Prologue

The heat was unbearable, and the towering flames consumed everything in sight, with tongues of fire burning bright and vicious red. Not a single corner of the room was spared from the brutal grip of the blaze, and the thick smoke made it impossible for the girl on the floor to see more than a few feet ahead.

She wore a scorched school uniform, her shoulder burned and searing with pain, the skin red and blistered—a reminder of the agony she’d likely feel until she finally left the world of the living. Because that’s what she thought was happening. Terror gripped her chest, and at that moment, she was sure every breath would be her last. A premature death at just fifteen, painfully dramatic, since such a violent fire wasn’t just some minor incident.

Some had made it out alive—luckier than her.

She was lying on the floor, her eyes nearly shut as she coughed, trying to cover her mouth to keep the smoke from filling her lungs—a nearly futile attempt to survive just a little longer.

The sound of wood cracking under the pressure of the flames echoed around her, and the fire seemed to roar, licking at her shoes, which were now ablaze, forcing her to curl in on herself even more in a useless effort to find protection.

“God, please help me…” she begged silently, her throat burning too much to speak. “Please don’t let me die here…”

And then, her eyes shut into total darkness.

But Celeste refused to die—at least not without trying one more time.

She opened her eyes and tried to sit up, groaning in pain as she forced her sore arms to move. And then, like an angel tearing through hell to save a soul on the brink of death—or a demon claiming a spirit that belonged to him, depending on how you looked at it—a man dressed entirely in black leapt through the flames, running straight to her and scooping her into his arms.

“Hey! Girl, wake up! Can you hear me?”

His voice trembled, and his blue eyes scanned her face, landing on her raw, burned shoulder.

“Shit! Stay with me! I’m getting you out of here, but you’ve got to stay with me!”

The desperate plea made Celeste nod weakly, coughing once more but trying to keep her eyes open as she stared at her savior. She couldn’t see well through the smoke, but he had dark blond hair, pale, beautiful skin, and his jaw was clenched tight in concentration as he searched for a way through the fire.

He hoisted her over his shoulders, looping her arms around his neck to make sure she wouldn’t fall. At that moment, she got a clearer look at his face. Up close, she realized she wasn’t the only one injured.

Awkwardly, struggling to keep her in his grasp with just one hand, he shrugged off his thick coat that had been protecting his arms from the fire, wrapping it around her before pulling her close with both arms.

He didn’t care about being exposed—he needed to save her.

“Your face…” she whispered, raising her fingers, which hovered over the massive burn that spread across the left side of his face, leaving his skin a chaotic mess of ash, flesh, and blood.

Just ahead, an explosion rang out, sending shards of glass flying in every direction, slicing across his already-injured face as he used his body to shield her from the debris.

“Don’t worry about me. Keep your head down—we’re going through the fire.”

His voice was steady, masking the pain he was clearly feeling, though the tight clench of his jaw betrayed him. The heat made the electric shocks coursing through his nerves even more unbearable.

“Hold on tight and close your eyes!”

And then, he ran.

The path was treacherous. The fire seemed intent on swallowing them both whole, its red flames stretching to the high ceiling, threatening to consume them at any second.

Celeste didn’t know how—or when—they made it out. She only felt the unbearable heat pressing in from all sides… but no new burns, at least not on her. She sensed him leaping over obstacles in their way, and then, a few minutes later, her lungs filled with fresh, clean air, and she heard the sounds of the outside world.

Police sirens.

So many voices, all blending, fading in and out as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

“We made it… You’re safe now,” her savior’s voice reached her ears, clear above the chaos.

“You’re going to be okay, girl. You will be fine.”

She would never forget that voice—much less those eyes, so blue, so full of worry.

She barely noticed when he handed her over to a paramedic, but she caught a final glimpse of him as a blur disappearing into the crowd, his black clothing blending into the sea of people gathered outside Ridgewood High School.

That morning, the school became the site of a devastating tragedy. A terrorist group attacked, killing several students and staff by detonating a bomb on the east side of the building while classes were in session.

But just when everyone thought there were no survivors left beyond those who had escaped in the first few minutes, one girl was rescued by a mysterious man who vanished without a trace.

Celeste Cruz was given a second chance that day.

Many said she had been born again, that she was incredibly lucky.

And she never saw her savior again—never got to thank him.

But fate always finds a way to reunite souls that are meant to be together.