CELESTE'S POV
The starlight that exploded from my hands was pure rage.
It slammed into the first three guards, throwing them backward like rag dolls. They crashed into the walls and didn't get up. Silver flames danced across my palms, hungry for more targets.
"Impossible!" Adrian stumbled back, his face pale. "Your magic was bound!"
"You never understood celestial magic," I said, my voice echoing with power I'd never felt before. "It can't be truly bound. Only delayed."
More guards charged. Theron moved beside me, his sword a blur of deadly precision. He fought like a demon—fast, brutal, unstoppable. Every swing of his blade dropped another guard.
But there were too many of them.
A guard got past Theron's defense, rushing straight at me with his sword raised. I threw up my hands instinctively. Starlight shot from my palms in a wild blast.
The magic hit everything—the guard, the ceiling, the wall behind him. Wood splintered. Stone cracked. The entire cabin shook.
"Celeste, control it!" Theron shouted, ducking as another blast nearly took his head off.
"I'm trying!" But my magic was like a wild animal after being caged for so long. It wanted to destroy everything in sight.
Another blast shot toward Theron. He wouldn't be able to dodge in time—
He grabbed my wrists.
The moment his skin touched mine, everything changed.
The wild, chaotic magic suddenly stabilized, flowing smooth and controlled through my veins. But that wasn't the strangest part. The strangest part was the flash of memories that weren't mine.
I saw a battlefield under a blood-red sky. A knight in black armor fighting beside a woman in silver robes. Their hands clasped together as they faced an army of shadow creatures. Power exploding from their joined hands, brighter than the sun.
I saw the same knight and woman in a garden, laughing together. Saw them dancing at a celebration. Saw them standing side by side as a great evil approached.
I saw them die. Together. Protecting each other until the very end.
The visions vanished as quickly as they'd come. I gasped, staring at Theron. His black eyes were wide with shock.
"What was that?" I whispered.
"I don't know," he said roughly. But he didn't let go of my wrists.
"How touching," Adrian sneered. He'd retreated to the doorway, using his remaining guards as shields. "But love won't save you. Men—finish them!"
The guards advanced again. But this time, something was different. With Theron still holding my wrists, I could feel his presence in my mind. Not his thoughts exactly, but his intentions. His movements.
We moved together without speaking.
I raised my hands. Starlight flowed out, but this time it was controlled, precise. Theron swung his sword in perfect sync with my magic. Every blast I sent, he followed up with his blade. Every enemy he engaged, I supported with celestial fire.
We fought like we'd been doing it for years.
Within minutes, the remaining guards were unconscious or fleeing. Only Adrian remained, pressed against the doorframe with terror on his face.
"This isn't over!" he screamed. "The Cosmic Council will hunt you both! You can't hide from what's coming!"
He turned and ran into the night.
Theron started to chase him, but I grabbed his arm. "Let him go. We need to leave before more guards arrive."
He hesitated, then nodded. "You're right. Can you walk?"
I tried to take a step and immediately stumbled. My legs were shaking so badly I could barely stand. Using that much magic had drained me completely.
Theron caught me before I fell. "That's a no, then."
He swept me up in his arms again, carrying me out the back door of the ruined cabin. Shadow was waiting there, pawing the ground nervously.
"Good boy," Theron murmured, somehow mounting the horse while still holding me. He settled me in front of him, his arms coming around me to grip the reins.
We rode hard into the forest, leaving the burning cabin behind.
My head drooped against Theron's armored chest. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. "What were those visions?" I mumbled.
"I saw them too," Theron said quietly. "We were fighting together. We were—" He stopped.
"We were what?"
"Together. In more ways than one."
I lifted my head to look at him. "You think we knew each other? In a past life?"
"I think it's more complicated than that." His jaw was tight. "Your grandmother mentioned something once about souls that are bound across lifetimes. I didn't understand what she meant then."
"And now?"
"Now I'm starting to." He guided Shadow around a fallen tree. "When I touched you, I didn't just see visions. I felt your magic. It felt familiar. Like coming home."
My heart did a strange flip in my chest. "I felt it too."
We rode in silence for a while. The forest grew darker as night fell completely. Strange sounds echoed through the trees—animals, or maybe something worse.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"North. To the mountains. There's a place your grandmother told me about. A temple where we'll find answers."
"Answers to what?"
"Everything." Theron's arms tightened around me slightly. "Why we have these visions. Why your magic responds to my touch. Why Adrian mentioned a Cosmic Council." He paused. "Why I was cursed ten years ago, and why the curse started spreading faster the moment I decided to save you."
I twisted to look at him. "It's getting worse?"
"Yes."
"Because of me?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Probably." He met my eyes. "I don't care. I'd make the same choice again."
"But you'll die—"
"We'll die if we don't find answers." His voice was firm. "Your grandmother said the temple holds the key to breaking my curse. She also said it would explain the prophecy."
"What prophecy?"
Before Theron could answer, Shadow suddenly reared up, neighing in terror. Theron fought to control him, but the massive horse was panicking.
"What's wrong with him?" I gasped.
"Something's here." Theron drew his sword with one hand while keeping the other around my waist. "Something that scares him."
A low growl rumbled through the forest.
Not an animal growl. Something darker. Something wrong.
Shadow backed up, his eyes rolling with fear. The temperature dropped so fast I could see my breath misting in the air.
Then I saw them.
Shapes moving between the trees. Tall, thin figures made entirely of shadow. They had no faces, no features, just darkness in the shape of men. And they were surrounding us.
"Shadow creatures," Theron breathed. "I thought they were all destroyed years ago."
"What are they?"
"Servants of dark magic. They hunt people with celestial power." His grip on his sword tightened. "They hunt people like you."
More shadows emerged from the forest. Ten. Twenty. Thirty of them, closing in from all sides.
"Can we outrun them?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"No. They're faster than any horse." Theron dismounted, pulling me down after him. He positioned himself between me and the creatures. "When I say run, you run. Don't look back. Don't stop."
"I'm not leaving you!"
"Celeste—"
"We fight together, remember?" I raised my hands, calling up my magic. But I was so tired from the earlier battle. The starlight that appeared was weak, flickering. "I won't abandon you."
Theron looked at me, and something shifted in his expression. "You're either very brave or very stupid."
"Maybe both."
He almost smiled. "Here." He grabbed my hand, linking our fingers together. "If we're doing this, we do it right."
The moment our hands touched, power surged through me. Not just my magic—his too. The shadow marks on his skin began to glow with dark energy. Our two powers mixed, light and dark swirling together.
The shadow creatures attacked.
They came from everywhere at once, moving impossibly fast. Theron swung his sword in wide arcs, cutting through them. Every time his blade connected, the creatures dissolved into smoke.
I threw starlight with my free hand, burning away shadows wherever they touched. But for every creature we destroyed, two more appeared.
"There's too many!" I shouted.
"I know!" Theron spun, his sword taking down three creatures at once. "We need to—look out!"
A shadow creature lunged at me from behind. I turned, raising my hand, but I was too slow—
Theron threw himself in front of me.
The creature's claws raked across his back. He grunted in pain but didn't fall. Instead, he grabbed the creature with his bare hand. The shadow marks on his skin flared brightly, and the creature shrieked before dissolving.
"Theron!" Blood was seeping through his armor. "You're hurt!"
"I'm fine. Stay close." He pressed his back against mine, and I understood—we'd protect each other's blind spots.
We fought like that, back to back, our joined hands between us. My starlight and his shadow magic working together, creating something neither of us could do alone.
Slowly, we started winning. The creatures fell back, their numbers dwindling.
Finally, the last one dissolved into nothing.
Silence fell over the forest.
We stood there, breathing hard, still pressed back to back with our hands clasped. My magic hummed through our connection, his shadows dancing with my light.
"Is it over?" I whispered.
"For now." Theron turned to face me, wincing as the movement pulled at his wounds. "But they'll send more. Shadow creatures don't hunt alone unless someone commands them."
"Someone sent them after us?"
"After you," he corrected grimly. "They want your celestial power."
"Who?"
"I don't know. But whoever it is, they're powerful enough to control creatures that haven't been seen in a hundred years." He swayed slightly, and I realized how much blood he was losing.
"We need to bandage your wounds—"
"No time. More will come." He whistled for Shadow, who emerged from the trees reluctantly. "We ride through the night. We don't stop until we reach the mountains."
He helped me onto Shadow first, then mounted behind me. The moment he did, I felt him slump forward slightly, his forehead resting against my shoulder.
"Theron?"
"I'm fine," he muttered. But his voice was weak. "Just tired. Keep watch while I rest my eyes for a moment."
His arms around me loosened as he drifted toward unconsciousness.
I grabbed the reins, guiding Shadow north like Theron had said. Behind us, I heard sounds in the forest—more creatures gathering, more danger approaching.
And the man who'd saved my life, who'd fought beside me, who'd taken a wound meant for me, was slowly bleeding out against my back.
"Stay with me," I whispered. "Please. Stay with me."