Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae

MY FIRE ELEMENTAL class had been yet another disastrous combination of over flamboyant flames and out of control infernos. I just couldn’t wrangle it into my control, especially while wearing the protective suit that was required for class.

I’d tried to speak to Professor Pyro about it. I’d even told her that when I practiced without the suit on I had much more control but she’d dismissed my theory as nonsense, telling me it was all in my head. She’d also docked me twenty House Points for failing to practice with Darius yet again. The Fire Heir had smirked in response to that, flexing his muscles at me in a clear challenge, the words make me ringing in my memory as I scowled at him.

I half considered asking Caleb to help me instead. He held the Element of Fire too and even though it wasn’t his primary power, he was still likely to be capable of assisting me. But even though he seemed slightly less abhorrent than the other Heirs at times, I still didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. And I got the feeling that he wouldn’t undermine Darius’s decision about helping me even if I begged. Which I absolutely wouldn’t do.

So I was left with the infuriating option of practicing alone every night after my evening runs. I ended each run in the Fire Arena wearing my running stuff rather than the flame-proof outfit and I was definitely managing to do more with my powers when I did that. I could control the size of the flames and even get them to move in basic directions. But Professor Pyro didn’t believe that had anything to do with my outfit and claimed it had more to do with stage fright. I might have believed her if it weren’t for the fact that I was steadily improving in all of my other lessons.

To prove my point, I’d asked Darcy, Sofia and Diego to join me in the Fire Arena after dinner so that I could show them the improvements I’d made and get them to confirm I wasn’t insane. Darcy had been having similar troubles with her Fire magic and I wanted her to try wielding her flames without the suit too. Maybe I was onto something.

To make sure I had time to do that, I’d headed out on my evening run early and I ran through Water Territory with my headphones on and my heart rate up.

I loved running here. Back in Chicago it had been all back alleys and concrete jungle. I’d been dodging cars, pedestrians and trash cans at every turn. In the Academy grounds I was more likely to come across a herd of Pegasus, a swooping Griffin or a shimmering waterfall. It was beyond beautiful here and the differences between the four territories always took my breath away.

I headed over a small bridge and began to circle the lake, adjusting my breathing as the hill elevated beneath my feet.

A prickle ran along my spine as I reached the top of the hill and I stumbled to a halt as a Nemean Lion leapt out of the trees in front of me.

My breath caught in my lungs as the huge lion roared excitedly and shook his mane before bounding into the trees on the other side of the path. The student was obviously enjoying stretching their powerful legs in their Order form and I stared after them in surprise.

Shit I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.

“You should pay more attention to your surroundings,” Darius called and I turned to find him leaning against a tree like he had nowhere else in the world to be. He was wearing a mud stained sports kit with the Ignis symbol emblazoned across his chest so I guessed he’d been at Pitball training, but that didn’t explain his sudden appearance here.

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen him while I was out running and I was starting to get the feeling that he was following me. His reasons for doing so couldn’t be anything good so I’d changed up my route every night this week but I still kept bumping into him regardless.

I glanced about in case the other Heirs were going to spring a trap at any moment but there was no sign of them. I pointed to my ears, shrugging like the heavy bass of the music in my headphones prevented me from hearing him then ran on.

He didn’t make any move to follow me but I upped my pace regardless, turning from the main path and heading back towards The Orb. The last thing I needed was to go head to head with an Heir right now. I was all for bringing them down covertly but I wasn’t ready to confront them directly… yet.

I made it back to The Orb and slowed as I used my Water magic to clean the sweat and spattered mud from my skin and clothes. Professor Washer had taught us how to do it last week and even though his description of reaching ‘every little nook and cranny’ had made me vomit in my mouth, I had to admit that it was a damn handy bit of magic.

One of my favourite tracks came on over the headphones and I smiled to myself as I walked into The Orb, giving my attention to the song as All The Small Things blasted in my ears.

I stepped through the door without really looking where I was going and crashed straight into a hard body.

“Sorry,” I muttered, stepping back and glancing up to find Professor Orion looking down at me with a super unamused expression on his face. He was wearing a sports kit splattered with mud too and I vaguely remembered that he was the Pitball coach.

“And there was me thinking that Blue was the clumsy twin,” he said dryly.

“Just thought I’d mix it up a bit,” I replied with a shrug, shifting one of my headphones off of my ear so that I could hear him properly.

“Well I think I prefer it when you’re predictably different to each other,” he said, making a move to walk away from me. His sleeves were pushed back and my gaze fell on the red symbol for Leo that was raised on his forearm. It didn’t really look like a tattoo, it was more like a brand.

“Isn’t Darius a Leo?” I asked quickly, snagging his attention before he could walk away. My mouth always did run away with me and apparently even Mr Grumpy’s best death stare wasn’t enough to make me back down. But if their connection could help us figure out what Astrum’s message had meant then it was worth annoying him over. 

“Why would I have any interest in discussing Mr Acrux’s star sign with you in my free time?” he asked dismissively.

“Because you’re a Libra,” I said. “And you’ve got matching best friends forever tattoos, I just thought it was a bit strange.”

Orion’s bored expression dipped into a scowl which warned me in no uncertain terms to back off but I raised my chin as I waited for his response. I may have just stepped into the arena with a pitbull but I couldn’t back out now.

“Perhaps if you spent as much time studying as you do inspecting other people’s bodies then you might not have so much trouble keeping up in my class,” he suggested.

Before I could respond, he turned and walked away. I watched him leave through narrowed eyes. Something weird was going on between him and Darius and I had the feeling it involved me and my sister.

“Your majesty! We’ve brought a selection of meals to the table for you to choose from!” Angelica called.

I turned as another enthusiastic Ass member waved me over to our table in the centre of the room and moved forward to greet all of them while firmly reminding them to drop the royal titles. Again. 

I smiled as I spotted Sofia, Diego and Darcy chatting together on their way towards the food too and I slipped between the crowd to join them as we dropped into chairs in the middle of the Ass Club.

“Did you have a good run?” Darcy asked with a smirk.

“Yeah. You should all join me next time,” I said.

“Ew,” Sofia commented. “I prefer to exercise in my Order form or not at all.”

“Yeah, I’m really not built for running. Or any kind of physical activities,” Diego added, tugging his beanie hat a little lower like he was imagining it blowing away.

I rolled my eyes at them. “Your loss.”

Geraldine appeared and took the seat beside me. I smiled warmly at her as she offered me a slice of pizza from her plate. She was wearing a white Pitball kit too with the symbol for earth emblazoned on her chest but she’d taken the time to remove the dirt from hers.

I relaxed back into my chair as I took a bite of cheesy goodness.

“I overheard you talking to Orion about his tattoo,” she said as she began to eat too. “And I followed him to take a closer look at it out of interest.”

“Look at you, Geraldine, I’m beginning to think I’m totally corrupting you,” I teased.

She blushed a little but went on. “Did I hear you say that Darius Acrux has one that matches?”

“He does,” I agreed. “And I’ve seen the two of them… hanging out.” I shrugged, it hardly sounded like the conspiracy theory of the year but I knew in my gut that they were up to something.

Darcy overheard our conversation and leaned in to join our discussion too.

“Do you know something?” she asked, obviously noticing the fact that Geraldine looked about fit to burst.

“By golly, I think I do. From the looks of that tattoo and what you’ve told me… I mean, hot, gooey oat cakes, I can’t believe I’m even thinking this but…”

“But..?” I urged.

“Well it looks like they’ve undergone a protection bond,” she said dramatically, looking around at us with wide eyes like she’d just informed me she was pregnant with fourteen kittens.

“Sorry Geraldine but we’ll need a bit more explanation there,” I said and Darcy giggled.

“Oh, of course. So, a protection bond is an ancient piece of magic which links two souls together. In generations past, members of my family were selected to be guardians for members of yours,” she added proudly.

“Oh, wow,” Darcy said as that was clearly the response Geraldine wanted.

I shifted a little in my seat. My soul was perfectly content not being bound to anyone else’s, thank you very much. Geraldine leaned forward conspiratorially to continue her explanation and I was glad she wasn’t making a suggestion to bond herself to us.

“In effect, magic is used to fuse the two of them together by linking their souls. Its purpose is to protect the life of an important person AKA the ward – in this case, Darius – by making sure that the guardian – Orion – will always place themselves between him and danger. So in effect, if Darius were to come under attack, Orion would feel it and be duty bound to come to his aid. It was said that guardians could even feel the pain of their wards if they were injured and would give every last drop of their magic to protect and heal them.”

“So a guardian would die for their ward?” Darcy asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Absolutely, if it was necessary to save their ward’s life. Apparently the bond does more than just make the guardian protective though. It also draws the two of them together, their souls aching for each other’s company if they spend too much time apart. It’s supposed to be very intense. It is quite an outdated practice though. Years ago, the powerful families used to force people to be their guardians against their will. So laws were put into place to stop that from happening. Now, a guardian must volunteer to take up the position and complete various assessments and trials before they can be bonded to their ward. Orion must care very deeply for Darius to have agreed to such a role. It’s not something that can be undone once the magic is cast; being a guardian is for life. Only death can release either of them from the bond.”

“So Darius is bound by this just as much as Orion is?” Darcy asked in an undertone.

Geraldine nodded seriously. “Oh holy pop-tarts! Speak of the devil,” she muttered, looking over my shoulder.

I turned to see Darius striding into the room with Seth, Max and Caleb at his side. They were still in their dirty Pitball kits which seemed to be drawing even more attention to them than usual and I couldn’t deny how good they looked in them. Caleb’s shirt had even been torn over one shoulder and my gaze lingered on the toned muscles of his chest which it exposed. Several girls called out to try and snag their attention, a few more of them waving and whistling. The Heirs absorbed the attention like they were owed it and I tried not to stare along with everyone else.

I swallowed thickly, hoping not to draw their attention.

Max’s eyes shifted over to us and I stilled as he pointed our way.

“Oh crap,” Darcy breathed as the others followed his gaze and the four of them cut straight through the crowded room towards us.

Students scrambled aside as they moved, a few even leaping out of their chairs to give them room to approach.

The A.S.S. bristled around us, some of them standing, others raising their hands like they might cast magic. I should have felt reassured by their show of solidarity but I knew it didn’t really mean anything. Fae had to fight for their own position, if the Heirs came against us one on one no one would intervene.

“Hey, little Vegas,” Max said as the four of them came to stand over us. I’d hardly seen him since he’d Song-Spelled me and I’d begun to hope that he was avoiding me because I knew his secret. Apparently not.

“What do you want?” I asked coldly.

“Just checking in with our favourite twins,” Seth cooed, reaching forward to stroke my hair. I slapped his hand away from me and glared at him. “Maybe I should make myself a Tory bracelet too.”

Silence had fallen all around The Orb as everyone waited to see what was going to happen.

My gaze slid to Caleb and he smiled lightly which wasn’t all that reassuring as I didn’t trust him one bit.

“Perhaps we weren’t clear enough the other night at the dance,” Max growled as he shifted forward to the front of the group. “But that was a gentle warning for you to leave this place. Maybe you should take it before things escalate.”

“Escalate?” Darcy demanded. “How could they possibly escalate?”

“Oh I’m sure the two of you have more fears you’d like to share with the group,” he purred and I could feel the pull of his magic as he used his Siren powers against us.

A pool of warmth and trust grew in my gut, a soft smile pulled at my lips. Max was kind, he was a good listener, why wouldn’t I want to let him help me deal with my fears?

Max grinned triumphantly and grabbed a chair, turning it so that he could sit on it backwards as he leaned close to me.

“Tell me about the boyfriend who left you to drown in that car,” he urged, reaching out to touch my cheek. “Did you give him your V-card too?”

A flicker of fear shuddered through me as I remembered sinking to the bottom of that river. But he’d been wrong about the V-card guess. I’d given my virginity to a wholly different asshole. 

“No,” I breathed. “I didn’t.”

“You wanna tell the group who did then?” Max asked with a grin, his power wrapping me in thick cords and refusing to let go. In place of the fear that had been pulling at me, I felt lust building in my veins and my flesh heated at the memory of a dark room, roaming hands-

Oh hell no, you psychotic asshole!

I shoved all of my will into fighting off the pull of his gift and my fist snapped out with every inch of rage I was harbouring against this douchebag. My knuckles collided directly with the centre of his throat. Max fell back off of the chair with a cry of pain and hit the floor with the chair on top of him. The Siren spell was broken and I was on my feet half a second later, flames springing to life in my hands.

I spared half a glance at the other Heirs but they only looked on in surprise. This was between me and Max and they weren’t going to get involved for once.

“You crazy bitch,” Max wheezed, his voice strangled with pain.

“I am a crazy bitch,” I agreed, glaring down at him. “And if you try that screwed up Siren shit on me ever again you’ll find out just how much of a bitch I can be.”

He hissed a curse and raised a palm, throwing a wave of water at me. I unleashed the fire in my hands, throwing a torrent of power into the blow and the two Elements collided in the space between us, cancelling each other out with a hiss of steam.

Max scrambled backwards, preparing a second blow and adrenaline shot through my limbs. I was outmatched here and he knew it.

I may not have been able to fight him with magic but I’d grown up in the shittiest part of town and I sure as hell knew how to brawl like a cornered alley cat.

Before he could cast another spell at me, I aimed a kick at his balls.

Max grunted a curse as he doubled in on himself, clutching his manhood. I leaned down to speak to him in a low tone.

“I’d think long and hard about trying to pull any more secrets from my lips,” I hissed. “Because some of the ones I’m keeping aren’t my own.”

His eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at me. 

“If you tell anyone what I said when you were Song-Spelled then I’ll-”

I interrupted him before he could threaten me with anything, my voice low and cold. “It won’t matter what you do to me after. Your secret will be out there. So I think you were just about to agree to keeping your leech powers to yourself.”

Max scowled as he propped himself up on one arm, the pain in his balls obviously easing off. 

“Fine,” he spat, as if he was going to get up but I wanted to really make sure he got the point. 

I lifted my palms at Max as Darcy cried out in encouragement and I sent a wave of air crashing into him. It caught him in its grip and sent him flying into the air and tumbling away from me across the room.

I didn’t wait for him to recover and come for me again. I caught Darcy’s arm and we turned and headed for the exit. Diego, Sofia, Geraldine, Angelica and the rest of the  A.S.S. got to their feet and swarmed around us as we walked away. Darcy linked her arm with mine and she grinned triumphantly as we made it outside.

“That’s another point to us,” she said in a low voice.

“And man did it feel good.”

Before we could get very far, Caleb shot through the crowd and came to a halt in front of me. He dropped his kit bag on the floor beside us and pushed a hand through his curls in a way that drew attention to his flexing bicep and didn’t seem to be entirely accidental. 

“Can I have a word, sweetheart?” he asked casually, like I hadn’t just gone head to head with one of his friends and come out on top. 

“Why?” I asked, my tone unfriendly. 

“You’re breaking my heart with this ice queen act,” he teased, stepping into my personal space. 

“If you’re going to bite me then just get on with it. Toying with your food is so unattractive.”

“No biting. Just come and talk to me,” he said, turning puppy dog eyes on me and damn if Caleb Altair didn’t look cute as hell when he was begging. 

I glanced at Darcy and was surprised to find her eyes sparkling with excitement. “It’s fine,” she said. “We can wait for you here if you want some privacy.”

I almost asked her why the hell she’d think I’d want privacy with one of the assholes who’d tormented us but her gaze slipped from mine to Caleb’s kit bag on the ground for the most fleeting of seconds and I realised this just might be the opportunity we’d been waiting for to get some revenge on the Terra Heir. And I could be the distraction. 

“Fine,” I said, sighing in a defeated way. 

Caleb smiled like I’d just made his day and caught my hand, pulling me after him as he led me around the side of The Orb, leaving his bag on the ground.

He drew me along until we were alone at the rear of the building, the light of the setting sun blazing orange across its golden surface. 

As soon as he was sure we couldn’t be seen, he caught my waist and pushed me back against the bronze structure. Thanks to my run I was wearing leggings and a sports bra so his hands were warm against the bare skin on my stomach. 

“What are you doing?” I asked before he could move any closer. 

“Hoping to convince you to kiss me again,” he murmured and my pulse hitched at the confidence in his tone. 

“Not likely,” I said dismissively.

Caleb groaned like I was torturing him and I couldn’t help but smile a little. “I can’t believe you just sucker punched Max,” he said. 

“Of course I did, he was being a dick. And I’m not going to give him details of my sex life to jerk off over.”

“You’re a straight up badass Tory,” Caleb joked, drawing a little closer to me. “Were you worried that people might have found out what I did with you in that classroom?” He reached out to touch my cheek but I fought off the temptation to be sucked in by his rugged looks.

“Well it would be pretty embarrassing if anyone found out I had such terrible taste in men,” I replied. 

Caleb chuckled darkly and a little shiver ran down my spine but I refused to acknowledge it. 

“Are you going to tell me Max’s secret then?” he asked, changing the subject. 

I frowned at him a little. I’d thought that part of my interaction with Max had stayed private because of the noise the crowd was making but Caleb obviously used his Vampire hearing to listen in. 

“Oh you know, he gets a hard on for Pegasuses just like you,” I teased and a thrill of satisfaction ran through me as I saw anger flashing in Caleb’s navy eyes at that taunt. 

“That rumour is a load of shit,” he snapped and my smile widened. 

“Touchy,” I teased. 

Caleb released a breath before flashing me a dazzling smile which said he didn’t give a shit but I could see through it. 

“So. You’re not going to tell me Max’s secret then?” he pressed. “I could Coerce it from you, you know.”

“I’m sure you could. Or you could just ask him yourself.” I shrugged. 

I wasn’t entirely sure why I was keeping Max’s secret apart from the fact that I’d seen the honesty in him when he’d said that revealing it could hurt Solaria as a whole. And as much as I didn’t want to take on the responsibility of ruling this kingdom, I didn’t want to give the Nymphs an advantage against it either. 

Caleb seemed to consider that and I guessed loyalty to his friend won out over curiosity because he dropped the subject. 

“So how did you enjoy being Song-Spelled?” he asked mischievously. 

“Being forced out of my bed in the middle of the night to spend time with one of my least favourite people? I’ve had better evenings,” I said dryly. 

“Yeah but you did get to make out with him,” he said with a grin. 

I rolled my eyes and didn’t dignify that with a response.

“So are you going to tell me who’s the better kisser?” he pushed, leaning in so close that his breath mingled with mine. 

“Hmm.” I bit my lip as I made a show of considering it and the hunger lighting Caleb’s eyes made my pulse hitch. “Neither of you really stood out so it’s hard to say.”

Caleb pushed his tongue into his cheek as he tried to stop me from baiting him. “Maybe you need a reminder then?”

He moved forward but I turned away so that his mouth hit my cheek instead of my lips. 

“You’re really going to make me work for this aren’t you?” he growled as his mouth shifted down to my neck and my skin lit up beneath him. 

But I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook for everything he and his friends had put us through. He needed to be punished and I hoped that I’d given Darcy enough time to advance our plans against him.

I cleared my throat to cover the racing of my heart and pushed him back. 

“I actually have things to do tonight so if you’re done with your questions and you’re not going to bite me then I’m going to leave.”

Caleb stared at me in surprise as I slipped out of his grip. 

I turned away from him and headed back around The Orb to find my friends again. 

“You’re killing me, you know that right?” he called after me. 

“I’m sure you can find a nice Pegasus girl to help you work through some of that frustration,” I replied without bothering to look back at him. 

As I returned to Darcy and the others she grinned at me conspiratorially. Caleb’s bag was exactly where he’d left it as if nothing had happened in his absence. 

We walked away and I glanced back at him as he retrieved it. His gaze was fixed on me and I smirked at him as he watched me leave. I knew I was playing with fire when it came to him but I just couldn’t help myself. 

Once we were far enough from him to be sure that he wouldn’t overhear, I turned to Darcy expectantly. 

“So?”

“I got his Atlas. Caleb Altair just joined a lot of Pegasus appreciation groups on FaeBook,” she said with a grin. “And he also sent a few suggestive messages to some Pegasus girls on campus.”

An excited laugh fell from my lips and I high fived my sister. “Those assholes won’t know what hit them when we’re through.”

***

It was pretty late by the time I made it back to my room but the satisfied smirk hadn’t left my lips since I’d sucker punched Max in the throat.

I amused myself by sorting through my latest online shopping orders while listening to some seriously cheery music which I’d selected from a playlist I’d found on my Atlas. I was intermittently dancing and singing along and I couldn’t keep the smug ass smile from my face as I did. I was guessing a Pegasus had put the playlist together and it suited my mood just fine right then because I was every shade of happy after beating down Max Rigel in front of all of his friends.

Of course, I was sure I’d suffer the consequences of that interaction soon enough but it was worth whatever he’d throw at me next just to know that I’d well and truly humiliated him for once.

The weather was having mood swings again and it had swung back to stupidly humid tonight. I’d thrown my window open and dressed in a tiny pair of shorts and a thin vest but I still felt hotter than a polar bear at the beach.

I was waiting for Sofia to join me for a study session but she was running late. I was happy enough to sort through my latest online shopping purchases though. Darcy seemed to think I had an addiction and as I rifled through a box of lacy underwear I was beginning to think she might have a point. But I didn’t care, I’d never had a disposable income before and the stipend we’d been given was stupidly generous. I didn’t mind flexing my plastic muscles to their limit as a hobby.

A loud knock sounded at my door just as Taylor Swift started demanding I shake it off and I upped my dance moves as I called for Sofia to come in.

“You’re just in time,” I said as I grabbed a red bra from the box. “Diego would go nuts over you in this.”

I turned to face her and my mouth fell open as I found a brooding Dragon asshole in my doorway instead of my friend. Weirdly, he was smiling at me like I amused him instead of scowling like I’d just pissed on his grandma but I wasn’t going to trust in this strangely friendly visage.

I stopped dancing instantly and tossed the bra back in the box.

“Don’t stop dancing on my account,” Darius urged, his eyes dripping over my shorts in a way that made my blood heat.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

“I had no idea you were such a huge Taylor Swift fan,” he said, leaning against the doorframe like he owned the damn place. Which I guessed he thought he did as the almighty House Captain.

Taylor belted out another round of haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate and I tilted my head as I regarded him. “She makes some very good points which I happen to agree with.”

“It suits you,” he said.

“What does?” I asked.

“Smiling.”

I scowled at him in response. “It’s hardly surprising you haven’t seen it very often.” I tapped my Atlas and killed the music as I folded my arms. “Back to my original question though: what do you want?”

Darius released a breath and the amusement left his eyes as he adjusted to the new tone in the room.

“I have an invitation for you and your sister to come to a party at my family’s house to meet the Celestial Council,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for the punchline as he offered me a thick envelope stamped with swirling golden script.

“No thanks,” I replied, not taking it and swinging the door shut in his face.

His boot landed over the threshold and the door bounced off of it. Why did these assholes think that was okay?

“It’s not the kind of invitation you can refuse,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I beg to disagree,” I said dryly. A night at his house sounded like a very specific flavour of hell and I had no interest in tasting it.

“What makes you think that you can say no?” he growled. “It’s next Saturday night. I’ll come get you at six. Wear something nice.” He eyed my shorts and tight shirt with disapproval and I raised an eyebrow at him as he turned to walk away, tossing the invite at my feet. He hadn’t seemed to hate my outfit so much when he’d been watching my dance moves.

“Yeah, that’s not going to work for me,” I called, leaving the invite on the floor. “But feel free to rock up here any time you like next weekend, I won’t be here anyway.”

I swung the door shut and headed to my bed, flopping down and tapping my Atlas back on as the cheery beat of my music resumed. I plugged my headphones in and slapped them on, selecting some old school Eminem to suit my new mood and smirking at the change in pace.

I lay back on the soft mattress for half a second before the door flew open and Darius stalked in again, all testosterone and flexing muscles. But I wasn’t afraid of him for once; this was an argument he couldn’t win. I wasn’t going to his stupid party no matter what he did to me.

I pretended not to notice him and cranked up the volume as he began laying into me and his voice was lost to Eminem suggesting the real slim shady please stand up.

My heart was pounding a little harder but I ignored it as I forcefully ignored him.

After about five seconds of me pretending there wasn’t a six and a half foot lump of muscle standing over me with a scowl deep enough to get lost in, a torrent of water slammed into me.

I flinched back and cried out just as Darius ripped my headphones off and tossed them aside.

“You are walking on damn thin ice with me, Roxy,” he growled. “If you keep pushing me you’re seriously going to regret it.”

“Screw you,” I spat. “You treat me like shit every day of the week so what difference does it make if you threaten to do it more? You want me to go to your stupid party? Then you’re going to have to find me and drag me there kicking and screaming and I’ll spend the entire night embarrassing the shit out of you just for the hell of it. It’s not like I give a crap what Mommy and Daddy Acrux think of me anyway.”

Darius snatched my wrist into his grasp and dragged me upright so that he could snarl in my face.

“This is your last warning.”

“Warn away, asshole,” I hissed. “You can’t do any more to me than you have already. And I notice you haven’t tried to drown me again since your little pal Orion gave you a dressing down so I’m guessing you aren’t actually allowed to kill me.”

His grip on my arm tightened painfully and I couldn’t rein in my flinch quickly enough to stop him noticing. He released me suddenly and I drew my arm against my chest, fighting the urge to massage the pain away.

“Of course I’m not going to kill you,” he muttered and I scoffed in response. So he had one line which he wouldn’t cross and that was murder. Great to know. He let out a long sigh before continuing in a softer tone. “What will it take to get you to come with me willingly?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “To quote you when I came to your room needing help; if you want me to help you, you’ll have to make me. And as I’m sure you can’t control my smart mouth or preference for crop tops and leather jackets I doubt you’ll be able to force my cooperation in this at a level which you would find acceptable so I suggest you just give up.”

Darius eyed me curiously for a moment and the difference it made to his features was almost breathtaking. I wasn’t sure he’d ever really looked at me with anything other than a scowl in place before. He really was devastatingly good looking. Every inch of his face looked like it had been carved from stone, all strong lines and perfect angles. My heart thumped unevenly for a moment and I swallowed down the traitorous glimmer of attraction I felt to him, holding myself firmly in denial over it.

“How about a trade then?” he suggested, lowering his voice and leaning closer to me like we were sharing a secret. “I’ll tutor you like I said if you and your sister come to this party willingly, make nice with my father, wear a pretty dress and make some attempt to behave like you’re civilised.”

I was so shocked by his suggestion that for several seconds I could only stare at him.

“And I’ll promise to be… nice to you,” he added, reading my silence as hesitation instead of surprise. “For that night only.”

“I doubt you know how,” I replied flatly, plucking at my wet shirt which was plastered to me. I was going to have to impose on Darcy tonight if I wanted to sleep in a dry bed.

Darius pursed his lips and reached out towards me. I took a step back, expecting him to turn angry again but instead his fingers skimmed against the soaked material which clung to my stomach as he drew the water back out of my shirt. My heart fluttered a little in response to his touch and I cursed my terrible taste in men for the millionth time.

I watched him in silence as every drop of water was removed from my clothes, hair and bed until a ball of liquid hung in the air between us. Darius directed it into my bathroom and I watched as it dropped into the basin and disappeared down the drain.

“See, I can be nice,” he said as if he’d just done me a favour even though we both knew that he’d been the one to drench me in the first place. He withdrew his hand from my waist and I ignored the ache I felt as the point of contact between us was broken.

“You must really care about impressing Daddy Acrux,” I muttered, twisting my long hair between my fingers just to give myself something to do.

Darius gave a noncommittal noise in response and I realised my guess was off the mark.

“Or you’re really that afraid of disappointing him,” I added.

Darius’s dark eyes flashed with some deep emotion for half a second before he squashed it back down.

“You don’t know anything about my family,” he growled, that anger rising in him just as quickly as it had disappeared.

“Well if they’re anything like you then they’re obviously a bunch of assholes.”

A wave of heated power slammed into me, knocking me back against the wall as Darius surged forward, leaning down to glare right into my eyes.

“Say that again,” he challenged, the threat in his voice clear.

My heart pounded with fear but I knew I’d been right before. He couldn’t kill me. And I was sick of feeling like I just had to roll over and take his bullshit. If he was determined to torment me then fine, there was nothing I could do about it. But I wasn’t going to let him break me.

“Well at least I know where you get it from,” I breathed.

His eyes flashed with the reptilian slits of his Dragon form, the irises turning golden for a moment as he glared at me. “Fuck you.” He was gone as quickly as he’d arrived, his power releasing me so that I was left slumped against the wall while he stalked from my room.

For a few seconds, I couldn’t move, my heart raced and fear trickled through my veins but I forced myself to follow him to the doorway. He’d almost made it to the end of the corridor when I called out to stop him.

“I’ll meet you in the Fire Arena after dinner tomorrow. If you can stick to your word and help me harness my magic then I’ll come to your stupid party and I’ll even wear a pretty dress like I’m a nice girl.”

Darius stopped and looked over his shoulder at me in surprise.

“Just like that?”

I shrugged. “Maybe I wanna see how the other half live,” I teased.

For a second he actually seemed amused but I must have been imagining it. “I’ll have dresses sent over for you.” Darius walked away before I could tell him that I was perfectly capable of dressing myself and I rolled my eyes as I shut the door.

Looks like we’ll be having dinner with the devil next Saturday night then.