Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne
Fated Throne: Chapter 12

I stood in the shower, washing my hair and definitely not thinking about Orion. I wasn’t thinking about his dark eyes, or him in that prison jumpsuit and the way his muscles filled it out, the way he’d drank me in like he was a dying animal thirsting for water. Yeah, I definitely wasn’t thinking about any of those things as I lathered the soap over my breasts then ran it down my belly, dipping it between my thighs.

A breathy moan escaped me which I tried to swallow because shit, I was not thinking about him and his hard cock sliding in–

“Hey babe!” Seth called, bursting into the bathroom and I screamed in alarm, dropping the soap, stepping on it and sending myself flying as it slid hard under my foot. I caught myself with a gust of air before I bashed my head on the glass and Seth whipped the door open, holding out a towel.

“Get out of here!” I shrieked, snatching the towel, unsure what he’d seen or heard, but none of it was good.

I wrapped the towel around myself as he grinned at me, bouncing up and down like an excitable puppy.

“What the hell, you crazy mutt?” I snapped, raising my hands and casting a storm of air between my fingers.

“I have news,” he said excitedly, practically panting as he weaved back and forth in front of me. “I didn’t get to talk to you about it before and I’ve been dying, babe, dying.”

“So you broke into my room and strolled into my bathroom while the shower was running?” I narrowed my eyes at him and he nodded a little guiltily with a whine.

“Yeah but, it’s not like I saw anything. Apart from your ass, and your tits, and that soap you dropped. But I didn’t see what you were doing with it.”

“I wasn’t doing anything with it,” I balked, throwing a gust of air at him that forced him to stumble out of the bathroom. I advanced on him, forcing him back again and again as heat rose in my cheeks.

“Sure.” He smirked. “On a completely unrelated note, when was the last time you got laid?”

“That’s none of your business,” I growled, my cheeks growing hot.

“So, Orion?” he guessed with a pitying look.

I snarled, throwing another blast of air at him that launched him onto the bed and he laughed mockingly.

“I can get you laid, just say the word. Do you know how many guys have a crush on you at this academy?” he said, pushing himself upright and making himself comfy against my pillows.

I didn’t like how confronting his words suddenly were. I knew there was a reason I hadn’t dated anyone else since Orion and I refused to face it. So in favour of not having this conversation, I decided to move it the hell on to something else. Nope, I am not poking that hornet’s nest.

“What did you come here to tell me?” I asked, moving to the mirror and working to dry my hair with my magic while Seth gave me a grin in the reflection.

“I fucked Caleb,” he said and I spun around with a gasp, all of my anger tumbling away.

“What? Seriously?”

“Well, no,” he backtracked. “But I did fuck a girl with him and there was a lot of eye-fucking between us. Like a lot.”

It was practically the only good news I’d had in like ever and I was going to lap it up and forget about all the bad crap for a bit. I moved to the bed and knelt on the end of it, smiling at him and soaking in the happiness pouring from him. “Tell me everything.”

“So you know that girl Rosalie Oscura from the Aurora Academy team?”

I nodded. “She’s cute.”

“She’s hot. Like fuckable with a capital F. But it was crazy because while she was sucking my cock, I was just looking at Cal, you know?” He bounced on the mattress. “And he bit me, babe. Fucking bit me. He was giving me the hungry eyes. It was like Dirty Dancing only instead of Baby in the corner, it was Cal sucking on my neck and fingering my butthole in the corner.”

“He did that?” I gasped.

“Well, no,” he backtracked again. “But he did do the biting. And then when he was fucking Rosalie and she was screaming like a banshee between us, he looked at me when he came, not her. That has to mean something, right?”

Ohmagod.

“Erm…well did you talk to him about it after?” I asked. “Eye contact isn’t exactly a done deal, Seth.”

“I know, I know. And no, we didn’t talk about it. But he stayed with me in my bed after Rosalie left. And when I woke up in the morning, he didn’t even complain about my morning glory digging into his ass or that I licked his face to wake him up. I really considered going down on him to just rip the bandaid off and show him how I feel. Do you think I should have?”

“Um no, that’s a bit full on,” I said. “You need to speak to him.”

“Yeah, I mean I kind of tried to.” He hung his head, whining softly. “I mentioned how good it had been seeing his dick driving in and out of Rosalie and I was about to say how much I’d wanted to put his dick in my mouth too, but-”

“You could just try saying, ‘hey Caleb, I think you’re hot, maybe we could go on a date sometime,’” I said with a laugh. “You don’t need to go from nought to blowjob.”

“Right…yeah, that makes sense,” he said thoughtfully. “I just get so excited.”

“It’s good you’re excited,” I said with a grin. “But you kinda need to figure out if he’s on the same page as you before you try to suck his dick.”

“Okay,” he said, nodding seriously.

“So what did you say when you tried to talk to him?” I asked.

“Well, I didn’t get far because I started telling him about this time on the moon which I was going to compare to the feeling of my dick against his ass cheeks to when-”

“Was it when you stuck it in that crater?” I pursed my lips and he nodded, giving me an innocent look.

“Yeah, then he punched me in the balls and shot out of the room,” he sighed. “It’s like he doesn’t even like me talking about the moon sometimes.”

“Literally no one enjoys that,” I said and he laughed like I was joking.

“So anyway, what do I do? Shall I get him a basket full of lube with a message that says ‘stick it in me?’”

“No,” I said firmly. “Definitely not that.”

He jumped up from the bed, starting to pace back and forth, pushing his hand into his hair.

“Is it just about sex or is it more than that?” I asked him and he paused, tipping his head back and howling.

I quickly cast a silencing bubble around us, knowing we weren’t supposed to be in here together and not wanting to bring a bunch of K.U.N.Ts down on our heads.

“No, fuck no,” he growled. “It’s like…when I was on the moon and I could see the earth, I thought about how sad it was that they’d never be together. The moon just watches the earth in all its gorgeous green and blue glory, but it can never, ever touch it. And it made me think of him.” He dropped his eyes. “Everything makes me think of him.”

My heart tugged and I reached out to catch his hand, making him look at me. “You need to tell him.”

He sighed. “It’s not that easy.” He hung his head. “As Heirs, we’re not even really supposed to get with anyone outside of our Orders long term. Plus, like, what would we do about producing Heirs ourselves? I guess we could use a surrogate and then our kids could be brothers and Heirs to both of our seats and that would actually work out just fine, so maybe that’s all cool… But regardless of that, if he doesn’t feel the same way it could break us. He’s my best friend, Darcy. I can’t lose him over this.”

I frowned, nodding in understanding as I released his hand. “Well, maybe I could try and feel him out for you?”

His eyes lit up and he bobbed on the balls of his feet as he nodded excitedly. “Yes!” He leapt on me, crushing me down onto the bed and I squealed as he licked my face and nuzzled my hair.

“Yes, yes, yes!” he cried, leaning back to grin down at me with his head cocked to one side. “Just keep it subtle.”

“I’ll be the most subtle, now shut your eyes and get up because I think you just dislodged my towel,” I said and he chuckled.

“I’ve seen it all now, babe. Lucky I’ve got a new crush. But if he turns me down maybe we can pity fuck each other back to normality?” he suggested like he genuinely meant it.

“In your dreams, Capella.” I shoved him back and he jumped up with his eyes shut as I tucked my towel back into place before I got up.

My Atlas buzzed and I swiped it up, hoping to replace a message from Darius. He’d gone AWOL all of last night. According to Caleb, Lionel had summoned him home – and by home I meant mine and Tory’s goddamn palace – and we hadn’t heard from him since. I’d brought a bunch of my stuff back to the academy before Lionel had taken over, but the rest of it was in the Queen’s quarters in the palace, and I couldn’t see how I’d be getting it back anytime soon.

Seth pressed close behind me as he read the message over my shoulder and I frowned as I realised it was from my brother.

Gabriel:

Meet me beyond the fence. Bring the mutt.

P.S. Delete all correspondence between us from now on.

My heart juddered and I looked to Seth whose brows had arched. Maybe Gabriel was going to give us the antidote for Tory at last. He might have seen a chance to inject her with it. He’d been holding the damn thing hostage since our failed attempt, saying he was waiting for the right opportunity, and I was losing my mind with impatience.

“Let’s go,” I insisted, moving to my closet and taking out some jeans and a sports bra, darting into the bathroom to pull them on. I grabbed a sweater and tied it around my waist before heading to the window.

“Race you there,” I said with a smirk.

“Wait,” Seth said then stripped out of his clothes, tossing them to me. “Carry these, wench.”

“Hey!” I snapped as he howled a laugh, turning and shoving out the door.

I released a laugh as I pushed the window open, leaping out of it and my heart soared before my wings tore from my back in a fiery blaze. Heat rushed through my limbs as I flew across campus, sweeping over The Wailing Wood, the leaves gold and amber on the trees. A white Wolf dove out of the door at the bottom of Aer Tower, knocking a bunch of freshmen on their asses as he bounded along beneath me. He howled to the sky and I echoed the sound, crying it back to him mockingly as I flapped my wings and took the lead, keeping his clothes bundled in my arms. I had half the mind to let them fly to the wind, but I also didn’t want to spend the morning with his naked ass.

I landed in a group of trees close to the fence, making sure no one was watching before dissolving my wings and pulling on my sweater as I jogged toward the outer perimeter. I slipped through the secret gap in the fence and Seth’s wet nose bumped into the back of my head as he arrived too. He shifted into his Fae form and I tossed his clothes to him, smiling smugly.

“I win,” I announced as he pulled them on.

“Try racing me on foot next time,” he challenged. “You won’t beat me then, little bird.”

“I’m good,” I said lightly and he shoved me playfully. I shoved him back and the two of us started fighting just as Gabriel popped out of the atmosphere and tossed a handful of stardust into the air. My hand was still locked in Seth’s hair when I was dragged into the stars and the air was crushed from my lungs. I gasped at the suddenness of it and took in the whirlpool of endless beauty around me as I was transported across the world.

I landed heavily, losing my grip on Seth’s hair and my ass hit the ground, making me huff out a breath.

Seth laughed at me and Gabriel slapped him with his wing as he swept past him and pulled me to my feet.

“How very princessly of you,” Seth taunted as I brushed the dirt off my ass.

“I’m the Savage Princess remember?” I lunged at him, but Gabriel looped an arm around my waist and pushed me back with a serious look that made me fall still with worry.

“What is it?” I asked, taking in the group of trees surrounding us, but I didn’t recognise this place. “Is it Tory, is she okay? Has something happened?”

“Tory’s fine,” he said firmly. “Well, if you can call being shadow possessed and Guardian bonded to Lionel Acrux fine, but you know what I mean.”

I released a breath of relief. “Can we try to give her the antidote again yet, is it time?”

“No, but soon,” he promised and my heart pounded wildly as I clutched his arm. “I’ve seen that we need to trap her to be able to make this work so I’m working on getting us a Nymph cage from some of my friends in Alestria.”

“Will that hold her?” I asked.

“Those cages are rare as shit,” Seth said. “Who the hell are your friends?”

“Yeah, they’re rare, but I can get one. And it’ll hold her,” Gabriel said, not answering his question. But he’d told me all about the people he knew back home who were gang members and criminals. I was pretty sure he could get his hands on anything if he wanted to.

“So if this isn’t about Tory, what is it, Gabriel?” I asked as Seth moved closer with a frown.

“It’s Lance,” he said and my heart beat even faster, the world seeming to darken around me.

“What’s happened?” I demanded, panic flashing through me.

“He’s out of prison,” he said evenly and my lips parted, no words coming to me as that statement sucker punched me in the gut.

“What do you mean he’s out?” I gasped.

“He’s not free,” he said grimly. “Lionel Acrux has him on house arrest.”

I took a steadying breath as I tried to wrap my mind around that. “Why? How? When?”

“Yesterday, and I don’t know why yet but I’m sure it isn’t good. Darius is with him now. And Lionel has headed into Celestia for a couple of days, so we have some time to go to him. I need to speak with Lance, but I can’t do that without your help.”

“What do you mean see him? Where?” My mind whirled and Seth whimpered, pressing close against me as he sensed my anxiety over all of this.

“Lance is being held at the palace,” Gabriel explained, running a hand through his ebony hair. “I’ve seen a way to get to him, but I need you to come with me. Will you help me?”

I hesitated, still unsure of what this all meant, but I had to help him if he needed me. “Of course. What do I need to do?”

“Follow me,” Gabriel said, his wings tumbling away and leaving a single black feather floating down in the breeze behind him. He took his shirt from where it was stuffed in the back of his jeans and pulled it on, covering the artwork of tattoos on his body.

Me and Seth headed after him through the trees, walking down a hill and heading across the gold and orange leaves beneath our feet. Fall was well underway and it wouldn’t be long before the lasting kiss of warmth in the air was gone.

The trees grew tighter together until the morning light was blocked out and the shadows between the trunks thickened. We stepped into a hollow where an ancient tree stood at the heart of it, the bark knotted and gnarled, huge roots spreading out beneath it.

There was a symbol etched into the bark of a Hydra and Gabriel took my hand, guiding me toward it. “Place your palm on the mark.”

I glanced at him in confusion then reached out and did as he asked, spreading my hand over the rough bark. A tingle of magical energy licked my flesh and the mark suddenly lit up in a white glow.

“There are passages running all beneath the Palace of Souls,” Gabriel explained at last. “Only those of royal blood can access them.”

“Why can’t you open them then?” I asked, stepping back.

“Because your royal blood comes from your father,” he said and I nodded, biting my lip as the mark suddenly split apart and the roots rearranged beneath it to form a stairway leading down into the dark.

“Holy shit,” Seth breathed. “This is awesome. But why the fuck am I even here?”

I looked to Gabriel for an explanation, but he just smiled like a mysterious bastard and headed down the steps. I’d grown pretty used to Gabriel evading explanations about the things he did, but it was still frustrating sometimes.

I shrugged at Seth and he moved behind me as we followed Gabriel who’d cast a Faelight to see by. As we reached a damp tunnel far below ground, the sound of the roots retreating made me turn back and my heart thudded harder as the ground closed up above us once more, leaving us down here in the dark.

Gabriel directed his floating orb of light toward the wall, pointing out another Hydra symbol there. “You can get out again just as easily.”

I nodded, examining the old mark and wondering if my father had once used this passage. Had he stood right here where I was now, with all his plans for the future? Had my mother come here with him? How long had she known they were going to die?

The gifts of a Seer had to be a curse in that way. Surely they’d see their death coming long before it ever passed.

We followed Gabriel into the dark, our footsteps the only sound between us as we moved along the narrow passage.

We eventually reached a fork in the path and Gabriel turned right without even hesitating, leading us along until the floor beneath us began to rise.

I tried not to freak out over the fact that at the end of this tunnel was Orion. Which I sort of managed, mostly because I was still processing that shit. I needed to get my game face on because I was wholly unprepared for seeing him again.

“Why would Lionel get him out of prison?” I asked Gabriel.

“You won’t like it,” he said darkly.

“When do I like anything Lionel does?” I said coldly as worry splintered through my chest.

“Touché,” Gabriel said. “Unfortunately, Lionel apparently now has his own Seer. And he’s using the Royal Seer’s Chamber. Because of him, Lionel now knows about Orion’s diary.”

“What?” I gasped, horror filling me. “But when you tried to use the chamber during the summer, it wouldn’t work for you. How can-”

“Because Vard has been appointed the position by Lionel – who is the King whether we like it or not. And that means the chamber is his to use until you and Tory can dethrone him.”

“And this Vard dude is as powerful as you?” I questioned, my gut knotting with anxiety at the thought of that because if that was the case then I didn’t know how we would ever be able to strike at Lionel without him knowing we were coming.

“No fucking way, he’s not as powerful as me. But with the use of the chamber, he’ll be able to see more than we’d like. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that I’m watching everyone carefully though. He won’t get around me.”

“So has Lionel taken the diary?” Seth asked, his own panic clear. We’d been pinning our hopes on that diary. What were we going to do without it?

“No, it seems it is still in Lance’s possession, but I don’t know the details. The shadows conceal Lionel’s plans to me because he is with Clara so much, but I’ve seen enough to know that we’ll be safe to visit Lance and that he may have some answers for us.”

“Okay,” I said heavily, my gut clenching as this news settled over me. My pulse was thumping so loudly in my ears that it was hard to hear anything else.

We reached a set of stone steps and Gabriel cast a silencing bubble around us as we climbed them. A crack of light appeared around a wooden hatch in the ceiling and as we reached the top of the steps, we had to hunch over beneath the low ceiling. Gabriel and Seth practically had to crouch with how tall they were.

“There, Darcy,” Gabriel said, pointing to the Hydra mark engraved on the hatch. I swallowed my nerves, reaching up and pressing my palm to it.

The mark gleamed and a click sounded the hatch unlocking. I pushed it, using my air magic to swing it open. Well, it’s probably best to get this over with sooner rather than later.

I cast air magic under my feet, propelling myself up into a white kitchenette with blue flowers on the tiles and sunlight streaming in the window. Seth and Gabriel climbed up behind me as I turned toward a large lounge in tones of cream and sandy brown, the whole place gleaming. There were beautiful paintings on the walls of exotic beaches and cliffs and the floor was blue and shimmered like the ocean.

Orion was lying in a huge bed at the far end of the space and Darius was spooning him, the two of them looking freaking serene as they slept. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so sad. The damn Guardian bond tying them together had been driving Darius insane these past months. He didn’t feel everything the way Orion did as I understood it, but he always pined for him. As I gazed at the two of them, I had the sudden urge to crawl in there and curl up with them. Yeah, because that would be a totally sane thing to do.

My gaze tracked over Orion’s face and my heart ached with a need it was never going to have fulfilled again. Lock it down right now.

Gabriel dissolved the silencing bubble, opening his mouth to wake them, but Seth sprinted across the room, diving on top of them before he could.

Darius roared almost as loud as if he was in his Order form and Orion threw Seth away with the strength of his Order, sending him flying onto the floor with a hard thud. My lips popped open as Seth leapt to his feet again, wheezing as he healed himself then jumping on Darius and starting to lick him.

Orion shot out of bed and his eyes suddenly fell on me, his naked chest heaving. His abs were taut and gleaming and his shoulders were even more built than they’d been before. Holy shit.

I forced my eyes up to his face, taking in his beard and unruly hair, not entirely hating the wolverine look, but I did miss his dimple. Gah. My heart was fit to bursting as the temperature in the room seemed to rocket up fifty degrees. He darted towards me and Gabriel in a blur and I gasped as he grabbed my hand, tugging me into the arc of his body with his eyes blazing like he was gonna hug me or something crazy. I sent fire magic bursting through my veins and he hissed as I burned his fingers, making him let go of me before I quickly backed up. His brows knitted together and he mumbled something about instincts before he lunged at Gabriel instead, the two of them embracing hard.

“How did you get in here?” Orion demanded.

“The King’s passages,” Gabriel answered as he released him. “Darcy can open them.”

“That’s enough,” Darius snapped and my eyes flicked over to where he’d pinned Seth to the bed by the throat, Seth’s tongue lolling out his mouth as he panted. “No more licks.”

He released him and Seth whined in disappointment, but didn’t lunge at Darius again as he started wiping the slobber from his face.

Orion folded his arms over his bare chest which I still absolutely wasn’t checking out. “So is this some sort of rescue mission because I’m afraid I’m going fucking nowhere.” He lifted his wrists and my heart stumbled at the sight of the black rings wrapped around each one like tattoos. “These stop me from going beyond the boundary of shadows Clara has cast around the palace.”

I reached out for them on instinct before curling my fingers up and pushing them through my hair instead. Totally smooth. He was wearing Tory’s friendship bracelet, the leathery vines intertwined together in an intricate design. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I didn’t want to think it was sweet, but dammit I did. Orion’s dark eyes lingered on me for a moment, making my heart race as I gave him a cool look in return. Not that you’ll replace out how sweet I think it is.

Gabriel moved to examine the rings on Orion’s wrists and I frowned as I realised they were shadows writhing beneath his flesh.

“I knew we couldn’t move you from here. But I couldn’t see why. I can never see the damn shadows,” Gabriel murmured. “Fuck Lionel.”

“Father clearly hasn’t thought of everything though,” Darius said with a look of determination in his eyes. “You can all get in here.”

“What good does that do?” I asked, feeling Orion’s gaze on me again which I refused to meet.

I felt like he was trying to examine my very soul, and it was making the hairs on my arms raise. I didn’t like him looking at me like that, but a part of me didn’t want him to stop either.

“Well I’ve still got my father’s diary. And now I know how to access it,” Orion said and I just had to look at him as my heart lifted.

“You do?” I asked.

He nodded. “I can read it under the light of the full moon apparently.”

“Which was two days ago so now we’ve got to wait for another fucking moon cycle,” Darius said and Seth punched him in the arm. “What the fuck?”

“Why didn’t you text us, asshole. We were worried about you,” Seth growled.

“Sorry brother, I left my Atlas back at the academy. And Father let me stay with Orion so I…” He cleared his throat as the two of them shared an awkward look. “We haven’t been able to really fulfil the needs of the Guardian bond in a long time.”

“Oh, I see. Say no more.” Seth winked, strolling casually over to me and slinging his arm around my shoulders. He turned his head, whispering in my ear. “Butt sex.”

“Seth,” I snorted a moment before a freight train collided with us as Orion shoved Seth away from me with a snarl, putting himself between us.

“Woah, what the hell?” I gasped as Orion went full fucking animal, his fangs on show as he glared at Seth in a clear warning to stay away.

Seth gazed back at him with a taunting smirk like he was wholly up to the challenge. But this was not going any further.

I ducked around Orion, shooting him a glare as I moved to stand beside Seth again.

“He’s on our side now. Me and him are good,” I growled, planting my hands on my hips. “Hasn’t Darius explained that to you?”

Orion’s pupils were fully dilated, his eyes moving from me to Seth as his jaw worked furiously. “He’s explained plenty, but I’m not so quick to forgive,” he hissed and my heart galloped faster.

“Trust me, I’m not quick to forgive either,” I said icily. “But things have changed with me and Seth. There’s a lot that’s happened since you’ve been in prison.”

“A lot,” Seth emphasised.

“I know,” Orion snarled, his shoulders tensing and Gabriel moved to stand in front of him and block me and Seth from view.

“Relax, Orio. Sit down. We need to talk about the diary,” Gabriel said, gripping his arm tightly and leaning in close to speak in his ear. “Oh and if you ever shove my sister like that again I’ll rip one of your arms off.” He said it so calmly, but the darkness in his eyes said he’d absolutely do it. Aw, I love my psycho big brother.

Orion tsked. “I didn’t shove her,” he growled then walked over to a drawer beside the bed and took out a leatherbound diary.

“No, you just bowled into me like a stampeding rhino,” I said lightly and I swear Orion smirked before he flattened his lips and turned away again.

That small, tiny, infinitesimal sliver of light between us made my stomach flutter and I internally started stamping on every bastard of a butterfly who dared show up for him.

Darius set about casting an illusion spell in front of the windows so it would look like only he and Orion were in here. Lionel may have been away for the weekend, but I wouldn’t put it past any of his minions to rat us out if they suspected anything strange going on here.

As I moved through the room, I gazed beyond the floor length windows along the far wall. They looked out onto an L shaped swimming pool and hot tub. I could just make out the palace in the distance and my heart clenched at the thought of Lionel residing in it. It didn’t belong to him. It was mine and Tory’s and I planned on dragging him out of it as soon as damn possible. Preferably in a body bag.

“Can you go anywhere on the grounds?” I asked Orion.

“Pretty much,” he grunted. “Only during the day though. Lionel has guards lock me in here from six pm ‘til dawn.”

That’s gotta be better than Darkmore, right? I moved to sit in a chair, but Seth caught my hand and dragged me down beside him on the couch, nuzzling into my hair. I batted him off absentmindedly, working to focus on the diary and nothing else as my eyes kept skipping over to Orion and the taut muscles of his stomach. I mean seriously, could someone just put a shirt on that man?

You’re not distracted by Darius going around all shirtless and shit.

Well he’s a tuna sandwich dammit.

Orion started telling us about everything he’d learned from the Guild member he’d met in Darkmore. When he mentioned the password which had revealed a secret message to him in the diary from his father, my mind whirled with all that it meant. Had my mother and his father really foreseen all of this happening? Had they been friends?

“So what does Lionel know exactly?” Gabriel asked, resting his elbows on his knees to the left of me.

“He doesn’t know much as far as I can tell,” Orion said thoughtfully. “Just that I’m the only one who can read the diary and decipher what’s in it.”

“How long is he going to keep you here for?” I asked. Was he going to be forced to return to Darkmore once Lionel was done with him? And how were we supposed to stop Lionel getting any information while Orion was stuck here being made to work on the diary? I couldn’t help but be relieved that at least he was away from the psychos in Darkmore, but now he was living in a maniac’s backyard. It was like being pulled out of a box of acid slugs only to be thrown into a pool of Griffin shit.

“I don’t know,” he said, levelling me with a hopeless look. My heart clenched. I had the urge to smooth the frown on his brow and tell him we’d replace a way to fix this, but it wasn’t my place anymore. And he wasn’t owed shit from me anyway. “He forced me to make a star vow with him that I’d make every effort to replace the Imperial Star. But that’s pretty vague so he’s left me a lot of wiggle room.”

Darius smirked. “My father’s so cocky, he’d never even consider the possibility that you might work around his vow.”

“Well, that’s because he thinks I give a shit about what he’ll do to me if he replaces out,” Orion said dryly and my gut yanked.

“He won’t do anything to you,” Darius growled, though the silence following his words said we all knew he could make no such promise. And I despised knowing that.

“Have you seen Clara?” Gabriel asked gently and Orion shook his head.

“No,” he sighed, then turned to me, his eyes full of sadness. “Is Tory like her?”

“She’s not like Clara really, she’s just…lost,” I said as something inside me shattered.

“I’m sorry,” Orion murmured. “Have you made any more progress with figuring out how to rid her of the shadows?”

I shook my head and Darius stood up suddenly.

“Try it now, we missed our session last night,” he said, beckoning me up from my seat.

I frowned. I hated hurting him every time I did it wrong, but I knew it was the only way to work it out. “Maybe we should wait until we get back to Zodiac.”

“I want to see,” Orion said firmly. “Maybe I can help.”

“You’re not a professor anymore,” Seth pointed out super unhelpfully and Orion growled dangerously.

“He knows about dark magic though, idiot.” I shoved Seth in the forehead and he grinned at me, looking like he was about to jump up and start a play fight. “Stay,” I mocked him like he was a dog, pointing a finger at him and he nipped the end of it with a smirk.

I shook my head at him with a half smile and turned to replace Orion standing right behind me, looming over me like a damn tower.

“Come on, show me this shadow shit,” he demanded.

“Did you have to come all the way over here to say that?” I muttered, side stepping him and feeling him follow a hair’s breadth behind me as I walked over to Darius. Goosebumps rose along the back of my neck and I was glad of my long hair to hide them from the intimidating shadow currently following me. What was with the stalking??

I reached for Darius then my eyes snagged on a pile of jewellery, blades, metal objects and coloured stones laying on a table beyond him. “What’s all that?”

Orion shared a look with Darius. “Lionel is having his Nymphs bring me all kinds of shit that could be concealing the Imperial Star.”

Gabriel started laughing, cracking up and we all turned to him while he tried to pull himself together.

“What’s so funny?” Seth asked with a grin.

Gabriel reined it in, shaking his head then his face returned serious. “I can’t really say.”

“Oh come on,” Seth pushed. “You can’t do us like that.”

Gabriel shook his head. “If I say, it’ll change everything.”

“So it’s good news?” I asked hopefully, but Gabriel said nothing, obviously fighting the urge to laugh again.

“Come on, let’s get on with it,” Darius said, turning me to face him again and Orion stood beside us, watching closely. Yep, him just standing there like a big hot Vampire ex-boyfriend is really helping me focus.

I took a breath, reaching up and resting my hands on Darius’s shoulders and letting my eyes fall closed to concentrate. My Phoenix flames burned hotter under my skin as I tried to feel out the shadows living in Darius. He brought them to the edge of his body and they brushed against my flesh like a cold caress. They didn’t call to me anymore. There was no way for them to get past my defences. I just wished I could offer the same to those I loved.

My flames rushed out along my arms to meet with the darkness in him, burning it back, but I could only destroy those that coiled outside of his flesh.

“Do it,” Darius commanded and I knew he’d cast himself into my flames and be consumed by them if it would help bring Tory back. Because I’d do the very same.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to do it, pushing my flames into his flesh and urging them to seek out the shadows in him. He hissed between his teeth and my eyes flew open, meeting the deadly gaze of a Dragon as he allowed himself to burn in my power. His skin began to blacken and I groaned as I forced the flames deeper, hating myself for hurting him but knowing I had no other choice.

Orion groaned then suddenly dragged me away from Darius, forcing my arms behind my back and burning himself in my fire as it circled up around me.

“No!” I cried, but he held onto me as he drew me away from Darius and I realised it was his Guardian bond. It wouldn’t let him stand by as I hurt his Ward.

Orion clutched me hard against his chest and I quickly extinguished the flames, my heart hammering at the scent of burning flesh. Seth rushed over to Darius, lending him magic to heal fast and I twisted around in Orion’s arms, inspecting the damage I’d done to him with frantic hands. My fingers brushed the burns on his chest and arms as I quickly cast healing magic, my breaths coming heavily, matching his. The scent of cinnamon hung around him and I wanted to lean in and drown in it. Oh god, oh god.

“Stop,” Orion grunted, catching my wrists and I looked up at him, replaceing his eyes were a sea of pain that I wasn’t sure had anything to do with the burns I’d laid on him.

His jaw tightened and he released me, shooting away across the room to stand behind Gabriel on the couch.

I straightened my spine, averting my gaze from him and making sure he didn’t see how shaken I was. I was flushed, angry, hurt, turned on, all the emotions that burned. It suddenly struck me that all the times I’d hurt Darius in an attempt to burn the shadows out of him, I’d been hurting Orion too. He felt all of Darius’s pain, cursed to feel it and know his Ward was in trouble. But he could never come and help. I couldn’t even understand the kind of agony that must have caused him. All this time I’d been torturing him and I hadn’t even known. It made me feel sick.

“You can’t do it while I’m with you,” Orion said with a sigh, but I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. If I did right then, he’d see through me to the deep and bloody wound he’d left on my heart that still wasn’t healed. “Keep practising at the academy.”

“You can record it,” Gabriel said to me and Darius, reaching into his pocket for something then tossing Orion an Atlas. “Here, it’s got all our numbers in it. No, don’t hide it there,” he said as Orion took one step toward a large blue dresser with little sea animal ornaments on it. “Hide it in the cupboard under the sink.”

“Got it,” Orion muttered, pocketing it.

I frowned at Darius, silently asking if he was alright and he nodded, but his jaw was tight, clearly frustrated I’d failed once again. As much as I needed to continue trying to destroy the shadows in Darius, I despised the idea of hurting both him and Orion again. But what choice did I have?

I walked over and hugged Darius, thinking of Tory with everything inside me just hurting. It wasn’t only him I was letting down, it was her. I just wished I knew what to do.

Seth joined our hug, nuzzling into Darius and whimpering softly. “We’ll figure it out,” he said, and I wanted to believe that, I really fucking did. I just didn’t know what I was doing wrong so I could fix it.

Seth’s hand roamed down my back and fell onto my ass, squeezing as he pulled me and Darius closer.

“Er-” I started, but he was suddenly ripped away from me by a whip of air and thrown across the room. He flew over a chair, his foot catching on a vase and sending it crashing into a wall before he hit a window face first.

Gabriel lost his shit as he laughed, this clearly being the exact thing he’d seen before.

“What is your problem?” I rounded on Orion with a growl as Seth leapt up and cast two spears of wood in his hands.

“Come on then, asshole,” he snarled. “Bring it the fuck on.”

“Seth,” Darius warned as Orion bared his fangs at the Wolf.

I put myself between them and glared at Orion with my hands raised and shards of ice growing on my palms. “You wanna fight? Then you can have one.”

“I’m not fighting you,” Orion snarled, trying to side step me so he could aim at Seth, but I moved into his path again.

“If you’ve got something you want to say, then spit it out,” I demanded and Orion’s eyes flashed furiously as we just stared at each other.

Silence stretched between us and my breaths came unevenly as I waited for him to spill it. He looked like a predator on the hunt, but I wasn’t going to be his prey. Never. Again.

Orion dropped his hands, shaking his head and turning away from me with his shoulders dropping.

Gabriel stood up with a frown, his eyes shooting to the sliding doors that led out toward the pool. “Someone’s coming. We have to go.”

“Shit,” I cursed, running into the kitchenette with Gabriel and Seth.

I glanced back over my shoulder as Darius pressed a hand to Orion’s back and they shared a tense look which I didn’t understand.

“I’ll be back at school on Monday,” Darius said, throwing us a taut look.

“I have some ideas on how to remove the shadows, I’ll talk them over with Darius,” Orion said, like he was speaking to me but he didn’t look my way.

“Fine,” I said stiffly as Seth took my hand and pulled me down to unlock the hatch. There was a faint marking in the grain of the wood, but it was barely noticeable. It lit up as I touched it then we quickly slipped inside and pulled it shut, my chest tightening as we headed into the dark.

Seth squeezed my hand. “Forget him, babe.”

“He’s forgotten,” I said lightly like I wasn’t affected by seeing him again. But I was. And I knew I’d forget about Orion the same day the stars decided to give us all a break and blast Lionel to pieces with a flaming meteor.

Well, a girl can dream.