Juliette woke to a faint vibration humming through the floor. For a moment, she forgot where she was—the blankets wrapped around her, the soft pillow beneath her head, the pale light streaming in through the wide, circular window. Then it all came rushing back.
The kidnapping. The impossible flight through the sky. The boy with black eyes.
Her breath hitched. She sat up quickly, scanning the unfamiliar room. It was far too clean, far too carefully arranged to belong to someone normal. The walls were lined with polished wood and metal panels, faintly glowing with veins of light that pulsed like veins of energy. And beyond the glass window… clouds. Rolling, endless clouds, tinted gold by the morning sun.
Juliette's stomach dropped. The house was moving. Floating.
She pushed her legs over the edge of the bed, barefoot against the smooth floor. Her instincts screamed at her to stay put, but another part of her—a restless, stubborn thread of curiosity—pulled her toward the door. She needed to understand where she was.
The handle was cold in her grip. Slowly, carefully, she opened the door.
The hallway stretched out, wide enough to make her feel small, with glass panels here and there revealing glimpses of the sky outside. She stepped out, every sound amplified in the silence: the creak of the floor beneath her, the whisper of her breath.
As she moved down the hall, she noticed doors—some sealed, others slightly ajar. Strange machinery hummed in alcoves, wires running like vines across the ceiling. Everything looked… built, yet elegant.
"Morning."
Juliette froze.
Leo stood at the far end of the hall, his bright yellow hoodie almost glowing against the muted walls. His golden tail swished lazily behind him as he leaned against the wall, chewing on something.
Her heart skipped. She wanted to run back into the room—but his posture wasn't threatening. If anything, he looked almost amused.
"You… you're the boy from last night," Juliette said, her voice small.
Leo tilted his head. "Yeah. And you're the girl who kept staring at the floor like it was gonna save her." He grinned, though not unkindly.
Juliette bristled, hugging her arms around herself. "Where… where am I?"
Leo shrugged, stepping toward her with an easy gait. "In Ash's house. In the sky. Don't bother trying to leave—you'll just fall." He flicked his tail toward the glass panels, as if to remind her how far the ground was.
Her throat tightened. "Then why am I here?"
The boy's grin faded a little, his expression softening. "That's… complicated. Ash doesn't usually explain things right away."
Juliette's stomach twisted. She hated the answer, but she could tell by his tone that he wasn't mocking her.
"You hungry?" Leo asked after a beat. "There's food in the kitchen. I'll show you."
Juliette hesitated. She didn't trust him—or this place—but the ache in her stomach answered before her pride did. Slowly, she nodded.
Leo's smile returned, gentler this time. "C'mon then. I'll give you the grand tour on the way."
As she followed him, her steps hesitant, Juliette couldn't shake the feeling that she had stepped into another world entirely.
The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly, every corner opening into another section of the flying house. Leo walked just ahead of her, his golden tail flicking lazily from side to side, the bright orange of his shorts almost too cheerful for the situation. Juliette trailed a step behind, arms folded tightly, eyes darting from one strange device to the next.
"So," Leo said after a moment, breaking the silence. "You got a name, right? Or should I keep calling you 'Floor Girl'?"
Juliette scowled before she could stop herself. "Juliette."
"Juliette," Leo repeated, drawing it out like he was testing the sound. "Fancy. Doesn't really match how scared you looked last night, though."
She clenched her jaw. "Maybe because I was kidnapped?"
Leo chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, fair point. Guess Ash doesn't really think about how terrifying he comes off. He's not big on… uh… introductions."
Juliette's stomach twisted at the mention of Ash. "Why did he bring me here?"
Leo slowed his pace, his tail curling slightly. "I don't know all of it. He doesn't exactly tell me everything either." He glanced back at her, his expression surprisingly serious for someone who looked so carefree. "But if he went out of his way to grab you, it means you're important somehow."
Her heart sank. "Important to him? Or to whatever he's planning?"
Leo shrugged. "Both, probably. Ash always has a plan. Even when it looks like he doesn't."
Juliette stopped walking, her voice trembling. "So what—you're just fine with this? With him kidnapping people?"
Leo froze for a second, then turned around. His grin had faded, and for the first time, Juliette saw a shadow of something heavier in his eyes.
"You don't get it," he said quietly. "Ash saved me. My whole village… gone. The Syndicate burned it down, killed almost everyone. If he hadn't shown up, I'd be dead too." His tail twitched, restless. "So yeah, maybe he does things in… weird ways. But I trust him. He's the reason I'm alive."
Juliette stared at him, her anger faltering against his words. The air felt heavier between them, the weight of his memory pressing down.
"I…" She swallowed hard, unsure what to say.
Leo forced a crooked smile back onto his face, waving a hand dismissively. "Hey, don't look so guilty. I'm not asking you to trust him. Or me. Just… don't judge too fast, alright? You'll see for yourself."
He started walking again, more quietly this time. Juliette followed, her thoughts a tangled storm. She wanted to hate Ash, hate Leo for defending him—but a small part of her couldn't ignore the flicker of sincerity in his voice.
And that scared her more than anything.
Leo swung open a set of double doors, revealing a sprawling kitchen that looked like something Juliette had only seen in glossy magazines—except this one hummed faintly with hidden machinery. Cabinets shifted open and shut on their own, and glass jars glowed faintly as if the spices inside were alive.
"Ta-da!" Leo announced, spreading his arms. "The food zone."
Juliette lingered at the threshold, eyeing a bowl of fruit that pulsed faintly with light. "Food… zone?"
"Yeah," Leo grinned, tail swishing. "Ash might look like he lives off of brooding and long silences, but he actually keeps this place stocked. Watch."
He grabbed one of the glowing fruits, tossed it in the air, and caught it with a little flourish before biting into it. The juice left a streak of gold across his cheek, and he laughed, nudging a plate toward her. "Go on. They look weird, but they taste normal. Better than normal, actually."
Juliette hesitated, but her stomach betrayed her with a low growl. Leo smirked knowingly.
She sighed, picked up a small piece of bread that shimmered faintly, and took a bite. Warm, sweet, soft. It melted on her tongue, surprising her enough that her brows shot up.
"See?" Leo said triumphantly. "Not everything here is nightmare fuel."
Before Juliette could answer, the temperature in the room shifted. A quiet step echoed behind her, followed by a presence that seemed to fill the space. She stiffened before she even turned.
Ash leaned casually against the doorframe, dressed the same as the night before—button-up shirt, dark jeans—yet somehow he carried himself like he owned the air itself. His black eyes flicked between her and Leo, unreadable.
"Already making friends, hm?" he murmured.
Juliette's pulse jumped. She took a small step back, clutching at the golden necklace around her throat. The pendant—a cluster of blue crystals bound in delicate filigree—caught the light. Ash's gaze narrowed, his expression sharpening with interest.
In one smooth motion, he crossed the room. "That necklace again…" His voice was low, almost playful. He reached out, fingers stretching toward the charm.
Juliette flinched, but before she could pull away, his skin brushed against the gold and crystals—
—and a hiss of pain cracked through the air. Ash recoiled, his hand smoking faintly as if seared by invisible fire.
Juliette gasped. Leo's eyes widened.
But Ash only stared at the burn, then at her, and smiled. Not cruelly, but with the strange satisfaction of someone who had just confirmed a theory.
"Good," he said softly, flexing his fingers as the skin healed faster than it should have. "This just might work."
Juliette's breath caught, a chill crawling up her spine.
She didn't know what frightened her more—Ash's pain, or the fact that he smiled through it.
Juliette's fingers tightened around the gold necklace, feeling the sharp edges of the blue crystals press into her skin. Her heartbeat hammered so loudly she swore it filled the kitchen.
Ash's eyes lingered on her, black and bottomless, the faintest curl of amusement tugging at his mouth. The burn on his hand had already faded to nothing, as though the necklace had never touched him.
For a few breathless seconds, no one moved.
Then Leo cleared his throat, stepping between them with a forced brightness. "Sooo," he said, tail flicking behind him, "breakfast! Great food! Totally safe, see?" He waved a glowing fruit at Juliette like it was a shield.
Juliette tore her gaze from Ash's and looked down, her hand still clutching the necklace.
Ash chuckled softly under his breath. He didn't argue or explain—he simply turned and strolled toward the counter, plucking up one of the strange fruits as if nothing unusual had happened. But Juliette felt it—the way his presence lingered, the way his words still hung in the air.
This just might work.
She wasn't sure if that meant she'd survived something—or stepped into something worse.
Juliette finally let the necklace drop against her collarbone, though her fingers brushed it like she needed to make sure it was still there.
Leo leaned an elbow on the counter, watching her with a lopsided grin. "You know," he said, "most people get to eat their breakfast without cryptic stares and dramatic sizzling."
Her lips twitched despite herself. "Lucky them."
"Lucky you," he countered, nudging the plate closer. "You've got protection. That thing clearly doesn't like him."
Juliette looked down at the necklace, the gold chain gleaming faintly, the blue crystals catching the kitchen's glow. "You say that like it's supposed to mean something."
Leo shrugged, trying to look casual, but his tail gave him away, twitching like a metronome. "Ash plays games. Always has. The fact that your necklace… pushes back? That's rare. Good rare."
Her brows knit. "And when he said 'this might work'? What did he mean?"
Leo's grin faltered for a fraction of a second before returning. "See, that's the part where I tell you not to overthink it. Eat first, panic later."
Juliette frowned. "That's not very reassuring."
"Hey," Leo said lightly, raising the glowing fruit like a toast, "if I had all the answers, I'd be the scary one. And I'm way too charming for that."
Despite the tension, a laugh slipped out of her. Short, nervous, but real.
Ash, on the other side of the room, didn't turn. But Juliette had the sinking feeling he heard everything.
Ash gave a faint shrug and, without another word, leapt off the edge of his house in the sky. With strong, effortless strokes, he flew downward, casual clothes shifting in the wind, his buster sword strapped to his back. In moments, he was gone, leaving only the echo of the wind behind.
Juliette's stomach knotted as she watched him disappear. "He… just left? Like that?"
Leo leaned against the counter, trying to look relaxed, but his tail twitched nervously. "Yep. Always vanishes when you least expect it. Makes life… interesting."
Juliette fiddled with the necklace again, turning it over in her hands. "And the necklace… what did you mean before? That it pushes back?"
Leo chewed his lip, hesitating. "Well… there are things out there—powers, people… some really dangerous stuff—that react to certain… individuals. That necklace? You're lucky it picked up on you."
Her eyes narrowed. "Lucky me? Or lucky him?"
Leo froze for a split second, muttering under his breath, not realizing she'd hear: "Better lucky than the boy without a heart…"
Juliette's head snapped up. "Wait. Did you just say—?"
Leo's eyes went wide. "Uh… story. Just a story. Nothing real."
Her curiosity flared, unstoppable. "A story about a boy without a heart? That's… that's a person, isn't it?"
Leo gave a tight-lipped, nervous grin. "Maybe. Or maybe it's just a tale you're not ready to hear the full version of yet."
Juliette didn't look convinced. One slip, one phrase, and now she was full-on pressing for answers—completely unaware that the "boy without a heart" had already flown out the door.