Page 101 of Heavenly Bodies

Elara gasped in awe. ‘I can feel your light through me.’ Euphoria seemed to take over, thrums of pleasure beginning to stir as his warmth infused her. ‘Is this how you feel all the time?’ she asked, her voice filled with wonder.

He huffed out a laugh as he focused on their hands again. ‘No. I used to only feel this when I created art.’

‘You’re happy,’ she whispered.

He squeezed her fingertips.

‘Now,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you try and infuse some of your shadows into this—feed them in?’

Elara nodded, setting her face in determination. She stilled her mind, calling to her shadows, her breath quickening as she felt her power rise.

‘Relax,’ Enzo murmured again as her body became strained. She melted into him, and exhaled as shadows began to stream from her palms. They danced along Enzo’s light, caressing it in spiralling tendrils. She thought she heard him moan gently behind her, but it was such a soft sound that she wondered if she had imagined it.

Dizzy ecstasy drummed through her as his powers danced with hers, the meeting of his radiance with her shadow like a delicious finger running down her spine. Her eyes fluttered shut and her head dropped back against his chest as he moaned quietly again—she was sure, this time. She could feel her entire being throbbing with power, his light a warmth that she never wanted to leave. The sounds drowned out around them, and all she could hear was the steady thrum of his heartbeat and his ragged breath. Sighs were escaping her too as she chased the high, feeling Enzo’s grip tighten as his power flared. A gasp left her. She pressed into him, and with a last burst of exertion, she directed her shadows in the sameway Enzo had, allowing him to help guide the smooth curves again through their shaking, entwined hands.

Her shadows bled into his light, drowning the stone in it. She shuddered again; the pleasure so intense, it was painful. It felt like she was standing in the midst of him, her soul bare to him and his to her. She could feel a release brewing between her thighs, and the revelation was so striking that she staggered forwards, gasping. Enzo reached to stop her, breaking whatever hold he had on her. She looked up at him wildly, flustered and out of breath. His own wide eyes returned the look, his cheeks flushed.

She went to speak, to ask what in the Deadlands had just happened between them. But something caught her eye, left behind on the worktop as their combined energies waned. Elara let out a gasp at what lay before them. Seconds ticked by in silence. Finally, Enzo picked the object up with shaking hands, the carved slice sharp to the touch.

‘When shadow and light combine, a Star will fall,’ he whispered, mirroring Isra’s words from a few months ago. ‘A weapon to kill a god.’

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

The glass was so black that Elara and Enzo could see themselves in its reflection. It was cold to the touch, a thrumming power emanating from it. Elara did not possess the sight, but she could feel the otherworldly energy that pulsed from it.

‘It can’t be,’ Elara breathed, peering over his shoulder.

Enzo turned the shard that they had created, holding it up to the Light. ‘We need to find Isra,’ he muttered.

They hurried through the piazza, hope snapping at their heels as Enzo guided Elara through the maze of back alleys until they reached Isra’s place. He looked around furtively before squaring up to the large eye on the door and uttering, ‘Five of Cups.’

The new password worked, the door swinging open, and Enzo pulled Elara into the cool, incense-filled corridor. They burst into Isra’s reading room, panting.

‘Aren’t you both meant to be royalty?’ Isra asked sweetly,splayed on her couch as she held a purple crystal sphere to the firelamp above her. ‘Little Rico has better manners than you two. Hi, my love,’ she added, blowing Elara a kiss. Elara smiled back at her.

Enzo pushed forwards. ‘Iz,’ he breathed, putting out a shaking hand. Isra looked disinterestedly to the black shard lying in his palm, then noticing it, she straightened.

‘What is this?’ she said sharply.

Elara came closer. ‘We made it today, Isra. From just a chunk of stone.’

‘We?’ Her nostrils flared as she looked at Enzo, who clenched his jaw, avoiding her gaze. ‘You melded powers? Have you told her what that means?’

‘That’s enough, Isra,’ he snarled.

‘No, he didn’t. What does it mean?’ Elara demanded. Isra’s gaze bore into Enzo’s, and Elara saw her frown faintly, before her expression cleared.

‘Never mind,’ the seer bit out. ‘I’m overreacting.’

Elara’s eyes narrowed as Isra plucked the glass from Enzo’s palm and sucked in a breath. Magick began to creep through the room, Isra’s frost crawling up the table as her eyes turned white. She muttered over it, before placing it down and blinking, her eyes returning to hazel.

‘Is it what we thought?’ Elara whispered.

‘Duskglass,’ Isra breathed.

‘Dusk-what?’ Enzo asked.

Isra blinked, wonder in her gaze. ‘I had a vision of this blade, when I was just a little girl. A spell-breaker, but also something more. Something to stop a god’s magick. I saw…’ She shook her head. ‘I saw you, Elara, plunge the blade into a Star’s heart, and they died.’