The school hallways were quiet as the day ended, lights buzzing softly over rows of lockers. The air smelled faintly of books and polish, with distant voices echoing from a classroom.
Orion leaned against the wall, hands in his hoodie pockets. He had always lived on the edges, never fully belonging. He had been certain he was meant to be the one, the Eclipse child, the balance between worlds. But fate had passed him by.
Instead, it had chosen her.
Celeste.
She didn't look special when he finally saw her. She sat in the back of a nearly empty classroom, focused on her notebook, twirling a pen. Just another student. Normal. Too normal. Orion's chest tightened as he watched her.
This was the girl who had taken his fate.
It wasn't fair. He had grown up believing he was meant for something greater, only to be overlooked and left behind. The Abyssals had tested him and then discarded him. Not enough. Not chosen. Not special.
Just like that, he had been forgotten.
Until now.
Orion took a slow breath, pushing off the wall. His footsteps were nearly silent as he walked into the classroom, moving without hesitation. Celeste didn't even notice him at first, too focused on whatever she was scribbling in the margins of her notes. He stopped just beside her desk, close enough that she finally sensed someone standing there.
She looked up.
Orion hadn't expected his pulse to stumble when he saw her face. It was frustrating. She was supposed to be an enemy, a reminder of everything he had lost. But the way she looked at him, curious and cautious yet unafraid, stirred something he didn't want to feel.
"Yes?" she asked, her voice steady despite the clear confusion in her eyes.
Orion studied her, his jaw tightening. "You don't deserve it."
Celeste blinked. "What?"
He leaned down slightly, lowering his voice, letting the resentment drip into every word. "You heard me. It should have been me."
Her brows furrowed, a mix of wariness and annoyance flashing across her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Orion exhaled sharply and shook his head. "Of course you don't. You don't even realize what you are, do you?" He scoffed and stepped back, his hands curling into fists. "I spent years waiting, training, thinking I was meant to be the one. But they chose you. And for what? You didn't even know you were different until it was handed to you."
Celeste's breath caught. "What?" Her surprise was immediate and unguarded. "What do you mean?"
The air between them shifted. Celeste hadn't expected his conversation, and Orion hadn't expected her reaction. There was no pity in her eyes, no fear. Just recognition.
And it irritated him.
That realization was more dangerous than his anger.
Before he could react, a presence filled the space beside Celeste, sudden and protective, setting every instinct in Orion on edge.
Jase.
The air tightened as Jase stepped between them, one hand resting on Celeste's shoulder. He didn't hide her, but the warning was clear.
Orion recognized him at once. The Luminary boy who stayed by her side. He was taller than expected, solid and steady, with a presence that filled the room. His expression wasn't angry, but his stance promised he was ready to act.
"Who the hell are you?" Jase's voice was calm, but there was steel underneath, an edge that made it clear he was not in the mood for games.
Orion held his ground, straightening slightly. "Orion," he said simply. "And this is between me and Celeste."
Jase's jaw tightened. "Yeah? Well, I'm making it my business."
Celeste sighed, resting a hand on Jase's arm, as if trying to keep him from escalating the situation. "Jase, it's fine. He—he's just—"
"I don't care," Jase interrupted, eyes never leaving Orion. "He walks in here, gets in your face, and starts throwing accusations? That's not happening." His voice dropped slightly, dangerous now. "You need to leave."
Orion clenched his fists, his blood running hot with frustration. He had come here to confront her, not deal with her overprotective guard dog. "I'm not here to fight."
"You looked like you are," Jase shot back.
For a moment, the tension between them stretched tight, like a thread on the verge of snapping.
Then Celeste stepped fully between them, her arms crossed. "Enough. Both of you."
Celeste looked between them, exasperated but firm. "If you have something to say, Orion, say it. But stop acting like I stole something from you."
Orion's gaze lingered on her, frustration and something deeper still burning beneath the surface. He said nothing. Instead, he turned and walked away.
*****
The encounter with Orion lingered in Celeste's mind long after he had walked away. No matter how hard she tried to shake it, his words clung to her, looping in the back of her thoughts like a song stuck on repeat.
"It should have been me."
The resentment in his voice had cut deep, but beneath it, Celeste had sensed pain. Something raw and broken. And the worst part was that she understood it.
She sat in her usual spot in the library with her books open, but the words blurred. No matter how hard she tried to focus, her thoughts kept returning to Orion. Who was he? What had he meant about being the Eclipse child? And if he had known about all of this before she had, why had she never heard of him?
A chair scraped loudly against the floor as Jase dropped into the seat across from her.
"Tell me you're not still thinking about him," he said, his voice edged with frustration.
Celeste sighed, closing her book with a soft thud. "Jase—"
"I'm serious, Celeste." His jaw was tight, his dark eyes locked onto hers with something fierce, something protective. "That guy Orion, or whatever, he's dangerous."
She frowned. "He didn't seem dangerous. Just… angry."
Jase scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, anger gets people killed." His gaze darkened, the usual warmth replaced by something stormy. "You didn't see the way he looked at you."
Celeste bristled. "I was there, Jase. I did see it."
"Then you should know better than to even think about him," Jase snapped. His fingers curled into the edge of the table, his frustration barely restrained. "He's not just some lost kid, Celeste. He came here looking for you. That's not a coincidence."
Celeste exhaled slowly, willing herself to stay calm. She understood where Jase was coming from but something about the way he was acting bothered her. "I'm not saying I trust him," she said carefully, choosing her words, "he was just looking for answers."
Jase's expression flickered with hesitation, then frustration. "I'm trying to keep you safe."
"I know." Her voice softened, but there was steel beneath it. "But I wanted to know what he meant."
Jase shook his head, looking away for a moment, exhaling sharply. "Celeste…" He ran a hand down his face, voice lower now, almost pleading.
"I need to find out what's happening," she muttered, mostly to herself.
Jase stilled. His sharp gaze locked onto her, something shifting in his expression. "Celeste…"
She stood abruptly, grabbing her books and stuffing them into her bag. "I need to go."
Jase frowned, rising from his seat. "Celeste—"
"I'll see you later," she said quickly before he could stop her.
She walked away without looking back.
*****
The hallway was nearly empty as she made her way toward the back exit of the school, her heart still hammering from her conversation with Jase. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate him looking out for her. But there was something about the way he had warned her that didn't sit right.
Orion had been angry, yes. But he had also been alone.
And even if Jase didn't want her anywhere near him, Celeste knew one thing for certain.
She was going to find out who he really was.
No matter what it took.
The back exit of the school opened to the cool air of early evening. Celeste paused, then stepped outside, the door closing softly behind her as the sounds of school faded..
She turned a corner, her thoughts tangled between curiosity and uncertainty—
And then she saw him.
Orion stood near the entrance of an old basketball court, hands in his pockets, head tilted slightly downward as if deep in thought. He must have sensed her before she even stepped closer, because his head lifted slightly, his gaze locking onto hers the second she stopped a few feet away.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Celeste hadn't thought this far ahead and hadn't decided what she was going to say, or how she was going to approach him. But now that she was standing here, she wasn't about to back down.
She hesitated for only a second before stepping forward, the sound of her footsteps softened by the cracked pavement beneath them. "Then tell me," she said. "Who are you, Orion? Why do you think you were supposed to be the Eclipse child?"
Orion studied her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. For a second, she thought he wouldn't answer. But then he let out a slow breath and shook his head.
"It doesn't matter anymore." His voice was quieter now, tinged with something almost bitter. "Fate made their choice. And it wasn't me."
Celeste frowned. "What do you mean?"
Orion's gaze flickered toward her, something unreadable flashing across his face. "Because I'm not one of them. Not fully."
She stilled, the weight of his words settling into place.
"Half-blood," she murmured.
Orion's lips quivered, but it wasn't a smile. "Not Luminary enough to be chosen. Not Mortalis enough to belong anywhere else." He let out a short, humorless laugh. "And apparently not powerful enough to be useful to the Abyssals, either. So I ended up exactly where I started, nowhere."
Celeste felt something tighten in her chest. She had spent so much time feeling like an outsider in her own life, but at least she had Granny Maela and Jase standing by her side. Orion… he had no one.
She didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't sure there was anything to say.
Instead, she took a slow breath and met his gaze. "You didn't deserve to be discarded like that."
Orion's expression flickered just for a second. Then he shook his head again, as if brushing off the thought. "Doesn't matter," he said simply. "What matters is that you were chosen." His gaze darkened slightly. "And I need to know why."
Celeste wasn't sure she had that answer.
Before Celeste could respond, Orion stepped forward too close, too fast.
Her breath hitched as he closed the distance between them, his presence suddenly overwhelming. His eyes, dark and stormy, locked onto hers with an intensity that made her stomach flip.
Celeste instinctively stepped back, but her heel hit the edge of the pavement, stopping her short. Orion caught the slight movement, his lips twitching in something that wasn't quite a smirk. "What's wrong?" he murmured, voice low. "You were so bold a second ago."
Heat crawled up Celeste's neck, her face betraying her far too easily. She clenched her fists at her sides, forcing herself to hold his gaze, even as she felt the warmth spread to the tips of her ears. "I wasn't expecting you to get in my face like this," she shot back, cursing the slight waver in her voice.
Orion tilted his head, his dark hair falling slightly over his eyes. "You came to talk to me," he said slowly, as if testing the words on his tongue. "And now you're flustered?"
She squared her shoulders, trying to ignore the heat prickling at her skin. "I just—"
"You just what?" Orion leaned in, just slightly, enough for her to catch the faintest trace of a mix of cool night air and something warm, something distinctively him.
And then—
She did the first thing that came to mind and she shoved him.
It wasn't hard, just enough to break the charged moment, to create the space she so desperately needed. Orion barely budged, but his eyes widened slightly in surprise before that slow, insufferable smirk returned.
Celeste huffed, crossing her arms as heat crawled up her neck. "I guess I shouldn't have bothered talking to you," she muttered, spinning on her heels.
Without waiting for a response, she stomped away, ignoring the way her heart was still racing, ignoring the way Orion's gaze burned into her back like an unspoken challenge.