Page 90 of Heavenly Bodies

The jolt of a carriage. Footsteps. Urgent voices. The sounds drifted to her as she floated, sightless and nameless.

‘It’s bad. Very bad. Gem was involved, as well as Ariete.’

Gem. The name registered. She tried to grasp hold of the memory, but it floated away from her.

‘Wounds from Ariete’s magick…think the bite is infected…’

She frowned, her eyes still screwed tight. She knew she was supposed to feel an emotion. But again, the thought floated away. The darkness shrouding her hushed her, soothing her.

‘Medical attention immediately…I’m not leaving her…’

Another voice whispered something, then came a roar.

‘I’m not leaving her.’

She suddenly noticed that she was in someone’s arms, and felt them tighten. She smelled amber, and a drifting thought told her she was home. But the wordhomefelt strange, and so she frowned and forgot it.

‘Take someone with you…food…water…rest…assess her when the wound has been cleaned.’ The cool andstern voice drifted in and out. It was confident, feminine, mature. She liked the sound of that voice.

‘I can do it myself,’ the other voice snapped. ‘No one touches her.’

She lurched in the warm grip around her. A passing thought found it funny, the movement. Then she almost wanted to cry. The darkness hushed her as if she was a child, easing her mind into blankness again. All she knew was that she had to keep her eyes shut so that the darkness would stay with her. The darkness was her friend. The darkness would protect her.

A soft click, and a door was closed. A familiar scent wafted to her, vanilla and something clean.

Safe, the darkness said.

‘Elara.’ A softer, gentler feminine voice made her wince, as did the feel of soft hands taking her own.

She flinched from the touch. Elara. Her name. She was Elara.

‘I managed to get it,’ she heard the softer voice say. The voice was familiar. She wasn’t sure why.

‘How—’

‘I know someone,’ came the quick reply.

Elara shifted as the arms carrying her took something from the woman.

‘Thank you,’ said the voice—the man—carrying her. ‘Leave us now, Merissa.’

Merissa. A friend. Her friend.

Her friend, Sofia.

Blood.

Blood.

She began to hyperventilate as the darkness worked to coax her, her friend’s voice too close.

‘Enzo, I need to make sure—’

‘Leave.’

She heard a small sigh and the sound of a door closing firmly.

‘Elara,’ she heard the gentle voice whisper. She murmured at its sound. She liked this voice. She trusted it. This voice made her feel warm.

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