Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess

I raced through the corridors of Jupiter hall, my heart pounding as I sprinted at full pelt, knowing Caleb was closing in on me. The day was icily cold and the coat and hat had seemed like a great idea until I’d agreed to let a Vampire chase me. My hair was sticking to my scalp where I’d shoved it beneath the woolly hat and sweat coated my body beneath the jacket. I’d have thrown them off, but I’d caught sight of Caleb just before I’d darted into this building and I couldn’t waste a second.

I turned a corner and half tripped over my own feet in my haste, cursing beneath my breath as I righted myself again.

A door flew open beside me and Orion was suddenly standing in my way. I stumbled to a halt and he silently pointed into his office.

My eyes widened in surprise and I took his offer of help without a word.

The scent of bourbon and the heavy bass of rock music greeted me as I moved inside and he pulled open a cupboard door for me.

I slipped into it wordlessly, throwing up a silencing bubble to hide my heartbeat and heavy breathing from my hunter. I eyed Orion between the slats as he took a seat behind his desk, lifting his drink to his lips and jotting something down like he didn’t have a care in the world. Or a girl in his closet. I didn’t know if this was a result of our bonding sessions over the shadows or just plain old weird ass behaviour, but I wasn’t going to question it at that moment.

The door burst open and I held my breath as Caleb looked into the office, his curly hair was dishevelled and his eyes were wild with the thrill of the chase.

Orion looked up at him sharply. “What are you doing in my office, Altair?”

“Sorry, Professor,” Caleb said, though he didn’t sound sorry and his gaze was roaming the room expectantly. “I’m looking for Tory Vega, did she come this way?”

“Tory?” Orion asked in surprise, a faint frown pulling at his forehead before he smoothed it away just as quickly. “Are you tormenting your Source?” he demanded. “You know the Code.”

Caleb snarled, baring his teeth. “No I’m not, Professor. If you have to know, we’re playing a game. And as two consenting adults, that is completely up to us.”

Orion fell unnaturally still as he glared back at Caleb. “You’re hunting her?” he demanded.

“It was her idea,” Caleb said, his voice taking on a defensive tone even though he maintained his aggressive stance. “And there are no rules against it.”

“No. But there are very strong warnings against it, for very good reason-”

“Well maybe you wouldn’t be able to handle it, but I’m perfectly in control. And if you don’t mind, I’ve only got six minutes left to find her, so if she’s not here, you’re wasting my time.” He didn’t give Orion the chance to object as he turned and shot away with his Vampire speed. The door slammed shut behind him, rattling the picture frames which hung on the walls.

Damn cheater! He wasn’t supposed to use his gifts.

Orion got to his feet with a growl, almost looking like he was going to give chase for a moment but his gaze slid to my hiding place and he leaned forward, pressing his hands flat to the desk instead. I made a move to come out but he shook his head sharply, halting me.

The look on his face made me think he was pissed as hell and I was beginning to wonder if I’d accidentally put myself at the mercy of a scarier Vampire.

My heart rate was finally falling into a more even rhythm and I released a slow breath as Orion beckoned for me to leave the confines of the cupboard.

I lifted my chin as I stepped out, dispersing my silencing bubble and Orion’s gaze scraped over me.

“Thanks,” I said quickly. “But I should really get going before he-”

“Take a seat, Miss Vega,” Orion commanded, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

I hesitated, eyeing the door and wondering if I should just leave. This wasn’t school hours and I’d only come into his office because he’d invited me. I hadn’t broken any rules so he had no reason to keep me here.

“If you run, I will catch you. And perhaps you’d be better off not encouraging a second Vampire to hunt you today?”

I pursed my lips and dropped into the chair, slapping an insolent expression onto my face. I eyed the clock which hung behind him. If I stayed here for five more minutes, I’d win anyway so it was probably worth the lecture I could feel coming.

“What have I done wrong now?” I asked, the shadows stirring beneath my skin as if they sensed my discomfort.

Orion didn’t sit and I didn’t miss the fact that his position standing over me was designed to be intimidating. But in all honesty after everything the Heirs threw at me on a regular basis, a teacher with a grouch complex wasn’t likely to frighten me any time soon.

“I’m guessing that Caleb hasn’t made you familiar with The Vampire Code?” he asked, eyeing me like he was judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one.

“He came blathering about it to me a few weeks ago because he felt bad about watching the others half drown me,” I said dismissively. “I told him I didn’t give a shit about it.”

“Well it might have been worth your while to listen. Or to at least look into it yourself before you started screwing him.”

I raised an eyebrow at his judgemental tone and leaned back in my chair like it was a damn throne and I was the queen of the world. I’d been in enough interrogations in my time to know how to play this and I wasn’t going to fall into the trap of losing my shit.

“I think that my sex life is my own business and it’s pretty inappropriate of you to comment on it,” I said slowly.

He let out a long breath. “I thought that maybe you and Darius might-”

My hand clenched into a tight fist and I practically snarled at him. “If I never set eyes on Darius Acrux again in my life it will be too fucking soon. I hate him for what he helped his father do to us. You should know that better than anyone as you were there too. Or am I supposed to pretend I don’t remember that, sir?”

Orion actually had the good grace to look uncomfortable at that, dropping his gaze for a moment before he went on.

“You know full well that neither Darius or I had any knowledge of what his father was going to do to the two of you. Darius risked his own life in place of yours that night because of how he feels about you and-”

“Bullshit,” I snapped, slamming my fist down on the arm of my chair and causing it to burst alight. Okay, so maybe I’d lost my shit after all. The flames tickled my flesh but at the look of rage on Orion’s face, I managed to make myself smother them as quickly as they’d appeared. “The two of you have your own agenda against Lionel and when push came to shove, Darius let him toss my sister in that fucking pit. Me too. I’m not going to forget that any time soon.”

“Won’t you just talk to Darius? Perhaps then you-”

“I’d sooner gouge my own eyes out with a rusty spoon. Am I free to go or did you have another lecture you wanted to get back to about the Heir I actually give half a shit about?” I asked angrily.

Orion let out a long breath through his nose which implied I was testing his patience and I had half a mind to just get up and walk out and find out what he’d do about it. The shadows were growing restless, whispering to me, flickering over my vision for a moment before trailing away.

Orion narrowed his eyes at me, clearly deciding to return to his original topic. “There are rules in the Code which dictate the way a Vampire must behave but there are also recommendations which, while not being an outright law, we are highly encouraged to follow. One of those being that we do not indulge in the hunt.”

“Why?” I asked, not really caring but wanting to distract myself from Darius fucking Acrux.

“Because what might seem like a game to you, is actually tapping into the most primal instincts of our kind. You are placing yourself in the position of prey. And the more Caleb lets his instincts guide him and his blood pump with the thrill of the chase, the closer he gets to losing control all together. You know how much stronger he is than you when he uses his gifts, what if he threw you against a wall so hard he cracked your skull? Or pounced on you from a great height and broke your neck?”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “He’s never done anything like that to me,” I protested. Apart from that time he drove me up a mountain and I half thought he was going to kill me. But he didn’t, so…

“Well let’s assume that he’s able to rein in the use of his gifts. What about the bloodlust? The chase builds the bloodlust from a desire to an aching need. Couple that with the fact that you’re offering him your body too and you’re basically making yourself into something irresistible to him in every way. When you enter into this game, the two most primal desires of his flesh are running away from him and he is pinning every ounce of his energy and attention into claiming both of them.”

“Maybe I like having every ounce of his attention on me,” I replied, though I couldn’t deny the prickle of apprehension which ran through me at his words. I’d noticed the way Caleb got sometimes when the game didn’t go his way or even when it did. He could be a bit rough with me, but never more than I’d been happy with. He’d never crossed the line.

Orion rolled his eyes. “He mentioned that he’s on a time limit, care to elaborate?”

I considered telling him to fuck off, but I got the feeling he wasn’t going to let me out of this office until we had this cosy little chat so I gave him his answer. “When one of us starts the game, he has fifteen minutes to catch me before it ends.”

“And if he doesn’t catch you?”

“Then he doesn’t bite me. It was kinda the whole reason I suggested we start playing it. Contrary to what I’m sure you’d like to believe, being bitten isn’t enjoyable and I’m not strong enough to fight him off yet so at least this way I have a chance.” I shrugged.

Orion sighed heavily and dropped into his seat. “I understand why you might have come up with this idea but it isn’t a good one. Even if Mr Altair manages to stop himself from biting you when he loses, it is likely to enrage him more than you can comprehend. And the chances are that that will result in him tracking you down again and biting you anyway.”

“Maybe you’re not giving him enough credit,” I said slowly.

“And maybe you’re giving him too much,” he replied darkly. “My comments are not on who he is but what he is and I know full well what the call of blood as powerful as yours can do to a man.”

I glanced up at the clock and a smile pulled at my lips. “Well perhaps we’re going to find out how well Caleb takes losing,” I said. “Because he just did.”

Orion’s lips twitched like that idea pleased him, but he stifled the look so quickly I couldn’t be sure.

“Just be careful, Miss Vega. And don’t expect any help from me again when you need somewhere to hide.”

“So why did you help me this time?”

“I thought you were your sister-” he cut himself off like he shouldn’t have said that and I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Playing favourites with your own Source?” I accused. “Good to know.”

“Well if you would be kind enough not to cover your hair with a hat in future, we won’t have this trouble.”

“Thanks for the tip. I’ve just been dying for fashion advice from a teacher,” I said, rolling my eyes as I stepped out into the corridor.

Before Orion could respond, a huge metallic crash sounded from outside and I hurried across the hallway to look out at the open courtyard which separated Jupiter Hall from The Orb.

Caleb threw a second giant fireball at the curving golden wall of the building and that metallic crash sounded again, echoing through the floor at my feet. He cursed loudly then shot away using his Vampire speed.

“Do you still think he can handle your game?” Orion asked knowingly beside me and I bit my lip on answering. Because as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I wasn’t so sure anymore. “You may think I’m just overstepping the line and trying to tell you what to do for no other reason than me being an overbearing Professor-”

“I’d have called you a grumpy old asshole,” I put in, smirking at him.

He snorted a laugh and pushed his hands into his pants’ pockets. “Less of the ‘old’ I’m only eight years older than you.”

“Yeah so when you were my age, I was ten,” I pointed out. “So you’re like half my age again. Hence, old.”

Orion frowned like he didn’t really like me pointing that out, but why would he give a shit?

“What? Were you hoping we might become besties and start braiding each other’s hair?” I teased.

“I already have a bestie,” he mocked back.

“Yeah. You have bad taste in friends.”

He laughed again and for the weirdest moment it did kinda feel like we were friends. I mean, he was still my Professor, still an ass, still old…but we’d actually been through kind of a lot together too. He’d fought alongside Darcy against the Nymphs and he’d helped us with the shadows the moment he realised we’d been cursed with them. No questions. Even now when he was being a total downer on my games with Caleb, he was actually just trying to look out for me. And maybe I hadn’t really given him any credit for all that. I’d just lumped him in with Darius and offered him up the same douchey behaviour the Dragon had earned from me. Besides, we’d actually had fun together on his birthday…

“I dunno if I’ve ever said thanks,” I said slowly, giving him a sideways glance.

“For what, Miss Vega?”

“Can you maybe just drop that shit?” I asked. “At least when we’re not in class. You know Vega wasn’t even the name I grew up with, right? We just agreed to go along with it because our surname never really meant anything to us and people wouldn’t stop with it. We have enough trouble trying to get people to accept our names are Tory and Darcy without us trying to fight the Vega thing too. But I’d really just prefer it if you’d call me Tory when we’re doing our shadow shit or hanging out for your birthday or whatever. Okay?”

“Sure,” he replied with a smirk that made him look smug as fuck. “So, will I be getting that bracelet soon or do you need time to figure out what colours might suit me best?”

I snorted a laugh. “You might wanna ask Darcy if you really want a friendship bracelet. She’s good at shit like that. Me? I’ll take you on a night out where I’ll steal a motorbike from some entitled prick and take you on a joy ride then drink you under the table so we both wake up wishing we hadn’t. That’s the kind of friend I am.”

“Sounds good. But I’m a borderline alcoholic so I seriously doubt you could drink me under the table,” he joked.

“Well I’ve been drinking myself into a coma every night since Lionel forced the shadows on me just so that I can sleep without nightmares so…”

Orion’s gaze narrowed on me and I realised I’d let my mouth run away with me there.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll catch you later.” I turned and walked away from him, but before I could get three paces, he shot around me and was in my face.

“The shadows shouldn’t be that loud if you’ve been subduing them like we’ve practiced,” he said, frowning at me. “Are you subduing them, Tory?”

The look he was giving me was concerned but it was calculating too. I might have been a bit harsh on him because of his connection to Darius, but I had good reason for that. He wouldn’t want me toying with the shadows like I was. He wouldn’t want me learning to control them as well as I was starting to. Because he wanted Darius to have the advantage.

“I’ll try harder,” I said sweetly. I’d been lying to teachers, foster parents, social workers and the cops my whole life. I was damn good at it and I slammed my defensive walls back up just as quickly as I’d let them slip.

Orion frowned like he wasn’t sure he bought my act but I just raised my eyebrows at him, waiting for him to say it.

He sighed.

“Look, if you’re struggling with them while you’re in your House then you should go to Darius. I know that the two of you aren’t seeing eye to eye right now but I promise you, on this he won’t do anything other than help you.”

I scoffed at that and stepped around him. “Thanks,” I said dismissively. The shadows could have me before I’d go begging for help at Darius’s door. “But Mr Tequila is helping me just fine.”

I walked away from him and this time he let me go. What else could he say anyway? This curse was mine to bear now and I’d deal with it whatever way I had to to survive it. Including embracing it.

It was dark as I made it outside and I released a breath that rose in a cloud of vapour as I started walking for Ignis House.

I checked my Atlas as I went, finding a few messages from Caleb asking for a rematch which I ignored. I half wondered if Orion might be right about him hunting me down again anyway but I wasn’t going to sweat it. Caleb might be a douche who went along with his asshole friends whenever it suited him, but he’d also taken me up a mountain when he was pissed as all hell with me and hadn’t hurt me. Well…not any more than I was comfortable with anyway. So I decided to trust him at least in that. I might make it a point to discuss the hunt with him in a little more detail the next time we were alone though, just to make sure we really were on the same page with it.

I started walking through Fire Territory and for a moment I thought I heard someone calling my name. I looked around, but couldn’t see anyone on the path so I continued on again.

Gabriel dropped from the sky right in front of me, moving as fast as a Vampire and causing me to shriek in alarm.

“What the hell?” I demanded as he stood before me, tucking his giant black wings against his back.

“I did call out but no one ever looks up,” he said with a shrug.

“Right.” I frowned at him, wondering if there was a point to him dropping out of the sky and scaring the life out of me.

“I need you to do me a favour,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“I’m out of stardust for our Order lessons. So unless we can get any more, we won’t be able to continue.”

My gut dropped. Even though I’d only been flying for a really short time, the idea of not being able to do it felt like being caged. It was unthinkable.

“I don’t understand how I’m supposed to-”

“I need you to ask Darius for some,” he replied.

I balked at that idea. “No. Seriously dude, no. I’ve got money, I can pay for-”

“The Acruxes control all of the stardust. It’s made by Dragons. Even if you bought it you’d still be getting it from them. Besides, I’ve seen what will happen if you ask him. He’ll give it to you.”

“Why?” I asked. “Why would he do that for me?”

“I don’t know,” Gabriel said in a way that sounded like he really did know. “I just know that he will. Beyond that there are two paths your conversation might take. Which way it goes will depend on the two of you.”

“That’s not helpful,” I pointed out. “That’s like saying ‘here’s a sandwich, this will go one of two ways, you’ll eat it or you won’t’ and that’s not a real prediction. Those were the only two options there ever were anyway.”

“Not true. Maybe I’d smash it in your face and let mayonnaise run riot through your hair. I’ve been known to do that in the past.”

I rolled my eyes, smiling despite myself.

“Maybe,” I agreed. “So is there a time scale on me asking a favour of the asshole I’ve been ignoring for the past week and a half?”

“You just need to do it tonight,” Gabriel assured me. “This side of midnight feels like it’s guaranteed to get us the stardust so best make it before then.”

“Fine,” I groaned. “I’ll do it.”

“Good. Then we can all go flying tomorrow.”

He didn’t let me respond to that as he shot off into the sky and I tipped my head back to watch him go with a smile on my face. Okay, so at least knowing my reward for this painful interaction would be getting to soar through the sky. I could make myself do it for that.

I headed back to Ignis House with flying on my mind and hurried through the common room before going straight to my room. I was tired and sweaty and I needed a shower. Interactions with bad tempered Dragons could wait that long.

I glanced in the mirror beside my door as I flicked the lights on. I just so happened to like this hat. It had a little pink bobble and made me look cute. Which was ironic because I was anything but that. And I’d bought several other hats too, now that the weather was getting colder. So what if it covered up my hair? It wasn’t my job to make it easy for grumpy Professors to tell me and Darcy apart.

I tossed my coat and hat back in my closet and headed straight into the shower, telling myself that I wasn’t stalling as I stepped beneath the flow of hot water.

I took my time washing my hair then faffed about blow drying it and moisturising my skin after I’d gotten out. When I couldn’t even lie to myself about the effort I was going to to avoid heading upstairs, I sighed and yanked on a pair of baggy sweats and a crop top. I didn’t put any makeup back on because I gave zero shits about how I looked. I wasn’t going to make an effort for Darius Acrux.

With a huff of irritation directed at Gabriel, I stalked out of my room. It was half eleven so I really couldn’t avoid it any longer and a part of me was wishing I’d just gotten on with it the moment I’d come back to the House instead of wasting time. But it was too late for that so I set my jaw and jogged up the stairs instead.

I stalked towards Darius’s door, the old warning he’d given me ringing in my ears. I wasn’t supposed to come here uninvited. But here I was.

I refused to flinch and raised my fist to knock on the door without hesitating.

“It’s open,” Darius called back because entitled douchebags didn’t bother themselves with things like opening doors.

I took a long breath then opened the door.

Darius was sitting with his back to me on the three seater grey couch which sat to the right of his enormous room. The TV was on and he was watching Pitball match replays while drinking a beer from the bottle.

He didn’t look around, his gaze staying fixed on the TV as a slow motion shot played through of a player having their head smashed into the dirt while their opponent stole the earth ball from him.

“Hi,” I said loudly when he didn’t seem inclined to turn my way.

His head snapped around instantly at the sound of my voice and he shoved himself to his feet.

“Hey,” he said, hesitating on the other side of the couch. His gaze slid over me but I didn’t know what he was looking for. He wore a white T-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, his hair unstyled and still damp from a shower so I guessed we’d made a similar non amount of effort. Then again I’d known I was coming here and he hadn’t so mine was more intentional.

“So, Gabriel said I had to come here,” I said, not wanting him to think this was my choice. “He’s run out of stardust for transporting us to our Order lessons…”

Darius raised an eyebrow at me and I ground my teeth as I realised he was going to make me actually ask the question.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to do it because I just wanted this interaction over.

“So, would you possibly be able to give us some?”

He still didn’t respond and I bit my tongue on the next word.

“Please.” I smiled sweetly, offering him the same bullshit show I used to put on for my foster parents when they would question me on where I’d snuck off to all night.

Darius laughed at my display and moved around the couch, approaching me slowly. I fell still, holding my ground and not wanting to show an inch of weakness.

“Close the door,” Darius directed.

I glanced over my shoulder at it. I didn’t hate having that route to freedom available and I wasn’t keen on giving it up.

“Why?”

“Because stardust is ridiculously valuable and there are thieves in this school. I’m not just going to give away my hiding place for it with the door wide open.”

I pursed my lips and sent a gust of air into the door, knocking it shut while I tried to ignore the fact that I’d just locked myself in with a beast.

“You don’t need to look at me like I’m a serial killer,” he deadpanned, walking across the room to his bed.

He lifted the mattress and I snorted a laugh as he revealed the stash of silk bags hidden there.

“Something you want to say?” he asked as he took a bag from the stash.

“Well it’s just you said you wanted to keep your stash hidden from thieves, but under the mattress is pretty much the first place anyone would look for something.” I shrugged.

“I guess you’d know,” he replied.

“I would,” I agreed, holding his eye. I wasn’t ashamed of the things I’d done to survive. “But I guess you wouldn’t know what it was like to go two days without food, watch your sister shiver herself to sleep under a threadbare blanket and have to go out and get some money in any way you could just to make sure you didn’t starve.”

Darius frowned in response to that. “I didn’t mean…sorry. You’re right, I haven’t got a clue what it’s like to have to do something like that. Or to have to live like that. I shouldn’t judge you for what you did to survive.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t realise that word was even in your vocabulary.”

“Maybe you would have if you didn’t ignore me all the time,” he replied.

“Well maybe I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t such a consistently repetitive ass.”

Darius opened his mouth to bite back at me but no words escaped him. His fist closed on the pouch of stardust and he forced himself to halt whatever words had been working their way up out of his throat.

“You know, I think that if you want to have this, you’re going to need to do something to earn it,” he said eventually.

“Like what?”

Darius cocked his head as he considered that. “Help me hide the rest of it somewhere a thief wouldn’t check.”

“You could just entrust it all into my keeping and I’d promise to keep it safe for you,” I offered.

Darius smirked at me. “Unlikely. I might be able to understand what drove you to stealing from people. But once a thief always a thief, right?”

I shrugged because that was probably true. I didn’t need to steal anything from anyone at the moment, but if the need arose I wouldn’t exactly find it difficult to slip into old habits.

“Fine,” I agreed because it was obvious he wasn’t going to give it to me until he made me jump through this hoop.

I glanced around his fancy ass room, scoffing slightly at the solid gold headboard before walking straight past his bed and into his bathroom.

“Are you going to use my toothbrush again?” he asked as he followed me and I rolled my eyes, not bothering to respond. I guessed he was referring to the night I’d gotten way too drunk and ended up sleeping here, but I didn’t remember brushing my teeth.

“You have a goddamn jacuzzi in your bathroom,” I pointed out as I headed into the huge space. The walls were covered in grey and white tiles and the taps and toilet flush were solid gold. Of course they are.

“You were quite fond of that the last time you came here too,” he said. “Do you wanna try it out?”

“Why, are you leaving?” I asked, looking back over my shoulder at him.

“Do you really want me to?” he asked in response.

I ignored the heat that ran down my spine at that suggestion and pointed at the base of the jacuzzi as I turned back to face him.

“Unscrew that panel and put your little stash in there. Most thieves won’t dismantle something to check for hidden crap,” I said. “Can I have the stardust now?”

Darius walked towards me, holding his fist out and opening it slowly in offering.

My heart thumped harder as he penned me into the corner of the room with his huge body but I refused to back away.

I reached out, my fingers gripping the bag half a second before he closed his hand around mine.

I flinched and tried to pull my hand back but he didn’t release me.

“I think we need to talk,” he said slowly.

“Let go of me,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt inside.

“What is it you think I’m going to do to you?” he asked, hurt flickering in his eyes as he released my hand. “You’re impervious to fire magic, I can’t even use Dragon Fire against you. I’m hardly going to hit you or hurt you in some other way. I just want to talk to you before you run off and start ignoring me again.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I replied sarcastically. “We’re in a bathroom after all, maybe you’re going to try and drown me again? Or choke me? Or maybe you just want to try and draw me closer to you again just so that it will hurt even more the next time you push me in the mud or call me a whore.”

Darius’s lips parted but he didn’t say anything else. He was frowning like he didn’t want to own the fact that he’d done all of those things and more to me, but there was no denying it.

My heart was beating a frantic rhythm as I looked up at him while listing all the things he could so easily do to me and on instinct I reached for something to protect myself.

The shadows sprung to life within me without any need for further prompting. Darkness fell over my vision and I glared through it at Darius as his eyes widened with surprise. I inhaled deeply as the euphoric call of the shadows sang to my soul and drew on more of them to protect myself.

The whispering grew louder, promises of power, destruction and death breathed into my ears like the softest caress. Shadows spilled along my arms, cloaking my body and dancing between my fingers as I let them have their way.

It would be so easy to keep going. So easy to let them do whatever they wanted and feed my soul with the pleasure they promised me.

I took a step towards my tormentor, baring my teeth as I closed in on him and the shadows begged for his life. And after everything he’d done to me, why shouldn’t I take it? I’d be protecting myself and my sister from the threat he clearly still posed us.

I reached out and caught his T-shirt in my grasp, fisting it in my hand while pressing my other palm flat to his chest right above his heart.

The shadows leapt forward, intent on their victim and lurching out to coil around his soul.

Power slid beneath my skin and Darius gasped in surprise as the shadows fed on his magic and gifted it to me. The heat of his fire burned beneath my skin and I moaned as it lit me up from the inside out.

It was like the purest taste of sin. I was consuming that which placed him above me, feeding on the very thing he wielded to hurt me.

“Roxy,” Darius breathed, his hand cupping my cheek as he captured my gaze with his. “Fight it.”

I blinked at him, wondering what he meant and why he wasn’t trying to fight me off. Golden light danced on the edges of my vision as he let the barrier around his power fall away, leaving himself vulnerable to my shadows as they raced forward to devour everything that made him, him.

I felt like I was standing on a precipice, I could lean one way and let the shadows feast, take anything and everything from him. Or I could lean the other and fall back into his arms, let him pull me away from the dark.

The shadows deepened over my eyes and it felt like I was reliving every heinous thing he’d ever done to me, existing in the memory of each torturous moment I’d spent in his company. Just as I was about to let the shadows have him, another memory surfaced. I woke up in his arms, the heat of him surrounding me and the feeling of complete and utter safety enveloping me.

I gasped as I drew myself back from the shadows, throwing a cage up around the part of my heart where they resided and locking them away.

I stumbled forward and Darius’s arms closed around me as he drew me against his chest.

The scent of him enveloped me, cedar and smoke mixing with something entirely him.

His fingers slid through my hair, his other hand stroking along my spine as I shuddered in his arms. My heart was thundering to a dangerous beat and I had to wonder if I’d really been in more danger of hurting myself than Darius by giving in to the shadows.

“It’s alright,” he breathed. “I won’t ever let them have you.”

“Why?” I forced out, reaching up to brush the tears from my cheeks. “You don’t care about me. All you’ve ever done is hurt me, so why would you promise me something like that?”

I managed to push myself out of his arms and the places where his hands had been tingled with the memory of his touch like they missed it.

“I do care about you,” he said, the frown on his face telling me he wasn’t sure why and I sure as shit didn’t know either. “And I’m…I mean, I shouldn’t…I never should have…”

“What?” I breathed, looking into his dark eyes and hoping for…what? Something I didn’t dare let myself hope for.

“You have to know I can’t…I didn’t…I never wanted to…”

“To what?” I demanded, needing him to say it. To just fucking say it.

He shook his head at me like the words burned too much to force past his lips. My temper rose again because even after everything, he wasn’t going to own any of it. He wasn’t going to apologise or say anything that might make even the littlest difference.

“Just say it,” I begged.

He reached for me but I stepped back. I needed to hear it. No short cuts. Not after everything he’d done. If he wanted something from me then he had to fucking say it.

Darius frowned and I could see some kind of battle going on within his gaze, but I wasn’t just going to stand here while he tried to figure it out. If it was this damn hard for him to say whatever the hell it was then he clearly didn’t feel it strongly enough.

I plucked the bag of stardust from the floor where he’d dropped it and side stepped him, heading for the exit.

I made it all the way through the bathroom and to the door which led back to the hallway before he called out to stop me.

“Roxy, wait.”

I paused, looking over my shoulder at him.

“What? I have somewhere else to be,” I snapped even though I didn’t.

“With Caleb?” he asked and I just frowned at him because that wasn’t the case, but it wasn’t like it was his business if it was. He seemed to take my silence as confirmation though and his gaze hardened.

“Do you have something to say to me or not?” I demanded.

“No,” he growled. “Just skip off back to his bed like a good little blood donor.”

“Nice.” I wrenched the door open and stepped out into the corridor.

He called after me again but he could go fuck himself.

I started jogging and his footsteps followed me out into the corridor.

“I didn’t mean that,” he was saying but I didn’t want to fucking hear it.

“You never mean any of the things you say or do to me, do you?” I shouted back. “But you still keep doing them.”

I made it to my door and shoved my key into the lock, tearing it open just as he caught up to me.

I stepped inside and tried to throw the door closed in his face. His hand swung up to stop it at the last second.

“So that’s it?” he demanded. “You’re just going to run away from me? Just going to go right back to ignoring me?”

“And you’re going right back to tormenting me and making my life miserable, right?”

His eyes flashed with emotion but I was done, so fucking done.

With a wrench of energy, I forced the door shut between us and quickly turned the key in the lock.

“Roxy!” Darius shouted from the other side.

“That’s not even my fucking name, asshole!” I screamed back.

He kept pounding on my door but I just backed away from it.

“You really want us to go right on back to hating each other?” he called through the wood. “Like nothing happened on the night of the Eclipse? Like nothing changed?”

“Nothing did change,” I snarled. “I hated you then and I still hate you now!”

There was a long pause and in the silence that stretched I almost thought he’d gone until his voice came back to me again.

“Fine. If that’s how you want it, then stay my enemy. But don’t forget you asked for it.”

He slammed his fist into my door and I leapt back as a crack split up the centre of the wood, but his retreating footsteps sounded a moment later, letting me know he was gone.

I sank down onto my bed, shaking all over though I refused to acknowledge it. Tears slid down my cheeks but I ignored them too. Because I didn’t care about Darius Acrux. And he certainly didn’t mean enough to me to make me cry.