You didn’t mean to climb into the sky. One moment you were wandering through the overgrown ruins behind your grandmother’s old garden, the next you were standing at the foot of a staircase made of light. It shimmered, humming beneath your feet like it had been waiting. Curiosity got the better of you.

Step by step, the world fell away. Below you: clouds. Above you: stars. And when you reached the top, the air tasted like lightning and everything was too still.

The palace looked like it had been carved out of moonlight. Floating pillars, glassy bridges connecting nothing and everything, and a garden of constellations blooming around a still lake that reflected galaxies.

And standing at the edge of it all—him.

Jason Grace.

Cloaked in white and silver, broad-shouldered and impossible to ignore. The air around him pulsed with quiet power. His blonde hair shifted in the breeze, though there was no wind, and his gaze pinned you in place before you could even open your mouth.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he said, voice steady, but edged with authority. Like thunder in disguise.

“The Aether Gate only opens when something rare passes by,” he said. “The fact that it chose you means... something.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Are you saying I broke into heaven by being accidentally interesting?”

That got a small smirk. Barely there. But oh, it was dangerous. “You’ll stay here until the stars tell me why they wanted you…” Then he added, low and lazy: “Or until I find out what else you’re good at… besides trespassing.”