Page 177 of Fallen Stars

“What?” he said. “The last twenty-four hours have been taxing to say the least. And it’s likely only about to get worse.”

Elara couldn’t argue with that logic, merely nodding as she turned back around.

Eli veered around a corner, the troupe now following as he halted before a large driftwood door. Elara hadn’t seen this part of the ship yet, though in all honesty, she hadn’t seen much of it.

Eli muttered a set of words under his breath as he held his hands out to the door, ones that did not sound Celestian, and with a push, the door swung open.

Beyond was a library, one so magnificent that Elara gasped.

She realised she recognised it, had been there before, and turned to Eli.

“Yes,” he answered, reading her question before she asked it. “It’s the one from my dreams. In, all of you.”

He jerked his thumb, allowing the group to file in, Adrian finally traipsing around the corner. He winked at Merissa as he passed her, definitely not as sober as the others, and the demi Star’s cheeks went pink as she glanced away.

Under any other circumstance, Elara would have found it funny, but she was still trying to digest what Isra had confirmed.

Comfy, velvet bound chairs were dotted about the room in front of shelves filled with books, lamps hanging and providing the room with a warm glow.

Elara took one of the chairs, letting go of Enzo’s hand.

“I’m going to fetch us some tea,” he murmured. “We all need to sober up properly. Mint, with two teaspoons of honey?”

Elara’s heart ached as she nodded, kissing his cheek.

“I’ll have one if you’re offering,” Isra yawned.

“Me too,” Merissa chimed.

“I’ll go and help,” Leo said.

“Eli? Adrian?”

“Black Tea. The bags are next to the fresh mint,” Eli said.

“I’m set,” Adrian said, raising his tankard.

Isra snorted. “Get him a mint tea too. He’ll like it.”

Enzo and Leo left the room as Elara picked at her fingernails, her stomach churning. Enzo’s life was now quite literally in her hands. She was bound to Ariete until she had completed one favour for him. And the way Eli was looking at her suggested that she was about to find out something much, much worse now too.

She heard someone clearing their throat and blinked, a cup of tea placed on the side table next to her. Enzo pulled her up as he settled in underneath her, bringing her back onto his lap as they sank into the soft velvet chair. She curled up into him, her eyes flickering shut as she smelled the fresh mint wafting to her, mingling with Enzo’s amber scent of home.

“So, Eli,” Leo ventured. “Want to explain why we’re in here?”

Eli was muttering to himself as he struck match after match, lighting candles that were placed on every surface of the library.

“Lorenzo, can you add some more light to the room please?” he asked, agitated as he paced. Enzo frowned down to Elara before waving his hand, the firelamps burning brighter, any shadows cast on the walls dissipating.

Eli turned around, inspecting the room, before finally sinking back into his chair and nodding.

“We’re in here because it’s the only place on the ship warded enough against the Dark. And bright enough that even her shadows couldn’t linger.”

“The Dark…?” Leo looked confused, as did Adrian.

Elara sighed, taking over from Eli as she recounted the events of Botis’s dream, what she and Eli had felt, and what the Dark actually was.

“A primordial entity,” Isra repeated. “She’s written about even in storybooks—in the Mythas of Celestia. ‘Never accept a gift from the Dark.’ That’s the tale they tell us, isn’t it?”

---