Page 67 of Heavenly Bodies

Elara nodded, swallowing the last of her bubbles down. She welcomed the fuzzy feeling for a blissful moment before responsibility crashed down upon her. Sofia. She had to find Sofia.

Adrian took her hand, and she stilled again. He looked to her quizzically.

‘I’m sorry,’ she laughed, allowing his hand to hold her waist as they began to dance. ‘Have we met before?’

Adrian frowned as a violin played a dramatic and tense ballad. Trumpet notes cascaded in accompaniment, his hand soft in hers.

‘I don’t believe so. I’m sure I’d remember someone like you.’

She laughed her feeling of unease away as they moved around the room. ‘So tell me, Lord Adrian,’ she asked, ‘was Neptuna thrilled with the news of the coronation?’

He snorted. ‘You mean the crowning of the puppet king? My family loved the Bellereves. And I can’t say the courtiers in Neptuna are pleased with the way the new king ascended his throne. We all know of Ariete’s intervention. We all know of the lost princess who survived hisdivinitas.’

Elara bit her tongue against the wealth of emotions threatening to spill.Down you go, she commanded them.

‘As an Asterian, the change surprised me too. As did thenews of Princess Elara. Has there been any word as to where she escaped?’

Adrian shrugged. ‘Some rumours say she fled to Neptuna, though I certainly haven’t seen a shadow princess around. Others think she may have crossed the Olympian Ocean and is hiding on the other continent.’

Elara nodded, her chest easing. ‘Have you seen the new king tonight?’ she asked.

‘Only at his coronation. Of course, Ariete was in attendance, too. But since the moment the procession returned here, I haven’t seen either of them. There was a woman at the coronation who was causing a fuss, and the moment the palace gates opened, they disappeared with her.’

Elara’s stomach plummeted. Thathadto be Sofia. Her train of thought petered as out of the corner of her eye, Elara saw a flash of honey and rose gold spin past. Elara’s attention caught on the woman who had brushed past her. She was breathtaking. Beauty, eye-watering beauty dripped off her as she danced. Her hair fell in honey brown curls to her waist, laced with pearls, dove-roses and swan feathers. Her skin was an olive brown hue which glowed, made richer by the deep mauve ballgown that accentuated curves only a goddess could be born with. Elara saw a flicker of smoky jade as the Star arrested her with her eyes, before Elara caught on who was whispering in the Star’s ear, a disarming grin on his face.

Enzo.

As though feeling her stare, he raised his eyes, gaze locked on her as he continued to whisper in the goddess’s ear. Though she wasn’t just any Star, not as a charm so intoxicating, so heavenly, drifted through the room, stopping all who encountered it in their tracks. Not as Elara realized she had seen the Star’s face rendered in statues and paintings throughout her lands.

‘Is that Torra?’ Adrian muttered behind her in awe.

Indeed it was. The goddess of lust and earthly pleasure herself. Elara felt a sharp lurch of jealousy as the goddess turned back to Enzo, laughing at whatever he was whispering.

Why did she even care? They were allies, nothing more. And most men thought with their cocks, didn’t they? Enzo was just that, a man—one as susceptible to Torra’s charm as any other. She bit her cheek, willing the anger rippling through her to calm. Casting him a dry smile, she turned back to Adrian, flicking her hair behind her as she allowed him to spin her.

‘Who is she dancing with?’ Adrian asked, following where her gaze had been.

She glanced over again then gave a nonchalant shrug as she placed both arms around his neck. ‘Haven’t the faintest.’

Adrian’s hands slid to her waist as Torra’s magick snaked around them. A curl of pleasure sat low in Elara’s stomach.

The music slowed, as the band too were taken by the goddess’s charm. Every couple around her drew closer to each other, as the lights dimmed.

‘So, Ariete,’ Elara continued, trying to blink away the magick overcoming her, ‘and the new king. You haven’t any idea where they went?’ She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice as Adrian’s hands trailed back up, grazing the sides of her breasts.

‘The last I saw them, they were heading towards a huge set of doors inlaid with two draguns. Does that help?’

The throne room. Elara’s pulse quickened as she nodded absent-mindedly.

Adrian’s eyes had darkened, and he wet his lips as he gazed at hers. ‘You rival Torra with your beauty,’ he murmured as he leaned in to her, their dancing slowing. He smelled like theocean—of sea salt and driftwood. But Elara only craved one scent as charm seeped into her veins, warm amber.

‘Careful you don’t bring the strike ofdivinitas,’ Elara purred. Adrian chuckled, low and rough, and that curl of pleasure twined inside her. She let Torra’s charm whisper in her ear, encouraging her to act upon her desires, to sate herself in any way she could, with anyone she could.

Adrian’s mouth tipped down towards hers, and her lips parted, eyes fluttering shut. And then two hands grabbed her waist and yanked her out of his grasp. Enzo gave a saccharine smile to Adrian.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ he said, ‘but the lady’s next dance is with me.’

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. ‘We were—’

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