Zodiac Academy 8: Sorrow and Starlight
Sorrow and Starlight: Chapter 58

Iwas standing in my Order form in a glass tank just big enough to surround me, with my head poking out of a hole at one end of it. The tank was full of a light pink potion that had expanded overnight into a squishy solution that resembled marshmallow. I felt like I was floating in a cloud, my skin buzzing where the potion soaked into it. Supposedly, this was meant to help the healing process when it was time to reattach my wings, but after the first few failed attempts using different methods, my hope was beginning to fade.

My wings hung in a harness from the ceiling, a magical wind making them rise and fall in a flapping motion, the bony, severed edge of them covered in the same gloopy stuff I was bathing in. The room was fairly large, with a few worktables set around in the corners, the place part of the plain wooden building made for the healers to use.

Tyler and Sofia were sleeping on the floor in a bed of mossy blankets, naked after a night in the thrall of Venus and the cold moon. They’d wanted to break me out of here to join them, and I’d been seriously tempted too, but I hadn’t fucked either of them since the time I’d failed to finish. I liked to watch them together, that was it, seeing their passion for one another giving me relief in a different sort of way.

I wasn’t going to be their disappointing Dom, and until I was sure I had my head straight enough to fuck them right, I wasn’t going to be tempted their way again. I needed them like the earth needed to turn, but I also needed to be a good enough stallion, worthy of leading our herd. And I hadn’t felt like that since the battle. It wasn’t just losing my wings, or even Darius or my mom, I’d lost something else out there on that field of destruction. Something intrinsic which had abandoned me, leaving me worthless without it. My confidence perhaps, or something deeper. A piece of me that couldn’t be reforged.

“Ah, good morning, Mr Acrux.” The healer, Iris Ganderfield, stepped into the room, her auburn hair unbrushed and a couple of leaves sticking out of it. One of her tits had escaped the confines of her tank top, revealing a shiny nipple tassel with a scorpion tail on it, the welts around her tit showing how many times it had stung her.

I cleared my horsey throat, my eyes darting to the thing then to anywhere else.

“Oh, by the moon!” Iris cried, waking Tyler and Sofia up before she wheeled around to cover herself and yanked the thing off, tossing it in a trash can.

Iris turned back to me, her cheeks flushed red. “Sorry about that, things got a little wild last night. Shall we get started?”

I nodded and Tyler and Sofia slipped out of the room to get dressed while Iris used her water magic to rinse away the potion covering me, leaving my skin tingling all over. When she was done and the potion had swirled away down the drain by my hooves, she opened a door in the front of the tank and I trotted out, looking to her expectantly.

“Okay, like we did before, Mr Acrux. I’m going to cut into your shoulder blades and attempt to reattach the wings. I’ll keep the area numb, so you won’t feel it.”

I snorted in agreement, and she moved onto a stepladder to one side of me while lowering the wings with a levitation spell. “Here we are now, relax please.”

I did as she said, her fingers trailing over my shoulder blades, numbing the whole area before she got to work.

I shut my eyes, thinking of the sky, picturing myself soaring through the clouds again. I ached for it with all my being, and I focused on the Pegasus constellation, naming the stars within it and making a wish on each one of them to grant this reality to me.

By the time Iris was done, Tyler and Sofia had returned, fully dressed and looking hopeful.

Sofia moved to brush her hand up and down my nose. “Looking good,” she said encouragingly.

“They’re a bit singed,” Tyler murmured, and I stamped my foot in annoyance. “But the dead feathers will fall out and you’ll grow new ones,” he added with a grin, slapping me on the shoulder.

“Okay, I’m going to lift the numbness spell now, Mr Acrux,” Iris said. “Tell me if you can feel your wings.”

I held my breath and sensed Sofia doing the same, her eyes unblinking as she fixed them on my feathers, and my heart squeezed at seeing how much she wanted this for me. I nuzzled her face, telling her with my gaze that it was okay if it didn’t work. That we had to be prepared. But she released a horsey snort that said she wasn’t allowing me to think negatively right now. So I did as my beautiful Sub willed and tugged on the final ribbons of hope in my chest, my attention moving to my shoulder blades where my wings were now fused back to the bone, still supported by the harness that hung from the ceiling.

“Easy now, how’s that?” Iris asked as she withdrew her magic from me, the numbness evaporating.

My heart galloped as I flexed my shoulders, feeling for my wings, and they moved in response, sensation starting to flow down the length of them. It was slow, and they felt seriously heavy as I tried to move them again, but they were really there.

I neighed with the thrill of reuniting with them, bobbing my head excitedly, and Sofia squealed, throwing her arms around my neck while Tyler let out a whoop of joy.

“If the procedure has been successful, full sensation should return within the hour. If you want to quicken it up, I suggest you head outside and start practising your wing movements. Flight will be precarious at first, so your Subs are best to go with you, and ideally you should place an air Elemental on the ground ready to catch you if they fail.”

I whinnied, letting myself believe this had actually worked at last and rearing up in elation.

“Do not shift back into your Fae form until you’ve had a successful flight today, Mr Acrux,” Iris warned. “You must make sure they are fully reanimated first, or you could risk tearing them straight off again when you shift.”

I snorted my agreement of that, folding my wings carefully against my back and trotting towards the door. Sofia ran to open it, and I cantered out of the building with her and Tyler on either side of me, desperate to flex my wings and ready myself for flight.

I galloped to the top of the hill ahead of me, stretching my wings wide, the weight of them easing as my muscles grew accustomed to them again and sensation returned even more.

“Well dingle my dongle.” Washer sprang up from a patch of long grass to my left in a tiny Speedo with three very naked, very satisfised-looking Fae left cuddling each other in the fronds. “Your mighty wings have been restored!”

“He needs some time to prepare for a flight,” Tyler said in a tone that clearly meant fuck off.

“Well say no more, my boy,” Washer said, moving in front of me, not getting the message. “Follow my arm movements with your wings, young Xavier. I am an expert in the bendings of the body. A little flexing and jangling should get them in shipshape order.”

He began squatting, stretching his arms either side of him and flapping them like a bird with every squat he did. “Hup, then down. Hup, then down.”

He was drawing the attention of a bunch of rebels at the bottom of the hill and a crowd began to form as they noticed my wings were back in place.

“Go on, Xavier!” a young girl called to me, her eyes bright as her mom swept her into her arms so she could see better.

A cheer went up and my cheeks warmed at the attention, my gaze moving back to Washer. Well, it didn’t look like they were going anywhere. So…fuck it.

I started flapping my wings, mimicking Washer’s movements and Sofia and Tyler gave in, joining him in the grass, doing the squats and wing flaps, sharing stupid grins.

I whinnied a laugh at them, glitter tumbling from my mane and my wings flashing in the sunlight.

An oooh broke out from the crowd, their cheers growing louder, more and more people showing up to join in. This was not how I’d planned for this to go. If my wings failed me when I took off, I was gonna go tail over tit down that hill and they’d all be there to watch. And considering my track record, that was the far more likely scenario here than me soaring majestically overhead into the sky.

Tyler whipped out his Atlas, aiming it at me and starting to record. “Today, Xavier Acrux has had his wings restored after they were viciously torn from his back by his cruel father, the asshole king. Lame Lionel displayed them on his wall like a trophy and Xavier seized them back in a daring act. Prepare for your mind to be blown, because I’ll be sharing his memories from that wild night in the next article of The Daily Solaria. Long live the Vega Queens!” He shot me a thumbs up and I dragged my front hoof across the grass, readying to take off, adrenaline thumping through me.

“I’ve got you if you fall, bro!” Seth Capella pushed his way to the front of the crowd, and I spotted Max and Geraldine muscling their way through too.

“Oh, my dear Pego-brother!” Geraldine squealed. “Fly to the clouds and into the yonder. Leave a merry trail of colour in the sky and neigh so loud it stirs your ancestors beyond the Veil.” She wiped a tear from her eye, and I lifted my chin, my chest expanding at all the encouragement.

“You can do it,” Sofia whispered, moving forward to kiss my nose. “I believe in you.” She smiled then stepped aside, and nerves warred inside me as I prepared to try.

Please, please, please don’t let me make an ass of myself.

The ex-Councillors appeared among the masses and Caleb too, plus Athena, Hadley and Grayson. If this was about to go tits-up, then nearly everyone I knew was going to be here to witness it. The stars were probably giggling their shiny asses off, setting me up to make an idiot of myself again. But I couldn’t back down now.

Antonia Capella began howling and the noise was echoed by her pack, Seth baying loudly and all manner of noise carried up from the crowd, roars, snorts, grunts and cheers clamouring together.

“Yah!” Washer cried, slapping me on the rump and I whinnied in alarm, taking off at speed down the hill.

Fuck, fuck, fuck a duck.

Don’t mess this up.

Don’t fall down.

Don’t embarrass yourself.

Come on, this is your moment.

I flapped my wings, the feel of them responding drawing a furious, delighted neigh from my throat. The wind swept under them, offering to scoop me up into its embrace and fear dashed my heart, but I wouldn’t let it have me. I placed my fate in the hands of whatever star was watching over me this morning and let them have me, kicking off the ground and angling my face towards the distant heat of the winter sun.

My stomach free fell, but I didn’t. My wings flapped and I climbed, impossibly climbed, my hooves kicking, my tail swishing, my body rising and rising.

My wings flexed once more, fully responding to my will and I neighed wildly, happiness pouring through me like purest sunlight. I made it to the clouds, then tucked my wings and spun, letting myself plummet towards the earth where the crowd was hollering, and Tyler was recording my every move.

Seth raised his hands, ready to catch me with air, but my wings snapped out and I caught myself, my hooves just grazing over the heads of the crowd and their whoops lighting me up inside.

I began to glow, all of me, head to foot sparkling like I was made of freaking starlight, and Sofia raced down the hill, stripping off her clothes as she went, tears of delight splashing down her cheeks before she shifted and took off, racing to meet me in the sky.

Tyler jumped up and down and Washer tugged him into a hug, plastering Tyler’s face to his waxed chest for a second before releasing him and Tyler stumbled, falling onto his ass in his haste to escape.

I whinnied a laugh, tucking my wings and wheeling over and under Sofia, riding the wind while she chased me in circles.

Tyler tossed his phone down, stripping out of his own clothes and leaping forward, shifting into his beautiful silver stallion form and flying up to meet us. Our noses touched and the three of us flew for the clouds above, my heart feeling ten times its normal size as I got to fly again.

We danced this way and that, spiralling and free diving, leaving trails of glitter behind us and creating a display of light and colour for the onlookers below. As I rose towards a swathe of fluffy clouds and streamed through them, my magic began to recharge and I whinnied in sheer joy, that noise echoing out through the sky around me.

The clouds shifted and the heavy beating of huge wings sounded, making me turn towards it instinctively, my ears twitching with the familiarity of that noise. My heart lurched and a glint of gold made me fly that way, seeking out my brother in the clouds, breathing in the scent of smoke on the air, certain he was here. Maybe not in any corporeal way, but the ghost of him was present, I could sense him everywhere.

I released a neigh, calling out to him, and I could have sworn a Dragon’s roar sounded somewhere far, far away, in another realm I could never reach until my day of reckoning came upon me. But as painful as it was to feel him again, it made me happy too, sharing in this moment with him.

When I finally landed, breathless and full of warmth, I found Athena and Grayson running towards me, their arms wrapping around my neck.

“I’m so happy for you, dude,” Grayson said, nuzzling my shoulder.

Athena stepped back, patting the soft space between my eyes and smiling widely at me. Hadley shot to her side and she glanced at him, some secret passing between them that didn’t seem like any kind of secret at all, especially as their hands grazed and their fingers didn’t part.

“Look at you,” Hadley said with a slanted grin. “The Dom of all Doms.”

Melinda Altair slipped past him with Antonia and Tiberius close on her heels, Caleb’s mother looking close to tears as she stroked her fingers over my nose. “Your mom would be so proud of you.”

My throat closed up and a little whinny left me as she moved in to embrace me, laying a kiss by my ear. “We’re all here for you, Xavier. Every Altair is your family now. Okay? If you ever need anything, you only have to ask.” She stepped back, and I found Antonia gazing at me with a tinge of sadness in her otherwise proud gaze.

“Catalina and Darius are watching you now, I know it,” she said, and I released a soft noise of sadness, sensing she was right. I could still feel Darius somewhere close, eyes bright and his smile set on me, and my mother’s presence joined him too, just for a moment, the touch of her hand grazing my cheek. But they weren’t really here. Not in the way I needed them to be.

The crowd started moving forward, congratulating me one at a time, some of them touching my wings and murmuring prayers to the stars like I was some sort of gifted creature whose wings could bless them now. And as weird as that was, I let the rebels take some hope from me, my own reserves overflowing for once. Because maybe they were right. Fate was throwing me a bone, now I just needed to convince the stars to give me the whole skeleton.

Tyler and Sofia appeared beside me in their Fae form, pulling on their clothes and Sofia held out some sweatpants for me in offering.

“Do you feel ready to try and shift?” she asked, and I hesitated before bobbing my head.

I focused on the shift, letting it run over me all at once, my heart hammering uncertainly. It was natural though, and as I let my Order fall away, my wings easily went with it.

I released a breath of relief as another cheer rose from the crowd, a man in the back crying, “Golly! Look at that dazzling dongle!” as he spotted my dick piercings, and I took the sweatpants from Sofia’s hand and tugged them on.

The crowd began to disperse, but Seth ran over to join us, a touch of darkness under his eyes telling me he didn’t get much sleep.

“Hey,” he said as he arrived, placing a hand on my shoulder before taking hold of Tyler’s shoulder too and nodding to Sofia. “I need to talk to you all in private. I have a secret in my pocket you all need to see.”

“Ew, are you hitting on us?” Sofia wrinkled her nose.

“Stars, no,” Seth balked. “I’m in love with-” he half choked on those words. “The moon.”

Well, that checked out.

“Come on.” He jerked his chin in the direction of R.U.M.P. Castle. “Get moving.”

He wouldn’t answer a single question about whatever secret was hidden in his pocket as we walked to the castle, despite me casting a silencing bubble and assuring him no one would overhear us.

“This is top secret,” he kept saying. “Very important. The most important task ever, some might say.”

We finally made it to our room, and I used my magical signature to open the door, leading the others inside.

“So what is it, dude?” Tyler asked Seth, but the Wolf went running across the room, yanking the curtains shut and turning the lights down until they were almost off entirely.

“What are you doing?” Sofia asked in confusion as Seth went running back past her to the door, checking it was locked three times before binding it shut with vines, along with a wall of air.

“I think he’s being dramatic,” I said with a horsey snort of amusement.

Seth sprang up onto the bed, pushing a hand into his pocket and beckoning us closer.

“Are we absolutely, one hundred percent sure he isn’t about to get his dick out?” Sofia whispered to me.

“With Seth, we can never be a hundred percent sure,” I admitted. “But I’m like eighty percent convinced.”

Seth took his hand from his pocket, his fist tight around something and he cast a Faelight above us, turning the colour of it purple so an eerie glow filled the room.

“Xavier Acrux, Tyler Corbin, and Sofia Cygnus,” Seth said mysteriously, waving his free hand above his fist like he was about to do a magic trick. “I’m about to set you a task that could change the fate of this war. It’s the most important thing you’ll ever do. In fact, once it’s done, you may never truly feel satisfied by anything in life again. Even each other.”

“Dude,” Tyler laughed, and Seth reached down, pinching his cheeks so Tyler’s lips pursed out awkwardly.

“I’m not your dude. I’m the master of fate, the weaver of destiny,” he breathed. “What’s about to happen in this room will go down in history forever.”

“He’s definitely about to get his dick out,” Sofia whispered, and another snort escaped me.

“Silence, mare!” Seth crowed, releasing Tyler, and pointing a finger at Sofia. “Don’t cheapen this moment with your dick mutterings.”

My amusement broke into an all-out neigh of a laugh and Seth flicked his hand, bringing a bagel to him on a gust of air from the basket Geraldine had left for us this morning. He slapped me with it, and I opened my mouth to berate him, but he shoved the bagel into it to silence me. Damn, that bagel tasted buttery. Oooh, and had she added some grated carrot?

“You’re all not taking this seriously enough. I want your most serious faces on, or I’m not going to show you what’s been hiding in my pants waiting for you.”

Sofia shot me a look that told me she was still convinced Seth was about to get his cock out in some weird prank, but I shook my head. He wasn’t gonna come in here and expose himself to his dead best friend’s little brother…right?

I swallowed a piece of the bagel and took the rest of it from my mouth as Seth eyed our expressions.

“Seriouser,” Seth demanded, twirling a finger so more bagels came flying at us, bouncing off our heads as we fought to fix darker and darker expressions on our faces. I was playing along out of sheer curiosity at this point, and I was pretty sure the others were too.

“Okay, that’ll do,” Seth said at last, then held his fist closer to us. “Behold…a gift from Darion.”

“Who’s Darion?” I breathed and Seth stood upright, jerking his fist away from us again with a huff.

“By the moon, you don’t even know anything, do you? Darion. As in Darcy and Orion. Dar-ion. It’s their couple name. Like you guys would be…Xavylia. And Tory and Darius are Torius-” His expression grew tight and he barrelled on. “Geraldine and Max are Maxaldine. And well, obviously we’re not a couple and never would be or anything, but just for shits and giggles as we’re the only ones left out, Caleb and I would be Saleb. Everyone caught up now?” he asked in frustration, and we nodded as one.

He thrust out his fist, his face becoming tense again and a brooding look falling over him.

“Are you pouting?” Sofia teased and Seth jerked his fist back once more, making Tyler groan impatiently.

“I’m not pouting. I’m just intense and interesting, Sofia,” Seth said. “I’m making the moment more mystical.”

“Can we just see what you’ve got, man?” I pressed.

“You’re ruining the magic of it all,” Seth complained. “Don’t interrupt me this time.”

We fell quiet in agreement, all of us clearly wanting this to be over so we could just see whatever the hell it was he was hiding.

“I present to you, the most enchanting, world-altering thing you’ve ever seen,” Seth began.

Oh shit, maybe he was going to get his dick out.

“Behold! The Ring of Doom.” He opened his hand, revealing a plain circle of silver metal in the centre of his palm, looking unassuming and altogether uninteresting.

“That’s it?” I frowned and Sofia reached out to prod it, but it didn’t do anything at her touch.

Seth snatched it away again, shaking his head. “You don’t understand the magnitude of this. I put it on this morning while I was in the shower, and you have no idea – no ideeea – what’s in it.”

“That’s because you haven’t told us,” Tyler said with a snigger.

“You!” Seth rounded on him, pointing a finger right in Tyler’s face. “You will be known from this day forward as the Herald of the Truth. You’re gonna need robes and a staff and some sort of fancy hat. It’s probably best you grow a beard and make sure that beard is grey and long enough to tuck into your belt. And you’ll tell the whole world about the brave and handsome Werewolf who brought you this ring, half dead from crawling his way across the land on broken legs with only one arm-”

“I thought I was the Herald of the Truth, so why would I lie?” Tyler folded his arms.

“We can work out the details later.” Seth waved a hand. “Here.” He took hold of Tyler’s hand, jumping down from the bed and pushing the ring into it. “Put it on. It’s a memory loop belonging to Francesca Sky.”

“Orion’s FIB girlfriend?” I asked, vaguely remembering her.

“She wasn’t his girlfriend, Xavier. She was his BFF BJ buddy.” He flashed me a peace sign, like that meant anything, then carried on. “Anyway, sadly, she died. Lionel murdered her real bad, but she got all these memories while she was in the FIB.” His face fell. “It’s awful. Fucking blood-chilling, actually. But the world needs to see it. She got into Lionel’s head and saw so much of what he’s been planning all these years. She saw all the things he wants to hide from the world, and it’s right here.”

My jaw dropped, realising Seth hadn’t been kidding at all. This was serious. Something that could really change the whole fate of the war.

“Oh my stars,” Tyler exhaled, turning the ring over in his hand.

Seth cupped his cheek, making him look at him. “Get it all out there. Let the world see who he really is, Tyler.”

Tyler nodded, his eyes gleaming and a hopeful smile lifting his lips. “I’m on it. I’ll get the memories uploaded to my Atlas straight away.”

Seth gathered us all into a group hug and a whinny left me that was full of rebellion, the sound echoed by my Subs while the Wolf howled.

As we fell quiet, Seth grinned demonically from ear to ear, looking between us all. “Let’s shove this grenade up the false king’s ass and pull the pin.”

Terrifying evidence comes to light after heroic FIB Agent is brutally murdered by Lionel Acrux.

The days of speculation are over. The truth will out, and that time has come. The Daily Solaria recently came into possession of a memory loop belonging to the talented FIB agent Francesca Sky after she was killed by the false king. A picture of daring and courage like no other is being painted of Sky after memories were uncovered in a ring she used to store them, wielding the abilities of her Cyclops Order during her time in servitude to the king.

Not only did Sky save over seventy-eight Fae from being sent to the Nebular Inquisition Centres, she was able to uncover the secrets hidden beyond the walls of said centres. And it is not for the faint of heart – click here to watch the memories of the centres Sky visited during the king’s reign.

Beyond this, shocking revelations have come to light within memories stolen from the king himself. In Sky’s final moments, she used her Cyclops gifts to break into his mind and seek out the truth for all to see…

The depths of Lionel Acrux’s plotting has known no bounds for many years, and the truth I am about to reveal to you will rewrite history itself.

In chilling moments seen through Lionel Acrux’s eyes, countless memories can be watched here of him using an outlawed magic called Dark Coercion upon the Savage King himself, Hail Vega. It seems, the Savage King was not savage at all, but a victim of Lionel Acrux’s manipulation, abusing dark magic to bind people to his will. Hail Vega was not the first victim of the false king, and he was by no means the last either. The memories contained in Lionel’s mind have unlocked new truths that will rattle the foundations of his reign.

It has become clear that Lionel was responsible for his older brother Radcliff’s death, an Heir who was destined for greatness and was stolen away in a callous act of unFae cowardice. In a harrowing memory seen here, Lionel trapped a norian wasp against Radcliff’s chest during his sleep and held it there, restraining his brother with air magic until he succumbed to the lethal effects of its sting.

It was Lionel’s first murder, but not his last. More of his brutality can be viewed here, and a list of his victims can be found here, with deepest condolences going to the families of his victims – we hope that at least some peace can be found in knowing the truth. Please be advised that some of these memories are difficult to watch, and have remained uncensored to ensure nothing of the truth is left unexposed.

It must be mentioned, that the memory loop was able to come into our possession thanks to two brave souls who are currently prisoners of the false king himself. Memories from Sky show both Darcy Vega and her Elysian Mate, Lance Orion, trapped in a cage of night iron in the throne room at the Palace of Souls, the haunted look in their eyes telling of what they have suffered through during their incarceration. We pray to the stars that they remain safe, and will soon replace a way free of the false king’s captivity.

With thousands of memories to work through, the team at The Daily Solaria will likely discover more secrets yet. And you will of course be the first to know about them. We apologise for any distress this article may cause, but it is our duty to expose the truth, and we will not rest until we see the false king fall.

It’s time to rise, Solaria. For the good of our kingdom.

Long Live the Vega Queens.

-Tyler Corbin