A Choice

The tram hummed softly as it glided through the sky, the skyline of Aetherion passing in a blur of glowing dominions and structured perfection.

Celeste sat near the window, fingers tracing absent-minded circles against the cool glass. She should have felt something—relief, sadness, nostalgia—after seeing her family again. Instead, she only felt the growing weight of unease.

The Scorpio enforcer had been watching her, and that wasn't normal.

Scorpios belonged to the Water Dominion, but unlike the gentle Pisces or the balanced Cancers, they were the silent enforcers of the Celestial Order—the spies, the interrogators, the unseen hand that ensured obedience.

If one had been tracking her, it meant something was wrong.

And Celeste had no idea what.

She leaned back against her seat, closing her eyes for a moment. The soft voice of the tram's automated guide filled the space around her.

"Arriving at Air Dominion. Please disembark in an orderly manner."

Celeste barely had time to gather herself before the tram doors slid open.

And that's when she saw him.

He was standing just outside the tram station, leaning against one of the floating guide pillars, dressed in black from head to toe—unmistakably out of place in the Air Dominion's pristine, futuristic aesthetic.

He wasn't an Aquarius.

She knew that immediately.

His presence was too still, too watchful, his sharp features partially obscured by the messy dark hair falling over his forehead. His posture was casual, but there was a dangerous awareness in the way he stood—like someone who was always prepared to move, to strike.

Her heart tightened.

Kieran Vael.

She didn't know him personally, but she knew of him. Everyone did. A Scorpio assassin. A ghost. The Celestial Order's secret blade.

And he was watching her.

Celeste hesitated for half a second before stepping off the tram, forcing herself to keep moving. She didn't need to show fear—fear was a weakness, and weakness was something Scorpios exploited.

His gaze flicked toward her, cold and assessing.

Celeste kept walking.

But before she could disappear into the floating streets of her district, she heard something.

A voice. Low, calm, and deliberate.

"You don't belong here, do you?"

Celeste froze.

She turned back slowly, but Kieran was already gone—vanished into the city's endless expanse of glass and light.

Her pulse thundered in her ears.

Why was he watching her? And how did he know?

The Hidden Library

By the time Celeste reached her quarters, the weight in her chest had only grown heavier.

She needed answers. Not about Kieran. Not about why a Scorpio assassin had been following her.

About herself.

Because as much as she tried to play the role of an Aquarius, a part of her had always known something was wrong. She wasn't like the others.

She didn't think like them, didn't feel like them. The rigid structure of the Zodiac Order—the rules, the roles, the perfect balance—it all felt like a cage.

And cages had keys.

She moved toward her private study, where thousands of historical records, celestial maps, and scientific theories hovered in neat holographic displays. But she wasn't looking for those.

She was looking for the ones they didn't want her to read.

Tucked away in the corner of the study was a sealed archive—a restricted section of knowledge that only the highest-ranking Aquarians had access to. Information deemed unnecessary for lower scholars.

But Celeste was no ordinary scholar. She placed her hand against the biometric scanner. The lock blinked red—denied access.

She exhaled, steadying herself.

Then, she did what she wasn't supposed to do. She hacked it.

It took less than a minute for her to override the system, bypassing the encryption with careful precision. A soft chime echoed through the room, and the archive unlocked.

A single document flickered to life.

Celeste's breath caught in her throat.

It was old—far older than anything she had ever seen. The Celestial Order always spoke of a unified history, but this... this was something else.

A manuscript from before the Zodiac Divisions.

The words sent a chill through her bones:

"The Thirteenth Sign existed before the Great Divide. Before the Council erased its name. Before they rewrote the stars."

Thirteenth sign? That wasn't possible. There were only twelve, and everyone knew that.

...Didn't they?

Celeste's fingers trembled as she scrolled further, her heart hammering. But before she could read another word, the screen flickered and shut off, the room plunging into darkness.

Then, a soft sound.

There was a presence behind her. She turned sharply, pulse spiking—

And found herself staring into a pair of cold, calculating eyes.

Kieran.

He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, exuding an air of effortless danger. Dressed in black, his presence was both commanding and unnervingly quiet—like a shadow given form. His dark hair fell messily over his forehead, and his sharp features were set in an expression of amused detachment.

But his eyes? His eyes were watching her too closely, like a predator studying prey.

Celeste's breath caught.

She knew who he was.

Everyone did.

Kieran Vael. The Scorpio assassin. The Order's Ghost.

The one who made people disappear.

"You have two options," Kieran said, his voice smooth but edged with warning. "You can pretend you never saw that file. Or..."

He then smirked mockingly. "You can find out why they tried so hard to erase it."

Celeste didn't move, her pulse hammering against her ribs.

She should be afraid. Well, God damn it. She was afraid. But beneath that fear, something else stirred.

Curiosity.

Kieran watched her reaction, his expression unreadable. Then, with slow, deliberate steps, he moved closer—close enough that she caught the faint scent of metal and something darker, something unplaceable.

"Make your choice, Celeste," he murmured. "Because after this, there's no turning back."

And deep down, she knew—she had already chosen.