Page 31 of Heavenly Bodies

‘Ungrateful? What in the skies do I have to thankyoufor?’

‘I’m trying tohelpyou. If you won’t tell me what happened to your shadows, then Iwillforce you to.’

He kicked the horse’s shanks, and it set off into a faster trot as the ground beneath Elara began to tilt upwards. The buildings became sparser as Enzo urged the horse up the hill. The milled stones made way for grass as the buildings disappeared entirely. His arm around Elara still clenched her in a vice-like grip that she couldn’t shake, as much as she squirmed against it. She cursed again.

‘You have a filthy mouth for a princess.’

‘Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?’ she snapped, looking for any way to get under his skin.

He pulled her, so that her back was entirely flush to his front. Elara had never been so close to him, amber enveloping her senses as he leaned in. She felt his warm breath on her neck.

‘Is that an invitation?’ he murmured.

Well, damn it all. If he didn’t meet her every taunt with one better. Her mind emptied as every jolt of the horse brought their bodies sliding together. She opened her mouth to retort, but came up short, and instead shifted in the saddle.

‘Stop squirming,’ he commanded. She stopped resisting him, allowing her body to relax. ‘Good girl. Youcantake orders.’

She glared ahead, and Enzo made a smug sound as she gripped the front of the saddle.

‘Can youpleasetell me where we’re going now?’ she asked, as the hill steepened, and the horse began to slow its pace.

‘Someplace where you’ll have no choice but to speak the truth.’

She could feel every vibration in his chest as he spoke, his deep voice humming against her skin.

‘Sounds ominous.’

He laughed then, which didn’t help. Elara held her posture rigid, trying to brush against him as little as possible. She could taste salt in the air, the path now starting to flatten out.

‘Decided to trust me yet?’

‘This is hardly giving me cause to—’

Enzo clicked his teeth again and the horse began to gallop.

‘Ready to tell me?’ he shouted over the winds. On either side, Elara could only see dense shrubbery. She didn’t respond, jaw welded shut, though her stomach lurched at the speed that the horse was racing along.

The only thing keeping her on the saddle was Enzo’s arm around her waist. One more click of his teeth, and impossibly, the horse went even faster.

It was then, to Elara’s absolute horror, that she saw exactly what they were racing towards as the shrubbery thinned out. The edge of a cliff.

‘Enzo, this isn’t funny!’ she screamed, as she understood now why she tasted salt in the air. Waves crashed far below on either side off the cliff. The end of the path waited.

‘Do you see me laughing?’

She craned her neck for a split second, seeing a glimpse of his expression—brow furrowed and eyes flashing. ‘Stop right now.’

‘Tell me why you can’t use your shadows.’

She screamed as the horse careened, the edge approaching. The unforgiving ocean glinted as it reflected the afternoon Light. They were so high that the impact would be fatal.

‘One last chance, Elara, or I swear to the Stars I’m taking us all off this cliff.’

‘Fine!’ she screamed, right as the lip of the cliff came up. The next words garbled out of her. ‘I’m scared of the Light because of what happened to me as a child!’

Enzo twitched his hands, and the horse drove to a stop, neighing. Small pebbles kicked off its hoof, bouncing over the cliff edge, as Elara tried not to vomit. He clicked once more, and the horse paced backwards.

‘You fuckinglunatic!’ she seethed. ‘You would have killed us all!’

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