Page 152 of Heavenly Bodies

Enzo stared at the little girl in surprise.

‘Why did he hurt you?’ she asked.

‘Because I told him I was a lion.’

She cocked her head. ‘Well, you do have lion eyes. And you seem very brave. I think youarea lion.’

Enzo smiled. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had.

‘I’m sorry that you’re sad,’ she said. ‘You know, whenever I’m sad, my papa sings me a song to make me feel better. Sofia says it’s stupid, but she also says I shouldn’t dreamwalk by myself, so I don’t really listen to her.’ The little girl grabbed Enzo’s hand. He could barely feel it, but still sat down next to her. ‘Lie down,’ she commanded.

‘You’re very bossy for a five-year-old,’ he grumbled.

‘Five and ahalf.Now, close your eyes.’ She lay down next to him, her black hair tickling his face. She was still holding his hand. ‘Close them!’ she ordered. He did, squeezing them shut.

‘Now, listen carefully. I want you to remember this song. And when you sing it, it will make you feel better. It’s a magick song.’ She stroked his hair clumsily.

‘Ready?’

Enzo nodded, his eyes still shut tight as the little girl began to sing.

‘I loved him more than the dark loves the night. And he loved me more than the day loves the light—’

‘Lions may fly, and lovers will die—but my love, it will live on,’ Enzo finished, his voice cracked as he sang, one shaking hand in Elara’s hair as tears wet his face.

Elara blinked as the surroundings of the throne room came back to them.

‘I remember,’ she whispered. ‘I remember it all.’

‘You were mine before I knew. We are destined, you and I. By something other than fate, other than Stars. We will always find our way back to each other. We have before, and we will again.’ With his palm still pressed to her chest, herubbed his thumb over her heart. ‘Even in death, I will be by your side. My love will live on.’

Elara let loose a shuddering sob as the memory buried itself in her heart, alongside his power. Pain and anger pulsed through her at the joke fate had made of her life. It was a cruel irony. A divine orchestration to have met Enzo as a child and be led back to him. To search her whole life for love and have found it with her soulmate who was now dying in her arms.

Elara memorized his face, every feature that she’d spent hours replaying in her mind—his golden eyes, the scent of warm amber, his soft parted lips, the callouses on his hands. She closed her eyes as her tears continued to fall and gripped his hand with her uninjured one.

‘My princess.’ He smiled. And with a sigh, he brought her lips to his, pressing the duskglass blade gently into her lap. Golden power pulsed between them. It rippled through the pool, setting a glow around the throne room. Both of their cheeks were wet as she drank him in, kissing him gently, memorizing every single featherlight touch. His kernel of light finally settled in her being, fizzing in her bloodstream as it mixed with her shadows. A cry erupted from her as she clutched his face, unable to let him go. ‘My soulmate,’ were the last words on his lips, before his head fell back.

Elara let out a scream that tore from her soul. It was an ancient sound, something born from a part of her that she had buried her whole life.

The lack of Enzo’s warmth, of his light, was such an absence that Elara swayed where she sat. She heard a slam from above, the sound of ice splintering.

In a flash of red starlight, Ariete landed a few feet from where Elara sat, something in his arms. She staggered forwards out of the pool, leaving Enzo’s body, her heartscreaming with every step she took away from him. Her broken wrist was limp against her chest, yet she did not care that she was going into battle one-handed. Or that her head pounded. Or that her magick was now a near-empty well.

As Elara approached, she realized what Ariete was holding. Merissa struggled weakly in the Star’s arms, a knife at her throat.

‘You put up a fight, Elara, I’ll give you that. But it’s time to come home now.’

‘Let her go, Ariete,’ Elara uttered, palming the duskglass. There was nothing left in her to shout. Her soul was with Enzo. The only thing possessing the husk of her body was vengeance. Vengeance and darkness.

‘I killed your parents. I killed Sofia. I killed your precious lover. And if you don’t come with me now, I’ll kill your beautiful maid. Then I’ll go back to the roof where your little ice-wielder lies unconscious and kill her too.’

Elara inhaled, spiralling into her power. Though it protested and shrieked, she yanked it to her. Then with a cry, she attacked.

Dark slammed into Merissa, tearing her from Ariete’s grasp. The shadows wrapped around her friend as they pulled her to Elara, setting her on her feet.

Merissa staggered back behind her.

‘Stay with Enzo’s body,’ Elara said to her. ‘If I die…’ She pressed the blade of duskglass into Merissa’s hand. ‘Finish him.’