Page 55 of Fallen Stars

Eli had unbuttoned his shirt, pulling at his collar as though he couldn’t breathe. Finally, after seeming to war with himself, he paced to his drink cart, pouring a bourbon with fingers that shook.

Oh, this was bad.

Elara had never seen a god tremor. Never seen him shake. And here, one of the most fearsome Stars was rattled, unable to keep his hand steady.

To her surprise, he handed her the glass.

“Drink.”

For once, she listened, knocking the amber liquid back with a wince. He filled the glass again before downing the contents himself.

“You killed Botis,” Eli finally said, slumping into his chair. She followed suit, sinking into the sumptuous leather of the chair opposite. “An unkillable demon, one who we could only confine to a warded prison. And not only that, you did it through hisdreams.”

Elara’s mouth worked, surprised. She had been so focused on the shadows in the dream after, how they had felt and what they had done, that she hadn’t expected Eli to address that first.

“I am sorry I doubted you,” he continued. “I thought you’d be a shade of who you were when I knew you, but you were right. You are more than the Moon.” He laughed drily, more to himself than her. “And you certainly possess her full scope of power.”

“How did I… I mean…” She gulped, unsure how to explain what had happened, if shewantedto. She tried again. “In his dreams, a sword appeared in my hand. I used it to slice through his throat. But I thought it would just wake him and collapse the dreamscape. Yet the nightmare continued.”

Eli had leaned forward, the grip on his glass tightening. But he said nothing.

Her voice took in a haunted quality as she lowered her gaze. “What I saw in there, what Ifelt… What happened?” she asked, barely more than a whisper. She finally forced herself to meet his gaze. Eli was usually a master at masking emotions, always calm, always collected. Yet his eyes were wild as they pinned Elara to the chair.

“Someone was in there with us,” he said finally. Elara swallowed. “I felt them, their presence,” he continued. “They were stopping me from communicating with you, stopping mycharm,Elara.”

“How is that possible?”

He shook his head, steepling his fingers together. “It isn’t. Shouldn’t be.”

“Was it Ariete?”

“No. I know his presence, his charm. In the centuries I have known him, he has never been able to dreamwalk. This was something different. Insidious. Ariete is many things, but he is upfront with his evilness. This felt like…” He shook his head, unable to go on.

“Like what,Eli, likewhat?”

He didn’t look up as he replied. “It felt like the Dark.”

Elara’s neck snapped up. “The Dark? You mean from the story you told me during our game of Bard?”

Eli could barely sit still, the vile energy that had emanated from Botis’s dreams, so much worse than the demon himself, still coated him.

“Yes,” he said.

“But you told me that the Dark didn’t exist anymore as a living thing.Merely a shadow on the wall, a space between light and stars,you said.”

“I know what I said,” he gritted out. “And it’s what I believed. What weallbelieve.”

“And you’re certain it wasn’t Botis?”

“Elara, I saw him die before me as I was monitoring your dreams, but still in the waking world. I watched as a wound ripped open at his throat, black blood gurgling as he choked. You were right—the dreamscape should have collapsed with you free.”

“And the other Stars? None of them could have tampered with it. Aquaria? She’s a goddess of misfortune. Or even Cancia, with her pain?”

Eli shook his head. He knew his fellow Stars well, knew the limits to their charm.

“I’m telling you, Elara, I’ve only felt that magick once before, and like I told you, it shouldn’t exist anymore.”

Elara let out a breath of frustration.

---