CELESTE'S POV
The midnight garden smelled like roses and lies.
I pressed myself against the cold stone wall, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might crack my ribs. Through the ivy-covered archway, I could see them. My sister Morgana. My fiancé Adrian. Kissing like they'd done it a thousand times before.
My stomach twisted into knots.
This couldn't be real. It had to be a nightmare. Any second now, I'd wake up in my warm bed, and Adrian would be downstairs waiting to have breakfast with me like he did every morning. He'd smile that perfect smile and tell me he loved me. Like he had for two whole years.
But dreams didn't hurt this much.
"Adrian," Morgana whispered, loud enough for me to hear. "When will you tell her the truth?"
Adrian laughed. The sound was different from the gentle laugh I knew. This one was cold and sharp. "Soon. I just need a little more time to study her magic patterns. Once I understand how her star magic works, I can take it for myself."
My breath caught in my throat.
"She actually thinks you love her," Morgana said, grinning. "Poor, stupid Celeste. She's been planning your wedding for months, picking out flowers like a lovesick puppy."
"I know." Adrian tucked a strand of Morgana's dark hair behind her ear. "It's almost too easy. She trusts everyone. She even told me the secret words her grandmother taught her for channeling celestial power."
The world tilted sideways.
I grabbed the wall to keep from falling. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold on. All those late nights when Adrian asked me about my magic—when he wanted to know about the ancient star spells—I thought he was just interested. I thought he loved me enough to care about what I cared about.
I was such a fool.
"Once you steal her magic, will you keep your promise?" Morgana asked. "Will you make me Grand Enchantress?"
"Of course." Adrian kissed her again. "Your mother already thinks Celeste is the favorite daughter. When we're done with her, you'll have everything. The title, the power, the respect. Everything she has will be yours."
"What about the curse on your family?" Morgana asked. "Will her star magic really break it?"
"According to the ancient texts, yes. Star magic is the only thing powerful enough to break the curse that's been killing the princes in my family for three generations. But Celeste would never give it to me willingly. So I had to make her fall in love with me first."
My chest felt like someone had reached inside and squeezed my heart until it stopped beating.
Every touch. Every kiss. Every whispered "I love you" in the moonlight. All of it was fake. All of it was part of a plan to steal my magic and destroy me.
I must have made a sound—a gasp or a sob, I don't know which—because Adrian's head snapped toward the archway where I was hiding.
Our eyes met across the garden.
For one heartbeat, I saw surprise flash across his handsome face. Then it melted away, replaced by something so cold and cruel that I barely recognized him.
"Well, well," he said slowly, walking toward me. "It seems our little star witch has been eavesdropping."
I stumbled backward. "Adrian, I—"
"Did you really think I loved you?" He smiled, but it wasn't the warm smile I knew. This smile was a knife. "I'm a prince, Celeste. I needed your star magic to break my curse. That's all you ever were to me. A tool."
Tears burned my eyes. "But you said—"
"I said what you wanted to hear." Adrian pulled something from his pocket—a small crystal vial filled with purple liquid. "I was going to wait another week before putting this in your wine. But since you've ruined the surprise, we might as well move forward with the plan."
"What is that?" I whispered.
Morgana stepped up beside Adrian, her face twisted with jealousy and triumph. "Poison. We were going to make it look like you tried to poison Adrian, but you accidentally drank it yourself. Such a tragic accident."
"No one would believe I'd poison him!"
"Won't they?" Adrian tilted his head. "Poor, jealous Celeste, so desperate to keep her prince that she tried to eliminate any competition. When that failed, she tried to kill the prince himself."
"That's insane! I would never—"
Adrian's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. His grip was iron-tight, nothing like the gentle way he used to hold my hand. "Guards! Help! The Star Witch is trying to poison me!"
"What? No!" I tried to pull away, but he was too strong.
Morgana's eyes gleamed as she pulled something else from her dress pocket—another crystal vial, identical to the first. "I planted this in your chambers this morning, dear sister. Such damning evidence."
Heavy footsteps thundered toward us. Palace guards poured into the garden from every direction, their armor clanking, their swords drawn.
"Prince Adrian!" The head guard, Captain Reeves, skidded to a stop. "What's happening?"
"She tried to poison me!" Adrian shoved me toward the guards. His face was a perfect mask of shock and betrayal. "I discovered her plot and confronted her. She admitted everything!"
"That's a lie!" I screamed. "He's lying! They both are!"
But no one was listening.
Captain Reeves grabbed my arms, twisting them behind my back. Metal cuffs snapped around my wrists, cold and heavy. "Celeste Starweaver, you're under arrest for attempted murder of the Crown Prince."
"No! Please, you have to listen—"
"Take her to the dungeons," Adrian ordered. He wiped fake tears from his eyes. "I loved her. I trusted her. And she betrayed me."
Morgana pressed her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with pretend horror. "I can't believe my own sister would do something so terrible."
The guards dragged me backward. I fought and kicked and screamed, but there were too many of them.
"Adrian, please!" I begged. "Tell them the truth!"
He looked at me one last time. His smile was cruel and satisfied. "Goodbye, Celeste. Enjoy your last night alive."
The dungeon doors slammed shut behind me with a sound like a coffin closing.
I collapsed on the cold stone floor of my cell, my whole body shaking. Through the tiny barred window, I could see the stars twinkling in the night sky—the same stars I'd loved since I was a little girl. The same stars that had always made me feel safe and connected to something bigger than myself.
Now they just looked distant and uncaring.
Tomorrow, I would stand trial. Tomorrow, they would find me guilty. Tomorrow, I would die.
And there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.
But then—something strange happened.
One star, brighter than all the others, began to pulse with silver light. It grew brighter and brighter, until it was almost blinding. A warmth spread through my chest, different from any magic I'd ever felt before.
Deep inside my soul, something was waking up.
Something powerful.
Something that had been sleeping for a very, very long time.