Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne
Fated Throne: Chapter 36

I flew a short circle around the academy grounds with the drizzle in the air sticking to my scales and my breath rising in a fog even though I wasn’t breathing fire. It was one of those depressingly damp and cold winter days that were better off spent inside, but I’d had trouble sleeping and so I was out in it all the same.

I looked over the sea to the horizon where the sun was rising, wanting to leave the protective wards that surrounded the academy and fly for hours, really stretching my wings. But that would require me to land and exit via the gate before heading off and then Father would be informed that I’d left the grounds. And I couldn’t really sneak out either because it was pretty hard to hide the passage of an enormous golden Dragon through the sky. I was fairly certain I was the only golden beast of our kind currently alive and people talked when they thought they’d spotted an Heir.

I’d asked Father why the wards were even still in place now that he had control over the Nymphs and we were no longer at war. He’d told me he was concerned about the threat in the north where there were rumours of small villages being entirely wiped out over night, houses found empty and bloody with no sign of the Fae who had once lived there.

I suspected him of course. He’d marched squadrons of his so-called tame Nymphs up there to counter the threat and I didn’t trust that one bit. But the attacks seemed to come at random. Little towns all over the place were struck out of nowhere. I thought it was strange that none of the Fae living in any of the destroyed towns had ever even managed to get a phone call out, but without any survivors to ask, it was impossible to understand what the reason for that could be. And Father certainly had very little interest in discussing it with me. There had been next to no newspaper coverage on any of it either which stank of conspiracy to me, but there wasn’t much I could do unless we managed to get a lead on a town when it was being attacked so that we could go there and figure out what was doing it. Gabriel was looking out for information with The Sight, but he hadn’t seen anything useful yet. And as it wasn’t affecting anyone he knew closely there was little chance of him seeing what was going on, especially while he was watching so many other things closer to home.

I wanted to head up to one of the destroyed towns and investigate it, but so far between classes, the obligations Father put on me, my research with Orion and the Nymph hunts we were still sneaking out on whenever we got the chance, I hadn’t been able to replace the time.

I spotted a white Wolf racing through the trees close to King’s Hollow and tucked my wings as I dove from the sky to intercept him.

I was silent as I shot towards the ground and the moment Seth bounded out into a grassy clearing, I reached out and plucked him from the field in my talons.

Seth yelped in surprise as he was hoisted off of the ground and I snorted a Dragon laugh as he began to buck and kick before sinking his teeth into my foot.

I almost dropped him, lurching towards the ground as I scrambled to keep my grip and he shifted in my hold so that he slid between my talons in Fae form and used his air magic to land safely on the hillside below.

I circled around before landing too and I shifted back at the edge of the clearing, shooting him a taunting grin.

‘You wanna go?’ he called out in a challenge, thumping his chest like a dudebro who had sunk too many beers and wanted to fight everyone in the vicinity.

‘You wanna wrestle me naked?’ I teased as I stalked towards him through the long grass which brushed around my waist and he smirked as his gaze moved down my body for a moment.

‘I mean…I’ve had worse offers in my life.’

‘Let’s just eat first,’ I suggested. ‘I prefer to do my ass kicking on a full stomach.’

‘Race you back to the Hollow then?’ Seth didn’t give me the chance to reply before he took off into the trees and I cursed him as I took chase.

The moment I stepped out of the clearing, I knocked against an air shield and barked a laugh as I almost fell back on my ass before blasting it down with fire magic and tearing after him.

The asshole sent vines to trip me, rocks bursting out of the ground in my path then a huge hole tore open in the ground beneath me, my gut lurching as I fell.

I managed to cast water beneath me before I could hit the bottom of the pit and I cast a bridge of it above the ground, running on the liquid as I spotted Seth’s bare ass just about to reach the entrance to the Hollow.

A flick of my wrist set an explosion of fire to life right in front of him and as he flinched back, using air to steal the oxygen from it, I knocked him from his feet with a blast of water from his right. He howled as he was washed away through the trees and I laughed as I charged over my water bridge and made it to the door.

I reached out to wrench it open and my fist slammed against solid air again, my knuckles crunching at the impact. I growled as I attacked the shield with fire while my instincts prickled to let me know he was right behind me already.

Seth’s shoulder slammed into mine as he tried to knock me aside to get to the door, but I didn’t move, planting my feet and using my Dragon strength to hold my ground as he yanked the door open.

The two of us lunged through it at once, our shoulders jamming in the frame as we both burst out laughing before tumbling through together.

‘I guess we’re still evenly matched then,’ Seth joked as he nuzzled against my arm affectionately and I shoved him off with a snicker.

‘Put your dick away before you start pawing at me, mutt,’ I joked, opening the cupboard beside the door and tossing him some clothes as I pulled a pair of cream sweatpants and a grey tank on.

‘I hope Geraldine brought some bagels already,’ Seth groaned, sniffing the air hopefully, but seeing as it probably wasn’t even six am yet, I doubted it.

‘I keep meaning to talk to you actually,’ I said to him, realising that this was coming pretty damn late after I’d promised Orion I’d have this chat with him, but I’d had a lot on my mind. Besides, I really didn’t think there was anything to this anyway and I’d kinda forgotten about it. Which possibly made me a terrible friend, but at least I was getting around to it now.

‘Oh yeah?’ Seth asked casually.

‘Yeah. What’s going on with you and Gwen? Lance seems to think you’re a thing, but from where I’m standing, I don’t see it. So is he just being a jealous, heartbroken asshole, imagining things or what?’

‘Let me grab my Atlas and I’ll show you,’ he said mysteriously and I held my tongue as I wondered what the hell he was up to.

Seth sniggered as we jogged up the stairs into the front room of the treehouse and I moved to shove some bread in the toaster for us while he put himself on coffee duty. The room was dark, the fire in the hearth burning low, though I coaxed it back to life with a flick of my fingers as I waited on Seth’s explanation.

He pulled open a drawer and grabbed his Atlas out before opening it up onto his messages with Orion and passing it over to me to look at.

Seth Capella:

I still haven’t made her bow to me, but I got her on her knees last night. *Open mouth emoji* *aubergine emoji*

Seth Capella:

What do you call a washed-up professor with no job and no girlfriend?

Seth Capella:

Nothing. Because she can’t remember your name.

Beneath that was a selfie of Seth lying next to Darcy in her bed while she was sleeping with #allfuckeredout beneath it.

‘Get it?’ Seth asked with a grin. ‘Like all tuckered out but with fuck because I want him to think I stuck my dick in her.’

‘But you didn’t?’ I clarified, not sure what the hell all of this was about.

‘Nah, man. It’s not like that with me and her. I mean sure, there was a time when I thought about it a bit, but now my fantasies are a lot less Phoenixy and a bit more – Well anyway, if she wanted to give me a pity blowy, I wouldn’t be totally against it because my balls are feeling about as blue as her hair recently and it doesn’t look like there’s much chance of me getting what I really want, so-‘

‘Rewind to the bit where you said it’s not like that and yet you’re still sending Lance this shit,’ I said, unsure if I should be growling or laughing and feeling altogether lost over the whole thing.

‘Right. Yeah, so, I’m fucking with him to send him into a jealous rage that will force him to tell her how he feels and therefore make her listen and forgive him and then they can be endgame, happily ever after and all that shit. I expect to be best man – sorry dude but Lancey is gonna love me the most when I’m through here and you’ll be relegated to groomsman, or maybe page boy. You could get a cute little bowtie and shit though.’

I couldn’t help but laugh as I scrolled over a few more of the messages he’d sent then tossed his Atlas back at him. ‘You’re fucking insane and he’ll probably try to strangle your ass for this,’ I said.

‘But?’ he prompted.

‘But, I’m onboard with it. The two of them need to sort it the fuck out and get back together. So if he asks me again, I’ll play along.’

Seth grinned widely and we grabbed our plates of toast before heading to eat on the couch.

I took my usual armchair beside the fire and Seth moved to the couch but as he went to sit down, he jerked back up again and I barked a laugh as I spotted Max emerging from a heap of blankets.

‘Ah shit, did I fall asleep?’ he slurred, reaching for Seth’s coffee and draining it before Seth could even realise what he’d done.

‘Hey! Did you just force me to be generous?’ Seth accused and Max gave him a weak smile which pretty much admitted it before swiping a palm down his face.

I upped the light in the room with a few Faelights to see him better by, noticing the generally feelings of concern and worry slipping from him as his gifts spread through the room.

‘Why the hell were you sleeping out here?’ I asked him and he groaned.

‘I wasn’t meant to be. I got some bad news and I was using my gifts to make myself calm down so that I could think through my best course of action. I must have upped the voltage a bit too much and made myself sleepy instead.”

Seth snorted as he grabbed himself some fresh coffee and a second mug for Max who seemed like he needed it.

‘What was the bad news?’ I asked, biting into my toast as Max grimaced.

‘My sweet sister and evil stepmother decided to out me to the world last night, most likely in payment for me making Ellis look like a fucking fool. A story was leaked about my bastard blood and my Minotaur grandfather on my real mother’s side and I’m basically expecting a whole world of shit today. Especially as Lionel has half the kingdom hating Minotaurs right now.’

‘Fuck,’ Seth said heavily. ‘But on the bright side, now it’s out we can just deal with it and move on. I mean, you might be the cause of a bit of a political scandal for a while but at the end of the day you’re still your father’s son, there’s no law against bastards claiming their place and you’re still a million times stronger than Ellis. So she’s no threat to you or your position as Water Heir.’

‘What tactics are you planning on using to counter the gossip?’ I asked and Max looked between us uncomfortably.

‘Well, when I spoke to Dad he said that it would help to have clear backing from you guys. A statement or whatever. But I know that with Lionel’s stance on Minotaurs he probably won’t want you doing that, Darius. And I understand that you and Cal have to check with your parents too, Seth,’ he said with a helpless kind of shrug.

‘Fuck my father,’ I growled. ‘What loyalty has he ever shown me? Give me your Atlas and I’ll record a statement in support of you. We’ll make it clear we’ve known about this for a long time and tell them the only reason it was kept secret was to protect your stepmom from the scandal of the world knowing your dad cheated on her. Simple.’

‘Seriously?’ Max asked, raising his brows at me. ‘But Lionel will punish you for that if it’s not what he wants.’

‘So what? Fuck him. Fuck his Orderist bullshit and fuck the idea of me ever letting anyone think I believe in his screwed up hate speech either. He won’t kill me without another Heir to replace me and I’ve lived through enough of his punishments to know that trying to follow his rules won’t save me from them. So I might as well earn them doing something I believe in.’ I reached for Max’s Atlas and he slowly handed it over.

‘I don’t want you getting hurt on my behalf,’ he said, clearly conflicted over what I was offering.

‘Look, I either make the recording for you to give to your people to use in the best way they wanna release it, or I’ll go live on FaeBook now and tell the world myself,’ I said.

‘Alright. Shit, man, I owe you for this,’ Max said.

‘No you don’t. We’re brothers and this is what we do for family. No question. No debts. We’re just here for each other when we need to be.’

I lifted his Atlas and made a recording, speaking clearly and honestly about my love and support for him and saying in no uncertain terms that the addition of Minotaur blood to his heritage made no difference to me at all. Max was the only real candidate for the role of Water Councillor when we all ascended to our positions, and I wouldn’t be hearing any suggestion of anyone else taking on the job.

I finished up my breakfast while Seth made his recording too and Max was looking a lot more confident about his situation by the time he finished up.

‘Where’s Cal?’ I asked. ‘We’ll get his statement and you can send them to your team with one of your own.’

‘Still in bed,’ Max said, pointing vaguely towards the corridor as he started playing back the videos to check them over and Seth leapt up as I headed away to wake Caleb.

‘Let’s wake him up by dog piling him,’ Seth suggested with a grin and I smirked at that idea, casting a silencing bubble over us as we headed to Caleb’s room.

But when Seth pushed the door open, we found it empty.

‘Where is he?’ Seth asked and I frowned in confusion as I looked around at the corridor, noticing one of the doors ajar. Roxy’s door.

A prickle of apprehension ran down my spine and a low growl built in the base of my throat as an idea formed in my mind which I just couldn’t get rid of. She hadn’t been at Ignis House last night and I knew she’d been sleeping here a lot. And if Caleb was missing from his room then what if…

I swear it felt like the stars were nudging me towards that door, stoking the flames of jealousy and anger in me even though I had no right to feel anything like that yet. Or at all, really. She wasn’t mine. But she was. And if he’d fucking touched her again, I’d rip his cock off and set it alight.

I clenched my jaw and strode over to her room, pushing the door open without bothering to knock or release the silencing bubble that concealed me and Seth who followed right on my heels.

The world stopped spinning as my gaze fell on the bed where the two of them lay, her head on his chest and his arm around her. There was a dull, echoing thump taking place somewhere in the depths of my mind and a ringing in my ears that wouldn’t quit.

I couldn’t even move for the longest moment, my body tensing with a rage so potent and powerful that I was afraid I’d burn up in it the moment I unleashed it from my body.

Seth was whimpering, pacing back and forth beside me as he clawed his hand into his long hair, his gaze fixed on the two of them like he was just as destroyed by this as I was, but I couldn’t concentrate on that. Because I was about to murder my best friend.

The shadows rose up within me and I dropped the silencing bubble as a roar of fury escaped me and I lunged towards the bed, intending to drag Caleb out of it and beat his pretty face in until he stopped moving.

A shriek of fear escaped Roxy as she lurched awake and I crashed into an air shield before I could get my hands on the motherfucker who had touched what was mine.

The Dragon in me was out for blood and my flesh burned and itched with the desire to shift. But I fought it back with a furious determination, knowing I wanted to feel his body break beneath my fists, not my claws.

‘What the fuck?’ Caleb yelled as he scrambled upright beside my girl, the blankets shifting to pool at his waist and reveal his sweatpants. But my brain was more focused on the urge to rip his head from his neck than his clothes. ‘I didn’t touch her!’ he added, clearly catching on to the reason for me looking at him with murder in my eyes.

‘Is that what you think?’ Roxy balked, shoving the covers aside and getting to her feet as she glared at me in a black tank that was clearly meant for a man and hung down around her thighs. ‘Fuck you, asshole,’ she snapped, pointing at me and I yelled something incoherent again as I tried to force my way past her magic by coating my fists in flames and punching the living shit out of the shield dividing us.

‘Stop hiding in there, you fucking coward!’ I roared, my gaze fixed on Caleb as Seth snarled beside me, seeming to have my back.

‘Nothing happened, man!’ Caleb yelled. ‘Max was in here with us. He was helping with her nightmares and I was helping him because he was struggling with taking on so much negative energy all the damn time!”

‘I didn’t even know he was here,’ Roxy added angrily, her glare fixed on me. ‘But thanks for trusting me, you piece of shit.’

‘You’re in her fucking bed!’ I roared, aiming all of my rage at Caleb because I couldn’t bear to point it at her. ‘The two of you are half naked!’

‘It looks pretty fucking suspicious, dude,’ Seth added bitterly, folding his arms over his chest while his jaw worked furiously like he was holding back on saying more.

‘Well it’s not,’ Caleb snapped, giving Seth a pained look which pissed me off because his focus should have been on me.

I struggled against the bloodlust and rage pounding through my veins as I looked between the two of them, my gaze snagging on her as a hopeless, desperate kind of longing filled me.

The Dragon beneath my skin was ready to rip this place apart, Caleb most of all and a fierce, relentless agony started up in my chest because I realised that even if it wasn’t him, it was going to be someone some day. She wasn’t just going to remain celibate because we couldn’t be together. How could I expect her to do that? I might know that she couldn’t replace love elsewhere, but we already knew that it was perfectly possible for her to fuck someone else despite this bond. Someone in particular in fact.

My gaze snapped back to Caleb and I bared my teeth as potent rage flooded my body and my eyes shifted to Dragon slits. I was going to fucking kill him if he’d touched her again. If he seriously thought that he could lay his fucking hands on my girl and keep them attached to his body then-

Roxy moved across the bed until she was standing right in front of me, her position meaning she was eye to eye with me, her own anger lining her beautiful face as she dropped her air shield and shoved me in the chest as hard as she could. It wasn’t enough to move me, but I could feel the force of that shove and knew that had been her intention.

‘Get it through your dumb head, asshole – nothing happened. It’s not like that with me and him. Not anymore,” she shouted.

‘Then why the fuck are you all snuggled up in bed together?’ I demanded, smoke spilling between my lips as the urge to shift overwhelmed me and I turned my furious gaze on Caleb once more.

‘It’s you, dumbass,’ Roxy snapped, shoving me again and making me growl even louder. Why the fuck did she think it was a good idea to bait the beast in me when I was ready to- ‘It’s only you. Even though it can’t be, it fucking is.’

‘What?’ I asked, my brow pinching but her mouth was on mine before I could further form that thought.

All the heat of the sun flared between us as she wrapped her arms around my neck and leapt up onto me, her legs tightening around my waist as a groan of pure fucking need escaped me and she pushed her tongue between my lips.

I growled hungrily, kissing her harder and gripping her ass as I held her up against me. I tasted every slice of jealousy that I’d ever felt over her in that kiss, every inch of pain I’d suffered in wanting her and knowing I could never have her.

She wound her fingers into my hair as she tugged hard enough to hurt. I bit down on her full bottom lip with a growl that told her I was still a wild beast and I wasn’t about to be caged any time soon. Though if anyone had a chance of caging me then it was her.

I turned her around and drove her up against the wall, my hard cock driving against the wet material of her panties as I groaned for her and I was vaguely aware of Seth and Caleb leaving the room. But I didn’t give a shit about them. I’d forgotten all about them and whatever fucking insane jealousy the stars had so clearly wanted me to feel when they drove me into this room because it was her. And there was only her, just like she’d told me there was only me. So fuck the stars for always wanting to part us. Fuck them for thinking they could stop this, stop us. There was no stopping us. She was it for me and even if I could never truly have her, I wasn’t ever going to stop wanting her. I wasn’t ever going to stop belonging to her.

Roxy kissed me harder, demanding more as my skin burned with the fire of my Dragon and my rage turned into something so much more primal.

She was mine. Destined to be mine by the stars. The girl who should have been my Elysian Mate and was so much more besides. I needed this. I needed her. I’d been like the moon without the light of the sun without her all this time. Cold and pale and void of life. But she lit me up and made me burn. And I never wanted to stop burning with her.

I dropped her onto a chest of drawers, knocking shit flying from it as she clawed at my chest and a boom of thunder crashed overhead.

But I couldn’t let go. I wouldn’t. Fuck, I didn’t even care if they struck me down where I stood so long as I was in her arms when I went.

She shoved my sweatpants down, her fingers dragging across the tattoo I’d gotten for her and making me growl even louder before she wrapped them around my cock and I pushed her wet panties aside.

‘I can’t be without you anymore, Roxy. It’s killing me. It’s going to kill me,’ I groaned against her mouth and she whimpered with need, pulling me closer so that the head of my dick was pressed to her slick centre.

But before we could make good on that intention, a bolt of lightning slammed into the roof above us and she screamed as the entire treehouse lurched to one side, flames bursting to life across the wood and yells coming from our friends in the other room.

‘Fuck!’ I roared, tearing myself away from her and yanking my sweatpants up again before my need for her got her killed.

‘Darius,’ Roxy growled in a clear demand for me not to lose my shit, but I was so fucking angry, I could hardly hear her.

I slammed my fist into the wooden wall hard enough to bust a hole in it and a roar spilled from my lips that was all Dragon as thunder crashed overhead again.

I threw one last, lingering look at the beautiful girl who owned my heart, wishing more than anything in the world that I didn’t have to walk out on her then tearing my own soul in two as I did exactly that.

The other Heirs all tried to reassure me as I made it back to the front room, but I couldn’t listen to it, dropping my sweatpants as I threw the window open and diving out into the storm instead.

My Dragon form burst from my flesh and I flew hard and fast towards the gap in the fence with flames tearing from my lips, consumed by the loss of everything I should have had with my girl.

When I made it to the hole in the fence, I shifted, crossed through it and shifted again before taking off in the direction of the mountains, using the storm clouds to hide me. I needed to be as far away from anything and everyone as I possibly could or I was going to lash out at someone who didn’t deserve it.

I beat my wings and flew as fast as I could, leaving the academy behind and my heart right along with it. My mind was filled with images of a beautiful girl with eyes full of fire and lips that tasted like sin and the twist of fate which was always going to keep her from me.

The storm didn’t let up as I flew, never looking back, just racing on and on through the sky and welcoming the misery of the freezing rain as it crashed down on my burning hot scales.

My mind was swimming with every awful thing I’d ever done to her, reminding me of all the reasons why I deserved to suffer like this until regrets and self hatred threatened to drown me more thoroughly than all the water pouring down on me.

I finally landed in a huge clearing between two mountains, the flat plain being pounded by the rain and my claws digging into the damp soil.

I roared at the stars even though I couldn’t see them amongst the clouds, but I did it all the same, cursing them just like they’d cursed me and breathing out a giant plume of Dragon fire in an enormous fireball which blossomed right up to the sky.

I hung my head, watching the flames as they slowly died out before me and my heart stuttered as I spotted a figure stepping through the smoke as it cleared, her long hair falling all around her and a dark look on her face that told me she was pissed as all hell.

‘Don’t you run away from me, Darius Acrux,’ Roxy snarled, striding right up to me in that tank top which I just now realised was actually mine.

Her feet were bare and her golden wings were flexing at her back, glinting with the fire of her kind despite the pounding rain.

An air shield closed over me as thunder boomed through the heavens again and lightning struck it, splintering over the dome she’d created and lighting her up as if she was the one wielding it.

I shifted back into my Fae form, my muscles bunching with tension as I fought between the desire in me to go to her and the need to protect her from the wrath of the stars.

I stood totally still as she strode towards me, her eyes flaring with danger and determination.

‘You know, when I was dragged out of my life and brought to your world, people kept telling me over and over again about the way the stars choose our destinies. They told me that our fates are set in stone and sealed by those twinkling little dots of light way off up in the sky. And I told them I didn’t believe in fate. No matter how many times predictions and horoscopes and all of it was proved right, I kept scoffing and telling them I didn’t believe it.’

‘That’s not a surprise, Roxy. You’re the most stubborn Fae I’ve ever met.’

‘Said the pot to the kettle,’ she growled and a ripple of anger burned in me at the tone she used with me. Even after all this time she was still just as disrespectful, just as rude and cutting and fierce as she’d been on the first day I’d laid eyes on her. Maybe even more so now.

‘Well if you replace me so obnoxious then why did you chase me out here?’ I challenged.

‘Because, from the moment I arrived here I swore I wouldn’t let anyone decide my fate for me. So despite the fact that you’re literally the rudest, most pig-headed, infuriating asshole I have ever met, I still want you. So fuck the stars. Fuck the moon and the meteors and the fucking clouds. Let the sky watch me as I tell it to get fucked. Nothing up there or down here gets to tell me what to do. You told me I was yours and I think that you’re mine too.’

‘You think?‘ I asked. ‘I told you I love you. I tattooed it on my flesh, Roxy, I feel like I’ve made my feelings pretty clear. You’re all I want for myself. The only choice I wish I could make and the only one I can’t. So you don’t think anything. You know I’m yours, every damn piece of me. But you’ve never told me what you want out of owning me or if I own you too.’

Thunder roared in the sky but Roxy ignored it entirely as she held her air shield in place, not even flinching when lightning crashed against it repeatedly.

‘I’m the girl no one ever loved, Darius,’ she said. ‘No one but Darcy, my whole life. And though I never let it show, I used to dream of replaceing someone who would love me like a prince in a fairy tale so I could be their princess. But I don’t love you like a princess. There isn’t anything soft or sweet or easy about us. It’s wild and unpredictable. It hurts more than any pain I’ve ever felt and consumes me more completely than anything I ever could have predicted. You make my heart race with all the best kinds of fear and my gut clench with the angriest butterflies I’ve ever known. I have hated you more than I even knew I could hate a man and I think if I love you with as much fury then I’ll burn up in it.’

‘So you don’t want to let yourself love me?’ I asked, looking down at her as she stopped barely a meter from me and the heavens raged in fury at the way we were defying them.

‘Maybe not,’ she agreed and my gut fell, but she lifted the hem of my tank and my gaze was drawn to the movement of her hand as she dragged her thumb up the front of her thigh and removed the concealment she must have had in place over her skin there.

A lump formed in my throat as my gaze tracked the lines of ink on her flesh. I knew the design because it mirrored the one Gabriel had told me to place on my own skin. The lines which dictated the position of the heavens on the night she’d told me no. The night when everything could have been so different if I’d only followed what my heart wanted sooner. The words which ran down her thigh to the left of the design in delicate script were a mirror of those on my own skin. There is only him.

‘I think I’m already burning, Darius,’ she breathed. ‘And it’s time I stopped pretending I’m not.’

I stepped forward and caught her face between my hands, kissing her in a hard and demanding plea for that to be the truth. Because if I had her then I knew I had it all. And I didn’t care if we really would have to tear the stars out of the sky to force them to give us our tomorrow. I’d do it. I’d pay any price they asked of me just to make this feeling last. Just to truly have her.

Give me this, I begged them as I lost myself in the feeling of her mouth against mine, her hands on my skin and her pulse thundering to the same heady rhythm as my own. Give me her and I will pay any price you ask.

The thunder seemed to crash even louder like the heavens were denying my pleas, but I soon forgot all about the stars and everything they were doing as I lifted Roxy into my arms and kissed her like this might be the only chance we got. And maybe it fucking would be. Because it was clear she was planning to hold off the storm with her magic for as long as physically possible and who knew if the heavens would ever let us get this close again.

We were standing in the middle of a muddy field which meant there were only so many options available to us, so I sank down onto my knees before sitting back on the ground with her in my lap.

Her tongue chased mine as she kissed me harder and my magic danced against the edges of my skin as it ached to be joined with hers. My barriers fell away and hers followed, a moan escaping her as the weight of our magic colliding flooded through us.

She was so powerful that it stole my breath away, this endless, unstoppable ocean of power which roared to a rhythm I hungered to drown in.

My hands moved up her spine, shoving at the material of my tank which she still wore, but it caught on her bronze wings, refusing to move for me and making me growl with frustration until my fingers met with the silky soft texture of her feathers.

A shiver ran through her entire body and she drew back with a gasp as I stroked my fingers over her wings, her pupils dilating as she looked at me.

‘Do it again,’ she commanded, her eyes flashing and bringing a smile to my lips as I did as she wanted, caressing the ridges of her wings before circling my fingers over the spot on her back where they connected to her flesh.

She moaned as I repeated the move and I leaned in to kiss her neck, tasting her sweet skin as the ground beneath us began to rumble with the next wave of the stars’ defences against us.

Roxy drove her knees down into the soil either side of my hips and through the connection of our magic, I felt the way she harnessed power over the earth beneath us, forcing it to still once more with a flare of magic.

I released my hold on her wings, sweeping my hands out around us and casting flames into existence in a ring surrounding us so that she could replenish her power while we stayed here like this, giving her all she needed to shield us from our fate.

I moved my hands down her body as I continued to kiss her neck, feeling her hard nipples through my tank and groaning as I closed my mouth over them one after the other.

Roxy moaned my name and I swear that was the best sound in the entire world.

She pushed me back and I let her, lying on the wet, muddy ground as I grasped her waist and moved her to kneel over my face so that I could kiss the ink on her thigh. I traced each and every line of that tattoo with my tongue, my heart racing at the knowledge that she’d placed it on her skin permanently for me.

My hands slid up the backs of her thighs and over the round curve of her ass as I ran my mouth over the tattoo before hooking my fingers into her panties and bringing fire to my hands to get rid of them.

Roxy gasped as the flames kissed her skin, but the Phoenix in her wouldn’t let her burn.

I turned my head from her thigh to the centre of her, gripping her ass tightly and bringing her down over my mouth as the sweet taste of her desire met my tongue.

Thunder boomed so loud that the air within the shield rattled, but her magic held, protecting us here so that we could defy the stars.

I ran my tongue over her clit, loving the way she shivered in pleasure at my touch and her bronze wings flared wide either side of us, the flashes of lightning reflecting off of them and making her look like a fallen angel. And I was the demon who’d cast her to ruin. I just couldn’t bring myself to regret that for a single second.

I used my grip on her ass to rock her hips and she obeyed my instructions, riding my face as I devoured her, the hard bite of my stubble grazing her soft skin and my tongue dragging through the centre of her over and over again.

She was so wet for me that it made my cock throb with the need to fill her and I growled against her pussy, making her gasp as she rocked her hips more urgently and my tongue worshiped her clit.

When she came for me, she cried out in bliss, her wings spreading wide and the fires all around us flared brighter, warming my skin.

I could feel the earth trembling again beneath us, the entire plane we were lying on seeming to shudder with the might of the earthquake the stars had sent to force us apart. Roxy’s magic tugged on mine even harder as she forced her control over the Elements to keep us safe and I couldn’t help but marvel at the strength in her.

The rain was crashing into her air shield so hard that I couldn’t see beyond it aside from the constant deluge of water running over its surface. It felt like she’d created this one tiny paradise for us here where nothing beyond the two of us existed and I intended to make full use of it for every moment that we could steal.

I grasped Roxy’s waist and flipped her off of me, tossing her down on her back in the mud and she banished her wings with a filthy laugh as I moved on top of her.

My mouth found hers and she kissed me hard, the taste of her orgasm dancing between our lips as I drove her down into the mud beneath me.

I found the hem of the tank she was wearing and ripped it up and over her head. But as the material caught around her arms, I twisted it to keep them trapped within it, pinning them above her head and smirking down at her as her green eyes flashed with anger.

She arched her back like she meant to fight back against me, but my cock found her entrance with the movement and as I drove into her, she forgot all about that idea.

‘Shit, Darius,’ she panted as the perfect tightness of her pussy closed around my shaft and I pushed in harder, loving the sound she made as I filled her and the way her entire body arched against mine.

I captured her lips again, kissing her hungrily as the ground continued to judder violently beneath us and the thunder crashing overhead made the whole word vibrate.

The moment she melted into my kiss, I drew my hips back and thrust in again hard, keeping her hands pinned above her head and dominating her body as I fucked her with the desperate need to make her mine irrefutably.

Dragons were hardwired to replace the most priceless treasure they could and make it theirs and she was the most prized possession I could ever hope to own. She was beauty and strength and bravery and hope and if I spent every day for the rest of forever making her mine then I’d gladly do it.

I was going to fuck my name into every inch of her skin, brand her with my kisses and mark her with my love until not a Fae in the world could deny it and even the stars would be forced to allow it.

My free hand moved over the curves of her body as I slammed my cock deep inside her over and over again and her flesh was painted in muddy handprints which I never wanted her to wash off.

Every scream that escaped her lips urged me on as I thrust harder, deeper, wanting her to come for me again and again until she couldn’t see straight or think straight and all that was left in the world was me and her and nothing else.

She gave in to me for several ecstasy filled minutes as I dominated her, making me growl with pleasure as her body bowed to mine the way I’d always wished I could get her to submit.

But of course, she wasn’t just going to let it be that easy.

With a sharp tug, she yanked her arms free of the shirt and my grip and moved her hands to my chest as she tried to push me to make me roll beneath her.

I growled a refusal at her, liking the feeling of owning her like this way too much to give it up and hooking her knee into my grasp so that I could fuck her even deeper. I watched her moaning and writhing for me as I pounded into her harder and harder, her hands pawing at her breasts and squeezing her nipples, painting every inch of skin with mud.

But just as I was certain I had her at my mercy, she reached up again, pressing a hand to my shoulder and knocking me back with the shadows that lived inside her.

I groaned as the darkness in me responded keenly, filling my entire body with pleasure as the shadows within us merged and pulsed with a keen need to be joined and I somehow found myself on my back beneath her.

Darkness pooled all around us and I dug my fingers into Roxy’s hips as I drove my cock up into her, making her take me so deep that each thrust stole her breath.

The shadows were whispering something in my ear, making me ache to spill my own blood to intensify the pleasure they were feeding me as they beckoned me deeper into their hold.

But as my hooded gaze stayed fixed on the girl on top of me, I focused on fighting them back instead, knowing I could never need anything the way I needed her.

Roxy’s eyes flared with Phoenix fire and the shadows raced from her body, the flame that lived within me rising up too and helping me banish them as she tipped her head back in pleasure.

My grip on her hips tightened and I leaned up, meaning to flip her beneath me again. But her hands landed on my chest as she denied me so I sat up instead, kissing her hard and fucking her deep.

I found her clit between us and her fingers pushed into my hair as I rubbed it in time with my thrusts deep inside her until she was panting and screaming and coming on my cock so hard that I couldn’t help but come with her.

I thrust in firmly one last time, making her cry out as her tight pussy clamped down on me and I spilled my hot cum into her with the growl of her name on my lips.

The thunder that crashed overhead was full of rage and ominous predictions as bolt after bolt of lightning hit her air shield and she flinched as she fought to maintain it, dragging so much power from me that it made my breath hitch.

We stayed there, joined and panting, kissing softly and sweetly instead of hungrily and desperately and I ran my muddy hands up and down her spine, knowing this was the end of it. But I didn’t want her to go. I didn’t want her anywhere but in my arms, always.

‘I’m yours, Darius,’ she breathed, her voice barely audible over the storm. ‘And you’re mine. No matter what.’

I kissed her once more, not wanting this to end, not wanting her to go. It felt like it would break me all over again if I had to watch her walk away from me again and yet I knew that this was the most we were ever going to be able to have. It was so much more than I thought we could take, but it was nowhere near enough at the same time.

I kissed her swollen lips one last time and she ran her fingers over my jaw like she wanted to memorise the lines of it before finally pulling back and getting to her feet.

The moment our bodies were no longer connected, the flow of our shared magic was cut off. I groaned at the loss of her power within me while she gritted her teeth as she fought to maintain the air shield with her power alone.

I stood too, stumbling a little as the force of the earthquake rattled through the ground beneath us.

‘Can you hold the shield while we fly above the storm?’ I asked her, the lightning which was slamming into her magic making my skin prickle with discomfort.

‘I think so,’ she agreed, pulling my filthy tank back on before shifting into her full Phoenix form, her body covered in red and blue flames.

I shifted too, the Dragon in me bursting free of my fresh and I leapt into the air after Roxy as she took off towards the sky.

We flew hard and fast, lightning striking Roxy’s shield over and over again, making my heart pound with the idea of what might happen if one of those bolts managed to break through. But she just flew harder, driving a path into existence between the clouds until we emerged above them and we were suddenly bathed in sunlight.

The air shield surrounding us fell away and we exchanged one last look before she took off in the direction of the academy once more and I was left to watch her go with my heart breaking a little all over again.

But this time the fissure wasn’t so deep. Because despite the fact that the stars were determined to keep us apart, we’d managed to fight back and claim a slice of our own happiness right out from under their noses.

I just hoped they weren’t the types to hold a grudge. Because if they were, then I had the feeling that destiny would be turning against us now and fate would make sure it got the last laugh.

***

I strode out of Jupiter Hall at the end of the day, my mind full of my girl instead of the lessons and I almost didn’t notice the gold coin sat on the path in front of me until my foot was about to land on it.

Smoke coated my tongue as I looked down at it. That wasn’t just some random coin. It was a four hundred and thirty-eight year old solid gold aura from King Agrien’s reign.

I smirked as I bent down to retrieve the treasure, my inner Dragon chortling happily as I mentally added it to my treasure pile. Technically I probably should have made some effort to replace the original owner and return it, but fuck that. This coin was mine. Mine.

The other Heirs had already headed to The Orb and I started making my way there, keeping my pace casual as I tugged my Atlas from my pocket and sent Roxy a message. We hadn’t really gotten back to messaging each other like we used to yet, but after we’d denied the stars to be together, I was hoping we were back on track at last.

Darius:

What are you wearing?

Our unusual conversation starter made my heart race as I thought about how little she’d been wearing out in that field in a thunderstorm sent to tear us apart by the stars, and I almost didn’t notice the glint of gold at the edge of the path to my right. But the Dragon in me wasn’t going to miss treasure when it was up for the taking and my head snapped around almost of its own volition as I spotted another coin, this one even rarer – a ten aura piece from Queen Alanara’s reign.

I smirked as I picked it up, rubbing the gold between my thumb and forefinger and enjoying the little thrill of magic I gained from it.

Just as I was about to turn away from the path, a deep blue gemstone caught my eye further into the trees and I grinned as I headed over to claim it.

My Atlas pinged as I grabbed the sapphire from the ground and the Dragon in me tasted the hint of water magic lodged in the stone. This wasn’t any old sapphire – it was an aqua sapphire, pretty damn rare. And pretty damn mine.

I added the gemstone to the collection in my pocket and lifted my Atlas to replace Roxy’s message for me.

Roxy:

Just my uniform 😉

There was a photo attached and I swallowed thickly as I opened the image of her with her skirt removed and her school shirt unbuttoned, revealing her black underwear alongside her knee length school socks and the stilettos she’d taken to wearing to class recently. Her thigh was bare and she’d removed the concealment from her skin so that I could see her tattoo.

I wanted to go to her so badly that an actual groan escaped me and I just stared at the photo for way too long, wondering if I could convince her to fly out to some remote field somewhere again even though I knew that was a bad idea. If we kept riling up the stars and fighting against the fate they’d dished out for us, I was certain they’d strike back at us somehow. But I also knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop. And I was quietly hoping that the stars would eventually see that they owed us a second shot at our destiny if we kept defying them, even if that was dumb as shit.

Roxy:

You never did finish telling me that story about you and Max doing that photoshoot at the beach last year…

I sighed as I realised I had to rein my dick in and forget about the fact that she was dressed up like a wet dream right now. Besides, even if my cock wasn’t going to be getting any action from her, I had her attention and I planned on keeping it. If that meant catching her up on stories about me and Max getting mobbed by a group of horny women and having to use our magic to ski away into the ocean, then I was more than happy to do that.

But as I went to type out that message, a glint of silver caught my eye and I turned to look further into the trees, noticing a delicate necklace hanging there, swaying gently in the breeze.

It wasn’t normal to replace treasure scattered through the woods. With a frustrated grunt, I stowed my Atlas in my pocket and narrowed my eyes on the necklace before stalking forward to claim it.

If ever a trap had been laid for a Dragon, then this was definitely it. But as I lifted the one of a kind, platinum piece of jewellery from the branch, I couldn’t help but grin again. All mine.

Further into the trees, I noticed a golden broach cut with the shield of the Omega family who had died out around a hundred and ninety-six years ago. Nice. Mine.

I continued on, keeping my guard up as I stalked into the shadows and collected treasure after treasure, unable to stop myself from smirking as I thought about adding them to the chest at the foot of my bed when I got back to my dorm later.

I finally stepped into a clearing where a golden tiara sat on a rock. A cursory glance told me it was over three hundred years old, encrusted with air crystals and crafted with deft precision. Probably from King Hector’s reign. Stunning. Mine.

‘And with one fell swoop, the Acrux Heirs did perish!’ Geraldine cried as she dropped a concealment spell that had been hiding her to the side of the clearing and did some kind of weird flourish thing with her arms.

‘What are you playing at?’ I asked, noticing Xavier looking a little sheepish behind her as I resisted the urge to place the tiara on my head and added it to the collection in my pocket with the rest of my new treasure. She sure as fuck wasn’t getting any of that back.

‘You both fell prey to my lurings,’ she said smugly. ‘If I had been of wicked intent then likely you both would have perished.’

‘Not likely,’ I disagreed. ‘I was well aware I was walking into a trap and I was more than prepared to fight off whoever the fuck thought they could take me on. You forget I’m one of the most powerful Fae in the kingdom, Grus.’

‘Second,’ she said haughtily.

‘What?’ I questioned.

‘One of the second most powerful Fae in the kingdom. Although now I’m thinking on that, I wonder if you’re third really as my ladies jointly claim two places at the top.’ She tipped her head up towards the sky and placed a finger on her lips as she pondered on that and I arched an eyebrow at her.

‘We disagree on that little nugget of shit, and you well know it. When the Vegas manage to put me on my ass and stand over me in victory, I might consider your point valid. But seeing as that day is unlikely to ever come, I’ll sleep happy at night knowing the Heirs and I outrank them.’

Geraldine burst into a fit of laughter, doubling over and clutching her stomach as Xavier raised his eyebrow at her like he was wondering if she was even sane and I folded my arms as I waited her out. It took a long time.

When she finally straightened again, all signs of mirth had fallen from her face and she looked fierce enough to shift into her Cerberus form and try to rip my head off.

‘The day fast approaches, Master Lizard. Beware the bell that tolls,’ she said seriously, glaring at me.

‘What?’ Xavier asked. ‘Is that a prediction or something?’

‘No, fine steed, I am not blessed with The Sight, but I do have a river of faith and a mountain of belief in my ladies. Now, quit lollygaging and let us set off.’ Geraldine took off into the trees and I arched a brow at her retreating back.

‘Where the fuck do you think you’re taking us?’ I asked.

‘I assumed you wished to visit your mother,’ she called back without bothering to look at us again and I exchanged a more excited look with Xavier before taking off into the trees after her.

‘Really?’ Xavier asked, hurrying to catch up to Geraldine and making me quicken my pace too.

‘Of course. My dearest Papa is expecting us, and he has been making sure she is quite well looked after during her stay at our abode. I am certain you will be most pleased to see how well she is doing,’ Geraldine explained and I really hoped that was true, because our mom deserved the chance to be happy after so many years chained to that monster she’d been married to.

We kept pace with Geraldine as she headed through the trees towards the gap in the fence and I nudged my brother to get his attention.

‘What did she lure you into the trees with?’ I asked him, knowing his instincts wouldn’t have made him follow treasure the way I had.

‘Oh, erm.’ Xavier blushed a little and I was enough of a dick not to let him off the hook, waiting for the silence to stretch out before he admitted the truth. ‘Carrots.’

I snorted a laugh and he did too, pulling a juicy orange carrot from his pocket and grinning as he took a large bite from it.

When we made it beyond the fence, Geraldine took some stardust from her pocket and swept us through the heavens to land outside her family’s property. It was a huge white manor house set amongst a garden filled with every kind of tree and shrub imaginable, the clear use of expert earth magic making flowers bloom even though it was winter so the whole place was bursting with colour and life.

Geraldine led us through the gate, using her magical signature to open it and explaining that they’d given the staff the evening off to hide our visit as we walked up the gravel drive.

I found myself filled with anticipation as we drew closer to the place our mom had been hiding, wishing I could have come sooner and trying not to focus on all the horrendous shit she’d been through.

We entered the house and I was surprised to replace that despite its huge size, the place was homely and cosy, full of warm features and the scent of freshly baked bread in the air. I knew Hamish Grus had been alone since Geraldine’s mother had died years ago so I was guessing that he had kitchen staff whipping up the delicious smelling food and I was hoping we would be fed while we were here.

Geraldine kicked her shoes off and gave us a pointed look which made us follow her lead before delving into the depths of the house down a narrow corridor.

The smell of cooking food grew stronger the further we went and the sound of laughter drew a smile to my lips. This place wasn’t just a house like the one we’d grown up in – it was an honest to fuck home. And I found I really liked the idea of my mom being here.

‘Don’t tease me, Kitty,’ Hamish Grus’s rumbling voice carried to us from beyond the door at the end of the hall. ‘You have me drooling over here and I’m going to need a taste.’

I wrinkled my nose, wondering if Geraldine’s dad was fucking one of his staff then wondering why the fuck Geraldine was still walking right towards the door where the sound was coming from.

‘You’ll spoil the anticipation,’ Mom’s voice came next and my frown deepened.

‘You know I can’t wait, I am such an impatient porcupine,’ Hamish groaned.

‘Open your mouth then,’ Mom said with a soft laugh and I growled, shouldering past Geraldine with every intention to rip her father’s head off. My mom had come here to escape lecherous old men, not fall prey to another one.

I threw the door open ahead of me, snarling loudly just as my gaze fell on my mom where she stood beside the oven and Hamish Grus who was sitting in a chair next to a wooden dining table laid out for five. He was a big man, thick with muscle with a shining bald head, a black handlebar moustache and bushy mutton chops which were certainly a choice. Though somehow he managed to pull the look off with an air of ‘I don’t give a fuck’.

He was leaning back in his chair and had his mouth open and Mom tossed him a bite of bread which he caught between his teeth like a dog, grinning widely as he chewed.

While I tried to figure out what the fuck I was witnessing, Mom turned to look at me with a squeal of excitement and darted across the room to pull me into a hug.

I remembered a beat too late to hug her back, smiling as she squeezed me tight and trying to adjust to the difference in her since she’d been freed from Father’s control. My chest tightened at the thought of all of the years we’d missed out on. All of the love I’d been lacking while he kept her from me and my heart ached at the thought of it.

Xavier appeared beside me and she released me to hug him next before falling into a tirade of ‘look how big you both are’, ‘oh and so muscular too’, ‘my tiny babies are bigger than me now’, ‘oh look how perfectly you shimmer in the light, Xavier’, and so on. We just drank it in, grinning at her and letting her fuss and fucking loving it even while we pretended to groan and downplay her compliments.

She looked good. Damn good. Her complexion was richer, her eyes bright and full of life and her long, dark hair spilled down her back in waves. I’d never seen her looking like anything aside from the plastic perfection Father expected and it only made me realise how little we’d gotten the chance to know the woman she truly was. She was at home here, wearing a green apron over a sweater dress with a pair of fluffy socks on her feet and a smile bigger than I’d ever seen on her.

While we stole her attention, Hamish and Geraldine set to work dishing out a huge pot of stew with bread rolls, butter and bottles of wine with a homemade label which said they were made from the Gobblesome Grus Grapes which I was guessing indicated home brewed.

Mom ushered us to sit down at the round wooden table and we all filled our own plates, not a servant in sight. And from the easy way Hamish handled himself in the kitchen, I got the impression that that was the way it was here. It clearly wasn’t like he lacked the funds for staff, but he seemed content to keep his home for his family and I found I really liked that.

‘Thank you for this glorious and most splendiferous meal, Kitty Cat,’ Hamish said, smiling warmly at my mom as she took a seat beside him and beamed proudly.

‘You know I was only able to cook it because you taught me, Hammy,’ she teased, smacking his arm playfully and batting her eyelashes before turning to watch me and Xavier take a bite of our food.

It was nothing like the pretentious shit that we always ate with Father. This meal was warm and wholesome and full of love and I grinned in appreciation across the table at my mom. ‘This is amazing,’ I told her honestly.

‘Freaking perfect,’ Xavier agreed and she beamed before tucking into her own food.

We stayed there throughout the evening, demolishing our meals and listening to all the fun things Mom and ‘Hammy’ had been getting up to since she’d come to stay with him.

They’d been working to build up a list of Fae who were unhappy with Father’s rule which Hamish kept referring to as ‘la rebellion’ without explaining his need to add the ‘la’.

Mom was actually really helpful as far as figuring out who my father’s enemies were because she’d spent years by his side, attending events with him and seeing the relationships he had with many powerful Fae. Father liked to listen to the sound of his own voice, so he’d also vented to her about Fae he didn’t like and given her plenty of ammunition to use against him when Hamish approached them now.

They were being careful to keep my mom’s involvement out of everything, not letting anyone know she was alive aside from him and I found myself really warming to this man who owed us absolutely nothing and yet had taken her in when she needed help without so much as a question over her loyalty.

The rebels had been creating networks across the kingdom to help hide the persecuted Orders and get them to safety and they even had the beginnings of some plans to break the Tiberian Rats my father had imprisoned in his Nebular Inquisition Centres free.

Geraldine gushed about the A.S.S. and how they’d been secretly meeting up still and between the two of them it sounded like there was a strong rebellion growing out of sight, ready to come and stand against my father as soon as we were ready to strike. I mean, yeah, they intended to back the Vegas for the throne, but they were also happy with the idea of me and the other Heirs continuing on as Councillors. They’d just have to accept the fact that the Vegas wouldn’t actually be wearing any crowns when the time came for the kingdom’s new rulers to ascend. Because to claim the throne they’d have to prove they were stronger than us and I had trouble believing that day would ever come to pass.

Aside from their work against my father, Mom had thrown herself into being domesticated. She was learning to cook and bake and spending time with Hamish while they worked on honing their earth magic – hence all the beautiful plants everywhere. In short, she was happy. And the knowledge of that soothed the pain and heartache in my soul in a way I hadn’t even realised I’d been needing.

She gushed about getting to choose what time she woke up in the mornings and picking her own clothes and the evening she’d spent reading a book just because she felt like it, and my heart ached for the life she’d been trapped in. But here she was finally free, and it felt so damn good to just have something to be happy about for once that I bathed in it for the entire evening, never wanting to leave this little place of contentment.

The Gruses might have been pretty damn weird at times, but they were seriously good people and I owed them a debt that I would never be able to pay back. So I’d have to settle for killing my father and making sure this bubble of peace was able to extend beyond these walls one day.