Kieran Vael's POV

Kieran Vael's POV – A Shadow in the Stars

(A chapter before Chapter 3, from Kieran's perspective.)

Kieran was born into the darkness of Scorpio's domain, raised not in the comfort of family but in the cold, calculated embrace of the Order.

In Scorpio's faction, emotions were a liability. Trust was a weakness. From the moment he could walk, he was trained in the art of silence, in the mastery of deception, and—most importantly—in the skill of making people disappear.

His family? He barely remembered them. His mother had died when he was young. His father? A nameless enforcer who never acknowledged him. To the Order, Kieran was not a son, not a person—only a weapon.

And he became very, very good at what he did. A whisper of his name sent fear through the factions. If Kieran was assigned to a target, there was only one certainty: That target would not live to see the next sunrise.

But tonight was different. Tonight, he wasn't here to kill.

Not yet.

...

The Air Dominion was too bright for his liking.

Scorpio's domain was the opposite—a labyrinth of shadows, underground corridors, and liquid darkness. But Aetherion's Air District? It was pristine, artificial, suspended high above the world with endless glass bridges and luminescent pathways. Everything was open, transparent.

Too easy to be seen and too easy to be caught.

Kieran remained at the edge of the platform, his gaze following the girl on the tram.

Celeste Orion.

She looked... normal. Is she pretty? Well, yes, but he wouldn't consider her a breathtaking beauty. However, she seemed to have a certain charm to her. Perhaps, it's her intelligent look, or perhaps, her determined gaze she brought along wherever she went.

Hair like silver stardust, the signature glow of an Aquarius in her veins, her robes marked with the insignia of a scholar. Nothing about her suggested a threat.

And yet—

The Order wanted her watched.

He didn't know why. He wasn't told. He rarely was. But experience had taught him one thing: The Order never watched someone unless they had reason to be afraid.

Kieran leaned against a guide pillar, watching as the tram doors slid open. She stepped out, her expression unreadable, her movements graceful yet cautious.

She had felt him.

Not many people noticed him before he wanted to be noticed. So this intrigued him.

A small part of him wondered if she knew—if she had any idea that she was being followed, that the Order had marked her, that her life was now on the edge of a blade.

But when she passed him without hesitation, when she refused to look directly at him—he knew.

She wasn't just aware of his presence. She was choosing to pretend he wasn't there.

How very smart.

But it wouldn't save her, not from what was coming.

Kieran let her go. He didn't follow. Not yet. He had already seen enough.

...

By the time Kieran returned to the Scorpio stronghold, he was already planning his next move.

Scorpio's domain was hidden deep beneath the surface—a city of darkness carved into the underbelly of Aetherion, connected by tunnels and corridors.

It was the opposite of the Air Dominion, both in structure and in philosophy. Here, there was no floating grandeur, no open sky. Only the pulse of red lights in the cavernous halls, the scent of metal and oil, and the low hum of machines that never slept.

The stronghold was built like a fortress of ghosts, designed for those who thrived in secrecy. No windows. No doors that weren't reinforced with triple-layer encryption. Only shadows, movement, and the quiet, lethal efficiency of those who called it home.

Kieran walked through the halls without acknowledging anyone. No one acknowledged him either. That was the Scorpio way.

They didn't waste words nor did they pretend to care.

At the end of the corridor, he entered a holo-room, where a single figure was waiting for him.

The Scorpio Grandmaster.

She was a woman wrapped in darkness, her face obscured by a hood, her voice low and unreadable. In fact, Kieran had never really seen her face before. All he had heard was that she was a beautiful, beautiful woman, with dark brown skin and long curly hair.

"Report," she commanded.

Kieran stood at attention. "Celeste Orion remains unaware of our true purpose. She has begun seeking information outside her clearance."

There was a pause.

Then the Grandmaster shifted slightly. "She accessed the restricted archives, didn't she?"

Kieran hesitated. "Yes."

There was a long silence.

He knew what she was going to say before she said it, "Then, eliminate her."

His chest tightened, not because he wasn't expecting it but because a part of him had already known this was coming.

Celeste had gone too far. She had touched something she wasn't meant to touch. And in Aetherion, the punishment for curiosity was death.

Kieran had killed for less but something about this order didn't sit right with him.

She was just a scholar. A girl playing with knowledge she didn't understand. The Order had always been swift to remove threats, but this? This was different.

There was something they weren't telling him. Kieran wasn't supposed to question orders, but this time, he did.

"Why?"

The Grandmaster's head tilted slightly. She warned, "That is not your concern."

But it was, because the Order never issued an execution without reason.

And if they were willing to erase Celeste before she even understood what she had found—

Then maybe she was more important than he thought.

Maybe Celeste wasn't just another target. Maybe, she was the key to something the Order didn't want anyone to know.

Kieran had learned long ago that loyalty was a fragile thing. That to question the Order was to invite death.

But this time, he wasn't sure if he was ready to follow orders blindly.

Not until he knew why. Not until he had the truth.

...

Later that night, Kieran found himself standing outside her Air District chambers. He had already disabled the surveillance. Already ensured no one would know he was here.

She was inside. And if he did his job, she wouldn't wake up in the morning.

His hand hovered over the concealed blade at his hip.

One clean cut. Quick. Silent. Untraceable.

That's what he was supposed to do.

Instead, he stepped forward, pressed a hand against the door's security panel—and hacked his way inside.

If she wanted to find the truth, he would let her.

But he would be the one to decide if she lived long enough to understand it.

Kieran was not here to kill her tonight.

He was here to see what made her so dangerous.