Page 1 of Pisces Rising

Chapter

One

In that liminal space between dreaming and waking, Pisces knew one thing for certain—she was no longer among the stars.

She stirred, her senses slowly awakening as she became aware of the soft sand beneath her and the rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the shore. Slowly, she opened her clear blue eyes, blinking against the shimmering glow of the moon reflecting off the water.

She pushed herself up, feeling a dull ache in her head, a lingering reminder of something she had lost. Confusion clouded her mind as she tried to remember how she had ended up lying on this desolate beach.

Pisces. She knew her name was Pisces. And she had fallen—endlessly—until the earth caught her. But what else came before that? She took in her surroundings, searching for a clue. All she found was the beach stretched out before her, a vast expanse of golden sand bordered by towering cliffs on one side and the endless ocean on the other.

She struggled to her feet, her long, white-blonde hair tangled and salt-streaked. Feeling disoriented and lost, she brushed the sand off her simple linen dress.

A gust of wind made her skin prickle, and she rubbed her arms for warmth. “Hello,” she called out. The only answer that came was the whistle of the wind over the cliffs. Fragments of memories flashed through her mind like distant stars in the night sky, fleeting and elusive. She remembered blurred faces and faint voices—snippets of conversations that seemed to slip away whenever she tried to grasp them. She saw a muddled vision of a great castle lit with stars.

Then she felt a damp cold run through her and saw what appeared to be a dungeon lit with flames. It was as if her memories were shrouded in mist, just out of reach.

With a heavy heart, Pisces turned her gaze upward toward the heavens. The night sky stretched out before her, a tapestry of twinkling stars that called out to her with a haunting familiarity. This ignited a stirring in her soul—a sense of loss that she couldn't quite explain. It was as if she had been there before. As if she were a part of a celestial dance that trailed across the cosmos.

“You are Pisces,” a voice in her head sang. At that moment, with no memory to hold on to, that small piece of confirmation was a wish granted. Her name reverberated in her mind, and she sucked in a breath for courage. She was Pisces, and she’d just fallen from the stars. But reaching those would be impossible now, and her gaze drifted to the sapphire ocean. Driven by an inexplicable impulse, she pulled off her dress, threw it on the sand, and took a tentative step toward the water, the calm waves lapping at her feet. With each step, she felt a strange pull, a magnetic force drawing her closer to the sea's edge. It was as if the ocean were calling out to her, beckoning her to delve into its depths and discover the truth hidden beneath its surface. There, she would find herself.

Without hesitation, she waded into the water, the ocean's chill enveloping her like a comforting embrace. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, feeling a sense of peace wash over her as she surrendered to the ebb and flow of the tide.

An energy filled her soul as Pisces plunged into the unknown depths. The water hugged her and comforted her. She could hear the creatures in the deep, sensing her presence and curiously slowing their movements. She turned on her back and floated, lifting her gaze to the stars above and wondering which star might have been hers. Suddenly, she noticed one particular star growing brighter and more prominent, descending from the heavens like a ball of fire streaking across the night sky.

Her jaw dropped as the blazing star broke through the atmosphere, heating the air as its light radiated out. It fell through the sky and crashed onto the beach with a booming vibration, causing the ground to shake and sending sand flying in all directions.

Heart pounding, she swam back to the shore and walked to the edge of the sand, blinking to make her mind believe what her eyes were seeing. There was a deep crater where the ball of fire had landed. She took a cautious step forward, her eyes widening in disbelief as a figure emerged from the smoldering wreckage and climbed onto the beach.

Quickly, Pisces grabbed her dress and pulled it over her head, then took a few tentative steps forward as the figure stood. Her hand flew to her mouth when she was close enough to see what had fallen in a fiery wake.

He was tall and muscular, wearing a dark shirt and pants. And on his head were—horns. He looked like he was built for war, and as his penetrating dark eyes drifted to her, they seemed to pierce through her soul.

Run, she thought, run back to the safety of the ocean. But in the presence of his powerful aura, her feet wouldn’t move.

He shook the sand off his body and from his hair, then fixed his predatory gaze on her again and took a step forward. Danger. She stepped back. The horned man stopped, staring at her with a fierceness that made her tremble. There was something familiar about this terrifying being. “Who...who are you?” she managed.

"Aries,” he growled. “And you're coming with me." The deep rumble of his voice left no room for argument.

Pisces' breath came in ragged pants as she backed away from the imposing figure of Aries on the shore. Her instincts screamed at her to flee, to disappear into the protective embrace of the ocean's depths. But Aries allowed no such retreat, swiftly closing the distance between them with powerful, determined strides. Before Pisces could react, Aries’ large hand clamped down on her wrist in an unforgiving grip. She cried out at the scorching heat of his touch as he wrenched her body against his.

Up close, his sheer size and intensity were overwhelming, those fathomless dark eyes pinning her like a butterfly to a board.

There was a hint of fire in the depths of those dark eyes as his nostrils flared. "It's not safe for you here. This isn’t a request."

The fiery arrogance of this horned devil ignited Pisces’ fear, which quickly burned into defiance. She must have fallen from the same part of the stars as he had. They weren’t equal in size, but perhaps there was a time when they were equal in power. “No,” she said, trying to match his hard stare. He might have had the advantage of knowing who she was, but she would not let him win so easily. She strained against his bruising grasp but remained trapped. "I won't go with you," she spat, struggling futilely.

Aries’ eyes flashed with dark amusement at her efforts. “Oh, no?” With one deft movement, he snatched her other wrist, holding both captive as he loomed over her. "You have no choice," he stated flatly. "You belong to me."

Panic surged through Pisces as she tried to remember who this creature was. She opened her mouth to protest, to demand her freedom, but the words caught in her throat as the ground began to tremble violently beneath their feet.

Aries’ grip on her held firm as the earth shook, and to Pisces’ horror, a towering form burst forth from the sands—a gargantuan scorpion, heading right for them. This mysterious creature was as familiar to her as the horned man clutching her wrists. Its razor-tipped claws snapped menacingly as it advanced.

Any thought of escaping into the ocean fled as Pisces felt herself engulfed in Aries’ searing embrace. He swept her up into his arms, her fragile form dwarfed against the hard planes of his chest. There was no tenderness in his movements, only an unstoppable force of intent as he turned and raced from the scorpion, carrying her with him. Pisces' heart thundered, her emotions whiplashing between the blind terror of the pursuing monster and the even more primal fear of this dark, formidable creature who had claimed her so completely. His heat surrounded her, the scent of smoke and star-forged embers making her head spin.

As they fled into the mountains, Pisces couldn't tear her gaze away from Aries’ harsh visage. Though he had rescued her, it felt less like an act of heroism and more like the possessive actions of a conqueror seizing his hard-won prize. The dizzying sense of danger still lingered, raising the ominous question—had she truly been saved at all or merely traded the clutches of one captor for another?

Chapter