassius. "Just let them live."
Cassius's smile was triumphant. "Wise choice."
He extended his hand toward me.
I reached out to take it—
And Orion's hand closed around my wrist like iron.
"No," he said. Through the bond, I felt something shift inside him. A decision made. "If you take her, you take us both."
"Orion, what are you—"
He looked at me, his silver eyes burning with intensity. "The bond ties our lives together. If you die, I die. So if you're determined to sacrifice yourself..." His grip tightened. "Then I'm coming with you."
Cassius's expression darkened. "How touching. I suppose I'll just have to kill you both, then."
He raised his hand, dark energy crackling—
And the entire Sanctum suddenly blazed with blinding white light.
A voice—feminine, ancient, and carrying the weight of galaxies—echoed through every corner of the realm:
"ENOUGH."
Everyone dropped to their knees, even Cassius, as pure celestial power flooded the chamber.
In the center of the light, a figure appeared. A woman made of living starlight, impossibly beautiful, radiating power that made everyone else look like candles next to the sun.
Orion's whisper was awed: "The Moon Goddess herself."
The Goddess looked at me, and I felt her gaze pierce straight through to my soul.
"Rise, Daughter of Stars," she commanded. "It is time you learned the truth of what you are. And why the fate of both realms rests on your shoulders."