Heavenly Bodies

Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘I want to do it. I want to slay the monsters.’

Elara clenched and unclenched her fists as she peered up at Enzo, who was waiting for her in his usual position at the bottom of the grand staircase, ready for training. Only hours had passed—after their silent conversation across the garden, she’d stayed up the rest of the night, turning over what he had said.

And he was right. She could no longer let fear control her life.

Leo, who had escorted her as usual, began to slow clap beside her. ‘I knew his inspirational speeches would get to you eventually.’

Elara rolled her eyes as Enzo observed her.

‘You’re sure?’

She nodded resolutely.

‘Well, princess. Looks like there’s mettle in you after all.’

It was the first time Elara had ever properly seen the royal gardens, which lay on the far side of the palace from her room. She accompanied Enzo through an arch, past neatly trimmed hedgerows.

‘I wanted to show you how the Light is worshipped in my kingdom. How it’s used for things other than violence.’

Elara tried to relax her shoulders as she looked to the neat flowerbeds stretching in rows.

Different palace workers were kneeling in the dirt, some digging, or planting seeds, others with their hands held out as light shone from their palms.

Enzo walked towards an older woman, her hair shimmering in tight black curls threaded with gold. She turned as she heard Enzo approach and beamed.

‘My little cub,’ she said, standing. Her warm brown eyes were familiar.

‘Aunty,’ Enzo said warmly, kissing her head. When the woman looked at Elara expectantly, Enzo turned.

‘Oh, this is Nova,’ he lied. ‘She’s a guest of my father’s. I’m just giving her a tour of the palace gardens. Nova, this is Leo’s mother, Kalinda.’

Elara smiled, shaking her hand. ‘So it’s you who grows the best peaches I’ve ever tasted?’

Enzo frowned down at her, but Kalinda threw back her head and laughed, clapping her hands. ‘I wondered why my son was stealing so many from me. For that, you can have this one here.’ She reached to a tree laden with the fruit. ‘Freshly plucked.’

She passed one to Elara, the light still warm upon its skin.

‘Thank you,’ Elara said earnestly.

‘What’s your magick, sweetheart? If you’d ever like to help, you know where I am now.’

‘She’s a seer,’ Enzo lied quickly. ‘Like Iz.’

Elara narrowed her eyes at Enzo as Kalinda chuckled.

‘Ah, darling Isra. That girl killed nearly all my vegetables with her frost. She didn’t have a green little finger, let alone a green thumb.’

‘I’ll tell her to come up to the palace to see you soon,’ Enzo said, squeezing her hand. ‘We’d best carry on with the tour.’

Kalinda kissed his cheek, giving a little bow to Elara. ‘A pleasure to meet you, Nova.’

‘It was all mine,’ Elara beamed.

‘Peaches?’ Enzo asked, when they were out of earshot.

‘Leo brings me one every morning.’

‘Does he now?’ Enzo said tightly. ‘And when did you two become so close?’

‘He wanted to as thanks for—’ Elara paused and looked around, making sure nobody else was in earshot, ‘—something I did for him.’

Enzo looked bewildered at her. ‘And what did you do for him?’

‘I dreamwalked to him. Accidentally. And the dream he was having was…of when he first arrived at the palace.’

Enzo’s eyes darkened. ‘So you know what he did?’

She nodded.

‘And you didn’t tell anyone?’

Elara shrugged. ‘It’s not my business to tell.’

Enzo looked at her for a long time before they continued to the orchards, where more lightwielders were using their magick to help the plants and flowers grow.

‘We have one of the best bounties in Celestia thanks to our light,’ Enzo explained. ‘Verdans, of course, are the masters when it comes to the earth. But we’re the next best place; we can grow just about anything in Helios.’

He halted before a flowerbed. ‘Ready for your first test?’

She took a deep breath, nodding.

Enzo crouched down. It was bizarre. Here was this arrogant prince, kneeling in the dirt, his courtiers and workers not blinking an eye at the sight.

She gingerly settled beside him, as Enzo raised his hands. Light shone from them over a patch of what looked like empty soil. She tensed at the sight of it, but didn’t flinch.

And then, to her wonder, small green shoots pushed up from the soil. Enzo flared the light a little brighter, and flowers began to grow upon the stems, tiny periwinkle stars.

Forget-me-nots.

Just like that, they’d bloomed. She looked to him as he plucked them. He handed the small bunch to her. ‘Feel them,’ he ordered. ‘They can’t hurt you, can they?’

She took it, felt the velvet softness of the petals, the warmth from his magick.

‘There,’ he said, as she tucked the bunch behind her ear. ‘You just touched something created by the Light.’

Elara kept the forget-me-nots pressed in her copy of The Mythas of Celestia. Every day that followed, Enzo gradually helped Elara to get more comfortable around the element she had feared her whole life. He took her to the Lantern District, where some of the most talented crafters she’d ever seen created the lights that floated around the palace, twinkling in various hues of apricot, bronze and gold. They visited the Dial Quarter, where dials were hewn from bronze, a kernel of light infused in each one, which mirrored the Light above to track the time.

They visited a museum, where Enzo pointed out how the incredible sculptures that littered the city were carved from the same kind of light that he wielded. Wherever they went, Enzo was adored and revered. He was warm, charming, flirtatious. But no citizen feared him. Not like the people of Asteria had.

In between the Helion tours, they trained. It was as physically demanding as it had always been, but without Enzo spewing his usual verbal vitriol, Elara was able to focus more on her technique, her stamina, disarming Enzo increasingly.

He still hadn’t touched her again with his light. She still hadn’t asked him to.

And then, there was another nightmare, another unwelcome memory.

‘Just try, Lara. I don’t understand why you can’t do it. It’s been years since the incident.’

Lukas had been getting terrible headaches, and growing more cruel and irritable by the week. All his patience had been slowly worn away. And Elara understood why. She was useless. Eighteen years had passed, and there wasn’t a wisp of shadow in sight.

‘How can you expect to become queen, if you can’t wield one of your most important powers?’

Tears rolled down Elara’s cheeks, and Lukas threw his hands up in exasperation. ‘You’re too sensitive, Lara.’ When she continued to cry, his eyes softened. ‘I’m sorry,’ he murmured, kissing her cheek. ‘It’s these headaches. Maester Divinet thinks it’s something to do with my shadows. But I just…Elara, I love you. I only want what’s best for you. You know that, don’t you? When you ascend the throne, many Asterians will see it as an opportunity to challenge you unless you show no weakness. And these emotions…they’re just that. Weaknesses.’

‘For once I agree,’ Sofia said from the door. Lukas sighed and left, making himself scarce as he always did around Sofia.

‘He’s too jealous, Lara. Too possessive of you,’ Sofia said, approaching.

Elara wiped her tears. She didn’t want to fight with Sofia too, so she remained silent. ‘But these emotions of yours,’ Sofia said gently. ‘I can see the way they hurt you. You need to learn to put them in a box. Lock it, and throw away the key. You’ll drown in your feelings if you’re not careful.’

Elara sniffed. ‘I know.’

Sofia smoothed Elara’s hair. ‘Just try it. See if it helps.’

Elara woke up with a jolt. Her heart still beating fast, she clambered out of bed and hurried to the balcony, as was becoming her habit, breathing in the thick perfume of night-jasmine on the air.

Her emotions were spilling out of that damned box; in fact, the last few weeks it had become harder and harder to keep the lid on at all.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath in and out, as she tidily folded her feelings away, just like Sofia had taught her.

She was sick of these nightmares. Sick of her fear following her every step. She’d made progress, yes, but it wasn’t enough.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Enzo standing on the balcony outside his own room, staring at her across the way. Like he knew. Like he’d been waiting.

She nodded at him.

He nodded back.

Tonight, her shadows would be free once more.