Page 59 of Fallen Stars

“I’m Elara,” she replied. “Her shadow. A part of her as much as her light is. She met me once you know, after she thought you’d betrayed her.”

Enzo’s stomach tightened at the thought of the pain Elara must have been in, believing Gem’s tricks.

“But you can’t stay here long, Enzo.”

“Why?” he breathed, dumbfounded to be hearing Elara’s voice come from the shadow’s mouth.

“Because you’ve wandered too far. You are no longer in the dreamlands.”

“Then where am I?”

“In the land of the dead.”

Enzo whirled around. “What?” he asked hoarsely, taking a few steps back.

“Elara doesn’t yet realise it, but this is what lies beyond dreams. Death. And the two realms sit side by side, merely a breath between them.”

“Then why was I led here? Did you call me here?” Indignation was threatening to rise within him now.

“I didn’t mean to. But our souls have always been intertwined, Enzo. You already know that.”

He wasn’t sure what to do. His instinct wasn’t screaming at him to run from the place, but rather to stay with Elara’s shadow a little longer.

“And why are you no longer in Elara’s dreams? She told me that you used to lie within her dreamscape when she met you.”

The shadow tensed, Enzo could almost see hackles rise, spiking off the form.

“Because something awoke. And I’ve been forced to hide, to protect Elara.”

“What awoke?” Enzo asked in alarm. If his Elara was in danger, he’d…

“The Dark,” her shadow replied.

“The Dark?” Enzo frowned. He only knew two things about it from the Mythas of Celestia and the chapter on Asteria. That everything was born from it, and everything would return to it. “I thought the Dark was a substance, like the Light is?”

The shadow shook her head. “The Dark is an entity. One greater than Stars or titans. She’s been slumbering, and now, for reasons I don’t know, she’s awake.”

The news struck Enzo mute. What was the shadow sayingright now? That there was a threat greater than the Stars at their heels?!

“I felt her,” the shadow continued. “The Dark. She touched Elara, tried to get tome. So I had to escape to the deadlands, where she can’t find me.”

“What!?” Enzo exclaimed. “Is Elara safe?” Panic enveloped him. “What has she been doing? Where is she?”

“She’s safe,” the shadow replied. “For now. She was practicing dreamwalking with Eli when it happened.”

“I’ll fucking kill him,” Enzo growled, fire roaring off him in a sudden wave, flames licking off his skin. “He’s supposed to be keeping her safe while I can’t.”

“It’s not Eli’s fault. No Star can save a soul from the Dark if they tried.”

Dread began to form, a cold pool in Enzo’s stomach. “What do you mean?”

“I am a shadow, Enzo. I am what gives Elara her own shadows. That part of her magick is fuelled by me. And the Dark is pulling me to her; I feel it. She’s trying to reclaim what is hers. That one touch in those dreams whispered to me terrible things— to corrupt Elara, to turn her into something utterly dark and devoid of light. And Elara already has little light as it is because you aren’t there. I won’t last long in here, and the Dark will find me eventually. Then there is the matter of Ariete.”

“What do you mean, Ariete?” Enzo hissed, his already short temper threatening to unleash at the thought of the god.

“Each time Elara uses her shadows, the Dark grows closer. And Elara plans to use them in Ariete’s dreams, to help her find your tether. But it’s too great a risk. If she uses them in Ariete’s dreams, the Dark may finally catch her—catchus.”

“Are you telling me that Elara will need to walk through Ariete’s dreams unarmed to stand any chance of not being corrupted by this Dark?”

---