Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess

Another night of the shadows calling to me left a heavy feeling in my gut. I’d been awake since dawn and spent a few hours sketching, though every time I tried to draw something carefree I found myself twisting the image into something darker. The tangled roots of a tree became a writhing mass of snakes, the shimmering sunlight on the roof of The Orb became dark, jagged cracks I shaded in thick black tones. It didn’t give me much relief and I soon tucked the images into my drawer with a sigh.

What I really wanted to do was talk to Tory. I’d written out a hundred messages to her last night before deleting them all. I’d fretted long into the night, wondering if there was a way to tell her about Seth without him finding out. But then I thought of the consequences of him discovering that I’d gone against him and I started fretting again. But the longer I hesitated to talk to her, the longer I went without my twin. And it was almost unbearable.

I practised controlling my Phoenix fire for a while, letting the blue and red flames gather in my palms, feeling the call of their immense power as it writhed under my skin. It whispered promises of revenge and the hotter it grew, the more that urge swelled in me. I let the flames circle up my arms, playing with it like a living thing as it wound around me, kissing my flesh with pockets of heat.

My Atlas pinged and I swiped it up, finding a message from Tyler.

Tyler:

My mom’s sending a crew to do your interview this evening. Tory smashed it at hers last night! A car will be waiting to pick you up at the campus gates at 6pm.

My heart sank. Tory hadn’t told me she’d gone to do the interview already. I wished I could have been there.

I shot a reply to Tyler, confirming the meeting placing and taking comfort in the fact that I’d be doing something proactive against the Heirs. Something they couldn’t bite back at me for. I was a Vega twin and I was perfectly entitled to give interviews to the press when invited.

My Atlas pinged again and my gut dropped as I spotted Seth’s name on the screen.

Seth:

Come up to the common room.

Two little ticks told him I’d read it so I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen it.

Seth:

Two minutes and counting.

Fury blazed through me as I stood up, claws scraping at my insides over being summoned by an Heir. It was worse than him beating me down, worse even than him cutting my hair off. He’d stolen my will from me. My ability to fight back. He was dangling my darkest secret over my head. It felt like being collared and leashed and no part of me could accept that.

But Seth was an idiot. Because this couldn’t go on forever. One way or another, we’d escape his hold on us and I vowed to be ready for when that day came. My Phoenix fire flashed hotter along my arms and I pulled it back into me, soothing it and begging it to be patient.

I’ll release you on him one day and he’ll regret ever making me his target.

I tucked my Atlas into my jeans’ pocket and headed out the door. Chatter sounded up in the common room as I climbed the stairs and my jaw clenched as I entered. Seth was lounging in his favourite grey chair by the fire across the room, his pack surrounding him. Some of them were spread across the couch opposite while others perched on the arms of Seth’s chair and rubbed at his shoulders or ran their fingers through his hair.

I tutted under my breath, moving through the room. Seth’s gaze fell on me and a dark smile pulled at his mouth as I slowed to a halt in front of him.

“You called me, your dogness?” I said, plastering on a polite smile and the Wolf pack started growling at me.

“Yeah, we were all about to play dress up. Thought you might wanna join in,” Seth said smoothly as the beautiful Alice stroked his chest and grinned.

“Dress up?” I questioned. Please don’t get me involved in some weird-ass pack thing I don’t understand.

“How are we going to get a Vega to do it?” Frank asked in confusion, looking to Seth from beneath a sleeping girl on the couch.

Another tall guy with caramel skin and a thin moustache nodded his agreement. “Yeah, let’s just pick some random freshmen. Where’s that hat guy?”

“No Maurice. This particular Vega will do whatever I tell her to,” Seth said with a triumphant smirk and his pack gasped, howling and barking excitedly. My gut sank as I looked between them all, trying to figure out what I was in for.

“Why?” Alice asked her Alpha, leaning in close to his ear.

My chest tightened as I stared directly at him, silently begging him not to tell.

“It’s a secret,” Seth said then mimed zipping his lips.

“I can get it out of you,” Alice said, placing a kiss by his mouth and sliding her hand lower down his chest.

He nudged her away and rose from his seat, the members of his pack all stilling as they looked to him in anticipation.

“Turn around,” Seth commanded me, but my feet wouldn’t move. I didn’t want to turn my back on this animal.

He twirled his finger in the air, giving me a pointed look and I forced myself to turn, releasing a slow breath to try and calm my pounding heart.

He moved close behind me and my skin prickled as his body heat washed over my back. “Wolves are hunters by nature, babe. We like to chase little furry creatures and eat them for lunch.”

“Well it looks like I don’t fit the bill,” I said thickly, stepping forward but he caught the back of my jeans and tugged me back.

“Not yet.” I could hear the smirk in his voice and my heart pounded unevenly. He yanked my top up a few inches and I stiffened, jerking forward again. He hooked me back with a low growl that resonated deep in my bones.

“Hold your shirt up to here,” he instructed.

I reluctantly did as he said and he pressed a finger to my lower back, making a shudder roll through me. He started painting an image there, though I had no idea what it was as a tingle of magic swept over my skin.

“Maurice, show me the constellation again,” he demanded and movement in my periphery said Maurice was moving closer.

Seth continued to paint what I guessed was the constellation on my back and a cold feeling ran beneath where his finger touched.

“Transformation crystal,” Seth ordered and a second later something freezing cold pressed to my spine.

I cursed, lurching forward and spinning to face him. My Order form sprang up from the depths of my body and sparks showered from my hands, spraying over Seth as I lost control of it. He yelped as the embers burned holes in his fancy blue shirt and his eyes turned to two pits of fury. I couldn’t concentrate on him a second longer as a wave of ice rolled across my lower back. Another freezing blast shot up my spine and flickered over my scalp.

“What have you done to me?” I gasped, placing a hand on a chair to steady myself as the strange feeling engulfed my body.

The Werewolves all jumped up, looking excited as they watched me, rubbing shoulders and nuzzling each other.

Something endlessly soft pushed down the back of my jeans and I reached around with shaking hands to feel what it was. I inhaled sharply as I tugged it free, craning my neck around to try and see it. I gasped as I spotted the pom-pom sized white rabbit tail poking out the top of my pants. I pulled at it in alarm and yelped as it yanked on my tail bone.

“Ah!” I swung around and the tail followed me as I released it. Seth’s wolf pack fell apart with laughter and the darkness in his eyes lifted as a genuine smile graced his lips. He hurried forward, his smile still growing as he pushed his fingers into my hair. I caught his wrists on a knee-jerk reaction, my palms flickering with flames.

“Get off,” I snapped.

He hissed between his teeth. “Back off the fire,” he demanded and I pulled it down into my core with everything I had. “There,” he said, taking my hand and guiding it up to touch something on my head. Two soft ears flopped over my hair and panic ran through me.

“Get rid of them!”

“But you look so edible, babe,” he said like he was really enjoying this. He caught my hand and pulled me across the room toward a large mirror on the wall. As soon as the other students caught sight of my tail and ears, they roared with laughter, snatching out their Atlases to record me.

My cheeks flushed hot as Seth planted me beside him, slinging his arm around my shoulders as we stood in front of the mirror. I rushed forward to inspect what he’d done, from the grey ears dangling from the top of my head to the fluffy white rabbit tail which had appeared above my ass. That wasn’t even the worst of it. Whiskers were sprouting from my cheeks and my eyes were changing too, my pupils overly large so I looked like some sort of cartoon anime character.

“Seth!” I barked, rounding on him. “You’d better get rid of this.”

“Sure sure…later. Now give me your Atlas.” He held out his hand. “Can’t have you looking up any counter-spells.”

“I won’t,” I insisted. I did not want to be parted with my Atlas even if I did have to go around like this. And I especially didn’t want it in the hands of this asshole.

Seth held out his hand with a lazy expression and I noticed eyes on us from around the entire common room. A growl rumbled in my throat and heat spread over my shoulder blades as my Order begged to be set free.

“One day I’ll burn you alive,” I whispered, moving closer.

“But until that unlikely day, you have to obey me.” He flipped his hand demandingly and I huffed furiously, snatching my Atlas out of my pocket and slamming it into his palm. “Off you go, little rabbit. I can’t promise my pack won’t chase you while you’re looking so delicious.” He winked, walking away to re-join his wolves and his pack fell on him, nuzzling him as they all had one big laugh orgy, hugging and kissing and giggling. It was ridiculous.

I was relieved when they all flopped back down into their seats, clearly having no intention of chasing me right then.

I glared at them for a second longer before turning and storming from the room.

I jogged down the stairs, taking them two at a time as tingles ran along my entire body. How far is this transformation going to go?!

I missed a step as I sped toward my corridor and gasped as I nearly crashed to my knees, catching myself on the bannister at the last second. I righted myself and hurried to my room, quickly opening the door and slipping inside.

Part of me wanted to just stay there and hide, but another part wanted to fix this. Undo what Seth had done and take the smallest of wins for myself. Who knew how long this was going to last anyway? If I didn’t stop it, I could be sitting in Cardinal Magic on Monday morning as a Fae sized bunny covered in grey fur with big Thumper feet.

I grabbed my winter coat, pulling it on and stuffing the tail up the back of it out of sight with a groan of shame. Then I pulled the hood up and tucked my ears right back so there wasn’t the slightest chance of them poking out.

I checked my reflection in the mirror, horrified as my whiskers brushed the edges of the hood. I clutched it tighter around my face and hurried out of the door. Without my Atlas I’d have to go to the library to do some research, but it was a Sunday, there’d probably be a ton of Fae there studying. I’d have to try and hide this from them even though I knew pictures of me were going to be plastered all over FaeBook soon enough anyway.

I somehow made it out of Aer Tower without anyone else seeing me. Rain swirled in the air around me as I bowed my head and ran all the way to Venus Library and spilled through the door.

Students looked up and the librarian gave me a sharp glare as I clutched the hood close around my face to hide my whiskers.

She frowned as I hurried past her and slipped into the first aisle, hunting through the books.

What am I even looking for – a de-bunny crystal??

I found a few books on transformation and carried them to a dark corner at the far end of the aisle then pushed through a door into a reading room. I sighed a breath of relief as I found the space empty.

I switched on the golden lamp on one of the tables and took a seat, dumping the books down in front of me. I started scanning through the contents pages, hunting for what I needed, though I wasn’t sure quite what that was.

Someone opened the door and I bowed my head, cursing my luck as I tried to keep my face hidden. I stole a glance at them and spotted Diego as he carried a huge tome in his arms. He moved along to the next table, facing away from me as he dropped into a chair.

“Hey,” I hissed, but he didn’t respond. “Diego.”

Nothing.

I sighed, getting to my feet and hurrying over to him, realising he had headphones on under his hat as he bobbed his head to some tune.

I tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up. “Ah!” he fell backwards off his chair, lifting his hand defensively. Air magic swirled around me and threw my hood back in the gust. “Devil rabbit!” he screamed as my big floppy ears swung around my face.

“Diego it’s me,” I said in frustration, pointing at my blue hair.

“Darcy?” he gasped, his eyes trailing over my features as he relaxed.

I held out a hand for him but as Diego reached for it, I squeaked in horror as I realised it had turned into a furry grey paw. Ohmagod no.

Diego scrambled upright, tugging his chair with him and gazing over me. “What happened to you?”

“Seth,” I spat his name. “Can you help me find an antidote?” I asked desperately, glancing down at my other hand which I discovered was also a grey paw. I groaned, dropping my head back.

“Of course, chica. Or should I call you coneja?” he chuckled and I didn’t have to ask to know what that meant.

“Come on, before I start sprouting fur all over the place.” I hurried back to my table and Diego followed, dropping down opposite me. He picked up one of the books I’d gathered, glancing at me with a snort of amusement.

A smile tugged at my mouth and I cracked a small laugh, shaking my head at the craziness of this situation. I tried to turn the page in the book I’d been reading, but my bunny paw wasn’t made for it.

I had to let Diego do most of the reading as I struggled to turn pages and I grew anxious as we failed to find an answer to my problem.

I chewed on my lip as I thought of the obvious solution.

“Can I borrow your Atlas?” I asked Diego. “I think we need the help of someone who knows how to fix this before I start craving carrots.” Actually a carrot does sound pretty good right about now – oh shit.

“Who?” Diego frowned as he passed me his Atlas.

I sighed, realising my lack of thumbs meant I couldn’t use it. “You’ll have to do it. Message Professor Orion.”

“What? No way am I calling that sanguijuela,” he cursed.

“Diego please,” I insisted. “He’ll know what to do.”

“So will a bunch of other Professors,” he grumbled, tugging at his hat in irritation.

“Just do it,” I pressed and he muttered under his breath in Spanish as he tapped out an email to him.

“He probably won’t show up anyway. That guy is a son of a-”

“Bitch?” Orion appeared in a blur of motion, folding his arms and glaring down his nose at Diego as the door swung slowly closed behind him. He looked tired, his hair unkempt and his eyes dark. “Well I can’t argue with that.”

Diego lifted a brow, clearly surprised by not having his head bitten off for the comment.

Orion glanced over at me and my heart freaking stalled as his gaze slid down to the bunny ears, whiskers and paws I was sporting. His mouth twitched at the corner and he lifted a hand, scrubbing his knuckles over his mouth as he continued to stare like he was trying not to laugh.

“Enough staring, can you help me, sir?”

“Someone used a transformation crystal on you?” he guessed and I nodded.

“Yeah, Seth Capella.”

His eyes turned to pitch at that. He rounded on Diego, plucking him from his chair by the collar of his shirt and pushing him toward the door. “Go to Mars Laboratories and ask Professor Shellick for a Malachite crystal and some Nightsugar powder.”

“Why can’t you go?” Diego blurted.

“Are you talking back to me?” Orion snapped.

Diego shook his head, backing up at Orion’s fierce expression.

“Tell him I sent you.”

Diego nodded and hurried away and I was left with Orion looking at me like I was a tasty snack.

“Don’t laugh,” I begged.

“I’m not going to.” He lifted a hand and I felt the pressure of a silencing bubble slip out around us. “Do you have a cotton tail?” he asked, seeming hopeful.

“What does it matter?” I asked.

He grinned, prowling forward. “Maybe I want to see it.”

I pressed my back to the bookcase behind me, shaking my head. “No way.”

“Take your coat off,” he urged.

“No,” half a laugh escaped me. “I don’t want you to see.”

“Tough.” He lunged forward, ripping my coat off and flipping me around. My eyes whipped to the door, but I guessed he’d hear someone approaching anyway.

A low chuckle escaped him as he tweaked my tail.

“You’re such an asshole,” I laughed. I tried to turn around but he held me in place, gently tugging up the back of my shirt. His fingers brushed over whatever Seth had painted there and a low growl escaped him.

“What is it?” I asked, my nose twitching. Oh hell, I’m gonna have a button nose in a minute.

He dropped my shirt and I turned around, leaning back against the shelves to hide my tail again.

“He’s marked the Lepus constellation on you. Do you know what that is, Miss Vega?”

“I didn’t realise I was in a class, sir.”

He grinned darkly. “You should know your constellations by now.”

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say it’s a rabbit?”

“Correct. A moon rabbit to be precise. And do you know what other constellation chases it in the sky?”

Why was I getting a pop quiz right now?

I chewed my lip, trying to picture my star charts. I’d memorised the places of all the star sign constellations but Lepus was obscure. “Umm…”

“The hunter,” he answered for me, stepping closer, his fangs lengthening as he smiled. “Orion.”

“Oh.” I gave him a flirtatious look. “Well I don’t fancy his chances against this rabbit.”

“No?”

“Rabbits can be vicious.” I bared my teeth and a hungry looked entered his gaze.

“I like them bitey.” He moved forward, leaning in close and making my breathing stall. “Shall I lock the door so we can live out this little fantasy?”

“Your fantasy. And no, you’ve got issues.” I smirked, slipping away from him. “Besides, you won’t find it such a turn on when I morph completely into a pet rabbit.”

“By the stars, maybe not. But if you were a little bunny I could keep you in my pocket and carry you everywhere. That doesn’t sound so bad.”

I folded my arms, giving him a stern look.

“Well I’d never have to worry about you getting into trouble again, would I?” He smiled darkly.

I raised my brows at that. “But you are the trouble.”

His mouth pulled down at the corner, clearly not taking that joke well. He stiffened suddenly, then waved a hand to disband the silencing bubble and a few seconds later, Diego stepped back into the room.

He held out a shiny green crystal and a little pouch of what I guessed was the Nightsugar powder – whatever the crap that was.

“He docked ten house points from me for disturbing him.” Diego frowned.

“How unfortunate,” Orion commented dryly, taking the items from him and spinning a finger to instruct me to turn around again.

“You could give them back,” Diego muttered.

“I could, yes,” Orion agreed.

“So will you?” Diego asked hopefully.

“No.”

I shot a glare at Orion over my shoulder, giving him a pointed look as Diego dropped down into a seat with a huff. He eyed my whiskers with a grin then rolled his eyes.

“Fine, five points to Aer,” Orion tossed at Diego.

“He took ten.”

“I know.” Orion lifted my top and my skin tingled as he pressed his fingers to the base of my spine. He rubbed something gritty onto my skin which I guessed was that sugar stuff, massaging it over the area where Seth had painted the constellation. When he was done, he pressed the crystal to my spine and my back arched as a shot of heat splashed over my skin.

“There,” he announced, dropping my top and I turned, reaching up to my ears and smiling as they started to retreat.

“Oh thank god,” I breathed.

“I’m not a god, but I can see why you’d make the mistake, Miss Vega.” Orion winked and I snorted a laugh, serving me a glare from Diego. Guess he wasn’t over his hate for Orion.

Diego tapped his pen on the table, giving Orion the stink eye as he waited for him to leave. He started doing it so vigorously that the pen launched from his fingers and shot toward me, bouncing off my chest and dropping to the floor. I picked it up and held it out to him. His fingers closed around it, brushing mine and I gasped as blackness crashed over me, stealing away everything around me.

I could still feel Diego’s hand and latched onto it in alarm as I spun through a vortex of darkness.

“What’s happening?!” I yelled but no sound came out. I felt like I was moving at a thousand miles an hour through an eternity of nothingness.

I slowed suddenly and the shadows swirled, brushing along my skin and twisting around me in an embrace. Diego’s grip tightened and his voice drifted to me as if from far away. “I’m here, chica. Don’t let go.”

“What’s going on?” I gasped.

“The shadows took hold of us when our hands met. Both our powers have combined, can’t you hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“Silence,” he said and I realised he was right, the whispers were gone. “I’ve never been this deep, the power you possess must be immense.”

“How do we get out?” I asked, trying not to panic, but this didn’t feel like the usual pull of the shadows. It felt like diving into a pool of ink and closing the lid behind me. There was no lulling tug, drawing me into the deep. There was just perfect stillness and an endless void.

“I’m anchoring you,” he said, but I didn’t know what that meant. “Someone wants us here. Someone from the Shadow Realm. You’ll be able to hear them while I block out the other voices.” His voice quavered and my heart stuttered in response.

I knew who it was. Who it had to be. The same girl who’d called to me so many times. I felt her presence draw near then a soft breath fluttered against my cheek.

“Finally,” she whispered. “It’s been so hard to reach you.” I felt fingers against my arm, but they were almost ethereal, passing through me like the hand of a ghost.

“Who are you?” I asked nervously.

She laughed softly and the musical sound echoed all around us. “I am nothing and everything.”

“That’s not an answer,” I pressed.

“A name is just a name. Here, they call me the Shadow Princess.”

“Who’s they?” I asked, wishing the blinding darkness would lift so I could see her.

“The people of the dark,” she whispered, a note of fear in her voice.

Something yanked at me deep in my gut and I almost lost my grip on Diego’s hand.

“There’s not much time,” the girl whispered frantically.

That same tug of magic ripped through me and I clung to Diego’s hand as hard as I could, sure I’d be drawn away if I let go.

“Tell me what you want,” I begged.

“Help,” she said, her voice breaking. “I need help.”

“How can I help you?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to. She was just a strange voice in the dark, I wasn’t going to trust her.

“You must build a bridge from here to the Fae realm so I can escape. But there’s only one time of year it can be done. It’s drawing close, I can feel it.”

“El puente de las estrellas,” Diego breathed in awe.

“Yes, the bridge of stars,” the girl translated, a note of desperation to her tone. “At midnight on the last night of the year, the veil between worlds will be at its thinnest. That’s when the bridge can be built. Please, you must find a way to do it.”

Before I could answer, another powerful wave of magic tried to pull me from the depths of the dark. I gasped, gripping onto Diego’s hand as I tried to stay.

The shadows swirled and light shone in my periphery. I turned to find Orion blazing through the ether, a light burning in his palm as he reached for me. His gaze shifted from me to the girl standing before us and I saw her in the glow, her freckly cheeks and youthful features seeming almost translucent.

Her form receded into the dark as tendrils of shadow coiled around her, chaining her and drawing her back.

“Lance!” she called, her eyes widening.

He caught my hand, lunging for her in the same movement, but the shadows prevailed, stealing her away.

She knew him. But how?

Orion clutched me to his chest, snatching hold of Diego and a vile, twisting, wrenching feeling made my head spin.

I blinked awake, finding myself on the floor of the reading room, my hand still wrapped around Diego’s who was lying beside me. He groaned and I sat up, almost head butting Orion who was holding my other hand. His face was pale, his features pinched.

“Lance?” I whispered anxiously, biting my tongue as Diego sat up beside us. “Sir?” I corrected and his eyes focused on me. “Are you okay?”

He nodded once, rising to his feet and pulling me after him, his face deathly pale.

Diego stood, rubbing the back of his head with a frown. “Who was she? She knew you,” he said to Orion.

“I don’t know,” Orion said, but I sensed he was lying. He looked haunted, terrified. “This stays between us, you understand?” he growled at Diego who pursed his lips before nodding. Orion strode to the door, wrenching it open and shooting away without a word.

Anxiety rippled through me. “I’m going to go lie down for a while,” I said to Diego. “The shadows drain me.”

“Are you alright?” Diego asked frantically. “What just happened, I mean, that was crazy chica.”

“I know.” I rested a hand on his arm, unsure what else I could say.

“I can walk you back to Aer Tower if you like and we can talk about what happened?” he asked hopefully.

“I think I just need to rest, but we’ll talk later.” I headed out of the door with zero intention of returning to my room. I was going to hunt down Orion and get answers. The only problem with that plan was that I didn’t have my Atlas and I couldn’t go strolling into Asteroid Place in broad daylight.

As I walked out of the library into the freezing air, I was grabbed by strong hands. My stomach lurched as Orion shot across campus in a blur of movement and I winced against the powerful wind dragging over me.

When he stopped, my head was spinning and it took me a second to realise I was in his office in Jupiter Hall. He locked the door and cast a silencing bubble before turning to me with an intense expression.

“You know who she was,” I stated.

He nodded, visibly swallowing. “Yes,” he said on a breath of disbelief and a note of hope. “It was Clara…my sister.”

My lips parted and my heart pounded out of rhythm. “Are you sure?”

“Yes – fuck – yes, I’m sure.” He started pacing, scraping a hand through his hair.

“Is she alive?” I breathed, unable to tell. She’d seemed so intangible, like she wasn’t quite there.

“I don’t know. I think so. She wasn’t just some soul…”

“She asked for my help,” I said, watching him pace. “She said something about building a bridge of stars on the last night of the year.” I shook my head, the words sounding crazy coming from me.

He halted, looking to me with a furrowed brow. “She thinks she can come back?” He rubbed a hand over his face then started laughing, his expression transforming into something hopeful and desperate. “That means she’s alive. She’s fucking alive!”

He ran at me, lifting me into his arms and kissing me hard. His laughter was infectious as he spun me around and I clung to his shoulders, sure I’d never seen him so happy.

“It’s really her?” I asked, my heart lifting.

He skimmed his thumb across my cheek as he nodded. “Yes, it’s her. I’d know her anywhere.”

He placed me down and I rested my hand on his chest, his heart drumming excitedly beneath my palm. His smile lit a fire in my chest which blazed with heat. After everything we’d been through, it felt incredible to find out some good news. That his sister was alive, trapped in the shadows, but able to return.

“I’ll help you bring her back. Whatever it takes, Lance,” I promised, never wanting him to lose the light that was currently glowing in his gaze.

His eyes swum with emotion and he clutched me to him, the tension running out of his posture. “I don’t know how this is possible. I haven’t done anything to earn the grace of the stars.”

I looked up at him, his words cutting into me “How can you think that? Lionel stole your sister from you, he bound you to a life you didn’t choose. The stars owe you everything.”

Orion’s eyes glimmered with that thought. “Well whether the stars want me to have her or not, Blue, I will bend them to my will and build a bridge out of them to bring her back. On New Year’s Eve, Clara will come home.”