They said Stellars don't feel.
Not fear.
Not love.
Not the aching, breath-stealing panic of watching someone fall—and knowing you were too late.
Kael had never believed that until now.
From her place above the Earth, where clouds glowed like fireflies and stars whispered secrets only guardians could hear, she watched a boy stumble into the middle of a dark, rain-slick street. A blur of headlights raced toward him. Horns. Screams.
And then silence.
Ayden.
He wasn't supposed to die—not tonight. Not like this.
Kael's hand trembled over the Loom of Fates, its threads pulsing with life. His thread, once bright gold, now flickered like a dying flame.
The rule was simple.
Never interfere.
She tore it apart in a single breath.
---
The fall was sharp—like the wind slashing through your soul.
Kael's wings flared, her silver robe torn by gravity's wrath. Light exploded around her as she broke through the skies, crashing through the veil between realms.
A heartbeat later, she slammed into the Earth like a fallen comet.
---
Orynne City, Midnight
Rain poured from the heavens like punishment.
Ayden Omari lay sprawled across the wet pavement, his school uniform soaked in blood. The girl who'd appeared out of nowhere—a glowing thing wrapped in light—was now curled beside him, unconscious.
A crowd gathered.
Someone screamed for help.
But Ayden only had eyes for her.
She was the last thing he saw before everything faded.
---
One Week Later
The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and fake lavender.
Ayden groaned, blinking into the harsh light. His side throbbed—ribs. Broken maybe. But he was alive.
That made no sense.
He sat up slowly.
And then he saw her.
The girl from the accident.
Now dressed in hospital clothes, looking entirely… human.
She sat on the window ledge, staring out at the clouds like she expected them to talk back.
"You're real," he croaked.
She turned. Her eyes were gold and endless, like a galaxy trapped in a storm.
"I had to save you," she whispered.
---
Later That Day…
"What's your name, sweetheart?" asked the nurse, gently touching Kael's arm.
She looked confused for a moment, then blinked slowly. "Kaelith. But… you can call me Kael."
"And your guardian? Family?"
Kael glanced at Ayden, who stood awkwardly at the door, bandaged and wide-eyed.
"She's my… cousin," he said quickly, stepping in. "From the north. Just arrived."
The lie slipped too easily from his lips.
Kael tilted her head. "Cousin?"
He shrugged. "I'm guessing you've got nowhere to go."
She said nothing.
He sighed. "Welcome to Orynne, I guess."
---
Meanwhile, in the Sky
Far above them, in the Celestial Chamber of Trials, the High Stellar Council gathered around the shattered threads of fate.
"She has fallen," one whispered.
"And she broke the Law to save a mortal."
"She must be retrieved."
A shadow detached from the edge of the chamber—tall, faceless, dripping with starlight and judgment.
"Let the hunt begin."