Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess

I walked along the path to the Pitball Arena in my ridiculous cheer uniform with frost crunching beneath my sparkly sneakers and my mind half invested in the shadows. Darkness slid beneath my skin, the touch of it welcome and terrifying at once. But I was like an addict; every time I pulled myself away from them, my reality closed in too sharply around me and I was drawn back to the strange comfort they offered me. 

I’d never been particularly good at making friends. We’d moved from school to school so much as kids that I guessed I’d just gotten jaded about the whole social aspect of it. There were only so many times you could listen to people swearing they’d write and call you only to never hear from them again before you began to get cynical about the reality of those friendships. And now that the one person I’d had for my whole life was actively lying to my face and avoiding me the whole time, I couldn’t help but pull away from the friends we’d made here too. I wasn’t an idiot anyway; it wasn’t like people liked me on my own merit.

Darcy was the one who formed those kinds of bonds easily and I was just the snarky, regularly rude addition to our duo. So when I saw the Ass Club and our other friends sitting together with Darcy, I just left them to it. It wasn’t like she wanted me to. She’d even asked me to come back and sit with them on several occasions. But I couldn’t bear to be in her company while these lies sat between us. And apparently she preferred our separation to sharing the truth with me. So I was alone. And the shadows fed on loneliness.

The only person I spent regular time with these days was Gabriel. We were going flying after practice tonight again and it was the only thing that was going to get me through the hell of yet another hour in Marguerite and Kylie’s company.

“Come to me…”

I made it to the doors to the stadium and paused, leaning against the wall beside them and closing my eyes as I dipped into the shadows again, hearing Clara’s voice more clearly as I gave in to the dark.

“Help me, Tory. I’m so alone…”

I knew that feeling, but I didn’t want to dwell in the shadows with her just for company’s sake.

“Roxy?” A hand landed on my shoulder and the heat of Darius’s magic pushed against the barriers of mine.

I spun around, knocking his hand from my skin and meeting his eye as the shadows slowly retreated.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hissed, grabbing my waist to tug me away from the doors around the side of the building.

He was wearing his Pitball kit, the navy blue and silver bringing out the warmth of his skin tone and the dark of his eyes and for a moment I just stared at him.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice hollow as the shadows kept me numb. “Haven’t you taken enough from me already?”

His brow furrowed at that and he tugged on my waist again, shifting me along even as I dug my heels in. His skin was warm against my stomach where he touched me and I realised I’d forgotten to use my fire magic to keep me warm as I walked over here. I was only wearing my cheer outfit and it was goddamn freezing out.

“You were chasing shadows again, weren’t you?” he hissed.

“How can I chase them when they live in me?”

“Roxy, if you keep doing this, you’re going to kill yourself,” he growled. “Is that what you want?”

“Well it’s what you want, isn’t it? So why are you complaining?”

“You still think I want you dead?” he asked incredulously like he couldn’t understand me at all.

“How am I supposed to know what you think? You only speak to me to torture me.”

“That’s not true,” he ground out.

“Isn’t it?” I tried to call for the shadows so that I didn’t have to face the emotions that were flaring at the feeling of him so close to me, but they seemed out of reach somehow as he held me tightly.

“I’m not the one who said they didn’t think anything had changed between us after-”

“Darius?” Max’s voice cut him off and he turned to look over his shoulder at his friend.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Darius said, turning from Max dismissively and pinning me in his gaze again.

“Orion will have our balls on a platter if we’re late,” Max insisted and Darius growled.

“Just go,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Being alone is kinda my thing now anyway.”

I tried to slip past him but he caught my hand, halting my progress. “Wait for me after practice,” he said in a low voice.

I looked at him for a long moment, the shadows slipping further away as he gripped my fingers tightly between his. His dark eyes shone with what I could have sworn was concern and I was more than a little tempted to take a step closer to him despite all the reasons I had not to.

“Fine,” I agreed eventually. It didn’t seem like he was going to let me go until I did anyway.

Darius almost smiled at me in response, slowly releasing his grip on my fingers and heading away to join Max.

I trailed behind them, pushing my fire magic into my skin and calling on my Phoenix to help banish the cold from my limbs.

“Hey.”

I turned at the sound of Darcy’s voice and found her walking up behind me in her Pitball kit. Her blue hair was tied back and her shoulders were squared like she was heading into battle. Which I guessed was sort of true when you thought about the brutality of the game.

“Hey,” I replied.

Awkward silence reigned where she chose not to confide in me yet again and I didn’t even know what to say to the girl I could hardly recognise anymore.

“Were you just talking to Darius?” she asked.

“He wants to see me after practice,” I said with a shrug.

“Why?”

“He didn’t really say.” Information shared. From my side anyway.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

We headed into the locker rooms and I hung my sparkly Tory Vega bag from a hook as Darcy deposited hers.

“Have a good practice,” she said as I headed for the door.

“Unlikely,” I replied dryly before walking out to join the cheer squad.

Six weeks of being part of the team had done nothing for my enthusiasm for the sport, though I had to admit that I did enjoy the performance and learning the routines. It was the company I took exception to. Every session meant enduring insults and name calling. Not to mention the fact that they constantly tried to sabotage me and cut me from the better roles in the routines. It meant that any chance I may have had to actually enjoy the challenge presented by the sport was well and truly stamped out.

I walked over to join the squad and Marguerite turned my way as I approached, her gaze instantly falling to my stomach where I’d scrawled my slogan for the day using the face paint I was required to use for each session. Lucky for me, Orion didn’t seem to have an issue with the things I chose to write on my body despite the fact that Marguerite complained about it to him every single session.

“Professor!” she called on cue, folding her arms and pouting angrily. “This is getting beyond a joke!”

Orion shot towards us from the far side of the stadium, clearly hearing her with his bat ears and tilting his head as he inspected the slogan I’d chosen for today.

Suck my dick and bite my balls!

Orion snorted a laugh and I smirked at Marguerite tauntingly.

“She doesn’t even have a dick!” Marguerite moaned.

“Wanna check?” I asked, cupping my imaginary balls.

“Sir!” she gasped as if Orion might jump in to save her from the hell of my company if she only asked often enough.

“Five points from Ignis for the bitching,” Orion said, pointing a finger at her like she was the most irritating person he’d ever met. “And ten points to Ignis for creativity,” he added, smirking at me.

My lips twitched with amusement.

“Sir, as Cheer Captain I have to insist that certain standards be upheld. Is this the kind of shameless behaviour we want the other academies to think we encourage when they play against us?” Marguerite demanded indignantly.

“You’re right,” Orion replied thoughtfully. “You and Tory clearly have very different visions for the team.”

“So different!” Kylie piped up.

“So I think I’ve got an idea to solve it,” he said.

“You’re kicking me off of the team?” I asked hopefully as Marguerite and her followers all brightened at that idea too.

“Oh no. I’ve thought of something better than that. I suggest that we have two cheer squads. One led by Marguerite and the other by Tory. You both work on routines and practice separately, then before the next match, you show the team what you’ve got and they vote for which one of you gets to support us in the match.”

“Fuck that,” I muttered.

“You can’t expect half the girls to be lumbered with her!” Marguerite said in outrage.

“I won’t make any of you do anything you don’t want to. You can all choose which team to be on. Vega or Helebor.” Orion looked around at the other girls and chattering broke out between them as they considered their options.

“No offence dude, but none of them are gonna want to be on my team,” I said. “And I’m not exactly filled with team spirit so I’m not sure I’m really the best fit for-”

“I dare you,” Orion said, shifting closer to me conspiratorially.

I pursed my lips, the corner of my mouth twitching with amusement as he used that damn game against me.

“Fine. Practicing on my own will suit me just fine anyway,” I agreed with a shrug.

“Okay then.” Orion moved to stand between me and Marguerite. “Line up behind your chosen captain and let the work begin.”

Kylie and Jillian instantly stepped forward to join Marguerite followed by several of the other hangers on but the rest of the squad hesitated.

“Do you promise to make our routines killer?” Bernice asked me, arching a brow in assessment.

I shrugged a shoulder. “The more difficult the better,” I agreed. “If I’m going to participate in this… sport then I’ll be playing to win.” Besides, there was a definite lure to the idea of knocking Marguerite off of her high horse.

Bernice grinned like that was exactly the answer she’d wanted and headed forward to join me. That seemed to open the flood gates and several more girls headed my way too. The rest of the team quickly chose a side and I was surprised to find it a pretty even split. About twenty girls on each team.

“You’ll need team names,” Orion said.

“Easy. We’re Team Twinkle,” Marguerite said with a cocky grin.

“Team Winkle?” I asked. “Why would you wanna name yourselves after a tiny dick?”

“Twinkle! With a T!” Marguerite snapped.

“Why are you shouting winkle at me?” I asked.

“By the stars, I hate you,” Marguerite snarled and I snorted a laugh.

“We’re the Vixens,” Bernice put in which was probably a good shout because my thoughts were along the lines of ‘Heir Hating Bitches’ but maybe that wasn’t as catchy.

“Done,” Orion said, smirking at me like he just couldn’t get enough of the ridiculousness of having me play this part. “I look forward to seeing your routines when they’re perfected.”

He shot away from us again and Marguerite scowled at my new squad. “You’ll all be sorry you backed a Vega when you have to sit in the stands and watch us perform at the match,” she hissed before turning and stalking away with the rest of her squad in tow.

I watched them go impassively before turning back to the girls who surrounded me and finding them all staring at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

“This is the part where you tell us what to do,” Bernice said.

“Oh. Erm… well how about we spend some time figuring out what moves we all want to include in the routines, make sure everyone can showcase their best stuff and think about what combos we might be able to pull off? Then I guess we’ll need to figure out some music-”

“And the cheers!” a girl at the back piped up.

“Right. Maybe we can focus on more team based encouragement instead of Heir ass licking?” I suggested because there was no way in hell I was going to be jumping up and down and praising Seth Capella’s luscious hair or Max Rigel’s thick thighs. I’d been refusing to participate in those cheers since I’d been forced onto the team in the first place and I had no intention of jumping on the ass licking train now.

The other girls all agreed enthusiastically and I grinned as we began to practice.

By the time Orion blew the whistle to call time on our session, I was actually enjoying myself.

I headed for the locker rooms but before I could get there, Caleb shot into my path.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, pushing a hand through his mud splattered curls and looking like a male model squeezed into a sports kit.

“Hey yourself,” I replied with a smile.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” he said slowly.

“Don’t go doing yourself an injury,” I deadpanned and he smirked.

“About something in particular.”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s been weeks since I’ve bitten my Source…” His gaze slid from my eyes to my neck and I raised an eyebrow at him.

“And why’s that?” I asked. It wasn’t like I’d missed the fact that there had been decidedly less teeth in my throat recently, but I hadn’t thought of it as something I wanted to draw attention to. Besides, I’d hardly spoken to Caleb at all since we called time on us hooking up.

“Well… I thought that you’d probably say no to me hunting you seeing as we decided to put a stop to the other perks of that game. And I’ve developed a bit of a thing for the hunt,” he admitted, taking a purposeful step towards me.

“So who are you hunting these days?” I asked curiously. I hadn’t particularly noticed him with another girl regularly, but I couldn’t say I’d been paying much attention. And I didn’t spend that much time in The Orb at the moment either.

“I’ve developed a taste for Wolf,” he said, moving closer again. “But I will admit that I still crave the taste of you from time to time.”

“Is that so?” I bit my lip as I took a step back and he hounded after me, moving into my personal space.

“Yeah. So I thought, it couldn’t hurt to ask…”

“Ask what?” I backed up again and the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile as he followed.

“If I can hunt you again?” He turned the big eyes on me and I tilted my head as I considered it.

I really hadn’t been having very many meaningful interactions with anyone lately and I had to admit that the thrill of the hunt got my heart pumping. I’d even developed a bit of a taste for the pain. There was something really exciting about it. But it also turned me on and I wasn’t sure I wanted to fall back into Caleb’s bed.

“I dunno if that’s a good idea…” I said slowly.

“Because you think you won’t be able to resist me if I hunt you?” he teased and I rolled my eyes. But in all honesty, there might have been some merit to that. I needed a distraction from the shitty state of my life and the call of the shadows and hooking up with him could be just that. But that didn’t make it a good idea.

“Maybe,” I agreed with a shrug of my shoulder.

Caleb smiled so fucking widely at that that I was half tempted to punch him just to wipe the smug look off his face.

“Don’t get too up yourself over it,” I said. “It’s just because I’m a sex addict, remember?”

Caleb’s brows pulled together at that, but he seemed to decide against commenting on it.

“Okay, well how about a test? You run from me and I’ll bite you when I catch you. If it doesn’t work for you, I’ll promise not to do it again. And as a sweetener, I swear I’m not going to try to get in your panties either. This time.”

“Well that does improve your offer considerably,” I teased.

“Go on then, sweetheart. Run.” His fangs snapped out and I gasped in surprise as I turned and ran from him.

I sprinted across the Pitball pitch and headed for the locker rooms, running straight through them and outside.

Caleb caught me the second I passed through the doors, whirling me around and shoving me back against the cold wall of the stadium.

“You changed the rules,” I breathed.

“Yeah.” Caleb’s hands were cool against my waist as he pressed me back and I tipped my head to give him access to my throat without even trying to fight him off.

I inhaled sharply at the slice of pain as his teeth cut into my skin, arching my back as I savoured the pain, feeling every piece of it and letting it rule me. I felt like I’d been stuck in a rut recently, doomed to repeat the same old shit day in, day out. His bite was like waking up. And as pathetic as it was to admit to myself, it felt pretty damn good to have someone’s undivided attention on me for once. I’d felt so lonely recently that even a few minutes of feeling like the most important person in someone’s world meant a stupid amount to me.

Caleb released me, stepping back as he wiped a drop of my blood from the corner of his mouth.

“Do you wanna stop being my Source?” he asked, releasing his hold on me.

My lips parted. I should have been saying yes. Hadn’t I hated him biting me with all the fury of hell when he’d first started doing it? But then, had I ever really hated the way it felt? Or was it more the indignity of having no say in it? Because I could easily admit I had a bit of a taste for pain, especially when it was mixed with pleasure.

“No,” I said finally and Caleb gave me the biggest, shit eating grin I’d ever seen. “But it’s gonna be on my terms, Vampire boy,” I added before his head got so big it exploded.

“How do you figure that out?” he asked.

“Because I’m pretty sure I can fight you off now.”

“I’d like to see you try,” he teased.

My lips twitched into a smile and I called on my Phoenix flames, commanding them to line my body in an impenetrable coat of fire. I even had enough control over them to save my clothes from them now too.

“You think you could bite me now?” I taunted.

Caleb’s smile slipped and a sigh escaped him. “I doubt it. But I can always creep up on you. Catch you later, Tory.”

He shot away from me before I could respond and I rolled my eyes as I headed back inside to grab my kit bag.

Darcy was just about to leave as I entered the room and she hesitated as I passed her by.

“I’ll see you later, Tor,” she said in a small voice.

“Yep,” I agreed without looking at her because it hurt too much to watch her walking away from me all the damn time when all she had to do to end this feud between us was open up to me. And that wasn’t something I’d ever had trouble doing with her. So I guessed she just didn’t really care about me enough or trust me in the same way. Which just felt fantastic.

Her footsteps trailed away and I hooked my bag over my shoulder before heading back outside.

Darius was leaning against the wall beside the door to the guys’ lockers as I emerged and he straightened as he spotted me.

“You actually waited.” I pointed out stupidly. But I honestly never knew what to expect from him at the best of times so this was its own brand of confusing.

“I said I would.”

“You did,” I agreed.

Darius moved closer to me, his gaze skimming over me and landing on my neck.

“You’re bleeding,” he said, reaching out to heal me but he paused before he touched me. “Is that a bite?”

“Oh, right…yeah, Caleb-”

“So you and him are a thing again now?” he asked and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what he thought about that.

“No.”

His gaze trailed over my face like he was searching for a lie and I shrugged.

“Why would you care if we were anyway?” I asked.

I swear he actually bit his tongue to stop himself from answering me.

He stepped forward slowly and pressed his fingers to the bite on my neck. The sting of the wound flared through me and I stilled, expecting him to heal it but he just stood there for a long moment instead.

“Do you really get off on my pain so much that you can’t help but cause me more every chance you get?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Maybe I do.”

“That’s fucked up,” I muttered.

“Well I’ve never claimed to be anything else. Are you going to talk to me about the shadows?”

“What do you want to know?” I asked.

“Are you drawn to them because of me?” he asked.

“Just because you’re obsessed with me, it doesn’t mean the feeling is mutual,” I replied dismissively.

Darius snorted a laugh. “Heaven forbid,” he agreed. “But I meant because you want to use them against me.”

“Maybe I just like the way they feel,” I said, not answering his question, partly because I wasn’t sure I had an answer.

“Well, can you do me a favour?” he asked just as he pressed healing magic beneath my skin to remove the bite Caleb had given me.

“What?” I asked cautiously.

“The next time you want to drown in them, tell me about it.”

“Why?”

“Because if you’re going to drown then I’m going to drown with you.” He released me and walked from me before I gave him an answer and I frowned at his back as he strode away.

I didn’t know what the hell I was supposed to make of that declaration. Did he crave the kiss of the shadows too? Or was he really just offering to hold my hand if I fell?