Page 61 of Fallen Stars

She felt so much guilt for not being able to be there for Enzo, to give him the company she knew he so desperately needed. But she tried to avoid any pity, ruling her feelings with an iron fist. This was for him. And if she wasn’t resting, if she was active in her dreams with him, she would be absolutely no use when it came time to retrieve his tether.

Eli was punishing. He lacked the literal heart that Enzo or Leo had, no pity was shown when she was exhausted or when she broke down in tears. And there was a harder edge to him, something honed in his eyes. Elara knew it was because of what had happened in Botis’s dreams—what they’d felt.

So the two had worked steadfastly together. Eli had walked her through all realms of the mind. He had shown her how to materialise and disappear, had shown her that the corporeal form was nothing more than that, a form that could dissipate at will in a dream.

He had shown her how restrictions and rules could be bent if one willed them that way in a dream. How if Ariete threw a sword at her, she could transform it into a fluffy kitten. Now that had been a fun lesson. He baited her with distractions, with terrible images, surprises and tranceholes, until Elara could dodge and weave through them with her eyes shut.

It was safe to say, Elara was ready. As ready as she could be in the time she’d been given.

And thanks to Eli, her mind felt sharp. “There will be no time for breakdowns,” he had said unfeelingly when she had first cried after a particularly gruelling session. “We need to do something about that.”

The god had spent an hour each day fortifying the shields within her head, building wall within wall the way he had when she was imprisoned, instilling his cold, grey magick into her. He’d turned her to stone, able to pelt through dreamscapes at full speed, not flinching when obstacles were rained upon her or the faces of loved ones appeared dead and waxen before her.

Isra’s charms and his magick cast so much protection around her that there was no chance of that terrible, lurking darkness from the maze to show herself again.

And finally, on the day before she was due at The Ruby, he had nodded, clinking his tea with hers.

“You’re ready.”

Elara’s teacup and saucer clattered as she raised her eyes to Eli.

“Really?”

He nodded. “I’ve taught you everything that I can. Do you have all of your protection charms?”

Elara fiddled with the small braid in her hair, the charm tying it now an anchor to her. “Yes.”

“And Merissa knows what she needs to do?”

Elara’s stomach lurched then. When she had approached Merissa with Eli’s plan, Elara had wholeheartedly begged Merissa to just say no so that she could go back to Eli and find a different way into Ariete’s vicinity. But Merissa had only looked at her, smiling as she had agreed instantly, and told Elara there was no convincing her otherwise.

“Yes,” she sighed.

Elara was as ready as she could be, her mind honed into a weapon, her body too.

“Eli,” she began. Eli looked at her, raising a brow. “Thank you. I owe you everything for helping me. And I—"

“Let’s not get sentimental,” Eli drawled, a flicker of something passing across his face. “But… Elara, it has been a pleasure to spend time with you these last weeks. To get to know the Moon I once served again.”

“Now who’s sentimental?”

Eli chuckled, standing as Elara did. He opened the door for her and waited for her to pass before gripping her arm.

“El, I want—sorry, Elara.”

“It’s okay.” Her eyes twinkled. “You’ve earned the right to call me El.”

Eli smiled, and it might have been the first time Elara had ever seen it. “El, I want you to know you’re not alone. We’ll all do everything we can to ensure both you and Lorenzo return safely to us. Tomorrow,” he said.

“Tomorrow,” she whispered, nerves rushing through her. “I’ll be ready.”

Elara had no choice but to be.

Chapter Twenty

Merissa was cursed in love. Her brother had said as much during one of their uglier fights.

“You’ll never find love, Merissa,” Lias had shouted. “As god of it, I can promise you that much. You know I see people’s love lines, their soul-ties. Guess what I see when I look at yours?Nothing.”