CELESTE'S POV
Theron ran like the world was ending.
I clutched his armored shoulders as he sprinted through the palace gardens, his boots pounding against stone pathways. Behind us, guards shouted and alarms screamed. Arrows whistled past our heads, so close I felt the wind from them.
"They're going to kill us!" I gasped.
"Not today," Theron growled.
An arrow shot toward my face. I screamed, but Theron twisted his body, letting the arrow slam into his armor instead. It bounced off with a metallic clang.
We burst through the garden gates just as more guards poured out of the palace. At least thirty of them, all armed, all furious.
The massive black horse I'd seen earlier galloped toward us. Up close, the animal was even more terrifying—tall as a building, with wild eyes and foam dripping from its mouth.
"That's your horse?" I squeaked.
"His name is Shadow." Theron practically threw me onto the saddle, then swung up behind me in one smooth motion. His arms came around me to grab the reins, caging me against his chest.
I'd never been this close to a man before. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, smell something like smoke and steel and night air.
"Hold on," he commanded.
"To what?"
"Me."
I grabbed fistfuls of his black cloak just as he kicked Shadow's sides. The horse exploded forward so fast my stomach lurched. Wind whipped my hair back. Trees blurred past us.
More arrows flew. Theron leaned left, then right, guiding Shadow in impossible zigzags. One arrow grazed my arm, leaving a burning line of pain. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.
"You're hit," Theron said. I felt his body tense behind me.
"It's fine—"
"It's not fine." His voice was hard as iron. "When we stop, I'll tend it."
We crashed through the forest at breakneck speed. Branches whipped at us. Shadow jumped over fallen logs and streams like they were nothing. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might burst.
Behind us, the sounds of pursuit were fading. The guards and their horses couldn't keep up.
We were actually escaping.
I'd been in that dungeon cell, waiting to die, and now I was fleeing through the forest on the back of a demon horse with the kingdom's most feared knight.
My life had gotten very strange very quickly.
After what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, Theron finally slowed Shadow to a walk. We were deep in the forest now, surrounded by trees so thick I couldn't see the sky.
"They'll keep hunting us," Theron said. "We need to reach the safe house before nightfall."
"Safe house?" I twisted to look at him, then immediately wished I hadn't. Up close, his scarred face was even more intense. His black eyes seemed to see straight through me. "You planned this?"
"Your grandmother planned it. Years ago." He guided Shadow around a massive oak tree. "She made me promise that if anything happened to you, I would protect you. She left me detailed instructions—where to find you, where to take you, what to do."
My throat tightened. "She knew? She knew they would betray me?"
"She knew someone would." Theron's jaw clenched. "She saw things in the stars. Possible futures. She said your power would make you a target."
"Some gift," I muttered bitterly.
We rode in silence for a while. The forest grew darker as the sun moved across the sky. My arm throbbed where the arrow had grazed it. My burned wrists ached. Everything hurt.
But I was alive. Against all odds, I was alive.
"Why did you really save me?" I asked quietly. "You could have ignored my grandmother's message. You don't know me."
Theron was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. Then: "Your grandmother was the only person who was kind to me when I was an orphan boy. Everyone else saw a dirty street rat. She saw someone worth saving."
I remembered Grandmother mentioning a boy she'd helped once, years before I was born. "That was you?"
"She convinced the old king to let me train as a knight. She gave me a purpose when I had nothing." His voice was rough with emotion. "I owe her everything. This is the least I can do."
"So you're only helping me because of a debt?"
"Yes."
The word stung more than I expected. I don't know why. He was a stranger. He didn't owe me anything beyond what he owed Grandmother.
But part of me had hoped—
"There," Theron said suddenly, pointing ahead.
Through the trees, I could see a small cabin tucked into a clearing. It looked old and abandoned, with vines growing up the walls and a roof that sagged in the middle.
"That's the safe house?"
"It's better inside than it looks."
Theron dismounted first, then lifted me down. His hands were surprisingly gentle despite their strength. The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs gave out. I would have fallen if he hadn't caught me.
"Easy," he said. "You've been through a lot."
"I'm fine—"
"You're not fine. You're exhausted, injured, and probably in shock." He kept one arm around my waist, half-carrying me toward the cabin. "Inside. Now."
The cabin was bigger inside than it looked from outside. There was a fireplace, a small bed, shelves lined with supplies, and weapons hanging on the walls.
Theron guided me to a chair, then knelt in front of me. He pulled off his black gloves, and I gasped.
His hands were covered in black marks—the same shadows I'd seen when he broke my chains. But up close, I could see they were moving. Actually moving, like living things crawling under his skin.
"What is that?" I whispered.
Theron's face was carved from stone. "A curse. It's been killing me slowly for the past ten years."
My heart stopped. "Killing you?"
"Yes." He reached for my injured arm, his cursed hands impossibly gentle as he examined the arrow graze. "I have three months left. Maybe less."
"But—there has to be a cure—"
"There is." He met my eyes, and for the first time, I saw fear hidden in their dark depths. "According to your grandmother, only you can break it."
The world tilted sideways.
"Me? But I don't know anything about curse-breaking—"
"Your grandmother said when the time was right, you'd know what to do." He pulled out bandages and began cleaning my wound with practiced efficiency. "She said our fates were connected. That we'd need each other to survive what's coming."
"What's coming?"
Theron's hands stilled on my arm. "Something bad. Something that will destroy everything if we don't stop it."
"You're not making sense—"
A sound outside made us both freeze.
Footsteps. Multiple sets. Moving through the forest, getting closer.
Theron was on his feet instantly, his sword drawn. He moved to the window and looked out, his body tense as a drawn bowstring.
"How many?" I whispered.
"Twenty. Maybe more." His jaw clenched. "They found us faster than I expected."
"What do we do?"
Theron looked back at me. In the fading light, his scarred face looked almost sad. "I fight. You run."
"What? No—"
"There's a back door. It leads to a path that goes deeper into the forest. Follow it north for three miles until you reach the river. There's a boat hidden there. Take it downstream to the village of Millbrook. You'll be safe there."
"I'm not leaving you!"
"You have to." He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "I made a promise to protect you. That's what I'm doing."
"By sacrificing yourself?"
"If necessary."
Anger flared in my chest. "You said we need each other! You said our fates are connected!"
"I lied."
The words hit me like a slap. "What?"
Theron's expression was hard, unreadable. "Your grandmother was a kind woman, but she was wrong. You don't need me. You're strong enough on your own. Now go."
He pushed me toward the back door.
But before I could move, the front door exploded inward.
Guards poured into the cabin—ten, fifteen, twenty of them. And leading them was Prince Adrian himself, looking furious and triumphant.
"Well, well," Adrian said, smiling his cruel smile. "The escaped prisoner and the traitor knight. How romantic."
Theron stepped in front of me, his sword raised. "Get behind me, Celeste."
"How touching." Adrian drew his own sword. "Did you really think you could escape? Did you think I'd just let you run away with my star witch?"
"She's not yours," Theron growled.
"Oh, but she is. Her magic belongs to me. I've been planning this for years." Adrian's eyes gleamed with madness. "And once I kill you, nothing will stop me from taking what's mine."
The guards raised their weapons.
I felt my magic stirring inside me, responding to the danger. Silver light began to glow around my hands.
Theron glanced back at me, his eyes widening. "Your magic—"
"I know." Power surged through me, stronger than ever before. The iron chains were gone. The binding was broken. For the first time in days, my celestial magic was completely free.
And it was angry.
"I'm done running," I said, stepping up beside Theron. "I'm done hiding. I'm done letting people like him take everything from me."
Theron stared at me like he'd never seen me before. "Celeste—"
"We fight together," I interrupted. "Or we die together. Your choice."
For one heartbeat, emotion flickered across his scarred face—surprise, respect, something that might have been pride.
Then he smiled. Actually smiled. It transformed his harsh features completely.
"Together, then," he said.
Adrian laughed. "How sweet. You'll die in each other's arms. Guards—kill them both!"
The guards charged.
And I raised my hands, letting starlight explode from my palms like a supernova.