Page 138 of Heavenly Bodies

‘But you’re stone,’ Elara blurted out.

‘When the statue was erected in my honour after Nemeus killed me, my soul found its way in here. Mythas never truly die.’

Nemeus seemed to rumble in agreement, a deep purr resounding in his throat.

‘Wait a minute,’ Elara said. ‘Nemeus killed you. So aren’t the two of you mortal enemies?’

The angel looked to the lion, smiling. ‘We have a common enemy now.’ The lion growled in agreement. ‘The Stars.’

‘Is that why the mythas became a legend? Because of the Stars?’

‘We hid. Waiting for someone with the power to overthrow them.’ Celine looked between Enzo and Elara. ‘Waiting for you.’

‘No pressure, then,’ Enzo muttered.

‘Why not speak to us earlier?’ asked Elara. ‘We’ve been here before.’

‘Ha!’ Celine exclaimed. ‘You think you both would have been ready to hear all this then? You were both so wounded, so angry at the world. Our words would have fallen upon deaf ears.’

‘What is it you came to tell us?’ Elara’s voice grew hard, her patience with the angel wearing thin.

‘What do you know of the world before the Stars?’

‘What do you mean, “before the Stars”?’ Elara asked. ‘They created us. Each mortal is gifted with a drop of magick from their patron Star.’

‘The Stars are liars,’ Celine said sternly. ‘They would have you believe that they are to thank for your powers. But have you ever noticed that not one of them can wield the kind of magick you mortals can?’

A dull roar began in Elara’s ears as she thought to Leyon’s temple. How he hadn’t conjured a single ray of Light on the day that celebrated it.

‘The Stars’ main two powers are their charm and their starlight. With the two, they can influence masses, can control how a person feels. Can commitdivinitas.But they never gifted you a thing.’

‘Then who did?’ Enzo asked.

‘The Celestes.’

Elara hadn’t heard a whisper of the word before.

‘They were greater than the Stars, more powerful too. It is they who your world was named after.’

The roar in Elara’s ears grew.

‘It is they who your powers derive from. They, who have been eradicated from every history book, every story. They who once ruled.’

‘If they’re so powerful, how did the Stars come to rule?’ Elara demanded.

‘The Stars are powerful through their trickery. They used deception, rather than force, to kill the Celestes.’

‘But how do we defeat agod, if the almighty Celestes couldn’t?’ Enzo said.

‘You unite,’ Celine replied. ‘Too long, the Stars have kept your kingdoms divided, encouraging the blending of magick only with a betrothed from the same kingdom. But the two of you disobeyed that rule, didn’t you?’

Elara felt the duskglass blade strapped against her leg.

‘Combined, you are a weapon. Wield it.’

Enzo nodded. ‘We’d better leave now,’ he said, pulling Elara up. Nemeus rose, stretching out his glorious, feathered wings.

She made her way gingerly to the lion, who was shaking out his mane.