Chapter Fifty-Three
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
‘ Mother?! ’ Elara exclaimed. Her eyes flew between the two women. ‘Tell me this is some kind of joke.’
She heard Eli chuckle as utter horror grew on Merissa’s face. Isra was gaping at her.
‘Yes,’ said Enzo, stalking over to them. ‘Please tell me this is a joke, Merissa. Please tell me that I haven’t been hosting the daughter of a fucking Star under my roof for years.’
Elara looked at Merissa, then Torra, as the glamourer paced closer to the Star—gods, how had she not seen it before? The green eyes, the honey-streaked hair. Merissa had always had an otherworldly beauty to her, how had it never registered—
‘How did you never see what she was, with your magick?’ Elara asked Enzo.
‘It must be because she’s part-mortal. Whenever my magick swept over her, it just saw the human parts of her.’
‘I missed it too,’ Isra said faintly.
Merissa threw her mother a look of pure loathing. ‘No one knows,’ she said to Elara, her voice shaky.
‘But it’s impossible for Stars to bear children,’ Elara pressed.
‘That isn’t true,’ Merissa said quickly, ‘and my mother—’
Elara gave a sharp bark of laughter at the title.
‘ Torra isn’t like the other Stars. Not like Ariete,’ Merissa added, in a hushed tone.
Torra raised her chin. ‘We remember a time before Ariete claimed his crown as King of Stars, a time of peace and paradise when we first fell to this world. There are some of us who want those times back.’ She gave Eli a pointed look. ‘And I am not the only Star who seeks the same.’
Elara’s eyes narrowed. ‘You?’
Eli smiled. ‘Clever girl.’
‘Yes, Eli likes you.’ Torra smirked. Eli’s eyes twinkled.
Elara felt an arm snake around her waist, as Enzo pulled her close.
‘Something to say, Eli?’ Enzo called.
‘Now, now, no need for such overprotective antics,’ Torra interrupted as Eli made to step forwards. ‘If what Eli and I believe is true, then you—both of you—are the key to unlocking the paradise and peace that was stolen from us. If you were to bring about the demise of the Stars…then the Heavens can once more fall to the earth.’
‘When light and dark combine,’ Isra breathed.
‘Say I believe you,’ Elara said. ‘Why should I trust him ?’ She looked at Eli. ‘You’re Ariete’s right hand.’
The god grinned. ‘What I am is a very convincing liar, sweetheart. Let’s cast your mind back again to when I saved your ungrateful life.’
‘Should I kiss your feet?’ Elara retorted sweetly. ‘I trust you as much as I’d trust a pit of serpents not to bite me,’ she added, her voice hardening.
‘Then you’re wiser than most,’ he crooned back.
Torra inclined her head, unbothered by the exchange. ‘I believe that Ariete will come to Helios. I believe it may start a war. But I also believe that you have the power to vanquish him.’ She looked to Enzo. ‘Both of you.’
Enzo looked over the goddess warily. ‘And how will you help?’
‘I cannot interfere just yet.’
Elara shook her head. ‘Of course you can’t,’ she muttered.
‘ But ,’ Torra said sharply, ‘should you kill Ariete, I will serve you.’
‘You, a Star, would bow to me?’
‘Who else would there be more powerful to lead, if not a Starkiller?’
Elara heard the sound of voices coming up the petal-covered path. ‘We should go,’ she said to Enzo. He nodded tightly, and they walked to Isra and Merissa, who Elara regarded warily.
‘One more thing.’
Elara didn’t realize Eli had followed them until he bent in behind her so his charm enveloped her. It now felt like soft rain on a cloudy day, rather than the maelstrom she had felt at Lukas’s coronation. Elara fought back a shiver.
‘There is a light within your darkness,’ he said. ‘All you need do is find it.’
With that, he pulled away as Torra looked on. ‘Good luck,’ the goddess said, as starlight began to form around her, and Eli too. The god of cunning gave one last long look to Elara before they disappeared in a flash of light.
‘El,’ Merissa began, ‘I didn’t—’
‘Let’s get back to Helios,’ Elara said quickly, unable to look the demi-Star in the eye.