The first thing I felt was cold.
Not ordinary cold — not the kind that brushes skin or fogs breath. This was colder. It clawed into my bones like I'd died and been dragged through frostbitten clouds. My lungs refused air. My limbs floated, weightless and wrong.
Then came the light.
Blinding. Electric. A holy detonation from within. It burst behind my eyes and cracked the air open with a sound like thunder begging for mercy. My spine arched. My mouth opened in a silent scream. Something ancient tore loose from my back — like wings, or the memory of them.
And then — nothing.
No sound. No pain. Just a slow, terrifying silence.
I woke on black marble, cold and endless beneath me. The sky above shimmered like ink diluted with starlight. Massive spires twisted into the clouds, glowing with runes. Statues of winged figures lined the edge of a hovering cathedral, each one masked and bleeding shadow from their stone eyes.
Where the hell am I?
"She's awake," a voice murmured behind me — smooth as velvet, sharp as a dagger.
I flinched.
A boy stood just feet away, leaning lazily against a twisted column. His skin was pale gold, his hair black as pitch. Silver eyes stared into me like he already knew what I feared. Over his chest burned a glowing insignia — a black sun wrapped in angelic script.
"Welcome to Heaven's Reformatory," he said, his tone amused. "Where the fallen go to rot."
"I—what? No. There's been a mistake," I choked. "I don't belong here."
"Oh, you do," he said. "The light? The Veil? That wasn't human, Seraphina."
I froze. "How do you know my name?"
He smirked. "Because I was sent to find you. Because you're mine to deliver."
My heart stuttered.
He stepped closer, and for a second, the shadows around us curved toward him — like they wanted to touch him.
"I'm Lucien," he said, offering a hand I wasn't sure I should take. "Half-demon. Former top-ranked. Currently on probation for... reasons."
I blinked. "This is a prison?"
"Disguised as a school," he corrected. "With rules you're already breaking just by existing."
I stared at his hand.
And then… I took it.
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