4: IT’S HIM AGAIN

CELESTE

The Fates’ Cerberus chased after me, and I ran.

My boots pounded against the ground as I pushed through the second portal, then the third. The sound of the portals snapping closed behind me wasn’t enough to stop the beast.

The Cerberus barreled through each one, its roars shaking the air like thunder.

I didn’t dare look back. I didn’t need to. I could hear its claws scraping against the ground, and feel the tremble beneath my feet as its massive body rushed forward. It was faster than I’d expected, and every nerve in my body screamed at me to keep going.

“Asa,” I murmured, clutching her lifeless body tighter. My arms burned, and my legs felt like they were giving out, but stopping wasn’t an option.

Seven portals. That was all that stood between me and escape. The clock was ticking, and every second felt like a countdown to failure.

The fifth portal twisted sharply as I stepped through it, it threw me sideways and I hit the ground hard, the pain piercing through my body, but I didn’t let go of Asa. I got back on my feet, and the Cerberus’s snarls were growing louder behind me.

By the time I reached the seventh portal, my vision started getting blurry, and sweat was dripping into my eyes.

My boots hit solid ground, and I stumbled forward, my right hand reaching out as I collided with the wall, using it to keep myself from falling.

Phew, I made it.

I took in deep breaths, my chest heaving, as I shifted Asa’s weight in my arms. The smell of the alley hit me first. Oil, trash, asphalt. Earth.

I knew this place. It's Los Angeles.

The victory I celebrated lasted less than a second. A ground-shaking thud echoed behind me, and I froze. I forgot for a second that the Cerberus had followed me, its massive form barely contained by the alley walls.

Its roar ripped through the air, making my chest feel tight and my body tense.

“Enough,” I muttered, clenching my teeth, struggling to keep my voice steady.

I've had enough of this beast. I turned to face the Cerberus, my hands still shaking as I lowered Asa to the ground. Jumping through those seven portals took every bit of strength out of me, but I couldn’t afford to falter now.

I reached for the knife at my thigh, aiming for the heart of the nearest head of the beast.

I locked eyes with the Cerberus’s center head, then I aimed for its heart. Before I could strike, something moved, someone actually, too fast to recognize.

It was a man.

I barely had time to recognize him before the flash of his blade sliced through the air.

He moved with accuracy, the kind that came from skill and experience, and the Cerberus didn’t seem to stand a chance.

One swing. Then two.

I saw three heads hitting the ground with a loud thud, its body slumped forward, lifeless. With blood pooling across the ground like spilled ink.

I froze, my knife still in my hand, and my chest tightened as my eyes locked on the stranger. His blade dripped with blood.

He stood there, steady and unbothered, like he hadn’t just killed a three-headed monster. He turned around and his eyes met mine.

I was used to being stared at whenever I came to Earth on missions, and I usually ignored it. But for the first time in as long as I could remember, I stared back because he was starting to look a bit familiar.

It’s him again.

The man from three years ago. The man from that night at the bar. He looked a lot more built and dangerously scruffy that it took me a moment to recognize him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered, the realization of what just happened sinking in. The words escaped before I could stop them.

His head tilted slightly, Those dark eyes locked onto mine, unreadable and annoyingly steady.

“You’re welcome,” he said, his voice flat and without even a hint of gratitude for my predicament.

“You’re—what?” The word hit the air sharp, disbelief tightening in my chest. “You think I’m grateful for this?”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression as infuriatingly calm as his voice. “I saved your life.”

I let out a sharp laugh, shaking my head. “Saved my life? No. You ruined it.”

That caught him off guard. His brow furrowed slightly, just enough to let me know he wasn’t expecting that response.

“Do you have any fucking idea what you’ve just done?” I snapped, my anger spilling over as I took a step forward.

“That beast, it was mine. I’ve been chasing it through seven goddamn portals, barely holding myself together just to get here. And then you show up with your…your hero complex and take that from me?

I scoffed, the sound harsh in my throat. “Was the sex that good that you tracked me down this desperately?”

His expression didn’t even flicker. “I don’t remember you,” he said flatly, his words like ice.“And I tend to remember the people I fuck.”

The words hit like a slap, and for half a second, I blinked at him. Then it hit me. The mask. I’d been wearing it that night when I met him. But since he didn’t recognize me. Fine. I wasn’t about to explain myself.

I shrugged. “Typical.”

Before I could say anything else, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned a little too late.

A woman stepped out of the shadows, her features defined and her steps silent. She lifted a hand, blowing a fine, silvery powder into my face before I could react.

My vision blurred, and the knife slipped from my fingers as my legs gave out. I hit the ground hard, my body numb and unresponsive.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I slurred, rage boiling inside me even as the powder’s effects pulled me under.

I watched helplessly as the man crouched beside Asa, lifting her lifeless body with ease. My heart cracked, and I forced words past my heavy tongue.

“Touch her, and I’ll end you.”

He barely looked at me, his voice calm “You’re in no position to make threats. You’ll get your dead pet back when you give me what I need.”

Dead pet!? Asa was the only family I ever had.

The world tilted, my head dizzying and my lips feeling too heavy to yell at him for his disrespectful statement, and I tried to fight it, but it was no use.

They bundled me up like cargo, dragging me out of the alley as darkness clouded my vision.