“Like—” she gathered her words. “Do you think there’s more Stygians should have, or should they be grateful for what they have now?”

“It’s not really my place to give my opinion on that,” I said, glancing at her. “Since you’re Stygian, what do you think?”

“Ignatius and Paxon often talk about how they’re afraid and tired of trying to fight for how it used to be, but Silias constantly reminds me that this comfort is temporary—it’s fragile. Keeping the effort takes more than all of us realise, one wrong move and everything could come crashing down.”

“And who do you agree with more?” I asked.

“Well, I’m not sure. Ignatius and Paxon must know what they’re talking about because they’ve experienced the war and the Angels, but I also think they may be a bit blinded by their fear to push for better.” She paused for a moment. “So, what do you think?”

I took a moment to process. I hated Silias with every atom in my body and the thought of agreeing with him hurt my soul more than anything.

“I would never settle. ”

We got back to the apartment as Niko was cooking dinner. “Celestine, are you hungry?”

“I just ate.”

Niko noticed the blood on her but didn’t say anything.

“Oh, Cinth, you’re back.” Renee emerged from Niko’s room, her hair in a bit of a mess. It was obvious what they were just up to. Her gaze rested on Cel, wide eyed as she quickly patted her hair down. “Hi, Celestine, I’m Renee.”

“Niko’s partner,” Cel said, giving her a polite bow.

Renee nodded with a smile, stepping closer to her, then gasped. “Wow.” This was the first time she was seeing Celestine awake. “Your eyes…”

Cel gave her that smile of hers and I held my breath, my heart beating a bit too hard over something as simple as a smile.

“I–” Renee couldn’t find the words to speak, nor could she look away. “Are you injured?” Renee finally asked her.

Cel shook her head.

“I heard you and Cinth were close,” Renee teased. “You’re staying over, right?”

“Um.” Cel looked to Niko.

“Yeah, Cel, you’re staying,” I said and Niko nodded in confirmation.

“After you get cleaned up, would you like to watch a movie with us?” Niko asked her.

Cel's brows twitched in a moment of confusion. “I...” she hesitated. “I’m a bit tired.”

“You can use my shower and sleep on my bed,” I said. “I’m going to eat first.”

She followed me into my room. I found her a shirt she could borrow and handed it to her.

She nodded her thanks and headed inside the bathroom, while I went to eat with Niko.

“You’re sleeping on the sofa,” he said .

I let out a small sigh. “Yeah, okay, but we didn’t do anything, Niko.” I should have never told him we kissed. It only complicated things.

He rolled his eyes, setting down three plates of food.

“She’s staying with you two to train during the holidays, is that right?” Renee asked.

Niko nodded. “We’ll be moving into the dojo for the holidays.”

“Are you excited, Cinth?” She glanced at me with a teasing laugh. “It’ll be in just a couple weeks.”

Living with Cel was something I thought would be far away. Honestly, it’s likely Silias would suddenly change his mind about it all, especially since Niko and I are still training her.

“I have a feeling I will be entirely sleep deprived this winter,” I said.

We continued to chat until we finished dinner.

“Are you going to watch the movie with us?” Renee asked.

I shook my head. “That nap I took earlier only made me feel more tired, I’ll move to sleep on the sofa when you two are finished.”

Renee nodded. “We’ll try to keep it down.”

“It’s fine,” I reassured, taking their plates with mine and putting them away, cleaning a bit of the kitchen.

I headed over to my room to find Cel already asleep on my bed, when I went to my bathroom, I noticed she had her toothbrush drying on the side of the sink.

I placed it in the glass with mine, brushing my own teeth before hopping in the shower.

I finished my nightly routine and put on some pants and a hoodie, before joining her in bed, scrolling through my notifications.

I purposefully kept the door opened so they knew I was serious about how Cel and I weren’t going to do anything.

I could hear the movie they were watching, it was their favourite that they’d seen a thousand times before and was a part of their many inside jokes that I understood but didn’t find as funny as they did .

Cel shifted, wrapping her arms and legs over me, kissing my neck.

“Sleep, Cel,” I told her, feeling my body heat up. “You must be exhausted.”

“Not really.” She didn’t stop.

“The door is open,” I warned, but she didn’t shy away like I thought she would. Instead, she moved to sit on top of me, brushing her lips against my jaw. I set my phone down and pulled her closer to me, meeting her lips. It was even better this time. No hesitation, no uncertainty.

Just us.

I bit her lip. “Sleep,” I muttered.

“After,” she replied, slipping her tongue into my mouth.

“Hyacinth, Celestine,” Niko’s voice was sharp at the door, but neither of us could stop nor did we really care, even if it was Niko. “You said you weren’t going to do anything,” Niko growled.

I caved.

I could hear Renee giggling from behind him. "Just leave them alone, Niko. They're teenagers."

I pushed Cel away, barely hiding my amusement. “You told me to do this.”

“No. I told you to follow your—”

“So, what?” I interrupted to save myself from cringing at his words. “Staying in control never gave me this.”

“Gods, I hate your soul, Cinth.” Cel rolled her eyes at me.

“And I hate your entire essence, Cel.” I moved my grip up to her hands and intertwined our fingers together. “I hate that no matter how hard I try, I can’t stay away from you.”

Her eyes softened at my words. “I hate that you’re the only person I ever want to give everything to.” She rested her forehead on mine, and we closed our eyes.

“Are they trying to say love?” Renee asked Niko .

“I think so.”

We ignored them and Cel melted back into me.

I heard Niko muttering under his breath about our indecency and Renee reassuring him that we’d be fine as the door closed.

I didn’t know what I was doing, honestly, I just knew I craved more.

I liked the way she kissed me, the way she breathed and gasped, the way her eyes glowed a soft red—it was intoxicating.

It should have scared me, how easily I gave in, how completely she pulled me under. But with her, I didn’t care.

I never wanted this to end.

We stayed like that, close and breathing together, our heartbeats slowly syncing.

I pressed a soft kiss to her hairline, my fingers brushing lightly against her cheek, as if trying to memorise the feel of her.

Exhausted but content, I pulled her a little closer, and soon we both drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep, wrapped in the quiet of the moment.

***

I was back in the salt flats once again. Cel took my hand leading me towards the wooden house.

“Where are we?” I asked.

Our steps rippled the still water beneath us, my reflection with my arm stretched out, but Cel wasn’t mirrored below.

“A place between the living and the dead.” Cel released my hand, carefully opening the door. It creaked and groaned on its hinges.

“We’re not in a dream?” I asked.

“Somewhat. Our bodies stay in the living realm, but our souls are here.”

“How come your hair is silver and your clothes are different from the ones you sleep in?” My clothing always matched what I was wearing in my sleep and when I met Jerome here, he was the same, so logically, hers should too.

“You ask too many questions, Cinth.”

We stepped through the threshold, met with the same endless maze of hallways that I had been to before. The grandfather clock stood by the door, the long hand ticking between 6:06 and 6:07. Paralysis stood before us and it froze me in my tracks.

“Hyacinth.” Paralysis’s voice was strained, hissing.

***

I woke up to the door of my room open, Niko must have checked on us throughout the night, but I knew he hadn’t seen anything to worry about. I tilted my head up towards the clock on my side table.

“Cel,” I nudged her. “Classes start in an hour.”

“Oh,” she sighed. “Can I skip today?”

“No.” I laughed getting up. “You skip school too much.”

“For a bad guy, you go to school too much,” she snapped back.

“Niko bargained with me that if I get decent grades and never skip school–unless I was too injured to go–I can get detention all I want and he won’t get mad at me.” I laughed. “Besides, who said I was a bad guy?” I mean, I am but…

She laughed, sat up, and turned to me. “Aren’t you and I villains?”

I furrowed my brows. “Villains? That’s a bit extreme,” I said. “The world isn't black and white. We’re good guys in some situations.” Very few, but I’m sure there’s some. “And bad guys in others.”

She tilted her head. “I like being the bad guy.”

“And why is that?” I asked, curiously, heading over to my closet to find my uniform.

“It’s more fun.” She gave me a smile.

I chuckled. “For someone who likes to play bad guy, you like to be praised a bit too much.”

She threw a pillow at me.

We finished getting ready and Cel skipped breakfast to leave first. We couldn’t be caught being near each other, not at this hour.

School went on as normal, I didn’t really see Cel except in passing.

“You seem really chill today, Cinth,” Lin commented as we found a spot on the landing of the stairs to sit and chat, Jamiel got too cold to stay outside.

“Yeah,” Jamiel said. “Less like you hate the world.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, it just feels like things are going okay.”

“Did something happen?” Iri asked.

Cel happened. I shook my head, not answering.

“That’s good,” Iri sighed, leaning against the wall, stretching her legs out. “I’m so tired today, I was up all night studying for physics.”

“Demons below, I completely forgot!” Jamiel exclaimed.

“Would you have studied if you remembered?” Lin asked.

“No.” Jamiel laughed.

I managed to not get detention today, a rare occurrence that’s been happening a lot lately and I assume the teachers think I’m planning something big.

“Are we training today?” Cel asked me at my locker after school.

I shook my head. “No, Niko wanted to have a chat with me.” I glared at her. “Probably because of you.”

She laughed, walking off. “I’m not sorry.”