Celestia's breath came in shallow gasps as she stood there, torn between the storm of emotions swirling within her and the icy wall she had built around her heart. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a precipice, one wrong step away from falling into a pit she couldn't climb out of.
Kael's hand hovered near her, but he didn't touch her again. He was waiting for her—waiting for her to make a choice. A choice that would change everything.
"You don't understand," Celestia whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. "You're asking me to give up everything—my power, my throne, my vengeance—everything that's kept me alive."
Kael's eyes softened with an intensity that almost made her forget the chaos inside her. "You think I'm asking you to give up something, but I'm not. I'm asking you to stop running from yourself."
The words struck her like a thunderclap, and for a moment, she felt something shift inside of her. "Stop running from myself?" she repeated, the weight of his words sinking in. "You have no idea what I've done to survive. I've killed, I've betrayed, I've become a monster. I'm not someone you can love, Kael."
Kael stepped forward, his presence filling the room with a warmth she hadn't realized she'd been craving. "I'm not afraid of who you've become. I'm not afraid of the blood you've spilled, or the lies you've lived. I see who you are beneath all of that—the woman who's been broken and remade, the woman who deserves more than this life of shadows and rage."
Celestia's heart pounded in her chest, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that she was worth saving, but the weight of her past pressed down on her like a mountain.
"I don't deserve you," she finally managed to say, the words tasting like ash in her mouth. "You're young, Kael. You don't understand the kind of darkness that lives inside me."
"Then let me understand," he said, his voice raw with emotion. "Let me help you, Celestia. Let me see the real you—the you that's been hiding all this time."
A tremor ran through her as his words cut through the walls she had built so carefully around herself. She had been hiding for so long, not just from others, but from herself. She had convinced herself that she was untouchable, that no one could break through the darkness that had consumed her. But Kael... Kael was different.
He wasn't afraid. And that terrified her more than anything else.
"You don't understand," she repeated, her voice breaking. "I'm cursed, Kael. You have no idea what's coming for me."
Kael took another step forward, his eyes never leaving hers. "Then tell me. Tell me what's coming, Celestia. I'm not going anywhere."
The intensity in his gaze was enough to make her heart race, but she couldn't bring herself to open up to him. She had spent so many years guarding her heart, building walls to keep everyone at a distance. And now, here he was, tearing those walls down with nothing more than his words, his touch, and the power of his presence.
"I'm not asking you to love me," Kael continued softly. "I'm asking you to trust me. To let me in."
Celestia shook her head, the storm inside her growing more violent with every passing second. "I can't," she whispered. "I can't let anyone in. I can't let you in."
But Kael's hand was already reaching out, his fingers brushing against her arm, sending a jolt of heat through her body. "It's not about letting me in, Celestia," he said, his voice low and urgent. "It's about letting yourself be seen. Letting someone love you, even if you think you're beyond redemption."
His words hit her like a blow to the chest. She had never allowed anyone to see the real her—not fully. Not the woman who had been haunted by the past, not the woman who had suffered in silence, not the woman who had killed to survive.
But Kael was different. He wasn't asking her to change. He wasn't asking her to be perfect. He was asking her to be real.
Celestia's heart pounded as she stared at him, the weight of his gaze pressing down on her, and for the first time in years, she felt the walls inside her begin to crack. But just as the first crack appeared, the door to the room burst open with a violent crash.
"Celestia!" a voice shouted, sharp and filled with anger. It was Damien.
Damien's voice cut through the charged silence like a blade, shattering the fragile moment between Kael and Celestia. She recoiled instinctively, her body going rigid at the sound of her stepbrother's presence. The walls she had let slip just moments ago surged back into place, and the tension that had been building between her and Kael evaporated, leaving behind only the cold emptiness of her reality.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Damien's voice was venomous, his eyes narrowing with thinly veiled contempt as they darted between Celestia and Kael. "Did you really think you could hide from me?"
Celestia's heart hammered in her chest, her pulse racing at the intensity in Damien's gaze. She didn't need to see the anger swirling in his eyes to know that he was dangerous—she could feel it in the way the air seemed to crackle with hostility every time he entered a room.
Kael, on the other hand, stood unmoving, his eyes never leaving Celestia. It was as if he had sensed the shift in the room, the sudden arrival of a threat he had no control over. And yet, there was something in his stance—defiant, unwavering—that made Celestia's heart ache.
"I told you to stay away from her," Damien growled, his voice low and filled with menace. "You've already caused enough trouble, mage. This doesn't concern you."
Kael's jaw tightened, but his expression remained eerily calm. "I don't care about your threats, Damien," he said coldly, the heat of his gaze never wavering from Celestia. "This has everything to do with me."
Celestia's breath caught in her throat as their eyes met, the unspoken words hanging in the air between them. Her heart was torn, warring between the desire to push Kael away and the undeniable pull that he had on her—a pull that was stronger than anything she had ever felt before. She wanted to resist. She wanted to push him out of her life, but the way he saw her, the way he made her feel... it was like nothing else in her world.
Damien, however, wasn't about to let the moment stretch any longer. He took a step forward, his hand resting on the hilt of the blade at his side, his gaze now fixed on Kael with a dangerous intensity. "Stay away from my sister, or I will make you regret it," he hissed, his voice dark with a promise of violence.
Kael's lips curled into a small, almost mocking smile, the tension in his body dissipating ever so slightly as he met Damien's challenge. "You think you can scare me?" His voice was calm, almost too calm, as if he were daring Damien to make the first move.
Celestia's heart raced as she watched the two men stare each other down, the air between them thick with animosity. Her body tensed, her fingers itching to intervene, to stop the confrontation before it escalated any further. But she didn't know how. This was Damien—her stepbrother, the man who had been by her side through everything. And yet, here he was, threatening the one person who had shown her a kindness she wasn't sure she deserved.
"Enough," Celestia's voice broke through the tension, her words sharp as she finally stepped between the two men, her gaze fierce as she locked eyes with Damien. "If anyone's going to make the decisions here, it's me. Not you, Damien."
Damien faltered for a moment, his gaze flickering to Celestia with a mixture of disbelief and fury. "You've lost your mind if you think I'll let him anywhere near you," he spat, his voice thick with anger.
Celestia felt the weight of his words, the gravity of his warning pressing down on her chest like a vice. She knew Damien well—knew that when he said something like that, he meant it. And yet, there was a part of her, a small, fragile part, that wanted to believe that maybe—just maybe—she could have this. That she could have Kael, despite everything, despite the danger, the violence, the curse that hung over them both.
"I don't need your protection, Damien," she said, her voice a cold whisper, though her heart was anything but calm. "I can make my own choices."
For a moment, silence reigned in the room. Kael stood there, his eyes never leaving Celestia, his presence steady and unwavering. He had said nothing, but his eyes held an understanding that Celestia couldn't ignore. He knew the weight of her world. He understood what it meant to choose the wrong path and suffer the consequences.
"Fine," Damien growled, his lip curling in contempt. "But don't say I didn't warn you. You're playing with fire, Celestia. And fire has a way of burning everything to the ground."
With that, he turned on his heel, storming out of the room with a furious slam of the door behind him.
Celestia stood there, the adrenaline of the confrontation still pumping through her veins. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or more terrified than before. Damien had made it clear that this wasn't over. He wouldn't just let her go so easily.
And yet, Kael stood there, unmoving, his gaze locked on her with an intensity that made her blood run hot. He had stood his ground, had refused to back down in the face of Damien's threats. It was something she hadn't expected, and it rattled her more than she cared to admit.
"You're not afraid of him," she whispered, more to herself than to Kael. "Why aren't you afraid?"
Kael's eyes softened, and he took a slow step toward her. "Fear is a choice, Celestia," he said quietly. "And I've chosen not to be afraid."
The words hung in the air between them, heavy and full of unspoken meaning. Celestia felt her heart race again, her chest tightening with a mix of emotions. She was afraid. Afraid of the curse, of the danger, of what she might lose. But for the first time in years, she wasn't sure if Kael was the threat. Maybe, just maybe, he was the one thing she could hold onto in a world that had never offered her anything but chaos.