Zodiac Academy 8: Sorrow and Starlight
Sorrow and Starlight: Chapter 7

The ground circled like a treadmill beneath my feet, forcing me to run until my lungs felt ready to rip open. I was bound to the altar of black stone outside the Acrux Manor, the moonlight burning down on my back, recharging my magic before it was swiftly sucked out of me again by the rift. The chains of shadow that dragged at my power made my head spin with weakness, and my legs ached with the exertion of running without rest.

The dark and churning portal of the rift in front of me was like a gateway to hell, calling me to a place where I was sure my essence would be torn clean from my body. The pull of countless hungry souls within that void were begging to claim me, and their call was so damn tempting, it was nearly impossible to resist.

The rift seemed to suck more violently at my power and my eyes darkened, my feet stumbling heavily.

“Seth, hold on,” my mom called to me, and I blinked hard to clear my vision, replaceing her across the altar tethered alongside the other Councillors. “Stay strong. You’re an Alpha.”

I swallowed the sharp, jagged thing in my throat and nodded to her, not wanting to show weakness as my family looked to me. They needed me to be strong, and I could do anything for my pack. I straightened my spine and ran on, ignoring the pain and locking away any signs of vulnerability deep down in that iron chest within me. The place I’d only ever let a few people see the inside of.

Caleb was on my left, kneeling on the ground as he fed from a man’s neck, the hunger in him so keen his eyes were almost red with it. The man began to fall still, his features pale and his efforts to fight back fading.

“Cal!” I called to him as he came close to killing the Fae in his grasp, his fingers biting into his victim’s shoulders and his grip unyielding. The nameless man was going limp, his eyes beginning to flutter shut while Caleb was still lost to the madness of the bloodlust, the rift making him weak to the bane of his Order.

“Caleb!” I bellowed louder, stumbling on the shifting ground as I tried to get to him, but the chains that shackled me to the stone altar kept me from stepping off of the enchanted treadmill.

Caleb looked up, his eyes replaceing mine as blood dripped from his mouth and some clarity finally awakened in the depths of his blazing blue eyes.

“Seth,” he said, his voice rough and hard. He looked like he wanted to reach out to me, panic etched into his features as he saw the pain in my movements. But we couldn’t save each other any more than we could save ourselves.

The Nymphs moved in, dragging the half-conscious man away from him as the rift latched onto Caleb’s new power and began to drain it as fast as he had claimed it. His brow pinched as the bloodlust rushed in once more, trying to steal away his mind and provoke the beast in him.

“Stay with me,” I pleaded, knowing I couldn’t do this without him. This, life, anything.

“I’m trying,” he swore, his shoulders trembling as his muscles tightened and he struggled to hold onto his power. The rift was merciless, taking everything from us, and I didn’t know how much longer we could last like this.

“Mom,” Caleb rasped in concern, and I looked to Melinda, but she was in her own hell, feeding from another victim while Caleb’s younger brother Hadley fed on them too.

Sweat raced down my back and my muscles roared in protest as I continued to run, and the only thing that gave me any strength at all was needing to survive this for the people I loved.

Max’s features were twisted in anguish, his power fuelled by the fear and panic coiling through the air like poisonous gas. My brother was fighting against the shadows which stole away his magic, but it was no good. Opposite me, my mom, Athena and Grayson were all being fed on by the rift, and the exhaustion in their expressions left me almost barren of hope.

My dad and younger siblings were nowhere to be seen, but I knew they were here, locked away somewhere, the threat of them being next forcing all of us to keep going, keep fighting, but every second that passed only made it harder to do so.

How long could we all go on like this for? There was no way we could survive it forever.

I tried to seek out that place in me which was always full of light. Time and again, I could bring levity to the darkest of situations, but now…I couldn’t replace anything but a dying ember that had no fuel left to stoke it.

“Cal,” I panted as he gazed up at me through hooded eyes, his breaths falling heavily from his chest. “I don’t see a way out of this one.”

“We always get out,” he rasped, though his words were tinted with doubt. Oh man, I’d fucked up big time when it came to him. Was this really how we went out of the world? I was meant to have eternity to figure shit out with him, but now it felt like there was a ticking clock above my head and we were down to our final seconds.

“What if we don’t this time?” I voiced my deepest terror and his throat bobbed as another Fae was dragged towards him, the girl kicking and fighting the strength of the Nymphs, but it was a losing battle.

Caleb’s eyes trailed to her, the need for more blood making his jaw tick and his shoulders tighten. He wouldn’t be able to resist it once they cut her, no matter how strong he was; Vampires were always a slave to this one thing in the end.

I knew now might be my last chance to say everything I’d been holding back on saying to Caleb, but between the cries for help, the terror sizzling through the atmosphere and the hopelessness that was descending on us all like a dark cloud, I couldn’t form the words I needed. I didn’t want his final memory of me to be some selfish declaration. I wanted him to think of every good moment we’d shared and all the life we’d lived together, even if it wasn’t enough. Even if all our plans and dreams for the future died here and now with us, at least we had the good times. At least we had years of laughter and joy in between all the pressures we’d faced together. Me, him, Max and Darius. It had always been the four of us, and it would be the same when we ended up beyond the Veil.

“We always went on adventures together,” I gritted out as I fought to keep breathing, though my lungs felt like they were close to bursting.

Caleb nodded firmly. “We’d never leave each other behind.”

“Death was always gonna be the last one we faced. And if it’s now, then that’s far sooner than I wanted. Fuck, I thought we had forever. I thought the four of us were invincible when I was a kid, pretty sure I still felt that way until now.”

“It’s not over yet,” Caleb gritted out, giving me a fierce look that commanded me not to give up. “Darius knows where we are. He’ll come back.”

“I know. But just in case the stars have other plans, then I want you to know I’m fucking privileged to get to face it with you,” I said heavily, and his expression contorted as he saw my acceptance of what was coming for us.

“Maybe there’s more adventures waiting for us beyond the stars,” he murmured as the girl was shoved down in front of him, her arm slit open with a silver blade.

Caleb’s pupils dilated and he fell on the wound ravenously, unable to fight the pull of his Order. My gaze turned to Max, and I found him watching me with all-knowing eyes, a goodbye forged upon his face. By the moon, I loved that face, every inch of it. He was one of the best friends I’d ever had. He was the glue that held us all together, the one who made everything alright. And it had nothing to do with his Siren gifts. It was him. Purely him. His loyalty knew no bounds, and he would walk from one end of this universe to the other for his brothers. His family. I’d damn well do the same for him too.

He nodded to me, no words needing to pass between us. It was an acknowledgement of all we’d ever been to one another, and a promise to follow each other into whatever came after death.

I looked up to the stars as my legs threatened to buckle, seeing no mercy for me in their sparkling eyes. But the moon always had mercy for me, so I looked to her instead and felt her mourning her wolves who stood too far away for her to help. Then I tipped my head back and howled, releasing all the sorrow of the world into that sound as it was echoed by my family.

I felt a shift in the world that set a shiver tracking along my spine, a sense of knowledge filling me as if the stars were offering me a glimpse of our future.

The end was coming. I could feel it everywhere.