Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning

DARIUS:

I’ll come to your room in half an hour. Be ready to ride.

Who the hell did he think he was to be sending me a message like that? I hadn’t even heard from him all evening and I’d presumed he’d been joking about the whole race thing and now, at gone ten, he sent me a fucking summons?

I wrote out a rude as shit refusal then held my thumb suspended over the send button. 

I should do it. I should tell him where to stick his middle of the night nonsense, especially the night before my Air Trial. 

No doubt that wasn’t accidental either. He was hoping that by keeping me up late he’d throw me off for the assessment. Little did he know that late nights were standard for me. Early mornings weren’t my friend but with the trial at one o’clock, I’d have plenty of time to sleep in before it as lessons were cancelled. If I went with him. Which this message clearly said I wasn’t.

I scowled at it then deleted it instead. He wasn’t going to scare me off that easily. But I wouldn’t play to his tune either. He wasn’t coming to my goddamn room; I’d be going to his.

I got out of bed where I’d been listening to music while working on a Cardinal Magic assignment and headed for my closet, finding some ripped black jeans and a navy crop top. I threw them on then tossed my leather jacket over the top of it before lacing up the new boots I’d bought for the winter. They were strong and practical; the kind of thing I’d have worn on a job back in Chicago. And that was how I was seeing this little excursion. If I won this stupid race, I’d be claiming one of Darius’s precious bikes as my prize. And I fully intended to win. So this job would actually end up with me owning one of those beautiful beasts instead of having to sell it on. If he kept his word about me keeping it. Which I actually got the feeling he would.

I decided to channel a little bit of ‘Joey’s bar Tory’ tonight and went heavier on the eyeliner, added dark lipstick and messed up my hair on purpose so that the waves were untamed but wouldn’t mind the addition of a motorcycle helmet.

I assessed myself in the mirror critically, scowling for effect. I wouldn’t wanna mess with this bitch. I just hoped Darius would feel the same.

I stuffed my Atlas into my pocket and didn’t bring anything else. That stupid dagger hummed with expectant energy as I brushed my fingers over it in my bedside locker but I forced away the desire to take it with me and headed out of the room.

I jogged up the stairs to the top floor and headed down the hallway towards Darius’s room.

A door on my right opened before I got there and I cursed as Marguerite stepped out.

“Are you lost?” she demanded.

“I don’t think so. I was looking for the hall of basic bitches and average assholes and it looks like I’ve found it now that I see you here.” I smiled sweetly while quickly tossing up a wall of solid air around me and reenforcing my shields against Coercion.

“Tell me why you’re here,” Marguerite demanded, her voice laced with Coercion as I’d expected.

Her power crashed against my mental shield but I let the look of disdain slip from my face and widened my eyes so that she’d believe the next words from my lips were the truth she’d wanted.

“I’m here because I spend all of my spare time watching you and wanting to be like you but you’re mean to me and won’t be my best friend forever like I sooo wish you would. So I decided to become you instead. I’m starting off by creeping up here to seduce your precious Darius and screw him senseless just to make you cry. Then I’m going to dye my hair the cheapest, shittiest shade of red I can find and finally I’ll become the head cheerleader because I fucking love being cheery. Mostly I’m going to do it because I’m obsessed with you but partly because I’m a psycho bitch who just wants to ruin your life.” I smiled at her sweetly and flames sprung to life in her hands.

Marguerite shrieked as she launched them at me but they collided with the shield of air I was holding in place and ricocheted into the walls instead. “You cheap ass gutter whore!” she snarled at me, stalking forward with more fire in her hands. “You and your idiot sister think you can just stroll in here and act like you own the damn place when we all know that you grew up with nothing and no one. Two sets of parents died rather than be stuck with you and then you couldn’t even find a mortal family to love you enough to keep you so they just bounced you from place to place like the unwanted trash you are. So why don’t the two of you just realise that no one wants you here either?”

I took a step towards her, my eyes narrowing as rage built in my gut. All the things she’d said about the way we’d grown up was true and the low blows stung but there was only one thing in amongst her tirade that had really gotten a reaction from me.

“Did you just insult my sister?” I snarled.

Marguerite launched flames at me again and they crashed across the front of my shield in a blinding display of her power. I felt the air magic I was holding tremble with the force of withstanding her attack and I aimed more power into my defences while throwing out my other hand and directing a column of water straight into her chest.

Marguerite was knocked off of her feet and went crashing back into her bedroom which was flooded by the force of my magic.

I stalked after her and looked down at her on the floor. “You might want to remember this if you come at me again. Because I get the feeling you just threw the extent of your power at me but I barely even scratched the surface of my magic in retaliation.”

Marguerite glared up at me from her puddle on the floor but she didn’t respond. I swung her door shut between us and turned to find the rest of the hall’s occupants standing in their doorways watching our exchange. More than a few of them gave me an appraising look and one guy even bowed his head a little before turning back into his room.

“I hope you meant the part about screwing me senseless.” Darius stood leaning against his doorframe at the end of the hall and I mentally shrugged off the altercation with Marguerite as I stalked towards him.

I rolled my eyes at him. “In your dreams.”

“Every night,” he agreed and his tone was serious enough that it brought a blush to my cheeks.

I fought it off and came to a halt before him. “Are we going then?” I asked, not responding to his last comment.

“I told you I’d come and get you,” he said mildly. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt and looked ready to walk out of here to me so I didn’t see what the issue was.

“Did you?” I asked innocently. “Your message was so long and detailed I must have missed that part.”

Darius twitched a smile at that. “Well as you’re here, we might as well head off.” He ticked his head towards his room and walked inside, clearly expecting me to follow.

I stayed on my side of the threshold and folded my arms. “I can just wait here for you to grab your purse, dude. I don’t really have any interest in visiting your bedroom again.”

“We’re leaving from here,” he said, beckoning me impatiently and I reluctantly stepped inside.

Darius moved close and shut the door behind me, turning the key in the lock for good measure.

“What are you doing?” I asked, backing away from him as he turned to face me once more.

“We’ll go via stardust. I spoke with Xavier and he confirmed that Mother and Father are away for a few nights in the city while he concentrates on the war effort with the rest of the Celestial Council so we don’t have to worry about seeing them.”

“Wait, what?” I asked. “You’re taking me back to your fancy mansion in the middle of nowhere? I just thought we were going somewhere within walking distance-”

“What’s wrong, Roxy? Are you afraid I’m trying to kidnap you?” Darius teased.

“I just think you could have been a bit more forthcoming with the information for this venture.”

“Is this your way of trying to back out of the race so that you don’t have to face losing to me?” he asked.

“No. But-”

Darius lifted his hand and threw a pinch of glimmering black stardust into my face before I could finish my sentence.

The world spun, stars blinked into existence all around me and my stomach plummeted right down past my feet. When everything came into focus again, my boots hit the gravel of the Acruxes’ drive and I sucked in a lungful of crisp night air.

“What the hell?” I demanded while Darius smirked at me.

“You said you weren’t backing out.”

Thunder crashed loudly overhead and I flinched as I realised we were in the middle of a torrential downpour. Darius had cast a shield of heat around us and as the rain hit it, it sizzled out of existence without managing to reach us. My eyes widened slightly at his casual use of such impressive magic. If I tried to replicate that I knew it wouldn’t work. But he’d gotten it into place the moment the stardust had dropped us off before even a drop of rain hit us and didn’t seem to be paying it any attention at all.

“Are we seriously going to race in this weather?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Are you afraid? You can always just forfeit the race and admit that I’m the winner. I’ll still want my prize though,” Darius warned me.

“You never actually told me what you want,” I reminded him.

“I’ll tell you when I win. Or when you forfeit…”

“Not going to happen,” I said firmly. Looks like I’m riding in this crazy ass storm then.

“I need to head inside and see Xavier before we ride, are you hungry? I can just send Jenkins a message to wake him up and have something made for you? I need to let him know I’m taking a couple of the bikes out so that security don’t come hounding after us anyway.” He started tapping out a message on his Atlas and led the way along the drive towards the towering front door which led into the manor.

“I’m not really hungry.” Why the hell was he offering to feed me? “Who’s Jenkins?” I asked, mainly to make sure there wasn’t any awkward silence.

“Our butler. I didn’t give him advance notice because I didn’t want to risk Father coming back when he tipped him off. With a bit of luck, he’ll be far too busy to drop everything just to come and see me anyway. He’s still pretty pissed about the whole Pitball fuck up. Luckily the Nymph attack dominated the news that day so the story didn’t cause too much embarrassment and he hasn’t felt the need to visit me about it. But if he knew I was home…” Darius trailed off when I failed to respond. 

I didn’t really know what he wanted me to say. Did I want Daddy Acrux to come back while we were here? Hell no. So I guessed I was glad he hadn’t warned him about our arrival but other than that, I didn’t think it was a good idea to start talking about his family with him. He didn’t exactly seem super close to them but no one liked to hear insults aimed at their parents.

“Yeah that whole Pitball game was crazy,” I said, agreeing with the only part of his rant that I could really weigh in on without causing an argument. “I was told you were the best academy team in Solaria but then you just lost like that…”

Darius’s jaw ticked but he managed to respond in an even tone. “Well a few of us were off our game for various reasons,” he muttered. “But that won’t happen again.”

Oh no! I wonder why? I forced myself not to laugh and responded with my eyes on my boots. “I’ll look forward to watching you win the next match then.”

“Maybe I should make you wear a shirt with my name printed on it instead of Geraldine’s at the next match as my prize for beating you tonight,” he suggested.

“That’s what your want for a prize?” I scoffed. “While I’m racing for a shiny bike of my own?”

“What I’d like for a prize probably isn’t on the table,” he replied with a shrug.

I looked up at him, meaning to ask what he meant by that but the look he gave me in return made me unsure if I wanted to know.

Darius gave me a smile that made my gut clench and opened the door into the manor, holding it for me like he had goddamn manners.

I brushed past him and he followed so close behind that I could feel his breath on the back of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

I bit my lip as I looked around at the huge entrance hall and sweeping staircase in front of me. I felt like a pea in a bowl of peanuts. I didn’t fit here. I’d grown up with less than nothing and he had so much money that he was actually too rich for me to have even attempted robbing in my old life. 

Just as I thought I couldn’t feel any more awkward, Jenkins appeared through a hidden door beneath the stairs like a goddamn phantom in a penguin suit. 

“Can I take your coat, Miss Vega?” the butler asked formally, inclining his head to me. 

“Oh, err… sure.” I shrugged out of my leather jacket, handing it over as the butler’s gaze swept over my exposed stomach with a frown so brief I might have imagined it. Either way I was guessing I wasn’t the kind of girl the Acruxes would want their son bringing home. Although, as they were already planning on marrying him off to his cousin I guessed they didn’t really have to worry about that. 

“Where will you be entertaining the lady, Master Acrux?” Jenkins asked, bowing to Darius. 

“We’ll be in my rooms,” he replied, hooking an arm around my waist as he drew me toward the stairs. 

“I’ll have refreshments sent up right away.” Jenkins bowed again and withdrew, taking my jacket with him. I realised too late that my Atlas was in the pocket but he was gone. I guessed I didn’t really need it anyway.

Darius stayed close to me as he urged me towards the stairs and his magic brushed up against mine like a question hanging between us. 

I pushed it away as heat ran up the back of my neck and shifted out of his grip so he no longer held me in the cage of his arm. 

“Why are you doing that?” I asked, shooting him a suspicious look. 

“You let me in this morning,” he reminded me in a low voice. “Why did you trust me so easily then and not now?”

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “I didn’t trust you then. I was half asleep and half drunk and for thirty seconds I forgot what a dick you are. You reminded me of the fact quickly enough though.”

“But you still liked it. You still felt the rush when you let me in,” he pressed and I couldn’t really deny that that was true. Blending my magic with his was bordering on indecent; the rush I got when his power poured into me was heady and addictive. It lit up every inch of my flesh and awoke desires in me which I refused to admit to around him. Which was precisely why I wasn’t going to be doing it again tonight. 

“Seems like you’re the one who liked it,” I teased, following him down a long corridor without giving him the satisfaction of replying beyond that. 

Darius let it drop but the smile playing around his lips said he didn’t buy it.

Our footsteps filled the space around us as we walked on and on through the huge building and eventually I had to speak rather than let the silence build into anything more uncomfortable.

“What’s it like growing up somewhere like this?” I asked, eyeing a huge portrait on the wall as we passed it. Daddy Acrux looked younger, fierce, sitting in a chair and glaring out at the viewer. 

“When we were kids we spent a lot of time with nannies and private tutors, we mainly saw our parents for meals. It was pretty much the same as anyone’s childhood I’d imagine; we stayed in our wing of the house and had anything we could ever want.”

“Having anything you could ever want isn’t pretty much the same as anyone’s childhood,” I muttered. 

“I have no point of reference so I can’t really say but I suppose you’re right. We were happy enough anyway. While we were young.”

“And then?” I asked because apparently you can’t switch off being a nosey bitch even when the guy you’re prodding at is a grumpy asshole who could flip on you at any moment. 

“As we grew older we had to learn more about our responsibilities and I had to spend more and more time with my father learning what would be expected of me when I take his seat on the Celestial Council. So there was a lot less time for being a kid. What about you? What was the mortal world like to grow up in?” he asked, giving me a look that said he was actually interested. 

“We didn’t have much time for being kids either,” I muttered, not really wanting to go into detail about the shit storm that was our childhood. Being bounced from place to place so often that our heads never stopped spinning. Promises from social workers that this couple or that couple were interested in adopting us and giving us a real home which never worked out. Christmases spent on extra chairs hastily added to the furthest end of the table where we could easily be cropped out of family photos…

Darius led the way up a curving staircase and I pointedly ignored the looks he kept shooting my way. 

“Did you ever feel like you missed Solaria, without really knowing what you were missing?” he asked. 

“How could we miss something we never even knew existed?” 

“It’s just that I’ve visited the mortal world and the whole time I was there I had this ache in my chest like deep down I knew I was in the wrong place. The lack of magic all around me was stifling and their cities were so big they made it almost impossible to see the stars at night…”

I pursed my lips as I considered that. Maybe he was right; I’d certainly never felt like I belonged anywhere growing up but I’d put that down to our situation. In fact, the only time in my life when that feeling had gone away had been since Orion brought us back to Solaria. 

“Maybe. I never felt like I had a home before we came to the Academy,” I admitted. And he’d done everything in his power to take that from us since we’d arrived. Everything with him always just circled back to that. 

Darius opened a door for me and I found myself in a huge suite of rooms with curving walls. A king sized bed dominated the space and everything was decorated in tones of dark blue. It was an adult’s room but something about it screamed little boy too. On a high shelf, a wooden train sat above a stack of books. 

Another shelf held rows of Pitball trophies and I wandered towards them slowly. 

My gaze caught on a collection of framed photos on the wall. The same group of four boys in each one. The Heirs were captured at every age; four little babies laying side by side in a crib getting older and older in each shot. My gaze snagged on a picture of them at around six years old, playing at the side of a stream in the blazing sunshine. 

Caleb’s golden curls made him look like a little angel as he laughed, knee deep in the water while Seth was grubby on the bank with smudges of dirt on his face and grass stains on his knees. Max smiled so widely I could practically feel the happiness pouring out of him and Darius looked so serious I had to laugh, his lips pouting as he pointed at something out of shot. 

“You were the grumpy one,” I said, gesturing to the picture and Darius moved close behind me to look over my shoulder.

He scoffed lightly. “Not always. But Seth had just destroyed a camp we’d been building all morning by shifting into a big fat werewolf pup right in the middle of it. He was so damn clumsy when his Order first emerged that he was constantly breaking everything, either by exploding into a wolf with no notice or by getting so hyped up he just fell over his own feet and caused chaos.”

I released a laugh. “Tell me about it.” I looked up at him over my shoulder and his dark gaze pinned me in his. “Darcy always…” I frowned, wondering why I’d been going to tell him about our childhood but he only shifted closer to me, refusing to release me from the trap of his gaze. 

“Always what?” he breathed like anything I might say would be the most interesting thing in the world. 

My lips parted and some deep part of me wanted to tell him. A frown pinched my features and I shook my head a little, unsure why I’d even been talking to him about any of this. 

Darius reached out for me, his fingers brushing against mine and making my gut flip over as he hooked a finger around my thumb, grazing it up the centre of my palm. 

A shiver of energy shuddered straight through my body at the tiny point of contact, my heart lurching in surprise as I failed to pull away from him. 

He was too close to me, the scent of cedar and smoke overwhelming me as I looked up at him. I needed to move. I had to step back. I-

“I thought I heard you in here,” Xavier’s voice interrupted us and I flinched away from Darius like we’d just been caught doing something we shouldn’t, whirling around to look at Xavier as he stepped through a door in the back corner of the room. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise you had company-”

He started backing up but Darius strode straight towards him, pulling him into a tight embrace as I lingered awkwardly by the wall. 

Xavier smiled up at his brother as he stepped back and the two of them turned to look at me. 

“You met Roxy at the party for a bit,” Darius reminded him briefly. “She’s come to lose a race against me on my bikes.”

I scoffed lightly, not bothering to respond to that. 

“Yeah, I remember. You’re not easy to forget,” Xavier added, offering me a shy smile. 

“Neither are you,” I replied. “I still can’t believe Darius is related to someone who’s not entirely obnoxious.”

Xavier laughed while Darius almost smiled, which was just too damn weird. 

“Did you want a drink?” Darius offered, pointing at a table across the room which I hadn’t noticed held the refreshments Jenkins had promised. That dude worked fast. 

“Sure,” Xavier headed across the room to claim one and I followed so that I didn’t have to lurk.

“How’s life in the mansion?” I asked him, not really sure what else to say as I claimed a coke.

Darius exchanged a loaded look with his brother before eventually shrugging. 

“Father has been a bit preoccupied recently so I’ve been alone a lot,” Xavier said.

“I guess you’re looking forward to coming to Zodiac next year then?” I asked. “To save you from the boredom of life in your rich boy tower.”

“Errr… yeah,” Xavier said awkwardly, looking at Darius again. 

“It’ll be good to have you there,” Darius said firmly. 

“Sure,” Xavier said but he seemed kinda deflated like he wasn’t really looking forward to it. 

“Don’t you want to come to the Academy?” I asked curiously. 

“Sure I do.” Xavier chugged a whole glass of coke and Darius didn’t look at me as I narrowed my eyes at the two of them, sure I was missing something. 

“So, Father said there’s a theory that you and your sister will emerge as Dragons any day now,” Xavier said, forcing a subject change. 

“Maybe,” I said with a shrug, lifting my drink to my lips. 

“If you’re a Dragon maybe you can marry Darius and save him from Mildred,” Xavier suggested casually. 

I half choked on my coke and set it down quickly as I coughed. “Fuck no,” I said once I could speak. “Mildred is welcome to him. I want a front row seat to their wedding so that I can laugh my ass off but that’s the only reason I’ll be attending.”

Darius scowled at his brother, seeming unhappy with the turn of the conversation. “Even if Roxy wasn’t the most annoying woman I’ve ever met and I could overlook her many personality flaws for long enough to consider marrying her, it wouldn’t matter,” he said in a flat tone. “She isn’t pure blooded. Her mother was a Harpy and her father was a Hydra. Not to mention insane. I don’t think Father would give her even a moment’s consideration, do you?”

“He’s right,” I agreed instantly, finally finding something I could agree with Darius Acrux on; we could both absolutely agree that the idea of marrying each other was abhorrent. I eyed his tight t-shirt for a moment, the tattoos showing beneath the sleeves drawing my eye. I mean, yeah the sex would obviously be hot but the rest of it would be just awful. So there was no fucking way. 

“I’m not pure,” I said, driving my point home. “There’s nothing clean and innocent about me. I might be a princess but my crown would be made of broken, dirty things, not gold and jewels. I’d never be good enough for Daddy Acrux. And that’s just the way I like it.”

Darius actually smirked in response to that and Xavier seemed amused too.

“I actually need to go and check something downstairs before we can head out for our race. Can you keep Roxy company for me?” Darius asked his brother, already edging towards the door. 

“Oh, erm, well… do you really think that’s a good idea?” Xavier asked nervously, shooting me a glance before looking back to his brother. “What if I…”

“You won’t,” Darius replied confidently. “You’re in control. The more practice you have the better anyway. And I won’t be long.” He headed out of the door before either of us could say anything else and I smiled at Xavier a little awkwardly, wondering what that was about.

“So…” he said, trailing away from me across the room. “You and Darius are friends now, eh? I thought you hated him?”

“Ew,” I replied, scrunching my nose up. “I do hate him. I’m purely here to win one of his shiny bikes off of him and laugh when he cries about it.”

“It just seemed like I walked in on…” 

I scowled at him hard enough to make him drop that line of thought and Xavier laughed. 

“Okay, there’s no you and Darius,” he agreed quickly. “But you might be doomed if that’s not what you want because I saw the way he was looking at you and Darius always gets what he wants once he sets his mind to it.”

“Gross, dude, you’re gonna make me hurl,” I said, grimacing at him. “And I can assure you the hatred between me and your brother is entirely mutual. Neither of us want anything else.”

Although as I said that, I couldn’t help but remember waking up in his arms and feeling like I actually belonged there for several long minutes. Of course I’d been hungover and confused so that didn’t mean anything and I’d been reminded of why that thought was insane quickly enough. 

I cleared my throat and set my drink down.

“So what are we going to do while we wait for Darius to go braid his hair?” I asked.

“Err, I dunno, do you wanna come play Xbox in my room?” Xavier took a step back towards the door he’d emerged through and I glanced over his shoulder at the dark space beyond. 

“No offence dude but that looks like a total boy pit in there. I can smell the unwashed gym socks from here and I wouldn’t really know where to begin playing Xbox anyway.” I’d had the odd turn on games consoles growing up but it wasn’t really my thing. 

Xavier laughed and folded his arms as he leaned back against the wall. “So what do you suggest then? I haven’t really left my rooms in a while and I’m running low on ideas for entertainment.”

“You’re like Rapunzel locked up in your tower,” I teased. “But instead of long golden hair you’ve got an Xbox and too much time on your hands.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” he muttered. 

“Well what did you like to do for fun as a kid around here? Before the teenage angst kicked in.”

Xavier looked at me for a long moment like he couldn’t really think of anything then a smirk pulled at his lips. “We used to have tray races sliding down the stairs,” he said. “But we’re probably too big for that now.”

“Pfft, Darius is probably too big with all his spare muscles and that big puffed up head of his but I’m sure we can manage,” I said. 

Xavier’s eyes lit with mischief for a moment but then the dare faded out of them and he shook his head. “It’s a dumb idea.”

“Oh come on Rapunzel, let down your hair,” I begged. “I’ve been dragged all the way out here with promises of a race just to be ditched. And you were tasked with making sure I had fun.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m just supposed to keep you company-”

“The fun was implied,” I said. “It was just hard to tell because Darius always has that serious as shit expression slapped on his face. But it was definitely in the small print.”

Xavier cracked a smile and I beamed as he caved. 

“Fine. One race. But I warn you, I’m the champion so you’re about to lose.”

“Bring it on,” I taunted.

Xavier ducked back into his room and reappeared a moment later carrying two big silver trays which were probably worth enough to buy a small car. 

“Luckily the servants haven’t been up to collect my leftovers from dinner yet,” Xavier explained with a grin as he held them out for me. He moved to Darius’s bed and threw the duvet and pillows to the floor before yanking the mattress off of the frame. He might not have been as powerfully built as his brother but he was clearly strong in his own right and he dragged the heavy mattress across the room easily before heading back out into the hall. 

I followed behind him and he told me to wait as he headed off down the curving stairs with the mattress. 

Within a few moments he jogged back to me with a grin on his face, pushing his dark curls back before holding his hand out for his tray. 

“I haven’t done this in years,” he said. “You’re a bad influence.”

“You have no idea,” I agreed. 

“I can see why Darius likes you.”

“Ew, no, stop that,” I said, faking a shudder. “You’re just trying to put me off my game because you know I’m about to win.”

We moved to the top of the stairs with the two trays and my heart started to beat faster in anticipation.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Xavier asked a little nervously. “I made a crash pad at the bottom with the mattress but we always used to end up smacking into the walls. You might get hurt…”

“Well just think how proud Daddy Acrux will be if you manage to kill one of the Vegas for him,” I said. 

Xavier smirked and moved his tray to the top of the staircase, sitting on it as he prepared to race. I quickly copied him, gripping the two handles on either side of me as I teetered on the edge of the top step.

“Three, two, one-” Xavier leaned forward and whooped as he sped away down the stairs. 

I was a little more cautious but as the tray spilled over the edge, I couldn’t help but scream in excitement as it shot down the spiralling staircase at speed. 

I flew around and around, my hair pulled back behind me before crashing into the mattress at the bottom of the stairs and laughing as I tumbled across it. 

Xavier snatched my hand, dragging me upright and grinning so widely that for a moment it almost looked like he was glowing. 

“Again,” he demanded. “This time don’t be a chicken shit at the start line.”

I barked a laugh and grabbed my tray, running back up the stairs at his side. 

We rearranged ourselves on the trays again and my heart pounded with the fun of the game. 

The second time, I threw my weight forward at the same time as him and we shot down the stairs side by side, whooping with laughter before spilling onto the mattress at the bottom.

“I won that one,” I exclaimed while Xavier shook his head. 

“You wish.”

“Okay, cheater. Let’s up the ante.” I grabbed my tray and he grinned as he ran up the stairs at my side, his skin almost seeming to glow again. I frowned to myself, wondering if I was imagining it. I’d never seen a Dragon glow like that before. 

We positioned ourselves at the top of the stairs once more and I raised a palm behind me. 

“I’m gonna give us a push,” I said, grinning mischievously.

Xavier smiled so widely that it made me laugh. Something about him just drew me in. He was so different from his brother it was untrue. Even though I hardly knew him, hanging out with him was like hanging out with an old friend.

“Hold on tight.” I called on my air magic and directed it to push us down the stairs. 

In my excitement I pushed a little too hard and I screamed as the magic slammed into my back, practically lifting us off of the ground as we shot over the top step.

Xavier yelled too and we zoomed down the spiralling stairs so fast they were a blur. 

The tray skidded off of the final step, my scream rising in pitch as I flew straight towards the wall. I flung my hands up again and we bounced off of a cushion of air magic instead of going splat before falling back onto the mattress. 

I was laughing so hard that I could barely catch my breath and as I turned to look at Xavier beside me I found him glowing so brightly that he actually lit up the space around him. 

“Shit dude,” I said between breaths of laughter. “You’re sparkling.”

“What?” Xavier gasped, scrambling up onto his hands and knees. “No I’m not!”

I laughed harder. “Yes you are! If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were about to turn into a Pegasus!”

Xavier’s eyes widened with panic and he tried to push himself to his feet as he shook his head but before he could manage it, tremors wracked his body and he shredded right through his clothes. 

My mouth fell open as I stared up at the glimmering lilac Pegasus before me. He still had half a t-shirt hanging around his neck and his horsey eyes were wild with panic. 

My smile widened as I looked up at him. He was probably the most beautiful Pegasus I’d ever seen. 

“Well shit,” I breathed. “No wonder I like you so much. You skipped the asshole Dragon genes!”

I pushed myself to my feet, grinning at him as he tucked his rainbow wings tight in the small corridor, stepping from hoof to hoof.

“I think my mortal is showing because I really just wanna tickle your horsey ears right now,” I teased, drawing closer to him. 

Xavier looked at me cautiously, his ears twitching as he lowered his head, slowly moving into my personal space. 

“Seriously?” I asked as he seemed to be offering me the chance to do as I’d said. 

He whinnied softly and I could only grin more as I reached out and ran my hand straight up the centre of his nose. 

Xavier released a heavy breath, his eyes boring into mine in a way that almost broke my heart. 

“Why do you look so sad?” I whispered as my fingers slid down the side of his head, tickling his ear like I’d promised. 

He nuzzled his nose against my shoulder and it was like he was aching for this contact. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed him, trying to figure out why the hell I wanted to cry. 

“Shit,” Darius murmured behind me and I turned my head to look at him in surprise. “Roxy…” His lips parted and for a moment he just stared at me, his eyes filled with the same panic I’d seen in Xavier’s right after he’d shifted. 

“What?” I asked, brushing my fingers over Xavier’s mane.

“You can’t…please promise you won’t tell anyone you saw him like this,” Darius begged, reaching out towards me then dropping his hand again like he didn’t know what to do. 

“Like what?” I asked in confusion. 

“Trust you not to even notice when you’ve stumbled upon a secret that could get you killed,” he muttered. “No one can know that Xavier isn’t a Dragon.”

“Why?” I asked incredulously. “He’s beautiful. And I’d much sooner be a Pegasus than a grumpy ass Dragon.”

Xavier suddenly shifted back into his Fae form and I squeaked in surprise as I found myself in the arms of a very naked boy. He squeezed me against him so tightly that I could hardly breathe. 

“Thank you,” he whispered in my ear. 

“For what?” I asked in complete confusion, not really hugging him back because he was really fucking naked. I opted for awkwardly patting him on the back as he refused to release me. 

“For not even batting an eye. For actually thinking there’s something good about this.” Xavier leaned back and I looked up into the eyes of someone who was completely broken. 

“Xavier,” I breathed, laying a hand on his cheek for a moment, unsure how to even begin to respond to the pain in his eyes. 

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and released me, hurrying away up the stairs before I could say anything else. The door to his bedroom clicked shut and I was left standing with Darius who was looking at me like I’d just summoned the moon to come and sing us a lullaby. 

“Stop looking at me like that,” I said, folding my arms in case he got any weird ideas about hugging me too because it actually looked like he might for a moment. 

Darius took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. 

“You can’t begin to imagine the difficulty Xavier’s been going through since his Order emerged. My father…”  He shook his head, obviously deciding against elaborating on that but it wasn’t hard to imagine Daddy Acrux would have been a total dickwad about the situation. “Thank you,” he added. “Xavier really needed to see that someone could just accept him for who he is.”

“No problem,” I said, looking away from him because in that moment it didn’t really feel like he hated me at all and it was too weird. “So have you finished reapplying your lipstick? Can we go race now?”

Darius snorted a laugh and turned away, beckoning me after him. 

“You’re ready to lose now then?” he asked. 

“Whatever you wanna believe.” I shrugged. I didn’t need to trash talk him, I’d beat his ass easily enough and then he’d eat his words while I rode away on my shiny new bike. 

We headed down the corridors in silence as Darius seemed lost in thought and I wondered if the storm had eased up at all since we’d been inside. 

“I meant what I said about keeping Xavier’s secret,” Darius said as we headed down the stairs to the front door. “Father would-” 

“It’s fine,” I said quickly, not needing him to threaten me into agreeing. “I don’t see why it matters but I won’t tell anyone if it would hurt Xavier. I actually like him and I wouldn’t want him to suffer because of me.”

“Thank you,” Darius murmured and I could feel his gaze on me but I just shrugged, not looking back. I wasn’t doing it for him anyway. 

Jenkins was waiting with my leather jacket at the foot of the stairs and I took it from him with a word of thanks. 

Darius didn’t head back through the front door but led me to a door on the other side of the space where a staircase led down to the underground parking lot.

Lights flicked on around us as we headed out into the cold space. He strode through the echoing lot filled with luxury vehicles and I couldn’t help but imagine just how rich I could get by robbing this place. Hell I could probably be set for life by stealing a few golden picture frames and things from the unused parts of the house and they’d never even realise they’d been robbed.

I followed Darius to a metal key cabinet to the left of the elevator and he punched in the code to unlock it while I watched and memorised it. 1678#43.

I yawned like I had zero interest in what he was doing and pulled my Atlas from my pocket, adding the code into the notes section before casting an eye over the messages I’d received in the last hour.

Caleb:

My power is running low tonight, sweetheart. You wanna help me out?

Caleb:

I’ll make it worth your while…

A picture followed that of him lying shirtless on his bed in Terra House and I smirked as I tapped out a reply.

Tory:

Sorry, I’ve had a better offer tonight. But feel free to bite someone else, I don’t mind at all. Besides, you lost our game today so you can’t get your fangs in me until you win…

Caleb:

What better offer? And if you won’t let me put my fangs in you, how about something else? 😉

I bit my bottom lip to keep my smile contained before responding.

Tory:

Can’t tonight. But you can always try to catch me tomorrow…

Caleb:

You’re killing me. Why don’t I just come to Ignis now and I can help you relax before your Air Trial tomorrow?

Tory:

I told you, I got a better offer. I’m not even on campus.

I shoved the Atlas back into my pocket and looked up to find Darius watching me.

“Am I keeping you from your friends?” he mocked.

“That’s one of your friends actually. He’s very persistent.”

Darius’s jaw tightened as he looked me over. “Which one do you want?”

“What?” I asked with a frown.

He nodded towards the other end of the lot where the bikes were parked up. “Pick a bike.”

“Oh right.” I pursed my lips and walked towards the super bikes, eyeing their gleaming perfection with a little adrenaline trickling along my limbs in anticipation.

My Atlas started pinging in my pocket again and again and Darius released a low growl of irritation. He raised his own Atlas and started typing something but my attention was fixed on the bikes.

It was tempting to pick the most valuable bike in the lineup but my gaze fell on a pitch black Hondusa which I knew had one of the highest top speeds of any super bike ever made. A smile tugged at my lips and my heart started beating faster as I headed straight for it, tracing my fingertips along the sleek bodywork.

I turned to look at Darius, unable to even try and hide the wide smile on my face as I thought about riding this beauty.

He returned his Atlas to his pocket and mine kept pinging but I ignored it as I looked up at him.

The frown he’d been sporting fell away and he smiled back at me, stepping closer.

“You like this one?” he asked, his gaze sweeping over the bike before coming back to rest on me.

“I do,” I replied, holding his eye as I perched on the saddle, claiming it as my own. “I’m going to really enjoy winning it from you.”

“I’m going to really enjoy wiping that smile from your face when you lose,” he replied, his tone teasing.

He drew even closer to me, placing his hands on the chassis either side of where I sat and caging me in with his body.

“Are you going to tell me what you want if you win?” I asked.

“Something I can’t buy,” he replied, leaning a little closer. “Which I don’t think you’d give me if I just asked.”

“What?” He was so close to me now that I could feel the warmth of him dancing in the air between us.

His gaze fell to my mouth for the briefest of moments and my heart leapt of its own accord. “You’ll have to wait and see when I win.”

Darius stepped back and turned away from me as he chose his own bike.

I took a deep breath as I tried to clear my head of the fog he’d placed around me and my Atlas pinged again.

I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the messages I’d received. There were several shirtless pictures of Caleb and promises of things he’d like to do with me then there was another message, demanding I confirm whether or not I was out with Darius. I raised an eyebrow in surprise and glanced at Darius, finding him looking back at me with a smirk on his face.

“Problem?” he asked, sounding amused as he rolled a red Yamaharpie out of the line up.

“Did you tell Caleb we were out together?” I asked.

“Were you planning on keeping it a secret?” he asked in response.

“No,” I replied. “I’ll be telling everyone and anyone about how I won one of your precious bikes from you by tomorrow. But I get the feeling you might have annoyed him.”

Darius held a hand out for my Atlas and I handed it to him, not really caring if he read the messages Caleb had sent.

He cast an eye over them for a few seconds then tossed it back into my hands before taking his own Atlas from his pocket again.

Darius caught my hand and pulled me upright, before throwing his arm around my shoulders as he held his Atlas in front of us and took a picture while pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I couldn’t help but laugh as he took the picture which he instantly sent on to Caleb.

“You’re an asshole,” I said halfheartedly as I ducked out from under his arm.

“At least I’m consistent,” he replied with a laugh.

I couldn’t really hide the smile which was trying to fight its way onto my lips and with a jolt of surprise I realised I was actually enjoying Darius’s company. I switched my Atlas off and shoved it back into my pocket. I’d just have to deal with Caleb tomorrow.

“Are you ready to lose a bike then?” I asked.

“I’m ready to see what you’ve got, Roxy,” he confirmed, hooking two helmets from a shelf above the bikes and tossing me one.

“That storm is going to make this interesting,” I commented.

“I could use magic to keep the rain off of me but I’m guessing you can’t yet?” he asked.

I shook my head, turning the helmet over in my hands. I knew I wouldn’t be able to give enough concentration to maintaining an air shield while trying to win the race. “I don’t need magic tricks to beat you anyway.”

“Then I won’t use any either. I don’t want you thinking I only won because I had an advantage.” Darius pulled his helmet on and I followed suit. The visor lit up with a little display in the bottom left corner and I frowned in surprise as I looked at it.

“There’s a built in GPS which I’ve programmed with the track circuit,” Darius’s voice came through an earpiece in the helmet and I flinched a little. “Just follow the directions in the bottom left. I set it to a random route so that I won’t be at an advantage but we can take a ride around the main ring first if you want to get a feel for the track?”

“I’m used to following random routes. I don’t need a practice round,” I assured him. No need to add that that was because I was often fleeing the police and taking back alleys and sidewalks to escape them.

“Okay then. It’s a fifteen mile route, I’ll lead you out to the start point. First one back to the drive wins.”

“I hope you’re not a sore loser,” I teased.

Darius tossed me the key to my bike and I caught it neatly. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never lost.”

I rolled my eyes as I kicked my leg over the saddle and started the engine. It was actually something of a novelty to use a key to do so.

The engine roared with the promise of the rush I’d been missing and I sighed with pleasure, letting my eyes fall closed for a moment as I just appreciated this metal creature beneath me. “Fuck yes. I’ve missed this feeling so much.”

“What bike did you leave behind in the mortal world?” Darius asked and I opened my eyes to find him watching me like I was the most interesting goddamn thing he’d ever seen.

“I’ve never owned my own bike,” I said before realising that I probably shouldn’t have admitted that.

“Then how did you learn to ride?” he asked in confusion. I could only hear him over the roar of the engine because his voice still came through the speaker by my ear but somehow that made it easier for me to talk to him.

“I had a boyfriend with bikes. A few actually. That tended to be my type, particularly after I lost my trust in cars.”

“Because bikes don’t have a roof, so you can never get stuck in one?” he guessed.

“I suppose that won’t help me if I get caught beneath ice again though will it?” I snapped. I didn’t want him digging around in my head and I certainly didn’t want to be chatting to him like we were friends or something. Why the hell did I keep on letting myself forget what he was and what he’d done to me? “Are you done stalling or are you ready to lose a race?” I asked.

Darius nodded at me and though I could only see his eyes through his visor, I got the impression he wasn’t pleased that I’d put an end to our little chat. But what the hell did he want from me? I wasn’t going to be spilling all of my secrets to the guy who had treated me like shit from the second he met me just because he’d suddenly decided to take an interest in who I was over what I was.

I revved the engine and dropped the clutch, shooting forward and up the ramp.

The rain slammed into me the second I made it onto the drive and I slowed as I guided the bike across the gravel.

Darius came up beside me and I let him take the lead as he headed along the front of the house before turning onto a concrete track which wound into the shade of woodland to the west of the manor.

He pulled up, placing his foot on the ground as he waited for me to take my place beside him on his left.

Thunder crashed through the sky overhead quickly followed by a flash of lightning which lit up the trees around us and the track which led away from me.

I must be absolutely insane to do this in this weather.

The GPS at the bottom left of my visor said my first turning was going to be a right in half a mile which meant I was going to need to make the most of the straight shot before that turning.

“Ready, Roxy?” Darius purred.

“Prepare to lose, asshole,” I replied darkly, my gaze fixed on the track ahead of me, or at least as much of it as I could see in the dark.

“Three. Two. One-”

I dropped the clutch and pulled the throttle, shooting forward with the force of a rocket launch as I ducked my head low and sped into the storm.

Darius was right beside me and a wild grin pulled at my lips as I increased my speed. Raindrops speckled my visor but the speed we were travelling at meant they were swept away again as quickly as they landed.

Darius laughed in my earpiece as he took the lead and my smile widened as I watched his exhaust edge ahead of me.

The second he was clear of me, I threw my weight to the right, swinging my bike that way as I dropped a gear and opened the throttle again, sweeping into the inside lane just as we hit the turn.

My knee almost skimmed the ground and puddle water splashed up against my jacket as I leaned all the way into the corner before righting myself again and opening the throttle wide the second I hit the straight. I flew into the lead and Darius cursed through my earpiece.

The track left the woods and I followed the GPS directions with Darius right on my tail as the track wound through a sweeping meadow which was being battered by the storm.

My heart was pounding and the bike roared with hungry energy beneath me, tearing up the course as I fought to keep control of my lead.

We swung a right then a left and my elbow brushed against Darius’s as he sped up the inside lane, struggling to regain his position.

I threw half a glance at him, changing gears and leaning low as I fought to hold him off. He fell back for a moment then gained on me again, managing to keep the inside track as we hit a hairpin turn.

By the time I’d navigated it, he’d taken the lead back and I growled at his back as his excited laughter reached me through the speakers.

Thunder boomed overhead again and I flinched as lighting forked through the sky instantly. The storm was right on top of us and the track was slick and deadly as we pushed the bikes to their limits.

We sped around the track, the engines roaring and my heart hammering to a tune of pure, unbridled joy. This was freedom. There was nothing in the world that compared to this feeling.

We shot back into the woods and I was so close to Darius’s bike that I was sure my wheel almost touched his once or twice. He was good. I’d give him that. But I was better.

I gritted my teeth as we came upon a long straight, flattening myself as much as I could so that the bike could cut through the wind at top speed.

I closed in on Darius, my front wheel making it in line with his back.

The manor was ahead of us, the display on the GPS telling me I had less than a third of a mile to the end of the track. I couldn’t let him win.

I could feel the water beneath the wheels threatening to unbalance me as I pushed the bike harder.

Thunder echoed through the heavens so loud I could have sworn the earth trembled. A great arc of lightning shot down from the clouds, slamming into the trees ahead to our right and fire sprung to life.

I couldn’t spare the burning glow any attention as I drew the throttle back even further, my bike finally speeding past Darius’s as he yelled something which I couldn’t concentrate on.

The finish line was looming ahead, the gravel driveway calling me home for the win as heavy rain splattered my visor so thickly I could barely see.

Movement caught my attention on my right just as the huge, burning tree which had been hit by the lightning crashed across the track in front of me.

I squeezed the brakes, pulling way too hard for the wet conditions and feeling the back wheel slide out behind me instantly.

I screamed as the bike spun out, ducking my head as I clung to the handlebars for dear life. I caught sight of Darius’s bike spinning out of control too half a second before my bike collided with the fallen tree and I was thrown into the air.

My heart slammed into my ribs as blind panic consumed me and I flung my arms out, magic pouring from me in a wave which I had no control over. I only begged for it to save us.

I was tossed about in a vortex of wind which managed to slow me down somewhat and threw me towards the sweeping lawn to the front of Acrux manor.

I hit the ground hard but it felt soft and spongy beneath me as earth magic cushioned my fall. Darius slammed into me a second later, the impact of his massive body hitting mine causing more pain than hitting the ground had. His helmet smacked against mine and a crack was scored through my visor.

We tumbled across the ground in a tangle of limbs before jarring to a halt with him on top of me.

I groaned as pain danced through my body, drawing in a ragged breath which my ribs protested to with a blinding flash of pain which made half a cry pass through my lips.

“Roxy?” Darius asked, pushing himself back as he yanked his helmet off and tossed it to the ground. “Are you okay?”

I groaned in a noncommittal way. I was alive which was pretty damn miraculous all things considered but okay was pushing it. I was in a whole world of pain and it was taking all of my self control not to start screaming, especially as I took another breath and blinding agony ripped through my ribs again.

Rain slammed down on Darius, plastering his dark hair to his forehead but he ignored it as he reached out to pull my helmet off too.

I ground my teeth together as I tried to ignore the agony in my chest but as he touched my side, a line of curses spilled from my lips potent enough to make him raise his eyebrows at me.

“Hang on,” he said, reaching out to cup my cheek in his rough palm.

The warmth of his magic pushed into my body and the tension coiled in my limbs relaxed as he took the agony away.

I took a deep breath, raindrops washing over my cheeks as I lay with my face to the tempestuous storm clouds above, panting as the pain faded.

Darius finished healing me and caught my shoulder, heaving me up to sit facing him. I looked into his eyes as the rain pounded down on us and we both tried to catch our breath. My gaze slowly slid to the wrecked bikes and the fallen tree which should have killed us and my lips parted at the sight of the mangled metal.

“Well shit,” I breathed. “How the hell did we survive that?”

“You should know,” Darius replied, his eyes still on me as I stared at the flames. “I don’t have air or earth magic.”

I looked back at him in surprise. “I saved us?” I asked, needing confirmation because I sure as hell hadn’t been thinking clearly enough to be able to do it on purpose.

“You did,” he confirmed.

I looked back at the blazing wreckage of my bike and laughter burst from my lips. After a beat, Darius started laughing too and I leaned into him as my smile nearly split my face in two.

That had been fucking insane but it had also been one hell of a rush.

“We should get the hell out of here before Jenkins sees the mess we’ve made,” Darius said, a wide smile on his face as he took my hand and pulled me to my feet.

“Won’t your dad care that we wrecked those bikes?” I asked as Darius took the stardust from his pocket and held it ready, still keeping hold of my hand.

“I bought them with my allowance, he won’t care about that,” Darius said dismissively before throwing the glimmering stardust over us.

The storm and blazing wreckage disappeared in an instant, stars swimming in an endless galaxy around us before the world righted itself and I found myself back in Darius’s bedroom in Ignis House.

We were dripping a puddle onto the floor, our muddy boots staining the new carpet while the two of us grinned like naughty school kids.

“That was insane,” I breathed. “I can’t believe we tried to race in that storm.”

“I can’t believe you almost beat me,” he replied, stepping a little closer to me.

“Almost?” I scoffed. “We were at the finish line. I had you beat and you know it.”

“I was about to take back the lead but it’s cute you think you would have won.” Darius caught my waist between his hands and I looked up at him in surprise.

His magic swept over my skin and he drew the water out of my hair and clothes before mixing it with that from himself and sending it all flying into the bathroom and down the drain.

I watched the water as it flew away from us, my throat bobbing as he kept his grip on my waist.

He stepped closer again and I stepped back. I looked up into his eyes and found a smile playing around his lips. He walked me back another step. And another. My thighs hit the edge of his golden bed.

Before he could move me again, my hand landed on his chest. “I should go,” I breathed.

“Stay,” he replied instantly.

Silence hung between us and my heart started beating faster as I looked at the perfect angles of his face, the rough stubble lining his jaw and the endless depths of his dark eyes. For a moment I felt like I wanted to know all of his secrets and give him all of mine but my hand was still on his chest, holding him back and I didn’t remove it.

“I have my Air Trial tomorrow,” I said. “I really need to get some sleep and-”

“So sleep here. Like last night. We don’t have to do anything else.”

I frowned at him, wondering why the hell he would ask me to do that and why the hell I wanted to say yes.

“I have a perfectly good bed downstairs,” I replied, shaking my head just a little. “Why would you want me to stay?”

Darius frowned like he wasn’t sure what to say to that but he inched a little closer all the same. “Because it feels right,” he breathed.

I wanted to deny that but my heart pounded a little with the truth of his words. Hadn’t I woken up feeling safe and secure in his arms this morning? Hadn’t I wanted that feeling to go on and on? But I’d also been horrified and a little terrified to realise exactly whose bed I’d found myself in. That part hadn’t changed. He was still the monster who had hurt me in more ways than I could count since I’d arrived here.

I shook my head slowly, increasing the pressure of my hand on his chest as I forced him back a step.

Darius’s gaze dropped to my hand on him and he released his grip on my waist.

I moved out of his hold, breaking contact with him as I started backing away towards the door.

“Are you going to admit that I won?” I asked, a faint smile pulling at my lips again as I reached the door.

“Never,” he replied, watching me go.

“Then I guess this is goodnight.” I pulled the door open and stepped outside quickly, closing it between us before heading down to my room.

It was nearly two am and I needed to get some sleep in before the trial tomorrow.

I quickly changed into my pyjamas and slid into my bed, pulling the duvet up around me to ward off the chill left in my bones by the storm.

I flicked my Atlas on to set an alarm for the morning and it pinged just before I closed my eyes. I pulled it closer to read the message quickly and I bit my lip against the smile which wanted to break free in response to what I read.

Darius:

But maybe we could call it a draw?