Chapter Nine
CHAPTER NINE
When she arrived back at the palace, light-soaked and dust-drenched, she didn’t go to her rooms, but instead sought out the kitchens. As she walked, she twirled the wildflowers she’d picked on her descent from the Angel’s Graveyard. Forget-me-nots, Elara’s favourite flower, starred through the bunch, along with apolliums, a stunning golden bloom, a little lavender and some godslily—said to have begun growing when the Stars first walked the earth.
She followed the smell of food, the bustling activity of maids who looked at her a little strangely, but not too much—after all, Merissa’s glamour was doing its job—and finally found the kitchen door, which swung open as more servants poured out with trays and trolleys of food.
She slipped in, searching past the marbled countertops, the stoves with sauces simmering and bubbling upon them, the racks of herbs, until she found a blonde figure in the corner, and approached.
‘Merissa?’
Merissa turned, flour dusted on her nose. ‘Elara!’
‘Sorry to disturb you, I didn’t realize it would be so busy—’
‘Nonsense, this is just for the king’s afternoon tea. In five minutes, quiet will ensue once more.’
‘I just, I wanted to thank you for last night.’ She pushed the flowers forwards. ‘For you to show me kindness…it meant a lot.’
Even covered in flour and pink-cheeked, Merissa dazzled, her smile radiant. ‘Oh, Elara, they’re lovely. You didn’t have to.’
‘I wanted to,’ she said.
True to Merissa’s word, the kitchen had begun to quiet as it emptied, now that serving time had arrived.
‘I’m going for my break, Merissa!’ someone shouted.
‘No problem, Mauricio!’ Merissa replied. ‘Here,’ she said to Elara, ‘sit down. I have some cakes just about ready, and you can try them for me. See if they’re any good for His Majesty.’
Elara did, allowing the warmth and smells of the kitchen to soothe her. ‘So,’ Merissa said. ‘Did your training go any better today?’
Elara cricked her neck. ‘Well, I disarmed the prince and had my sword to his throat, so I’d say better.’
Merissa tried to master her shock. ‘Stars,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t say that too loudly.’
Elara sighed. ‘I’m having problems with my shadows though, and maybe he can help, but most of the time he’s acting so superior I can barely stand to be around him.’
‘Try to trust him,’ Merissa replied, as she pulled some small sponge cakes from the oven, releasing a gorgeous scent of blueberry and lemon. ‘I know,’ she said, when she saw Elara’s look. ‘But…if there is one thing I’ve come to know about the prince, it’s that he always keeps his word.’
She began to whip up cream and vanilla essence into a bowl. ‘If he has promised his father that he will help you, and if he has promised you that he will find a way to aid your shadow-work, then believe him.’
Elara tried to find the lie on Merissa’s face, any tell-tale that the glamourer was being dishonest as she began to decorate the cakes. But she found nothing.
‘I’ll try,’ she sighed. ‘I suppose it’s in my best interest to.’ She stood, and winced. ‘I’d better go and practise. But skies, I’m sore.’
Merissa finished icing the cakes, and handed one to Elara. ‘Eat that, and follow me.’
The bath house that Merissa led Elara to was a piece of art just like everything in Helios. Palm trees arched over the door that they walked through. Elara stepped on to mosaicked tiles and passed into a sheltered, rock-hewn room. Flamed sconces lined the dim space, and the only sounds were the quiet crackle of the torches and the gentle lap of water.
‘These are the palace baths,’ Merissa explained. ‘We have saunas, cold plunge pools and heated pools, ones infused with oils and minerals. It’s exactly where you need to be after training.’
As Elara ventured further into the baths, she saw the saunas, little open wooden nooks functioning with the fire magick that the Helions were known for. They let off fumes of eucalyptus wood, clearing her tangled thoughts.
Cabinets were filled with potions, dried flowers and oils of every kind, mingling and permeating the air with fragrance. Pillars descended into the depths of the water, and she gasped as she finally reached the main, vast pool. Petals and flowers in a range of colours from bright yellow to lightdown orange floated on the cerulean water like an offering. Other smaller pools led off it, and lanterns drifted through the air.
The ceiling of the bathing house was painted a deep indigo—the first time she had seen the hue in Helios. Constellations were painted in minute detail—Leyon’s lion, Verra’s maiden, even Piscea’s coffin.
Merissa squeezed her hand. ‘I’ll leave you to relax. It’s usually quiet at this time of day.’
‘Thank you for showing me this place.’
Merissa beamed, before leaving her alone.
With an indulgent sigh, Elara shrugged off her sand-ridden clothes, gritty against her grimy skin, and descended the steps into the water. She tugged at her plait, undoing the knotted strands until her hair fell loose. She groaned as her screaming muscles felt the lap of warm water and waded out until her feet could no longer touch the bottom. Then she began to swim, stretching out all the aches in her arms and legs. She flipped on to her back, allowing herself to float as she looked at the painted sky above her.
The stars looked back, and so she closed her eyes, the water soothing her as it always did. The last time she’d floated like this had been in the Still Sea, on the eve before her birthday.
The water had been like glass, reflecting the entire sky of stars. Elara had slunk out of the palace with Sofia in tow and a cloak of illusions firmly in place. Sofia had been laughing with her as they took a dip and planned her birthday. They were going to venture further than they’d ever gone: to the travelling fair that had arrived in Asteria on the other side of the city of Phantome.
‘I want to eat pumpkin cake and marshmallow cream until I’m sick,’ Elara had giggled. ‘I hope they have the acrobats from Sveta. I want to see how they fly! And ooh, do you think the strongman from Perses will come? I’ve heard he can lift an entire snowhorse with one hand.’
‘Perhaps,’ Sofia had replied, with her usual unruffled calm. ‘They say there are those from all walks of life at the fair. And we can’t miss it—not when it’s the only time of year that anyone visits Asteria.’
It always upset Elara, how many were deprived of the chance to experience the umbral allure of her kingdom. How they all believed the lies that King Idris spun.
‘You know what I think we should get?’ Sofia added, before gamely springing on to her hands in the shallows. Her legs waggled in the air yet she still somehow looked elegant all the while. ‘Our palms read.’
Elara frowned. ‘I’m not going anywhere near a Helion seer,’ she said angrily.
‘No, not a Helion,’ Sofia had said, mollifying her. ‘The last time I went, there was a Concordian priestess there who did love readings.’
Elara tutted. ‘What do I need to know about love? I’m betrothed to Lukas.’
Sofia had gone sullen at the mention of him, her easy smile diminishing, which made Elara’s chest tighten. ‘You don’t want to know what your future has in store?’ Sofia had said. ‘There’s a whole world out there, Lara.’
Elara had floated further out, looking up at the stars. ‘Maybe,’ she said quietly. ‘Maybe I do want to see what’s beyond Asteria.’
Elara dunked her head under the water, trying to rid herself of the memories. But when they wouldn’t go—when the thoughts of Sofia, Lukas and her parents threatened to drag her under the surface—she gave up, leaving the pool, and her memories with it.
As she lounged on her balcony in the warm night air, Elara attempted to shadowmance. The hour was late, candles flickering from the windows, the Light transitioning from a deep orange to a burgundy red.
She willed herself to focus, breathing deeply in as she plunged into her shadow power, trying desperately to drag it out of her. She saw it within her, the black wraiths twisting and turning, cool as they brushed her insides. She could feel them travel along her arms, but the moment they reached her fingertips, and she tried to will them out of her, there was that flash of torturous light in her mind, and then…nothing.
She had tried everything over the years with her tutors—meditation, night bathing, breathwork. Tough love—threatening and cursing her shadows. She’d tried using muscle memory to work her hands as though shadows really drifted from them, to jolt her body into action. She’d practised with Lukas, and Sofia—both talented shadowmancers. And both of them had eventually given up, sighing in frustration.
She looked at her hands in exasperation, still outstretched. ‘Just fucking do something!’ she shouted.
She jumped as she heard voices in the gardens below her.
Leonardo was laughing as he swaggered on to the lawn, Enzo loping after him. Gods, they were so tall, Enzo perhaps an inch taller than the general. Both built of hard, toned muscle. They were half-naked, swords in hand, and Elara had to roll her eyes, even as her cheeks heated. Did anyone in this realm ever wear a shirt?
There was a clang of steel on steel as the men engaged in combat. Elara had never seen fighting like it—and she could grudgingly admit that it looked far more sophisticated than anything she had done with Enzo that day. Both men were a blur of muscle and metal, attacking and then defending. Feinting, jabbing, stealth gracing every move. But the more she watched, the clearer it was who had the upper hand. There was a muffled command, and then she gasped as light and flame erupted. Enzo wielded his flames as Leo channelled his light. It began to warp and twist, crackling until lightning wreathed Leo’s hands. The King’s Thunderbolt. Elara suddenly understood why the general had been given the title. She should have flinched at Leo’s magick, but her attention kept being pulled towards Enzo, who was forming his own magick into a shield, pushing Leo back across the lawn.
Sweat glistened off them as they fought, grunts and yells resounding as they danced quick-footed around the garden. Light flew as Leo channelled it into his sword, but Enzo was too quick. He had deflected before Elara had even blinked. The power, the precision with which Enzo fought, whether he made use of his powers or not, was mesmerizing. The light could be defeated. Enzo was showing her how, with his own flames. Leo faded into the background as her entire attention zoned in on him. She reached over the balcony to see closer. As Enzo ruthlessly advanced, barely out of breath, she saw him smile that lion’s grin. And with brutal efficiency, he struck out a line of fire.
Elara gasped out loud, the roar of fire and clash of swords muffling the noise easily. Her heart beat furiously as she saw Leonardo, struck to the ground. The way the light dimmed, the way Enzo had complete dominance over the element.
Trust him , Merissa had said.
Leonardo laughed, Enzo grinning as he raised a hand to pull him up. She blinked. Enzo’s fire hadn’t even singed the general’s clothes.
Complete, lethal control.
And Elara understood in that moment, that she should listen to Merissa. She should try to trust Enzo. At least, in helping her to master her magick.
The two men clapped each other’s backs, sweat streaming down their bodies. She saw a nod from Leo, a wry grin, and a bow of defeat. Then he exited the grounds, leaving Enzo on the lawn.
The bleeding sky framed the prince, and Elara could have sworn the very Light was contained within his skin, the way it shone. Without any eyes to watch her, she let herself take her fill.
He truly was devastating. She loathed to admit it. His muscles were like carved marble, viciously toned to deliver death swiftly. His back rippled as his figure turned away from her, the lion embellished on his skin glowing. His curls were tousled as he raked them back, chugging from the water canteen beside him. One curl fell forwards into his eyes, and if she was an artist, she’d have tried to capture the way he looked against the lightdown—despite how much she hated him, despite how much he drove her mad.
He stilled, bringing the canteen from his lips. Then with a predatory slowness, he turned in her direction.
Elara shot down below the edge of her balcony, crouching. Shit, shit, shit. He couldn’t have seen her. There was no way. She didn’t move, until a lone ray of light shone through the bars of the balcony.
Her breath quickened as it moved from left to right, as though searching.
She watched that small chink, her hand shaking as she reached out towards it. She didn’t know why—didn’t understand the pull she felt. But with the tip of her finger, she touched the ray. It stilled, and warmed her skin with a feathery tingling sensation. She breathed through her terror, forcing her finger to stay for a few more moments. It dimmed, disappearing, and she held her breath, staying tightly crouched; she didn’t know how long for. Only that the sky darkened further, and cramp found its way into her leg.
Her finger smarted, and she rubbed it as she debated whether to crawl to the doors of her room. Cursing herself, instead she slowly straightened, seeing to her relief that the lawn was empty. As she left the balcony, there was a movement. To anyone else, it could have been a flicker from the lamplight that drenched the terrace. But Elara knew better. There, right where the light had been, the tiniest wisp of shadow floated through the air.