Chapter Eleven
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next morning, Elara felt like she’d barely slept after her night walking through Leonardo’s dreams. When a smart rap came on her door, she pulled herself blindly out of bed to open it, wishing Merissa would just let herself in.
To her surprise, it was Leonardo who stood there in his general’s armour. It shone golden, the D’Oro crest upon the breastplate.
‘Your Majesty,’ he said.
She stilled at the title. His lips quirked a fraction. ‘I’ll escort you today.’
‘Oh, you really don’t have to. If this is about last night, I promise I won’t—’
‘It is,’ he interrupted. ‘But I wanted to thank you.’
He produced a paper bag, and gave it to Elara. ‘I brought you breakfast.’
She looked into the bag. Two round peaches were nestled in there.
‘They’re from the palace gardens. My mother grows them.’
Elara took one out and inhaled the sweet scent.
‘They’re not poisoned,’ he said, the small boyish smile she recognized from the dream bursting through his serious demeanour. ‘Here.’
He took the other one and bit into it. Elara did the same with her own peach.
‘Mmm!’ she exclaimed. It may have been the best peach she’d ever tasted, bursting with juicy sweetness as though honey had been drizzled through it.
‘I’ll wait until you’re dressed to take you to Enzo. You’re going to see Isra today.’
‘The infamous Isra,’ Elara said. ‘Who is she?’
‘You’ll find out soon enough.’
Elara went to ask more, but Merissa appeared holding a tray with pastries and pear juice upon it. Her eyes widened as she looked between Leonardo and Elara in the doorway. ‘G-General Acardi,’ she stuttered. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’
‘You know what to call me, Merissa.’ His grin displayed dazzling teeth, and Elara couldn’t help but smirk as Merissa’s cheeks grew pink.
‘What brings you here, Leo?’ she asked, her eyes on the ground.
‘I’m escorting Elara to his Highness today.’
Merissa raised her brows. ‘Right, well we’d better get you dressed then,’ she muttered, pushing herself into the room.
‘Be right back, General Acardi,’ Elara said with a mocking bow, and pushed the door to as she heard Leonardo snicker.
Merissa dressed her in fresh linens, picking out a skirt with a slit up the leg for movement and a matching cropped blouse. She carefully pinned Elara’s hair off her face with a few pearl clips while she glamoured her. Then, with a levelling sigh, Elara returned to Leonardo at the door, following him out towards another day of misery.
She found Enzo waiting by the palace gate, leaning with his arms crossed against the warm stone. His blue sleeveless tunic and trousers accentuated his eyes, which tightened when he saw Leonardo escorting her. He pressed his lips together as the general nodded at Enzo. ‘See you for training later?’ Leonardo asked.
‘Don’t worry,’ smirked Enzo, ‘even after a day of combat, I’ll thrash you just like I did last night.’
Leonardo laughed. ‘I was going easy on you.’
‘We’ll see,’ Enzo crooned.
‘Elara.’ The general bowed, and Elara inclined her head, turning to watch him walk away.
‘What is that?’ Enzo said roughly from behind her.
She twisted her head, registering that his eyes were burning into her nearly bare back. She had Merissa to thank for the blouse she’d donned, just a thin tie across her back leaving her feeling cool and comfortable.
‘What? You think you’re the only royal with your sigil upon your skin?’ She smirked, sweeping her hair around her shoulder.
‘And why is that mythas the Bellereves’ sigil?’
She swallowed the lump in her throat. She was the only Bellereve left now.
‘Because the dragun keeps to itself. It may be shunned by the other mythas. But when called, it will raze a battlefield. With no mercy, and no regret.’
Enzo snorted. ‘And I suppose you believe you share similarities with the dragun?’
Elara tilted her head. ‘I am the dragun.’ Then she raised a brow. ‘Are you done gawping?’
The mocking smile had slid off Enzo’s face. ‘We’re still training after we visit Isra. How are you going to learn to fight if you can’t even dress appropriately?’
Elara smoothed her hands up her skirt. ‘Oh this?’ she asked. The fabric bunched around her thigh as she slipped her dagger from its place there. She cocked it towards him. ‘Why can’t I look pretty as I stab you?’
‘Put that away,’ Enzo hissed, but Elara didn’t miss the way his eyes burned into the bare flesh of her thigh, before she re-sheathed her knife and dropped the hem. ‘Your skirts are impractical.’
She smiled. ‘Lest you forget, I am a queen. Which means I’ll be wearing gowns a lot. So I should practise fighting in one.’
‘And those ridiculous flowers and jewels you always have strewn through your hair? What’s your excuse for those?’
Elara’s smile widened. ‘You know, there’s no harm in enjoying beautiful things.’
‘That’s true,’ he said, and the dangerous lilt to his voice set Elara’s nerves alight. When she stole a glance, his furrowed brow had cleared, an arrogant smile playing on his lips. ‘You can attest to that last night, can’t you? Did you enjoy drooling over my glamour muscles , princess?’
It was as though a bucket of ice had been dropped over Elara’s head. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Ah,’ he said as they walked. ‘So you weren’t watching Leo and I fight?’
‘Oh no, I was,’ she said coolly. ‘There was just no drooling involved. Unless you count me looking at Leo’s rippling pectorals.’
Enzo’s arrogance vanished as he scowled, and Elara swanned ahead.
His hand gripped her wrist and she whirled, the warmth of his touch stirring the shadows within her.
‘You’re to stay by me. Keep close and do as I say.’
Elara rolled her eyes. ‘As much as I love the idea of following your every order, can you at least deign to tell me why?’
‘Because although Merissa’s glamour holds, we do not know who could be lurking. One of Ariete’s spies, or someone poor enough to want to kill an Asterian heir for him, should they see through your glamour.’
‘Who can?’ she asked.
‘Only a handful of seers—Isra included. Though most seers’ gifts lie with prophecies. We should be fine.’ He handed her a cloak from his satchel. ‘But just in case, put this on.’ Enzo settled his own over his shoulders, pulling up the hood, and once she had donned hers, Elara followed his lead.
The path narrowed as Elara was plunged into the centre of Sol.
A horse and cart zoomed by, nearly mowing her down, before Enzo plucked her back. Her shadows swirled inside her stomach. ‘See?’ He looked both ways before pulling her into a warren of cobbled streets. ‘I love Sol, but it’s mayhem. Watch out!’
Elara yelped as a man heaving a tray of oranges shouldered past.
They turned a corner and bright carnelian orange and saffron yellow flooded her vision, rows of market stalls lining the way ahead. Street hawkers noisily sold their wares, shoving hands in her face, tempting her to come to their storefront.
Exotic aromas washed over her as she walked past barrels spilling with spices. Frying onions and paprika, then the scent of fresh mint, rosemary and the enticing smell of baking bread. Her stomach growled, and she slowed.
With a sigh, Enzo followed her to the stall she’d halted at.
‘What do you want?’ he asked.
She peered at some delicious-looking herbed bread, with some cured meat upon it.
Enzo spoke to the woman, slipping her some coins, and handed Elara a square of it.
‘Thank you.’ Elara smiled to him, surprised.
‘If I knew that to get you to be agreeable all I had to do was buy you food, I would force-feed you all day.’
She chuckled against her will as she bit into the still-warm bread. It melted on her tongue, and she sighed as they walked, the salt dancing on her taste buds.
‘This place is like nowhere I’ve seen in Asteria,’ she said, as they passed a shop filled with blown glass in every colour of the Light.
‘Do you not have bazaars?’
‘We have markets, but nothing like this, no.’
They turned a corner, and the bazaar stretched on, stalls overflowing with jewels and silks.
‘So what’s Isra going to do?’ she asked, as they passed a stall of flowers. She absent-mindedly brushed a bunch of forget-me-nots.
‘She’s an oracle. She should be able to read exactly why you can’t access your shadows. Once we release them, the rest will be easy.’
Elara froze.
‘Get your silk!’ yelled a voice from nearby. ‘Finest silk in Celestia! Cerulean, magenta. You, pretty lady! Come and try my wares.’
‘Not interested,’ Enzo said flatly, walking onwards. He almost vanished into the crowd ahead until he glanced back and realized she’d stopped in her tracks.
‘Past, present and future readings for five argents a pop!’ yelled another voice. ‘Come to Madame Artemis’s now!’
Enzo strode back to her, frowning. ‘What are you doing?’
‘No,’ she said quietly.
Enzo looked exasperated. ‘What do you mean, no?’
‘I mean, no. I am not going to have a stranger look within me. And I’m sure as shit not going to have another prophecy told. No .’
‘Elara,’ he snapped, moving in front of her as a man carrying a sizzling plate of meat ran by. ‘Each day is another day Ariete gets closer to finding you. Each day is another day you are not sat upon your throne. And each day is another day the Stars continue to rule above us. You are our only weapon. And you need to be ready for Ariete.’
‘Can you just stop?’ she cried in exasperation. ‘I am sick of hearing it. I know that I am a weapon. I know that Ariete cannot kill me.’ She squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I won’t come,’ she said. ‘You’ll have to drag me kicking and screaming.’
Enzo folded his arms. ‘Challenge accepted.’
In one fell swoop, Elara had been lifted in the air, and thrown over Enzo’s back. She screamed, wrestling against him, but the man was made out of fucking marble. He didn’t so much as flinch when she tried to bite him.
‘For a princess, you sure do behave like a wild animal.’
She clawed at his back in response, and he only hitched her up. She shrieked as she lurched, her hair swinging as the ground bobbed closer to her. She finally went limp, seeing that her efforts were utterly in vain, and instead contented herself with plotting all the ways she would hurt him when he put her down.
The sky was buttered yellow as the Light began its climb to its midday peak. The deeper they entered the city on the dusty streets, the more gold and white adorned every building in sight. They seemed to glow from within the same way that Enzo did, the smooth cool stone rendered with elaborate mosaics. The grander buildings that they passed—museums, fountains and other monuments—were all carved with detailed figures. Some were the Patron Star of the land, Leyon, his tall, burnished figure wearing the pelt of a winged lion. Others were beautiful women, saints and martyrs, mythical creatures. Even in Asteria, a land known for its dark beauty, they didn’t possess this kind of art.
Though, in all fairness, Elara was viewing it all upside down.
She cursed again, drumming her fists on Enzo’s back, but he only laughed.
‘Sweet, really, your attempt to hurt me.’
‘What’s wrong with her?’ a passer-by asked, nodding as she walked past.
‘Escaped one of the Kaosian madhouses,’ Enzo said, shaking his head. ‘I’m taking her back now.’
Elara cursed him, and Enzo only chuckled as he continued to weave her through the streets.
They reached the end of the bazaar, the streets widening again, the scent of spices and herbs in the air shifting to blooming summer flowers and hot stone. She breathed in the dry air, trying to banish her unease.
Enzo finally halted them before a cobalt blue door with an eye carved in its centre, in azure, white and black. It stared back at Elara, and she fought off a shiver. A small boy with tight curls was throwing a ball against the wall beside it, and she saw Enzo nod.
‘Hello, Rico,’ he said to the boy. ‘She in?’
The boy gave a gappy smile and nodded. ‘Hello, prince,’ he said, and frowned at Elara. ‘Who’s she?’
Enzo plonked Elara unceremoniously on the ground. She bit back a foul word as she dusted herself down.
‘Oh, this one? She’s trouble, is what she is.’
Rico giggled, as Elara rolled her eyes.
‘Password the same as last time?’ he asked the boy.
Rico nodded again, and Enzo walked towards the eye at the door. ‘Three of Swords,’ he said.
The eye blinked, much to Elara’s horror, before the blue door swung open.
An empty, dark corridor greeted her, leading deeper into the building. Enzo pulled her through.
The moment her eyes adjusted to the dim space, she was hit with the cloying smell of incense. It wafted heavily around her, sultry and smelling of magick. They followed the thin corridor into a faintly lit room, the candlelight filtering purple into the shadowy space. A figure sat cross-legged in a chair, face turned down as she studied a splay of cards in front of her. Elara peered over Enzo’s shoulder at the cards. She recognized them as the infamous Stella deck—a group of cards with depictions of the Stars, their weapons, their kingdoms. It could be used for playing games like Bard, or even to try and scry. But what it was most known for, was for summoning a Star, if blood was spilled upon the relevant card.
Elara’s stomach lurched sharply, and she willed her attention to anything else. She could hear the sound of a pot bubbling, and it was only when it began to whistle that the mysterious woman looked up.
‘Hi, Iz.’ Enzo kissed the woman’s cheek. An easy smile came to his face, and Elara’s lip curled in disdain. He turned his charm on so easily with others.
‘Hello, darling,’ Isra replied.
The woman’s accent was more clipped and guttural than Enzo’s lyrical voice. Her hair was knotted in war braids, a Svetan style of intricate patterns swirling around her scalp, the black braids falling well past her waist, crystals of topaz and tourmaline threaded through them. The seer still hadn’t bothered to look at Elara yet, and she felt her royal indignation begin to rise. Just as she was about to step in front of Enzo and introduce herself, Isra’s gaze flicked to her, holding her still. Her eyes were a captivating hazel, lighter than most Helions’, against her rich brown skin. She was stunning.
‘I’ve been expecting you,’ she said to Elara. Elara moved forwards warily.
‘Isra, this is Elara. The girl I want you to help.’ A charged look passed between them. Elara caught it, raising an eyebrow.
‘Girl? You mean queen.’
Warmth suffused her hazel eyes, now a swirl of greens and browns like a summer field. ‘Enzo never had many manners. I had to drill them into him.’
A sound of amusement emerged from Elara against her will. ‘He certainly hasn’t shown me many.’
Isra tutted, pushing her cards away into a neat pile, before bringing various pots to her upon the table. She idly added herbs from them to a stone bowl. Her fingers danced around, knowing each plant without looking. ‘Enzo,’ she admonished. ‘You’re usually far more charming with beautiful women.’
‘Beautiful? I hadn’t noticed,’ he muttered.
‘Yes, Enzo seems to think scales grow beneath my gown, and horns grow from my forehead, all because I’m Asterian.’
Isra tipped back her head and laughed. ‘Oh, I like you .’ She slid her cool gaze to Enzo. ‘Now I see why you tried to keep her from me.’
Enzo only rolled his eyes as he propped a leg against the wall and leaned back. Isra winked at Elara.
‘Sit, Your Majesty.’ She gestured to the wooden chair as she stood, making her way through a small arch to where the kettle whistled. ‘Can I offer you a tea?’
‘Yes, please,’ Elara replied, parched from the city walk.
‘Mint okay?’
‘Fine, thank you,’ Elara called.
‘How do you take it, Elara?’
‘With honey,’ Enzo’s voice sounded roughly behind her. ‘Two spoons of it.’
Elara stilled. She turned in her seat, but Enzo was scowling as always, studying a painting of snow-capped mountains above Elara’s head.
‘How do you kn—’
‘So, Elara,’ Isra interrupted from the kitchen, cutting Elara’s question short. The sound of teacups and spoons clinking drifted through. ‘Why is it you need my help?’
Heat rose to Elara’s cheeks, and she focused on the worn wooden table as she spoke. ‘It’s my shadows. I can’t access them.’
Dread was beginning to drip like poison into her gut.
Enzo spoke. ‘I’ve tried to find out how we can unblock them. But I can’t get a read on her. Too many damn shadows.’
Elara glared at him. Isra reappeared with a mug for Elara, handing it to her.
‘And why do you want to unblock your shadows?’ she asked.
‘What do you mean?’ said Enzo. ‘You know of my father’s plans. It’s so that she can kill Ariete.’
Isra cast a withering look at Enzo. ‘Not you, fool. I’m asking Elara.’
She turned back to her, as Enzo sputtered in indignation. ‘Why do you want to wield your shadows?’ she asked tenderly.
Elara fought past the panic that had begun to rise. ‘Because they’re a part of me, and walking around without being able to use them feels like having phantom limbs.’ She took a sip of tea to try and stop the croak in her throat. ‘Because I don’t ever want to feel helpless again.’
Isra regarded her coolly. ‘Hmm. There’s a deep wound within you, Elara.’
Elara averted her eyes. ‘I don’t want to do this.’
Isra looked at Enzo. ‘Maybe you should bring her back when she’s ready.’
‘Over my dead body,’ Enzo snapped. ‘If we don’t find out the cause of her blockage, then we cannot find the cure. My father will not allow more time. You will read her now, and that’s a royal order.’
Ice froze in Isra’s eyes as she glared at Enzo, a tight set to her lips.
‘If it is a royal order , I suppose I must, Your Highness,’ she bit out. When she turned back to Elara, her expression softened. ‘Elara, you have nothing to fear. And I give you my word that anything I see won’t be used against you. I’m sorry that I have to do this when you aren’t ready.’ And she sounded earnest. ‘But Enzo is my prince. As well as a pain in my arse.’
‘And what if I refuse?’ Elara said, forcing her voice to remain even.
Enzo’s eyes found hers, arresting her in her seat. ‘Then you won’t stand a chance against Ariete.’
She turned back to Isra, her entire body rigid.
‘Will you use the Light on me?’ Elara asked.
‘No,’ Isra replied. ‘I don’t possess the Light. From my father’s side, I received the gifts of an oracle. To seek answers, to see glimpses of the soul, of the past, present and future. But I’m also half-Svetan. From my mother…I received a darker kind of sight. One that can commune with the dead. As well as a magick, cold and powerful…’ She trailed off, waving a hand through the air.
Icicles formed before her, crystal clear and viciously sharp, the temperature in the room dipping.
Then with a tap, Isra finished crushing her herbs, as Elara fought back a shiver.
‘If you so please,’ she gestured to Enzo, who pushed himself off the wall. He gave a flick of his wrist and the herbs ignited into flames, their earthy smell pungent as they burned. The smoke curled around Isra as she breathed it in.
Isra held her arms out, palms up, and Elara held them, trying not to display a tremor. Isra’s touch was frosty. The moment she touched Elara, Isra sucked in a breath. Her eyes clouded over, turning milky white. Elara shivered but continued to grip on to her as Isra muttered in a language she didn’t recognize. It had the same guttural tone of Svetan, but the language sounded archaic, powerful. The candles around her flickered, casting intermittent darkness.
She felt Isra’s magick settle over her gently, like a blanket of snow. Light, pure and clean. When she closed her eyes, she sensed it searching tentatively, hoar frost creeping through her soul, trying to clear the shadows.
Hide the box. Hide the box.
Elara’s breath began to come in shallow gasps as panic took over. She squeezed her eyes steadfastly shut.
Isra fell suddenly silent and Elara could feel as the frost searching her mind suddenly found the box, as the temperature in the room around her dropped sharply.
The magick from Isra didn’t stop, and now she could feel a strange pressure in her head as the ice tried to find a way inside the box.
‘No,’ Elara rasped. But Isra persevered.
The shadows that had been wrapped around the box tried to fight the ice, but they were useless—stuck inside Elara—and the ice continued to work until the box cracked open an inch.
A truth drifted out of it, the very one that Elara had tried so hard to bury.
Isra’s magick paused, as the oracle viewed the memory. Tears were streaming down Elara’s face—she could feel them; she was both inside and outside her body. And then, a cool layer of ice was placed carefully over the memory, before it was put gently back into the box. When it closed, Elara breathed again. But just as Isra’s magick began to retreat, as she saw it wind a path out of her, silver light flared within her, and sank its teeth into Isra’s magick.
‘Elara?!’ she heard Enzo say.
She opened her eyes, to find a frigid breeze filling the room. Isra’s eyes were still full white, and frost was rapidly coating her entire body. She shook as the temperature plummeted.
‘What the fuck was that?’ she said, voice high with panic.
‘What?’ Enzo demanded. ‘What’s happening?’
But Isra groaned, and gripped Elara more tightly.
‘Enzo!’ Elara gave a strangled cry. The candles spluttered out, plunging them into darkness.
‘Shit.’ She heard Enzo move. A ray of light flared behind her as he lit the room, and for the first time in Elara’s life, she did not fear it.
Isra moaned, plumes of arctic mist billowing from her mouth. Elara shook as a strong hand rested on her shoulder, and she felt Enzo’s light suffuse her being. It was soft and warm as it melted the frost creeping up her limbs. Her shadows spun rapidly within her, bubbling up, up, and in another breath, two small streams of darkness whispered out of her hands, swirling around her and Isra’s clasped hands.
‘Stars,’ Enzo whispered.
‘Don’t move,’ Elara strangled out. She didn’t take her eyes off her shadows, twin wisps, only a little bigger than the one she had seen on her balcony the night before.
‘I won’t,’ he murmured, squeezing lightly. Isra groaned, a low keening sound that fast became a wail of agony. Elara’s gaze flew back to her, her hands clenched painfully in Isra’s grip. The oracle was rocking backwards and forwards, speaking in tongues faster than before, her head shaking from side to side, eyes still milky and translucent.
Elara tried to tug away, but Isra clutched her more tightly, reeling her in. Her wisps of shadow dissipated in the air, and Elara gave a cry of frustration. Ice was gathering on the table, burning as it bloomed upon Elara’s wrists. The gale howled around them, Elara’s hair swirling wildly in the tempest. With a loud shriek, glass shattered. Elara screamed in terror as sharp, glinting fragments of it scattered.
‘Elara!’ Enzo roared. She felt Enzo’s body move in front of her, a wall of flame thrown up against the onslaught as she ducked. Glass tinkled around them as he turned around.
‘Are you okay?’ he demanded, grabbing her face between his hands, his eyes scanning for injury. She could barely speak, Isra’s hands still locked on hers, her teeth chattering painfully.
‘Y-your face, it’s bleeding,’ she stammered.
Enzo brushed a fingertip to a cut below his eye, batting her concern away. His anger turned on Isra.
‘Isra!’ Enzo bellowed, slamming the table with barely restrained strength. Flames rushed off him in waves, clashing with the ice storm raging through the room. As it cut through Elara, the silver light she’d seen—whatever it was—died. The wind settled instantly. Isra’s eyes shifted back to clear hazel, and she blinked, sucking in deep breaths like a drowning woman finding land. Elara was shaking as Isra disentangled their hands. The oracle surveyed the chaos warily, the ice shrouding them all, the shattered windows and the blood dripping down Enzo’s face. Finally, her attention rested on Elara. But the easy glimmer in her eyes was replaced with something else now.
It was fear.
Elara brushed trembling hands over her face, pushing her hair back. Enzo stood behind her, gripping the back of her chair so hard the wood groaned.
‘What the fuck was that, Iz? What did you see?’ he asked through gritted teeth. She could feel the heat radiating off him, warming the room as Isra fought for control of her powers. Isra stared at the table for a long time, taking in great heaving breaths, before answering.
‘I saw why Elara’s shadows are blocked.’
‘Why?’ he demanded.
‘I think she should tell you,’ Isra said quietly.
Enzo rounded on Elara. ‘You knew this whole time?’
Elara stared him down.
He swore, pacing the room. ‘What else? You saw something else, I know it.’
‘When I—when I was trying to leave, something sank its teeth into my magick. A power I’ve never encountered before.’
‘From me?’ Elara asked.
Isra nodded. ‘At first, I saw darkness past your shadows. So much of it that it began to drown me. Darker than black. It wasn’t a colour. It was the absence of it. Then light pounced upon me. Silver. But cold. So cold that it burned. I’ve only felt that type of power in one thing before. But it’s impossible.’
‘Damn it, Isra, what?’ Enzo growled.
Isra looked at the ground as she took a shaky breath.
‘The only cold I’ve felt like that before has come from the dead.’
The room started to spin as Elara sagged back into her chair. Enzo pulled up another chair silently next to her.
‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Elara demanded.
Isra shook her head. ‘I don’t know. My visions are always correct, but they don’t always make sense at first.’ She bit her lip, looking at Enzo. ‘There was one more thing. A golden light joined Elara’s magick. It was as fiery as Elara’s was chill. Together, the flames turned black. And then, I saw a Star die.’
‘Is that—’
‘It’s you, Enzo. Elara needs you to kill a god. When shadow and light combine, a Star will fall.’
Enzo was already out of the door, Elara about to follow, when Isra held her back.
‘Elara?’
Elara turned stiffly. She didn’t want to spend another minute in the room.
‘You need to tell Enzo. He will help you. Trust me, if anyone will understand, it’s him.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Just, please trust him.’
Elara sighed. Why does everyone keep telling me that? she thought. ‘Fine. I’ll tell him. Thank you,’ she added, ‘for what you did in there. The ice…’
Isra nodded. ‘Of course. And I think you know that deep down it’s fear that’s holding back your shadows. But the Light isn’t the only thing you fear, is it?’
Elara froze.
‘I saw the prophecy.’
Any semblance of calm that Elara had tried to grapple with now unravelled once more. ‘You know.’
Isra tilted her head. ‘?“You will fall in love with the King of Stars, and it will kill you both.” That’s why Ariete is hunting you. Not just because you cannot be killed by a Star. But because—’
‘The prophecy is about him,’ Elara whispered. ‘And he will do anything to stop it coming true.’