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I wasn’t suicidal. I promised .

That didn’t mean I wasn’t seriously considering launching myself out of a moving car as the wrought-iron gates groaned shut behind us, sealing me in.

My nails dug into the leather seat, and my breath was tight as the car crawled along the gravel path. Every second stretched too long, giving me far too much time to rethink every decision that led me here.

I could still jump out. I could tuck and roll, disappear into the woods before anyone even realized. But Joe would just sigh, mutter something about my dramatics and drag me right back.

Celestia Academy loomed ahead, rising from the mist like something straight out of a horror film. The kind where people go missing, and the world forgets they ever existed.

The ivy clinging to its stone walls curled like fingers, gripping onto the last traces of daylight filtering through the dense canopy of ancient oak trees. Everything about this place looked like it was designed to intimidate. To swallow people whole.

I hated it already.

And the worst part? This wasn’t even my first time in an unfamiliar place with no choice but to pretend like I belonged. I’d spent my whole life adapting—running, hiding, starting over. But this felt different. More... permanent.

I swallowed hard, shifting uncomfortably as Joe steered the wheel to the left, the tires crunching over the gravel.

He sighed. “Still not talking to me?”

That was the original plan when Joe told me we were leaving again to come here. A four-hour drive later, I was proud I had kept up my silent treatment.

Until now.

“I’m not an Ascendant,” I muttered, staring at the ivy walls. “I won’t belong here.”

Ascendant.

I could scoff at the title. Celestia was one of the many academies around the world for people who had been blessed by angels before birth to one day become Celestials.

“You’ve barely even stepped inside.”

I swung my head around and cocked my brows.

I was met with a pair of green eyes bordering on the color of emerald.

“Easy for you to say when you’re already an angel.

” Ever since I was left at his doorstep eighteen years ago, he’s looked after me as if he were, ironically, my guardian angel—except by every law and decree written into the Angelic Code, I wasn’t supposed to have one.

I wasn’t supposed to be here at all.

By all accounts, I should have been just another human oblivious to this world. But instead, I was the exception. The anomaly. The human girl who an angel happened to take pity on and fought to keep me.

“I already spoke to the Angelic Council and the academy before coming here,” Joe said. “Nadael says she is going to give my idea a chance.”

“No offence, Joe, but I doubt you can convince everyone that a non -Ascendant can become a Celestial.”

“That’s because we haven’t tried.”

“No.” I huffed, knowing that wasn’t the reason I was here. He just wanted to protect me, like always. “It’s because I’m too much of a hassle to keep around, so you dumped me here instead.”

I knew that wasn’t true. Of course, I didn’t, but I was itching for a reaction, and I got it as Joe looked at me, appalled.

He had always been a father figure to me, despite the fact that we didn’t look alike.

His sandy blonde hair and fair complexion differed from my curly brown locks and warm olive skin tone, but he was the only carer I had ever known.

“You really think I’m leaving you here because I don’t want you anymore?”

Resigned, I slumped against the car seat. “No.” But I was a lot of trouble to deal with in general.

He sighed. “You’re eighteen, Grace, and people out there who know that you are aware of our kind puts you in danger. I’m just trying to keep you safe, and Celestia is the best option.”

I wanted to tell him that I had better options than this, but he was right. The world was already cruel enough with demons preying on innocent souls that he feared the added danger of deranged Riftkeeper’s—humans who knew of Celestial beings—would stop at nothing to bring them down.

It’s not as if I was a targeted Celestial.

I wasn’t even one to begin with. They just believed the world should be a land for the living, not one with angels or demons added to the mix.

That, among other reasons, I assumed was why they disliked so many Celestials.

And ever since they found out a Celestial took in a human—me—they have always sought me out. I was that unlucky.

“Will you still come visit?” I asked, my voice small as I stared down at the gold ring band on my forefinger.

“Of course.” He chuckled softly. “If you need me, I’ll always come to your aid.”

I rested my head on the headrest and gazed at him. “Mmhmm, well, I hope you know how much I’m going to annoy you every time I do get to see you.”

He rolled his eyes, amused. “You’ve been annoying me ever since you learnt how to talk.”

My mouth dropped open, making him laugh, but I huffed and unbuckled my seatbelt instead of verbally attacking him.

“Do you have the new uniform Nadael sent over in your case?” he asked as I exited the car.

I nodded, rounding the boot where a ripped and barely contained suitcase carried all my necessities.

“Well, do you need me to go in and speak with her and make sure everything is all set?”

I shook my head and grabbed the luggage from him with strained effort. “I’ll be fine. You just go and do your thing.”

“Thing?”

“Yes, thing . You know, the usual duties the Celestials demand of you while I stay here and settle down?”

He stopped to stare at me as concern flared across his sharp features. Same old, same old.

“I’ll see you soon, Joe,” I said, turning away before he could go all father mode on me.

Only when I found myself staring up at the entrance doorway, flanked by towering columns and crested angel wings etched into the stone lintel, did my breath hitch, and I came back running into Joe’s arms.

He had stayed in the same spot I left him, already having expected me to come to say a proper goodbye. His muscled arms wrapped around my small frame as I held onto him tightly and closed my eyes.

“I’m going to miss your terrible cooking,” I whispered.

He chuckled. “I know.”

We stayed like that for a minute longer before he reluctantly let go of me, and my lungs burned with unfamiliarity over seeing him leave.

“Grace?” A soft voice spoke from behind moments later as Joe drove off.

I turned as a woman came down the front stone steps of Celestia, wearing a pristine deep blue pantsuit.

“Grace Martin?” she asked, smiling once she reached me.

I nodded dumbly, and her smile stretched so wide that the most minor dimples dented the cheeks of her soft caramel skin. She was gorgeous and elegant, with long, dark ringlet curls draped over her slim shoulders.

“I’m Eden,” she said with a chipper tone. “I’m in charge of taking you to your room.”

Oh.

I clenched the handle of my suitcase a little too tight.

“This way, follow me.” She waved me over, and I reluctantly followed close behind her. The brisk air of autumn swept my curls in different directions as Eden took me through intricate pathways. Forests and grassy fields encircled Celestia on either side of me.

A cacophony of laughter pealing through the air made me whip my head to the left, where a few children dressed in active gear wrestled one another on the ground.

“Some Ascendants are given the opportunity to come here from a young age,” Eden said, and I whipped my head to where she was now standing at my side with an amused look in her dark eyes.

I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped walking.

“Usually, the younglings will be placed in different classes and dorms until they reach the age of eighteen, when they will join the adults.”

“What about others who decide not to come?” I asked, my gaze flitting back to the group that couldn’t be any younger than ten.

“Depends. Some choose to have a normal life or wait until they are ready to join us.”

Normal.

There would never be anything normal about that.

“Joe has told me a lot about you.” Eden’s change in subject snapped me from my thoughts, and I smiled, thinking about him.

“You know, Joe?”

She chuckled and resumed walking. “Many do.”

I stumbled along behind her, struggling to catch my breath as she moved briskly ahead, her heels clicking confidently on the gravel pathway.

“He is one of the very few Ascendants to have become an angel within a short period,” she continued as we passed a stone archway, and an old building came into view.

“Most Ascendants spend years and years learning until the Council believes they are ready. But I still remember the day he was chosen to ascend.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, he did once mention how when he ascended, a whole ceremony was performed with an archangel appearing to grant him his official title.”

Eden didn’t laugh along with me, and I quickly found myself shying away at how embarrassing I must have sounded.

I glanced away, focusing on the acres of trees sprawling across the land before my eyes widened as a gothic house stood sentinel up ahead, its silhouette etched against the evening sky.

All I could mumble to Eden as I forced myself to stay upright was, “So, are—” I cleared my throat and shook my head as I finally tore my eyes off the engraved emblem of a flaming sword outside the doorway. “Are you an angel too or...?”

She nodded, grinning as if she loved others asking her that question. “I’m a Healer.”

We entered through the doorway into the grand entrance, where footsteps echoed, and distant conversations bounced off the vaulted ceilings and brick walls.

“Oh,” I said, my eyes wandering all over the bookshelves and the large stone fireplace. “I haven’t met any Healers before.” Glancing at Eden, I chuckled nervously. “Only Messengers or Guardians.” Joe happened to be a Messenger. A great one at that.

Eden offered me a kind smile, doing a poor job of hiding the strange emotion that crossed her eyes just then.

She cleared her throat, clapped her hands as she spun, and decided it was best to show me my dormitory instead of delving into another awkward conversation that she seemed to want to avoid.

It had to do with Joe, I was certain. If they knew each other, then they had history, and whatever it was, I doubt Joe would ever tell me.

He was a closed book, no matter how hard I tried to get any answer out of him.

“What did I say about lingering in the hallways?” Eden said as we passed a few others littering the corridors. One of them straightened off the wall as he spotted me. A copper-haired boy with a petite brunette at his side.

“Sorry, Eden,” he shot back, still staring at me as we walked past. He saluted me. “Won’t happen again.”

Eden shook her head before we bounded up another set of stairs to the second floor and stopped by the first door, numbered 104. “Here we are.” She smiled, handing me a set of brass keys. “I’ll let you get accommodated before bombarding you with everything there is to know about—”

“I know enough.” I grimaced at how rude I sounded just then. “Joe taught me a few things here and there,” I amended, but it wasn’t any better.

She nodded slowly. “Right. Well, regardless, you will need someone to guide you around Celestia for the first few days. I already did the duty of assigning Marnie Lewis—one of our best—to help you.”

Despite not wanting to shadow someone for the next few days, I smiled.

“This is an outstanding place to be in, Grace. You don’t know how lucky you are,” Eden said, seeing right through my skepticism. “I know it is not a unique academy experience that humans are accustomed to, but it is still a grand opportunity that not many get, including someone who is mortal.”

I nodded because what else could I do?

“If you need anything, I will be downstairs, ensuring no one is messing around. Ascendant or not, they’re still a nightmare to deal with.” She chuckled, shot me a conspiratorial wink, and walked away.

As soon as I was alone, I stared at the key in my hand, feeling at a loss. I wasn’t unfamiliar with new places—Joe and I had moved plenty—but it was always us moving into a home together .

I sucked in a deep breath before unlocking the dorm door.

What I hadn’t expected was to walk in and have someone else in here, much less come face-to-face with a guy, naked as the day he was born.