Page 39 of Heavenly Bodies

‘Do you ever…’ She shook her head. ‘Do you ever wonder how the Stars created this?’

She turned to Enzo. ‘I mean…the sheer vastness of it, the sheer beauty. How can beings so cruel have made it so?’

Enzo shook his head, looking to the Light as it made his every feature shine. ‘Perhaps there is something greater out there,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Perhaps there is something more divine.’

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

They arrived back at the palace just as it had begun to wake. There was the sound of clinking china and hushed orders between the chief of staff and servants. Gardeners were trimming the hedges, the quiet snip of cutters in the dew-dropped air.

Elara reached for her shadows, but they’d disappeared deep inside her. She looked to Enzo, her breath hitching.

‘They just need to recharge,’ he said. ‘They’ve been stuck inside you for eighteen years and were forced out all at once.’

Soothed and suddenly exhausted, Elara yawned as she dismounted.

‘I’ll take the horse back to the stables. Then I need to see my father. He’ll be happy to hear that we unlocked your shadows.’

There was something hopeful in his gaze, but Elara’s stomach plummeted.

Because of course. How could she have forgotten? She was a weapon to Idris and his son. A means to an end.

‘You should go and rest,’ he added.

She stretched her arms out, smiling as she nodded. ‘Thankyou. For this morning. I—’ She made herself look at him. For one last time. ‘I truly mean it. Thank you for helping me slay my monster.’

Something softened in Enzo’s eyes. Elara looked away, feigning another yawn. ‘I’m going back to bed.’

‘Take the day off.’ He gave a tentative smile, leading the horse away. Elara watched him until he’d disappeared around a corner.

And then she weaved a cloak of illusions over herself, turned right back around and darted through the palace gates.

She tore the illusions off herself once she’d reached the foot of the palace walk—she didn’t want to drain her magick too fast. But in doing so, she encountered another issue. Elara didn’t know exactly how long Merissa’s glamour would last. A day and a night is what the glamourer had said, and though Merissa’s magick still seemed intact around Elara, she knew it would wane, and fast. The thought of the glamourer caused a slight pang of sadness in her chest. But these people weren’t her friends. Enzo had reminded her of that. She was an enemy. An enemy that was only valuable while they thought they could use her. So she prayed that the disguise would hold up, at least until she was out of Helios.

She sped down the warm streets as discreetly as she could. All she needed was a horse—one that didn’t belong to the palace. If she could remember her way to the stables near Isra’s, she could steal one.

She turned into an ornate square that she remembered,the one with a giant iridescent statue of Leyon wearing the lion’s pelt in the centre of it.

She was close to the stables, keeping her head down, and so focused on not being recognized that she crashed right into someone.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, looking up and smiling with false cheer. ‘I wasn’t—’ Elara’s smile dropped.

The Star before her grinned a smile full of white teeth as he righted his robes. Every breath inside her became a wheeze. Blonde hair rippled down past the god’s shoulders, his lean muscles tanned and shining. A circlet rested on his head, spikes of gold reaching out like rays of light. Leyon, Patron Star of Helios, god of the Light, arts and prophecy.

‘I have that effect on people,’ he winked. The Star was both elegant and dazzling, looking as if he’d been cut from the very marble that rendered his figure as statuary throughout Helios.

‘Thank you, my revered Lord Light.’ Elara kept her eyes averted, bowing before going to leave. She prayed with all her might that he’d let her, but felt a strong hand grab hers, pulling her closer.

‘Whoareyou?’ She froze. Leyon smiled, but though it was an easy, relaxed smile, she sensed the danger behind it. ‘You don’t think I can see through the glamour you’re wearing?’

‘Glamour? I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Your Grace.’ She laughed uneasily. Leyon’s hazel eyes narrowed and she could feel the power emanating from him—his charm, that godly force that coated the very air, eye-watering to look at for too long. She glanced around nervously to see whether anyone else had noticed agodcasually walking amongst them. Indeed, passers-by were bowing their head, touching their third and fourth finger to their temple as a sign of respect.

‘You’re not from my kingdom,’ Leyon spoke softly.

Adrenaline coursed through Elara’s veins. The Star’s grip on her was firm and unyielding. She ran through options in her head, wondering if her shadows had regained enough strength to be cast, or if her best bet was to run. Fast.

‘Raven hair. Silver eyes. An Asterian. And by your posture, I’d wager royalty.’ He chuckled, the sound warm as his eyes shone with interest. ‘If I were a gambling man, I’d bet that I may have just bumped into the lost princess that Ariete is so fixated on finding.’

She bristled against the title, and gave a hard laugh, trying to tug free of his grasp. ‘You’re certainly mistaken.’