Celeste stood in an endless void, darkness stretching in every direction. There was no sky, no ground, no walls, yet she wasn't falling. Something unseen pressed against her skin, pulling at her. The air was thick with a power that made her bones hum and her pulse pound.
She wasn't asleep. At least, it didn't feel like a normal dream.
Then came a voice, soft and familiar, yet distant, as if woven into the fabric of the void itself.
"You are the key."
Celeste's breath hitched, her head snapping toward the sound. She turned, searching for the source, but the figure remained blurred and unreachable, lingering just beyond the edges of reality. She could feel them watching her, their presence vibrating in the empty space, yet the shape refused to take form.
Her heart pounded. Who was speaking? What were they talking about?
"The key to what?!" she called out, her voice echoing in the endless dark. But before she could take another breath, something inside her shifted.
A sudden heat flared in her chest, sharp and consuming. She gasped, clutching her heart as her knees gave way. It tore through her, as if something inside was trying to break free. Her vision flickered between shadows and light, flashes of images she couldn't grasp. She felt herself breaking apart and reforming, the force pressing her down and changing her.
Then everything stopped. She woke up.
****
Celeste was still unsettled by her dream, but Jase had dragged her out here, insisting she needed to train.
"If the Abyssals want you, we're not going to just wait around," he had said, leaving no room for argument. Now she stood in an open field, heat simmering beneath her skin, while Jase looked far too entertained by her struggles.
Leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, his golden eyes gleamed with amusement. "Alright, let's start simple," he said, rolling up his sleeves in a way that made her stomach twist despite herself.
Celeste tried not to stare at his arms but she failed miserably.
Jase noticed and smirked.
"Focus, Celeste," he murmured, stepping closer, his voice low, smooth, filled with quiet amusement, his golden gaze so knowing that she wanted to die on the spot.
Her face burned.
Why was he standing so close?
She didn't even have time to process it before his fingers wrapped around her wrist, guiding her hand into a proper defensive stance. His grip was firm, steady, his skin warm against hers, and the moment he touched her, an electric jolt shot straight through her, making her breath stutter.
"You're stiff," he noted, his voice dropping slightly, softer, almost intimate. "Relax."
She tried. She really did.
But he was too close, his presence too overwhelming, the heat of his body brushing against hers as he adjusted her posture, making it impossible to focus. His fingers skated along her waist, a fleeting touch, barely there but enough. More than enough.
Celeste's body locked up, her pulse skyrocketing into a mess of erratic, helpless beats.
Jase paused, tilting his head slightly, as if sensing the shift in her breathing, the tension curling between them, the way her entire body had betrayed her.
Then—
With zero warning, he leaned in. His lips brushed against the shell of her ear, featherlight, sending a violent shiver down her spine, as he whispered—
"Nervous?"
Celeste's breath hitched violently, heat flooding her face, the sensation so sudden, so unexpected, that her knees nearly buckled.
"N-No," she lied, voice barely above a whisper, barely holding it together.
Jase chuckled, low and deep, the sound curling through her like a slow-burning fire, deliberate, dangerous, sending a ripple of something intoxicating through her veins.
"Liar."
Her heart slammed against her ribs, her thoughts spiraling so fast that she didn't even see it coming when—
Jase suddenly pulled her forward.
Celeste gasped, her body stumbling toward him, and for a second, one impossible, devastating second, they nearly collided, her hands landing against his chest, her breath catching as she felt just how solid he was beneath her fingertips.
The world paused.
She could feel him, the steady rise and fall of his breath, the warmth of his body seeping into hers, the way his fingers lingered just a second too long before releasing her. But the worst part, the part that sent her pulse spiraling, was the look in his eyes.
The smirk was still there, but it had changed.
Something darker flickered in his golden eyes, possessive and dangerous, making her stomach twist in ways she wasn't ready to admit.
Then his hands left her.
The moment snapped.
Celeste stumbled back, her entire body buzzing, her pulse a chaotic mess, her thoughts so utterly wrecked that she could barely think straight.
Jase?
Jase grinned, looking far too pleased with himself.
"You're improving," he said smoothly, like he hadn't just ruined her life.
Celeste glared, struggling to regain control of her racing thoughts. "You're insufferable."
Jase simply shrugged, unbothered, his smirk widening as he murmured, "And yet, you can't stop blushing."
Celeste swore she was going to kill him.
*****
The night was still, the air heavy and pressing down. Jase's instincts sharpened, his senses on edge, his body tense.
Something was here. Something was wrong.
The moment his boots hit Celeste's porch, he knew. His golden eyes narrowed as he scanned the dark street, the dim streetlights barely cutting through the shadows. A creeping sensation slid down his spine. The air smelled wrong, the energy shifting, watching.
Jase's jaw tightened.
He wasn't alone.
Then came a low whisper. Carried by the wind, barely more than a breath, yet laced with something inhuman.
"She doesn't belong to you, Luminary."
His body locked up, muscles tensing instantly, his fingers curling into tight fists, golden eyes burning as his gaze snapped toward the direction of the voice.
And then he felt it.
Abyssal energy curled through the air, coiling in the shadows at the edge of his vision. It was there, but never solid, slipping between reality and nothingness.
Then, in the distance—
A flicker.
A shape.
A figure stood at the edge of existence, its form flickering like a dying ember, struggling to take shape in the mortal plane. A slow, cruel hiss followed, winding around him like poisoned silk.
"She belongs to us."
Jase's blood ran hot, furious and volatile.
His instincts screamed.
The moment the Abyssal vanished, something raw and dangerous surged inside him. Magic crackled beneath his skin, power straining to be unleashed, to burn away what had dared to speak her name.
Celeste.
His mind went to her instantly, his body already moving. In a blur, he was at her window, landing silently on the frame. He shoved it open and slipped inside, golden eyes sweeping the dim room.
He needed to see her.
Celeste nearly screamed when Jase appeared at her window, golden eyes blazing, his presence sharp and unyielding. He moved with urgent purpose, sending her heart racing as she scrambled back, her breath catching in her throat.
"JASE—WHAT THE HELL?!"
He didn't give her time to react. The moment she moved, his hand closed around her wrist, warm and steady, holding her gently but firmly. He pulled her toward him with a quiet, unrelenting force that made the air feel heavier and her stomach twist.
"They were here."
His voice was low, dangerous, edged with something that sent a violent shiver down her spine.
Celeste stiffened, her breath catching before she could stop it. "The Abyssals?"
Jase nodded, his jaw set, golden eyes burning with something fierce, protective, and enraged all at once.
"And they didn't just watch this time."
A lump formed in Celeste's throat. The room suddenly felt too small, the walls pressing in, her own pulse too loud in her ears. "What do you mean?"
Jase's fingers tightened around hers, his grip unshaken, grounding, keeping her steady even as the world around her seemed to shift, tilt, threaten to crack apart beneath her feet.
"They sent a message."
The way he said it, sharp, absolute, laced with quiet fury, made her stomach knot, as if something unspoken was already closing in.
Celeste swallowed and forced herself to speak. "What message?"
Jase hesitated, his gaze flickering over her face as if weighing how much to tell her. His fingers tightened slightly on her wrist, his golden eyes darkening with something heavier.
Then, finally—
"They think you belong to them."
Celeste stopped breathing.
The weight of those words sank into her skin, into her bones, into her very existence. Belong? To them? A sharp, suffocating dread curled inside her, cold and suffocating, wrong in a way she didn't understand.
"…Why?" she whispered.
Jase didn't answer immediately and somehow that silence terrified her more.
His grip shifted from her wrist to her fingers, his thumb brushing her skin in a motion so instinctive and possessive it made her breath catch. The contact was brief but sent heat curling in her stomach. His golden eyes were darker than she had ever seen, something flickering behind them, like a hesitation and an unspoken truth pressing between them.
"I don't know," he said, quieter but no less intense.
Frustration edged his voice. Rage, even. And something else he wasn't saying. She felt it in the way his fingers flexed against hers, in the flicker of his gaze. She tried to think, to understand what if the Abyssals were right? What if she wasn't just an ordinary Mortalis? What if…
Her thoughts halted abruptly.
Because suddenly—
Jase's hands were on her face.
Her breath stopped.
His touch was warm and steady, his fingers tilting her chin just enough to hold her gaze. He traced her cheek with slow, light movements, the contact sending goosebumps down her arms.
Her pulse raced.
Jase's gaze flickered, his golden eyes smoldering as his voice dropped lower, deeper, rougher.
"I don't care what they think."
Celeste couldn't breathe.
The heat in her chest coiled tighter, her skin burning beneath his touch, her entire body screaming at her to move, to say something, to stop this before it became irreversible.
But she didn't.
Jase's fingers tightened slightly, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw, his voice a near-growl—
"You're mine."
The way he said it, so possessive and absolute, sent a shiver through her, her knees weakening, her world narrowing to just him.
Jase leaned in, his breath warm against her lips, his presence filling the space between them until nothing remained but the moment.
Celeste's pulse went pounded, breathless and wild.
Then his lips met hers.
Soft at first, almost hesitant, as if testing, as if waiting for her to pull away.
But when she didn't—
When her fingers curled into his shirt, gripping onto him and pulling him closer, Jase's control snapped.
The kiss deepened, hungry and consuming, his hand at the small of her back pulling her against him while the other tangled in her hair, tilting her head. Celeste gasped as Jase pressed her to the wall, his body solid and unyielding, caging her in.
She didn't care that it was dangerous, that it was forbidden, that there were rules and lines they were never meant to cross. She didn't care if the Abyssals were somewhere in the shadows, waiting to strike.
Right now, the only thing that existed was him. His breath warm against her skin, his lips trailing along her jaw and down to her neck where her pulse pounded beneath his touch. Celeste shuddered, her fingers gripping his shoulders, holding onto him like he was the only thing keeping her grounded.
"Jase—"
His name was barely a whisper, barely a breath, but it unraveled something in him, something dangerous and unrelenting. He exhaled sharply, his lips hovering just above her collarbone, his hands tensing at her waist, as if he was trying to hold himself back, as if he was already too far gone to stop.
"You're mine."
The way he said it sent a shiver through her, her stomach tightening, heat spreading through her body. It wasn't a question or a plea. It was certain, decided long before either of them realized it, and there was no escaping it now.
Celeste felt like she was on fire.
But before she could respond, before she could completely lose herself in him, before she could finally admit that she wanted this, that she wanted him—
Jase suddenly stiffened.
His golden eyes snapped toward the window, his body shifting instantly, shoulders locking tight, muscles coiling like a predator who had sensed danger before it even arrived.
And then Celeste felt it too.
Something dark was watching.
The moment shattered.
The air grew heavy, the room seeming to tilt as the warmth between them vanished, replaced by a cold, suffocating presence. It wasn't here yet, but it was close enough to feel like whispers on her skin, like something waiting just beyond reality.
Jase muttered a low curse and pulled away, the loss of his warmth leaving Celeste breathless and unsteady. Her body ached for him, but her mind registered the change, the shift in the air and in him. His posture was rigid, jaw tight, hands clenched, golden eyes no longer soft.
They burned with rage.
"They're still here."
Celeste swallowed hard, the weight of everything crashing over her.