The crossing

chapter 1

I’d just moved into my new apartment, high school barely behind me, and I was about to start at a university that felt more like a dream than a real place. I arrived two weeks early to set up my apartment and to get my scholarship in order. It's been the longest 4 years of high school in history for me. We struggled for a bit, but over the last year, my dad's business has just taken off again.

“Yes, Dad,” I roll my eyes, “I'll be careful,” I say as I leave our bookstore coffee shop.

“Don't forget dinner Friday, Celiea,” my dad says with a smile. “I want you to meet Sarah.”

Three thrift stores later, and still no perfect bookshelf decor. I've been shopping all day for decor for my apartment, and by now, I am ready to give up. Not that I don't have plenty already.

As I'm walking down the street, I see it through the glass. “Oh, that's just beautiful,” I say as a gust of wind blows. I visualize it on my bookshelf right next to all my favorite books. "It’s perfect," I muttered, barely containing my thrill. I darted in and around some shelves, making my way to the front windows. As my fingers closed around it, a sharp tingling feeling swept through my body. The moment I picked up the dragon, I felt a shift within an unfamiliar sensation that unsettled me. Apprehension and curiosity battled; I couldn’t ignore its impact.

I take a moment to admire its colors as I make my way up to the register: metallic dark green and black.

“Will that be all, ma’am?” the man behind the counter says

Gripping it tightly, my heart pounded with excitement

“Yeah, that's all, how much is it though?”

The shop owner eyed the dragon, then me. His look tightened, wary and almost secretive.

“That there, ma’am,” he spoke slowly, “is gonna be quite expensive its,” he pause choosing his words carefully “ hand made”

I clench my wallet. I only have twenty dollars left

“Oh, I only have twenty. Is there a way you could hold this for me till Friday?”

He smiled. Too big for my liking, honestly, and responds too quickly for my liking.

“How about this? I'm feeling nice today, and it's been sitting around this shop since forever. I’ll give it to you for oh, let's say, twenty dollars.”

I closed my eyes briefly. Then laughed. “Seriously? That's really nice of you.” I know my face looks confused as hell at this point, “Why would you just give me something like this for a ¼ of its price?”

“Eh, I just want it out of my shop. Lots of people come and admire it all the time, but no one ever buys it,” he says with a shrug.

“I don't know why anyone wouldn't buy this,” I sigh, “ beautiful.”

I gave him the money. “Here. I don’t need a receipt. Thanks again”

He did not respond; he simply watched me leave.

Chapter 2

While walking home, I couldn’t stop staring. Every scale on the dragon was carved with wild precision, wings frozen mid-fold. It seemed older than a twenty-dollar find. I traced the dragon’s belly, found an inscription—faint lines, nearly worn smooth.

“GUARDIANS”

Memories collided: Dad’s stories of fairy tales. I’d always dismissed them, but now, the dragon’s weight echoed those tales. Holding it, I felt a feeling that maybe all the fairy tales were real.

I laugh to myself

“How absolutely ridiculous.e”

The longer I held it, the heavier it felt, pressing into my palms and humming with a strange, important energy almost more than stone. It feels warm in my hands, almost. I decide to put it into one of my bags I'm holding and just forget about it the rest of the way home.

Faster than it should, the sky darkened; shadows stretched long and thin across the sidewalk. In that moment, it felt like the world might tip over. As some people pass by me, I hear them say, “It must be going to rain tonight.”

As I continue on my way, I get a call fromStacy,y my best friend

“Hello, girl,” she yells. Stacy is very outgoing, a bouncy blonde girl that all the boys love

“Hey, what's up?” I say back

“Omigod, you are literally never going to believe this, but I got us an invite to a party on Friday at one of the biggest frat houses at the university!!” she squeals.

“Wait, I have dinner with my dad on Friday, Stacy,” I say, a little frustrated.

“Well, silly, it starts at 10. I doubt you're gonna be with your dad that late, I'll meet you at your apartment.”

“Alright, it's a plan then,” I say. “See you then.” I hang up the phone

I was aware of it.

That feeling.

An eerie sensation crept up: being watched, eyes everywhere yet nowhere at once.

“You're just nervous, girl, get a grip, first night alone, you're already so paranoid,” I say to myself.

I slowed and glanced over my shoulder. The empty street didn’t feel empty. Unease climbed my spine as the lampposts flared.

“Get a grip,” I whisper more forcefully to myself, trying to steady my nerves on the climb to my apartment.

Inside, I locked the door.

Inside, I set all the bags on the table and begin to put everything away where I want it.

The cool lamp I put on the end table by the couch, the new vase on the table with the new placemats, I step back and admire it, “ perfect,” and I clap my hands together.

Then I take out the new stacks of books my dad gave me from the shop and start putting them in my collection.

The last item I chose to put away is the dragoni, place it right at the end of the stack of books.

Perfect.

Chapter 3

I spend the rest of the night eating takeout, watching movies, and reading in my butterfly-cropped tank top and matching shorts. At some point, it started to rain pretty hard.

As I'm heading to put up my book on the shelf, my door flings open

I screamed

Baffled at what's happening, I start flinging books—anything within reach at the intruder, desperate for space.

I hurled hardbacks, paperbacks—anything within reach.

His knife darts through the air, slicing the books apart as if they’re made of paper.

“Get out, get out, get out!” I shout, my voice shaky, fear threatening to overwhelm me. “I’m gonna call the cops!”

I snap up whatever was left of the lamp I just bought, what a waste, I say to myself, a mug of hot tea I just made at it, forcing him back for a second.

Yet he advanced, relentless.

Step by step, slow.

He moves with an unhurried calm, each step deliberate and calculated.

He moves like he already knows I can't stop him. There’s nothing left. Nothing between us now. The distance vanishes.

My heart slams in my chest, panic clawing up my throat. I stagger backward, my hand scrabbling for anything behind me. Suddenly, I ram into the bookshelf—solid and unmoving.

The dragon.

I seize the dragon, fingers locking around its cold, solid form.

“You owe me big time, buddy,” I mutter under my breath.

“Just give me the dragon,” he says, voice muted and controlled, “and we can forget this ever happened.”

Yeah. Right.

I fake a throw, arm whipping forward fast as a strike.

“NO!!” He dives for it, hitting the couch and flipping it as he hits it.

I tear from the apartment, legs pumping as adrenaline kicks in.

I bolt from my apartment, tearing down the hall, then down the stairs, out into the street.

It's raining hard, so hard it hurts my skin. I run anyway, I look back, and he's running down the stairs. I take off running down the street.

My lungs burn, feet slam the pavement, the dragon clutched tight to my chest. I forgot I even had it still. Its warmth feels great against the coldness of the rain.

Behind me

He’s fast.

Way too fast.

I glance back and nearly trip. He’s gaining on me, closing the distance with every step.

“What the hell?” I cut down an alley, breath uneven, vision blurring at the edges as panic takes hold hard.

But as I round the corner, something ahead of me freezes in place.

Because

There’s a door. On the brick wall at the end of the alley, light showing from all the cracks, I chalk it up to moonlight.

Warmth radiates from the dragon in my hands, heat seeping into my skin and tingling up my arms, and almost burning now. I run towards the door and put my hand on the handle. The dragon in my hands is vibrating now.

Down the alley, the man skids around the corner, “No, don't you do it,” he says, and bolts for me.

I yank the door open. The dragon tugs at me, pulling me forward before I can register the motion.

And then I’m gone.

Free falling

Into nothing

Chapter 3

Instant regret floods through me. What have I done?

There’s no up, no down—just blinding light rushing past in bright green, yellows, and pinks as some force drags me along faster and faster. My stomach clenches, body weightless, mind scrambling to keep up with what’s happening.

I just scream as my body is dragged in another direction, everything shifts violently, and I’m launched toward a more radiant light ahead.

And then, as I get close.r

I slam into the ground, “Oof.”

I gasp, dragging in air as the earth spins around me.

My vision blurs, then slowly comes into focus.

The impact jarring every bone and knocking the air sharply from my lungs. For a moment, I just lay there. I am entirely disoriented, my senses overwhelmed by the new environment. The shock of landing, compounded by the strangeness of the air, makes the almost-sharp texture of the floor beneath me feel smooth.

Voices.

“What the hell?”

“Who is that?”

“Is that a human?”

I freeze, shock crashing through me as the word 'human' echoes in my mind.

My head snaps up.

People. No, not quite people—surround me. Their skin is unnaturally perfect, and their ears are even slightly pointed and differently shaped. Guards are closing in, weapons drawn.

I scramble back, colliding with something metal—a table. Something clatters to the floor beside me.

A knife.

I snatch it up, hands shaking while I hold it out.

“Wait, stop! What the hell, where am I?” I panic, my voice breaking.

I look around, trying to get a grip on what just happened, and take in what I'm seeing: a large room lined with server tables, maps everywhere, people standing around the table, hands on their swords. “What is this place?”

No one answers at first. Then a girl steps forward, “What do you mean? You’re in Dreavenor.”

At the head of the table, a chair larger than the other scrapes across the quiet room.

I laughed out loud so loud, almost manic, “Okay, jokes over, where am I really?”

They’re staring at me. The man who stood scraping his chair now takes a few steps towards me.

They all stare at my face, at my hands.

At the dragon.

My grip tightens around it.

The man in the big chair, who's now standing, smiles, “ shes not lying to you, now who might you be?”

I'm in shock now, my mind racing, Deavenor, where the hell am I? I pause, “Celiea.”

The strange man steps towards me more, watching me, and watching the dragon in my hand, as if at any moment it could disappear.

“Why don't you hand that over, Celiea?” he says

Everyone around him looks tense and on edge, but they don’t move as he gets closer to me.

“Stop! Stop moving. “I step sideways to get further away.

He just watches and continues.

His eyes fall back to the dragon in my hands.

And something changes.

“Is that…” someone whispers.

His gaze sharpens instantly.

“Give that to me,” he says, stepping forward.

“No!” I snap, firming my hold. “I paid for this! I want to go home. Why am I being chased? What just happened?!” Words tumble out, sharp with fear.

He stops a few feet away from me, examining me like I’m something unfamiliar.

You don’t even know what you’re holding, let alone where you are,” he says flatly. “That’s no trinket, girl, it’s far more than that, and this is no place for a human girl.” His voice lowers, a flicker of something old and wary shadowing his eyes. “Most humans who find themselves on this side of the veil don’t last long. Not in this realm. Not with the kind of secrets buried under its skin.”

“…well…” I hesitate, lifting it slightly, “It’s a decoration piece now,” I say, taking another step back as he takes one towards me

“pretty powerful decoration if you ask me, why don't you just hand it over and I'll see to it that you're protected, but, if you decide to run, I'll let whoever is on the other side of that door have you for lunch.”

A ripple of laughter spreads through the room.

I stand frozen, feeling isolated by their laughter. I just want to disappear.

A tremor runs through me as I clutch my arms tightly around my knees, pressing my forehead against them. “I just want to go home,” I whisper, my shoulders shaking as the full weight of everything I have lost presses down, threatening to crush me.

My grip loosens, exhaustion and defeat weighing heavily on me.

Slowly, I hold it out.

He takes it without hesitation, immediately passing it off to someone. My chest clenches, and everything inside me is threatening to cave in.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.” He studies me.

His eyes meet mine again.

“What’s your plan, Celiea?” he replies, advancing closer. I take a step back. vancing closer. I take a step back. “Try and kill me with,” he points, “ that” he laughs.

“No, stay there,” I say, shaking.

“I'm gonna need that knief if you want me to keep you alive,” he says, moving closer.

“How do I know I can trust you? I just fell through a freaking doorway and crashed landed in the middle of a bunch of people who are looking at me like I'm their next meal,” I say

He lets out a short, humorless laugh. "Gods, don’t be foolish enough to trust me," he says, his voice steady and direct. "I only need you alive for now. Don’t confuse necessity for kindness or mistake my motives for friendship; you walked in here carrying an object we have sought for decades." He advances, deliberately closing the distance between us. My mind races, but I remain rooted to the spot as his hand easily removes the knife from my trembling grasp, as if it had always belonged to him. "Consider this," he continues, his gaze unwavering, "I am the only reason you have a chance to see another day. If you want to survive, you’ll follow my lead."

“Who are you?”

“I am King Devin, king of the Fae realm.”

My stomach drops, dread rising fast, heart pounding as uncertainty overwhelms me.

“And you, Celiea,” he continues, his voice calm, too calm, “have just fallen into the last place a human would ever want to be.”

The room goes still.

No one moves. No one speaks.

I can feel every eye on me.

He studies me for a brief moment, his gaze focused, calculating like he’s trying to figure out what I am and what to do with me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I say as my throat goes dry

“Well, Celiea, I'm deciding whether or not I'm going to let them kill you or keep my word. You did just drop in from the sky into the most protected room in my castle. I'm wondering who sent you here, or, moreover, how in the gods' name you, a mere human, were able to survive that.”

“Although,” he says finally, almost to himself, “I doubt you are a threat.”

That doesn’t make me feel better.

He turns slightly, his attention shifting to the guards.

“Put her in a guest room. The one nearest mine.”

A pause.

“And guard her.”

His voice hardens just enough to make the command absolute.

“She does not leave. Under any circumstances, and absolutely no one is to harm her. I until I say that is”

“We’ll speak later.”

Panic surges through me, my body tense and trembling as a cold sweat breaks out and a guard approaches from behind.

Chapter 4

The guard takes me up a long staircase, his hold tight on my arms. I sneak a look and finally notice he's wearing a face cover over the sides of his face, but I can still see his sharp, pointed ears and vivid eyes. Indirectly designed face guards with leaves and flowers made of shiny metal. Everything around me is massive, grand, beautiful, and almost unworldly. The walls are cold like normal stone but remind me of the dragon statue, pulsing beneath my fingers as if it's alive. I feel like shadows are watching my every move, but for some reason, they don't scare me. The air feels thick here; it smells of jasmine and old books. Off in the distance, I can hear some bells ringing deep and low, almost terrifying. Pressure builds inside my chest. My breath turns shallow, and my vision blurs at the edges. I can’t breathe. They push me into a room, and the moment the door closes behind me, I collapse onto the floor. A sob escapes from my chest, then another, my whole body trembling. I draw my knees in, struggling to calm my breathing and make sense of what just happened, but nothing comes into focus. Nothing. Time passes, though I have no idea how much. Eventually, the panic fades into something dull and heavy. I push myself up slowly, wiping at my face. My eyes scan the room. It’s beautiful. Almost too beautiful. Soft fabrics, carved furniture, polished floors—everything looks expensive, important, untouchable. I don’t dare move anything. I don’t sit on the bed. I don’t touch the furniture. I just lie low, lower myself back onto the floor, and wait.

Chapter 5After what feels like hours, the door opens.I look up.The doors slam open with a gust of wind, and he walks in, Devin, like he owns everything. Realistically, I bet he does—even the air itself.Like the room, the castle, and the world itself, he bends around him. realizing how much I hadn’t noticed before.I finally get a good look at him, as he turns and looks down at me, the light catching his brown hair, slightly curly, falling just enough to look effortless. His skin is lightly tanned, and his features—almost too perfect—are sharp, clean, as if everything about him had been carefully placed.It’s the kind of face that shouldn’t exist without flaw.Like he doesn’t even have to try.And for some reason… that’s what makes it unnerving.Because underneath all of it, there’s this quiet feeling I can’t shake—like something far more hideous is hiding just beneath the surface.He wears black, the fabric fitted perfectly to him, with a high collar brushing his neck. Gold designs thread through it in intricate patterns, catching the light just enough to draw your attention without ever fully revealing anything.“Alright,” Devin says, his voice sharp and controlled. “First things first, how the hell did a human get their hands on the dragon relic? I'm also curious as to why you're still alive, but that's not a question for you.”There’s no softness in it. No room to hesitate.“Tell me everything.”And I do.It all spills out—everything. From the thrift store in the alley to this.I don’t even realize I’m rambling, "Hm, I'm honestly surprised that worked," Devin says, almost to himself rather than to me, his gaze lingering a bit too long. "It's strange, though," he adds after a pause. "They usually finish you humans, off before you get a chance to get here.” He tilts his head slightly. "Curious." "What do you mean by 'veil' and how I survived?” Silence.Then“Why,” he asks slowly, “are you sitting on the floor?”I blink up at him, confused.“You have an entire room.”“Well…” I hesitate, my small voice, “I didn’t want to touch anything… in case I was about to die.”There’s a pause.Then Devin huffs out a quiet laugh, tilting his head just enough to make it clear—whatever I said wasn’t wrong just not worth his time.It catches me completely off guard.“Trust me,” he says, shaking his head slightly. “You won’t find me eating strays.” He pauses, picking at his finger without a care in the world. He then adjusts his suit and says, “Eating humans, well, that’s for the uncivilized sort. I am a lot of things, but I am certainly not that.”Something sinks low in my gut.“I don’t plan on killing you either,” he adds casually. Then, after a beat, “yet.”My breath catches.He watches me for a second longer, as if considering it.Then“Lucky for you,” he says, practically amused, “I’m feeling… generous today.”I swallow hard.“I’ll spare your life,” he continues, “only because you’ve unfortunately gotten yourself wrapped up in something, well, “ he huffs out a sarcastic laugh, “far bigger than you could understand. In return, I expect you to work off that debt here.”He pauses, as if waiting for something.“…well?” he prompts impatentlyI blink.My brain scrambles.“Uh, t-thanks?” I manage to say, feeling relief pass through me, even though fear still hangs on. “But you still didn't answer my question?”He lets out a dry, sarcastic laugh.“Yes. You’re welcome. You should be grateful it was here you landed and not somewhere else.”Something in his tone makes my stomach turn.“I won’t go into details,” he adds, almost lazily. “I’d rather not listen to you cry all night,” he says, as if it's the most inconvenient thing ever.Great.“Come,” he says, turning toward the door. “I’m starving.”He doesn’t check if I follow.Just assumes I will.“If you don’t come, it won’t bother me at all,” Devin says, glancing back at me with a sly look. “You can starve for all I care.”He pauses, just long enough.“Honestly, slow suffering is a favorite pastime of mine.”I grimace and quickly start walking after him.