A Hidden Secret..

The morning sun painted the sky with warm hues of gold and pink, but Asteria hardly noticed. Her mind was preoccupied with the events of the previous night. The fallen star, the celestial boy—Stary—now hiding in her barn, and the ominous feeling that something dark was watching.

She moved through her morning chores mechanically, her hands working while her thoughts raced. Her parents had already left for the market, which gave her the perfect opportunity to sneak food out to Stary without suspicion.

Gathering a small bundle of bread, cheese, and a flask of water, she made her way to the barn. Her heart pounded slightly—what if he had vanished? What if last night had been a dream?

But as she pushed open the wooden door, she found him exactly where she had left him.

Stary sat cross-legged on the hay, staring intently at his hands. The soft glow of his skin had dimmed slightly in the daylight, but the celestial patterns on his arms were still visible. As Asteria stepped inside, he looked up, his starlit eyes locking onto hers.

"You’re back," he said, as if he had doubted she would return.

Asteria smirked. "Of course I’m back. You think I’d leave a glowing star boy to fend for himself?"

Stary’s lips twitched, almost forming a smile, but there was still hesitation in his gaze. He looked down at his hands again, flexing his fingers. "Something is… strange," he murmured.

Asteria sat down beside him, placing the food between them. "What do you mean?"

He lifted his hand, and for a moment, nothing happened. But then—a flicker. A thin thread of light sparked from his fingertips, twisting in the air like a living ribbon before fading away.

Asteria’s breath caught. "You can control light?"

Stary frowned. "I don’t know. It feels… natural, like breathing. But something is wrong. It’s weaker than it should be."

Asteria studied him closely. "Maybe because you fell? Maybe you lost some of your power when you crashed?"

Stary’s expression darkened. "Maybe."

They sat in silence for a while as he ate. He didn’t eat like a normal person—he examined the bread carefully, as if unsure how to hold it, and took small bites as if testing the texture.

"You don’t remember eating before, do you?" Asteria asked.

Stary shook his head. "No. But I like it." He smiled faintly. "It’s warm."

Asteria chuckled. "You’re definitely not from around here."

The light mood didn’t last long. A gust of wind rattled the barn doors, and Stary suddenly tensed, his glowing veins pulsing slightly. His eyes flicked toward the entrance.

Asteria frowned. "What’s wrong?"

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes, his body going unnaturally still. Asteria watched in fascination as the air around him seemed to shift—like the very light in the room was bending around him.

Then, his eyes snapped open.

"Something is coming."

Asteria’s heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? Something from the village?"

Stary shook his head, his voice barely above a whisper. "No. From the forest."

The barn suddenly felt colder. Asteria stood, rushing to the doors and peeking outside. At first, everything looked normal—the fields swayed gently in the breeze, the village rooftops visible in the distance.

But then she noticed it.

A shadow, darker than the rest of the forest, shifting unnaturally between the trees. It wasn’t moving like a person. It didn’t step or walk—it slithered, blending in and out of the darkness as if it was the darkness.

A chill ran down her spine. "What is that?"

Stary stood beside her now, his hands clenched. "I don’t know," he admitted. "But I do know it’s looking for me."

Asteria turned to him. "How do you know?"

Stary hesitated before speaking. "Because I can feel it calling my name. Not the one you gave me. My real one."

Asteria swallowed hard. "You remember your real name?"

His glowing eyes met hers. "No," he admitted. "But they do."

Asteria grabbed his wrist. "We can’t stay here. If they come into the village—"

"I know," Stary said, his voice tight with tension. "We have to leave."

Asteria’s mind raced. They couldn’t run into the open—the shadow would spot them immediately. They needed a place to hide. A place where the village wouldn’t look.

Then it hit her.

"The old watchtower," she whispered.

Stary frowned. "Watchtower?"

"It’s abandoned, on the cliffside past the eastern fields. No one ever goes there. We can hide there while we figure out what to do next."

Stary nodded. "Then we go."

Asteria tightened her cloak, peeking outside again. The shadow had moved closer. It was still watching. Still waiting.

They had to move now.

Without another word, Asteria grabbed Stary’s hand, and together, they slipped out into the morning light—unaware that their every step was being followed.

And that the Eclipsed Ones were already closing in.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***