Page 214 of Fallen Stars

Down.

Down.

Down.

And then…

The world turned, and suddenly they were rising…

Up.

Up.

Up.

Until…

She inhaled, gasping and coughing as her head broke the surface, Enzo’s along with her. She splashed in the waters, the blackness threatening to keep her, to consume her. Enzo gritted his teeth and hauled her forward, the nothingness giving way to silt beneath her toes, soft and shifting.

They staggered, further and further towards what looked like a shore. And there, beyond, was a graveyard, headstones looming ominously.

A figure waiting at the docks waved, as though they had been waiting specifically for the two.

Elara exchanged a glance with Enzo.

She began running towards the shore.

It was Sofia; it had to be. Who else would be so willing to speak to them, to be here, in this dark, dead place to allow them into The Graveyard and bury Piscea for good?

She yanked Enzo with her, relief building in her chest along with a sob, when suddenly Enzo’s own hope turned into something livid, his face transforming. And Elara turned slowly, the face of the figure finally coming into view.

Lukas’s smile widened as he jumped off the pier into the shallows and walked towards them.

Chapter Seventy-Three

“Can you kill the dead?” Enzo growled, a hand already pulling Elara to him, his body anchoring her as pure dread flooded through her. The spirit coming their way was not Lukas. Well…not as she remembered him. His skin was bloated, tinged slightly blue, his features all dulled.

Only his dark grey eyes still showed life as he raised his hands to them in surrender.

It was then that Elara noticed his rotted chest. Carved into his flesh was a single word—Lightwhore.

She looked at Enzo, but the Lion’s eyes were venomous, still latched onto Lukas.

“I come in peace,” Lukas rasped. Elara recoiled as water fell from his mouth as he spoke.

“Oh Gods,” she whispered. “This was a mistake.”

Lukas’s dead eyes tracked her.

“No. There’s a reason you’re here, Lara.”

“What did I tell you about uttering her name again?” Enzo snapped, taking a step forward.

Lukas backed up, his hands still in the air as water continued to dribble from his lips. “I can’t hurt either of you. I bring no harm with me. You killed me, remember?”

Finally, an emotion showed in Lukas’s dead eyes.Hurt,she realised.

“And I’d do it again,” Enzo drawled, clearly tiring of the conversation. Elara held out a hand to him, squeezing his arm.