Secrets That Shouldn’t Exist

The encrypted keycard felt heavier than it should have, like it carried the weight of something Celeste wasn't ready to know, though she had no intention of turning back now because if there was even the smallest chance it held the answers she needed, then she would take the risk. She watched as Damien slid the card into a thin scanner embedded in the surface of the metallic table, the dim blue glow from the holographic projection reflecting in his brown eyes, which remained unreadable as his fingers moved over the interface with practiced ease.

The Earth Dominion's Observatory Hall was silent except for the faint hum of machinery, though Celeste could hear the distant echoes of footsteps from the levels above, reminders that even here, in the belly of the most fortified district in Aetherion, they weren't alone. She forced herself to stay still, to ignore the tension knotting in her stomach because Damien wasn't the type to rush, and though she hated waiting, she knew better than to push him.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he let out a quiet breath and leaned back slightly, fingers tapping against the edge of the console.

"Well," he murmured, glancing at her, "I can see why Kieran wasn't supposed to give this to you."

Celeste's grip tightened. "What is it?"

Damien's lips curled up, though it wasn't quite a smirk, more like a quiet amusement at her impatience, though something flickered behind his gaze—something sharper, calculating. He turned the projection toward her, and the air in her lungs stilled when she saw the emblem that flickered onto the screen.

The Serpent Bearer. It was a twisting, coiled sigil and the same one from the forbidden book. The same one that had been burned into the skin of the preserved corpse in Scorpio's hidden chamber. The same one that, until now, she had believed was nothing more than a cursed mark on her own body.

She swallowed hard.

"This symbol," she said, voice quiet but steady, "it's connected to the Unwritten, isn't it?"

Damien watched her carefully, his expression as unreadable as ever. "You don't ask small questions, do you, Celeste?"

She shook her head. "Not when the world is trying to kill me for the answers."

Something in his gaze shifted slightly, though whatever he was thinking, he didn't say. Instead, he turned back to the interface, dragging his fingers along the glowing screen, the data shifting beneath his touch, lines of encrypted text unraveling and reshaping.

"This access card," he said, "is a master clearance key, which means it can override high-level security barriers, specifically within Scorpio's archives." His voice remained calm, analytical, but Celeste felt the weight behind his words. "And judging by what I'm seeing, it was meant for someone with higher clearance than Kieran has."

Her pulse jumped. "Meaning?"

"Meaning," Damien continued, tilting his head slightly, "he either stole it from someone very important, or someone gave it to him, which would be… unexpected." He studied her again, and this time, there was something more direct in his expression, something close to curiosity. "I'd ask what you did to make him risk this, but I suspect you don't have an answer for that either."

Celeste looked away because she didn't. Kieran had made it clear he wasn't on her side, yet he had handed her this, something that, according to Damien, could get him killed. Why? What had changed?

She hated not knowing.

"Can you tell what it unlocks?" she asked, forcing herself to focus.

Damien exhaled slowly, fingers skimming over the text, shifting codes and firewalls like they were nothing more than puzzle pieces he was rearranging at will. He worked in silence for another few seconds before his eyes flicked toward the far-right section of the screen, where a single location code was flashing.

He didn't move for a moment, though something in his jaw tensed.

"Well," he muttered, "that's interesting."

Celeste leaned in. "What is?"

Damien tapped the screen lightly, and the code expanded into a set of coordinates. "This keycard unlocks a restricted vault."

She waited, but he didn't continue.

"And?" she prompted impatiently.

Damien let out a slow, measured breath before turning to meet her gaze again. "The vault is in Scorpio's central headquarters."

Celeste felt her stomach drop. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but not this.

Not the heart of the assassin faction's domain, where security was tighter than any other place in Aetherion, where enforcers trained from birth knew how to sniff out an intruder before they even entered the sector.

She stared at the glowing coordinates, at the flickering sigil in the corner of the screen, at the undeniable evidence that whatever was inside that vault was connected to the Unwritten.

And Kieran had given her the key.

"That's suicide," she muttered, though she wasn't sure if she meant it as a refusal or a statement of fact.

Damien hummed in agreement. "It would be. But, considering Kieran went out of his way to make sure you got this, I doubt he expects you to walk in alone."

Celeste frowned, but before she could respond, Damien leaned back slightly, his expression shifting into something closer to amusement.

"Of course," he mused, "I could be wrong. Maybe he just wants to see what happens when you try."

Celeste hated how plausible that sounded.

She exhaled, rubbing her temples. "Why would he do this?"

Damien tilted his head slightly. "Why does Kieran do anything?"

She scowled. "That's not an answer."

Damien smirked faintly. "No, but it's the only one you'll get from me."

She let out a frustrated breath because she knew he wasn't going to give her anything else unless she forced it from him, and she didn't have the patience for another battle of wits.

Instead, she focused back on the screen, on the vault buried deep in Scorpio's fortress, and the undeniable truth staring back at her.

If she wanted answers, she would have to go inside.

Kieran's POV

Kieran sat in the shadows of Scorpio's lower quarters, listening to the quiet hum of the ventilation system, his mind a mess of calculations he didn't have solutions for.

He had done something stupid.

Giving Celeste the key had been reckless and impulsive, but it had also been necessary because if the Order was going to erase her, then she at least deserved to know why.

And maybe, deep down, he just wanted to see what she would do with it.

A quiet voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"You look troubled, Kieran."

Kieran turned his head slightly, his gaze landing on a familiar figure.

The Scorpio Grandmaster.

She stood near the entrance of the darkened corridor, arms crossed, her presence commanding even in the dim light. Her dark brown skin and long hair framed a face that was both impossibly beautiful and utterly unreadable—the face of someone who had seen far too much and survived it. Though she might look like someone around his age of 25, she seemed to behave like a wise soul.

One might think the Grandmaster is the most powerful position in each faction, but the truth is, The Twelve of the Celestial Order, each from one zodiac, were way more powerful. And of course, scarier.

Kieran didn't move. "Is that an observation or an accusation?"

Rowena Scorlane smiled, though there was nothing warm about it. "Neither. Just a reminder."

Kieran's fingers twitched. He knew what she meant.

She was reminding him who he belonged to.

He exhaled, leaning his head back against the wall.

"Noted," he muttered.

But Rowena only watched him, her dark eyes gleaming with something too knowing.

And Kieran had the sinking feeling that she already knew exactly what he had done.