The Forbidden Book

Celeste couldn't move.

Kieran was standing in the archive, a predator made of silence and shadows, blocking her only exit. His dark eyes held a quiet challenge, as if he already knew the answer to the question he hadn't asked yet.

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

Her pulse pounded, too loud in the silence.

What was she supposed to say?

That she hadn't meant to find the book? That she hadn't been looking for trouble? That she wasn't a threat?

Because all of that would be a lie.

She gulped hard, keeping her voice steady. "You think I found something dangerous?"

Kieran didn't blink. "I know you did."

His tone wasn't accusatory. It was certain.

Celeste forced herself to breathe. She still had options. Kieran was dangerous—she wasn't naïve enough to think otherwise—but he hadn't hurt her. Not yet.

He was watching her too carefully, studying every flicker of emotion on her face. Like he was waiting to see what she would do next.

And that meant she wasn't dead. Which meant she had time.

Celeste took a slow step back, sliding the book off the table. "Then why are you here?"

Kieran tilted his head slightly, like a blade shifting in the light. "To see if you're worth keeping alive."

A shiver crawled down her spine.

"Should I be flattered?" she asked, forcing her voice to stay even.

Something flickered in his expression—almost amusement. "That depends on what you do next."

Celeste's mind raced. She could try to run—but Kieran would catch her. She could try to lie, but she had the sinking feeling that he'd see right through her.

So she did the only thing that made sense.

She told the truth.

"I don't understand what I found," she admitted. "But I know it's important."

Kieran didn't react. He just watched her, as if waiting for more.

So she lifted the book slightly. "Do you know what this is?"

His gaze flickered to the cover. His jaw tightened.

He did.

A dozen more questions burned in her mind, but before she could ask, a faint chime sounded from her communicator. The Air District's midnight security patrol—right on time, sweeping through the restricted archives.

Celeste's stomach lurched.

If they found her here... If they saw Kieran...

"We need to go," he said, already moving toward her.

Celeste flinched back instinctively, and his hand caught her wrist before she could step away.

His grip wasn't rough, but it was firm. Grounding, even, and his skin was cool against hers.

"You don't have a choice, woman," he murmured. "Not anymore."

She hated that he was right.

...

Celeste had never run from the Celestial Order before.

She had never needed to. She was an Aquarius, a scholar, a thinker. Not a fugitive. Not someone who broke the rules.

But now she was following a Scorpio assassin through the lower sectors of Aetherion, moving between the glass platforms and hidden corridors beneath the public transport lines.

She should have been terrified.

Instead, she felt... alive.

Adrenaline coursed through her as she kept pace behind Kieran, her breath quick but steady. He moved like he had done this a thousand times before—like he belonged in the shadows.

She didn't. She wasn't like him. But tonight, she had to be.

"Where are we going?" she demanded in a hushed voice.

Kieran didn't look back. "Somewhere we won't be seen."

Haha. How very comforting.

She cast a glance over her shoulder, scanning the city's upper levels. The floating tram stations were still running, glowing a soft blue in the artificial night sky. If she could reach one, she could...

No.

She wasn't running from Kieran.

She was running from what she had discovered.

"Do you trust me?" he asked suddenly.

Celeste nearly laughed. "I think the better question is, should I?"

"Probably not." Well, at least he was honest.

She kept moving, her heartbeat loud in her ears as they slipped through an unmarked passage leading deeper into the undercity. Here, the Air District's smooth elegance faded into something raw, something mechanical. No clean lines, no polished glass—just metal walkways and maintenance tunnels, the bones of Aetherion.

A place not meant for people like her.

Kieran finally stopped, glancing up. "We can talk here."

Celeste folded her arms. "Right. Because nothing says 'safe' like a dark abandoned tunnel."

Kieran's mouth quirked slightly. "Would you rather be back up there explaining why you hacked into restricted records?"

She hated that he had a point.

With a slow exhale, she leaned against the cool metal wall. "Fine. Start talking."

Kieran studied her for a long moment, like he was deciding how much to tell her.

Finally, he nodded toward the book still clutched in her hands.

"Do you know what that is?"

Celeste swallowed. "Not exactly. But I know it wasn't supposed to exist."

Kieran's expression didn't change. "It's proof that your entire life has been built on a lie."

The words knocked the breath from her.

She stared at him, her grip tightening around the book. "What do you mean?"

Kieran didn't answer right away. Instead, he stepped closer, his voice lowering.

"You think there are twelve zodiac signs. That the Celestial Order assigned them based on personality, purpose, fate." His gaze flickered, dark and unreadable. "But there weren't always twelve."

Celeste's heart pounded. "You're talking about—"

"The Thirteenth Sign," he finished for her.

She shivered.

Kieran continued, his tone colder now. "There was another faction. A hidden one. And the Order erased it. Every trace of it? Gone." He gestured to the book. "Except for that."

Celeste struggled to breathe. It made sense—too much sense.

All her life, she had felt out of place. As if she didn't fit into the role the stars had written for her. She had questioned things she wasn't supposed to question, and sought truths that weren't meant to be found.

And now she knew why.

Because the stars had lied.

Celeste swallowed, gripping the book so tightly her knuckles ached.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Kieran's gaze lingered on her, unreadable.

Then, finally, he said, "Because the Order wants you dead."