Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates

Catalina:

I need your help. I don’t have anyone else I can ask.

I was sitting at my desk in my room trying to work on a Numerology assignment but since that message had come through, I hadn’t been able to think of anything else. Because it came down to this – was I going to help Mommy Acrux with her little problem?

I hadn’t even replied yet so I had no idea what she wanted my help with, but I needed to make a decision before I did. Did I trust her? And how far was I willing to go for her?

I tapped my pen against my lips as I wondered. Catalina had been messaging me every day since we’d swapped numbers. She gave me information on Lionel and Clara’s comings and goings and revealed anything they’d let slip but there hadn’t been a single, solid thing that she’d told me which would make any real difference to us. I understood that Lionel kept her out of his plans, but still, she hadn’t exactly given me any irrefutable evidence that she was actually on my side.

There was something in me that still wanted to trust her though. Call it my gut, my instincts, whatever, but I just had this feeling that she was genuine.

Tory:

What’s wrong?

Catalina:

It’s Xavier. Lionel has employed a man called Mr Gravebone to Reassign his Order. He’s been coming and going all week but I thought he was a tutor. Instead he’s had Xavier locked up for hours at a time while he brainwashes him to believe he’s a Dragon instead of a Pegasus. I need you to do what you did for me and burn the lies out of his head.

Well that’s seven shades of fucked up.

Tory:

What difference does it make if he believes he’s a Dragon? He’ll still turn into a Pegasus when he shifts.

I frowned to myself as I leaned back in my chair. It didn’t make any sense to me. Someone could brainwash me into believing I was a cat and I might go around sleeping in the sun and licking my own ass. But I wouldn’t be a cat. I’d just be a crazy girl with some embarrassing hobbies.

Catalina:

I think Lionel plans to have him act like he’s a Dragon and fake some photographs for the press. Eventually if the secret becomes too hard to hide I think he’ll kill him and pretend it was an accident. Once Xavier has gained control over shifting, Lionel will Dark Coerce him never to shift in front of anyone so he can go out in public. I heard Mr Gravebone say he was making good progress. Please, I can’t bear the thought of someone messing with who he is on the inside. I’ve already failed him so many times.

Tory:

I can try. How am I supposed to get to him though?

Catalina:

Come to the manor tonight. Lionel is at a Council meeting in the city because of the war with the Nymphs. He won’t be back until tomorrow evening and Clara went with him.

A shiver ran down my spine at that suggestion. Was I seriously going to walk into the lion’s den willingly? Sneaking over to Acrux Manor late at night when no one knew where I was going sounded like suicide to me. And yet…I just couldn’t help but trust in Catalina’s words. Which meant that Xavier really was in trouble. And even though I’d only met him a few times, I’d felt a real connection with him. But the truth of his Order was a secret that was going to bury him before long and even if I could help with this issue, it wouldn’t be the end of it.

I pushed out of my chair and quickly stripped out of my uniform before changing into high waisted jeans and a crop top, twisting my hair into a messy knot on the back of my head. Nothing about my outfit choice said that I was on a secret mission, which was perfect.

I shot Darcy a text as I kicked on my boots, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath for an answer. She was staying with Lance tonight which basically made her uncontactable. But it was probably best I did this alone anyway. At least that way if this was some kind of seriously convoluted trap then there would only be one of us walking into it.

I took the stairs down to the Ignis House common room and my stomach did an inelegant backflip as I spotted Darius holding court beside the huge fireplace.

I raised my chin and headed straight for him, ignoring the way he made my heart thunder. He looked up as I approached, his eyes widening slightly as he realised I was coming straight for him.

“Can I have a word?” I asked, pleased to find my voice steady even if the rest of me was shaking a little.

“Leave,” Darius barked and every single one of the group surrounding us leapt to their feet and disappeared.

“Bossy much?” I asked as I dropped into the seat in front of him and tossed a silencing bubble up around us.

The common room was pretty packed so the stars were content to let us talk.

“I assumed you’d want privacy for whatever it is you want to say,” he replied with a shrug as he leaned forward, elbows pressing on his knees.

“Well I suppose it helps to keep your ego propped up to send people scurrying at whim,” I teased.

Darius didn’t bite and I sighed. Was it completely insane for me to miss our little to and fros? Did it mean there was something wrong with me to be disappointed that he hadn’t made some crack about me in response? Maybe I really was broken if I was grieving the way he used to rile me up, but I couldn’t help it. I missed how he could get me all hot and bothered with a single arrogant remark.

“You know, you don’t have to hold your tongue around me all the time now,” I said with an ever so slightly petulant pout. “It’s no fun goading you if you don’t bite back. Besides, you must want to rip into me, at least a little considering the fact that I did this to us.”

“I was under the impression that I was to blame for our situation,” Darius said in a low voice, ignoring everything else I’d just said.

“Yeah, you are,” I agreed, though my voice lacked conviction and I hated to admit that ever since Gabriel had called me out on my shit, I’d been thinking about my part in all of this too. “Anyway… I didn’t actually seek you out for this. I was wondering if I could borrow some stardust?”

“No,” Darius replied instantly and I bristled.

“Okay then, I’ll just drive. Thanks a lot.” I got to my feet, but he was suddenly in my face.

“It’s not safe for you to leave campus, Roxy,” he growled. “You know that.”

“There’s something I need to do tonight,” I replied just as firmly. “And I’ll be doing it with or without your help.”

“Then I’ll come with you,” he demanded.

“And have the heavens come crashing down on us and the earth crumble at our feet until we’re dragged down into the fiery chasm beneath? No thanks.” My blood was pumping and I was struck with the desire to call him a pig headed, controlling, lizard asshole but I bit down on my tongue, wondering if there was a better way to handle this than just biting his head off and storming away.

“You can’t just decide to pick up and leave the safety of-”

I reached out and caught Darius’s hand, looking up into his black-ringed eyes as he paused mid rant to gaze down at me in confusion.

“This is important, Darius,” I breathed. “Please.”

His frown deepened and his fingers curled around mine. The nervous tension in my stomach felt like my organs were having an orgy and I didn’t even care when the foundations of Ignis House trembled and other students cried out in fright.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he growled in a low voice that sent a shiver dancing down my spine.

“I won’t,” I promised, hoping I could keep to that vow. “There and back again within an hour. I wouldn’t ask if I had any other choice.”

Darius looked at me for another long moment before finally releasing my hand and pulling a silk pouch from his back pocket. “Do you know how to use this?” he asked, concern lining his features.

“Click my ruby heels together and think of the place I want to go with all my heart,” I joked.

“Something like that. Call me if anything goes wrong.”

“Okay,” I agreed, ignoring the fact that the idea of calling on him for help should have been insanity in the light of the fact that I liked him offering.

A spark leapt from the fire and landed on the coffee table beside us, exploding into flame and making me yelp as I leapt back and put some room between me and Darius. Stupid star twats!

Darius took control of the flames with a growl of frustration and guttered them with a flick of his fingers. He pressed the stardust into my hand and I gave him a tight smile before turning and running down the stairs to the exit.

As I made it outside, I shot a quick text to Catalina telling her to expect me soon then called on my Order form, unleashing my wings. I took a moment to concentrate on banishing the flames from them so that I wouldn’t be spotted flying across the campus so easily.

Without the fire coating them, the feathers of my wings were a deep bronze colour which shone like an oil spill with the deep red and blue tones of my inner flames glimmering in them when they caught the light. I flexed them out behind me and took off, heading for the gap which Orion had left in the shield surrounding Zodiac.

I landed quietly, looking around to make sure that there was no one close by as I slipped through the gap in the fence and out into the world beyond the academy.

I didn’t waste any time as I pulled the pouch of stardust from my pocket and tossed some of it over my head while thinking of Acrux Manor.

The stars swept me up in their embrace, transporting me through them in a blur of silver light before depositing me onto the gravel drive outside Acrux Manor right before a huge, iron gate.

“Who goes there?” a man shouted and I looked up to find two guards leaping from their hut with magic stunning guns aimed at me.

“Don’t you recognise a Vega when you see one?” I asked lazily, feeling like a total douchebag for playing the princess card, but needs must. “I’ve come to see Lionel.”

The guards exchanged a look and slowly lowered their weapons. “Lord Acrux isn’t here. Perhaps you should make an appointment with him to-”

“I can leave a message with his wife easily enough,” I said impatiently. “But I’m not going to be leaving it with the hired help. So just let me in.”

They exchanged a look at my entitled tone, but I’d spent plenty of time around the Heirs to be sure I had it down.

“We will find out if Lady Acrux wishes to receive you,” the guard said with a slight bow of his head as his friend scuttled back into the hut.

I pulled my Atlas from my pocket and put on a good show of looking pissily impatient as I scrolled through posts without really looking at them. 

Mildred Canopus: Has anyone seen my beloved @Darius Acrux tonight? We had plans for a sweet serenade by Aqua Lake but he seems to have forgotten and his Atlas has died. #helpmereunitewithmylove

Tyler Corbin: I saw him hiding himself in a grave-shaped hole he’d dug in The Wailing Wood and threatening to off himself for real if you found him.

Stephanie Wiltshire: I heard he’s been hooking up with Tory Vega behind the Pitball Stadium #thestarscantstopthembanging #loveerrerrerrerrwillfindaway

Denisha Pillay: I saw him covering himself in Griffin shit and hiding in a bog #takingthepooburnoveryourcompany #wouldratherrollinshit #ihopeheneverhastomarryyou

Ashleigh Clare: I heard he has to get @Max Rigel to suck all of the repulsion out of his body to even be around you and he couldn’t find him tonight #cansomebodypleasethinkofthechildren #lifesnotfairyoudontdeserveanheir

Erica Collins: I reckon he’s hiding under @Diego Polaris’s hat #evendandruffisbettercompanythanyou #doyouthinkhesleepswearingit

Brianna Hayes: Have you checked your butt crack since the last time you sat on his knee? #isawawholeherdofpegasusdropoutofthereonce #ibetthattakesapowershowertoclearitout

Deema-Yara Mohiar: I saw him kissing a steaming turd by the Shimmering Springs – I guess he just thought it was you #hedchoosepoooveryou #iheardyoureaturd

I stifled my laughter at the comments so that the guards wouldn’t see my resting bitch face crack, but I had to admit that I didn’t totally hate the way everyone was against the idea of Darius being shackled to that bitch. Even if half of them were just as disgusted at the idea of him being bound to me, at least I didn’t have to survive people gushing all over the happy couple all the damn time.

After another minute, the gates swung open and the guards bowed as they directed me through them.

I stalked up the drive with my head held high and my heart pounding. I was going to have to conduct a cover story for coming here so that Lionel didn’t get suspicious, and I was just hoping that I could do that without having to actually see him. Maybe I could pretend I came to call him out on commanding me to break Darius’s heart. Play the heartbroken card and say I’d come to beg for a second chance or some shit. Yeah, that would probably work. It would be mortifying and all, but if Catalina passed that message on to him, I knew he’d do nothing more than take pleasure in my pain and refuse my request.

The doors opened before I reached them and the snooty butler peered out at me. Hopkins or Smithkins or Buttkins or something.

“Good evening, Miss Vega,” he simpered, bowing in a way that felt mocking somehow.

“Hi,” I replied, sweeping past him and ignoring him as I looked up at the huge staircase with the golden handrail.

“Lady Acrux is currently awaiting you in her parlour,” he said before gliding onwards up the stairs.

I guessed that meant I was supposed to follow so I did, trying not to let the cold feeling of this place slip under my skin. There was something about the Acrux Manor which chilled me to my core. No love lived here. Only pain and shadows.

We kept going, taking long corridors lined with paintings of Dragons and douchebags until we reached another staircase which I recognised from the time I’d spent sliding down it on trays with Xavier. We headed up until we reached the level below Xavier’s room in the top of the tower where Buttkins opened a door for me.

Catalina Acrux sat waiting in a beautiful parlour with a huge bay window which must have offered a view out over the lake at the end of their property during the day. She was wearing a silk gown and her dark hair was perfectly styled as she sipped a cup of steaming tea and surveyed me over the rim.

“What have I done to earn a visit from a Vega?” she asked curiously as she waved me towards the chair opposite her.

I moved towards the table which was laid out with a pot of tea and a cup for me too. There was a little three tiered cake stand filled with sumptuous looking cakes, macaroons and biscuits there too. I had to hand it to their kitchen staff, they knew how to work under pressure. You’d never know I’d rocked up unannounced and taken them all by surprise.

“I’d rather talk alone,” I said as I moved to take the chair.

“Of course. You’re dismissed, Jenkins,” she said and the butler backed out of the room, narrowing his beady little eyes suspiciously. I was pretty sure I was going to keep thinking of him as Buttkins.

Catalina threw a silencing spell over us and glanced towards the door in warning. So, Buttkins couldn’t be trusted? I guessed that was to be expected in this viper’s pit.

“Thank you for coming,” Catalina breathed, reaching across the table to squeeze my fingers for a moment. “I don’t know what else I can do.”

“I’m still not sure I can help,” I admitted. “But I’ll definitely try.”

“That’s all I can ask.” She picked her Atlas up and sent a message to Xavier, summoning him to join us.

I reached out and took a biscuit from the little stand and devoured it in two bites as Catalina watched me. It was fucking delicious. Going hungry in the mortal world had definitely left me with a taste for good food and there was no way I’d be letting those little treats go to waste.

“Have you seen much of Darius?” she asked and I stilled. We talked a lot via text, but there was an unspoken rule that we didn’t discuss him, and I would have preferred to stick to it.

“Every day,” I admitted. “Meals, classes, the common room. It’s kinda like getting punched in the heart every other hour.”

I wasn’t really sure why I’d admitted to that and I looked away from her before she could get a read on the pain it caused me. Because I didn’t have a right to be hurting over it, did I? It had been my choice that put us in this position after all.

The door opened before she could push me on the subject and I looked around with a smile as Xavier stepped into the room.

He fell still as he spotted me. His dark hair was a mess, he was barefoot and the grey sweatpants he wore had a stain on the leg. He was also shirtless which gave me a look at the lean muscle lining his frame and the defined V which dipped beneath his waistband.

“Well shit, Xavier, have you spent the last two months working out or something?” I teased and a faint blush lined his cheeks as he stared between me and his mother.

“What…why are you here?” he asked, not seeming to know if he should be pleased to see me or not.

“I wanted a word,” I said, exchanging a glance with Catalina.

She seemed to be waiting for me to make the move though so I beckoned Xavier closer and pointed to the chair beside me.

He approached, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he lowered himself into the seat and pushed a hand through his hair self consciously.

“Did I interrupt your nap?” I teased.

“No. I just…didn’t really expect to see anyone today so I didn’t exactly bother getting dressed.” There was a hollow tone to his voice which made me frown and my heart twisted painfully as I wondered how many days he spent alone like that.

“Your mom asked me to come and see if I could help you with-”

“Why did you say no to Darius?” he blurted, his brow lowering as he gazed at the black rings in my eyes. “I know he was an asshole to you and he did a lot of things that he shouldn’t have but that was all about power, the throne, the fucking crown. And I didn’t think you cared that much about any of that.”

“I don’t. Or I guess, I didn’t. Being Fae kind of goes hand in hand with claiming power though, doesn’t it?” I asked, tightening my jaw as I refused to balk at the subject.

“Fine. Whatever. I get that side of it. But what I don’t understand is how you could have said no to loving him. Because when I saw the two of you together I could see how much you liked each other. Even when you were denying it or fighting or whatever, it was still there. And I just don’t get how you could stand there beneath the stars, look him in the eyes and say no. Why would you curse him like that? Why would you curse yourself?”

I wanted to shrug off his question, but the accusation in his dark eyes demanded an answer and I blew out a breath as I gave it to him.

“Because all I’ve ever wanted is to be loved like that but I was afraid that if I let myself love him, he’d use it to hurt me. Too much has happened between us and…I just don’t trust him.” I raised my chin as the two of them looked at me like my words caused them physical pain. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Darius. I came here for you.”

I reached out and took Xavier’s hand in mine before he could stop me, tapping in to my Phoenix fire just like I had when I’d burned the Dark Coercion from Catalina.

He gasped and tried to pull back but I held on tight, my magic keeping him in its grip as it burned through him, hunting down whatever Mr Gravebone had been putting in his head. But the only thing I found was a single wall of Dark Coercion which I recognised as Lionel’s magic. I tore it down then pulled back, releasing his hand as he stared at me with wide eyes.

“What the hell was that?” Xavier asked.

“Phoenix fire. I used it to take the Dark Coercion from your mind, but I can’t find whatever Gravebone has been doing to you. It’s not any magic that Phoenix fire can locate anyway.” I offered Catalina an apologetic expression and her face dropped with concern.

“I…you mean I can talk about my Order now?” Xavier asked. “I can actually tell people about it if I wanted to?”

“He Dark Coerced you not to tell anyone you were a Pegasus?” I asked, my gut lurching at that idea.

“Yeah, well, if he could Coerce me never to shift again I’m sure he’d have done it, but as that’s something I can’t always control I guess he couldn’t.” His gaze slid to Catalina like he wasn’t sure how much he should say in front of her and her composure suddenly broke.

A sob escaped her as she threw her arms around her son apologising again and again, explaining in murmured whispers for all the years she hadn’t been allowed to show him any love or softness as his face scrunched with confusion which was slowly replaced with a dawning comprehension.

It broke my heart to watch them. Xavier seemed so uncomfortable in his mother’s arms and yet so relieved to be there all at once. Like he didn’t know what to do with that kind of affection. But he craved it all the same.

I knew exactly what it felt like to hunger for the love of a parent, but I’d never had one who I could try and claim it from. Xavier and Darius had been denied this love for years and years while both wishing they could express it. All because some monster had decided he owned them. That somehow he had a right to decide this for them and used his power to enforce it.

And he was still doing it. Hiding Xavier away, cutting him off from the outside world and forcing him to deny who and what he was just because it didn’t fit with Lionel’s idea of perfect. Well fuck perfect. There was no such thing. And all of life’s beauty was in the imperfections anyway.

“He’s never going to let you out of here is he?” I asked. “He’s never going to let the world know what you are or who you are. Is he?”

Xavier looked up at me hopelessly as Catalina sobbed in his arms.

“He owns us,” she said. “He owns everyone really. We just feel the full sway of his power more than most because we’re trapped here with him.”

“Bullshit. He doesn’t own everyone. He doesn’t own me. And he doesn’t own you either.”

I pushed out of my chair and crossed the room to the huge bay window, unlatching it and throwing it wide. The cool evening air whistled in around me, blowing loose strands of hair across my face as I inhaled deeply.

“What are you doing?” Catalina gasped.

“Do you trust me, Xavier?” I asked.

“Why?” he countered suspiciously

“Because I’m going to set you free. Come here.” I beckoned and he got up, walking towards me cautiously as I pulled my Atlas from my pocket and set it recording. 

“This is Xavier Acrux and he’s got something fucking amazing to show you,” I said, smirking at him as I raised my other hand.

“Do I?” he asked in confusion.

“Fuck yes. His Order just Emerged and he’s something way cooler than a big old lizard – no offence to Dragons, I’m sure your scaly balls are great and all but it’s just not as badass as being a fucking Pegasus.”

Xavier’s eyes widened in horror as I flicked my fingers at him and threw him straight out of the tower window with a gust of wind. We were on the ninth floor so he had plenty of time for fear to shock his Order form from his flesh and spread his wings way before he could hit the ground, but I was ready to catch him with my magic if he didn’t manage it for any reason.

Xavier cried out as he fell but his screams suddenly became whinnies as the huge, lilac Pegasus burst from his skin, shredding through his clothes as his wings unfurled and caught on an updraft.

I caught it all on camera, laughing excitedly as he levelled out then beat his wings and started flying up and up and up towards the clouds which were lined with silver as the moon shone through them.

Catalina rushed forward like she meant to rip my Atlas from my hands, but as her gaze fell on her son out of the window, her lips parted and a beautiful smile graced her mouth.

Xavier shot into the clouds and out of sight and I finally ended the recording.

I typed out a FaeBook post with the video attached and glanced up at Catalina with my thumb hovering over the post button. I had over a million followers on there now, and if I hit that button, the word would be well and truly out.

“The only reason Lionel maintains his hold over him is because it’s a secret. Pegasuses are one of the most common Order forms there are. Unless Lionel wants to alienate all of them, he’ll have to come out in support of his son. The only power he holds here is in keeping it a secret. Once it’s out, it’s out.”

“He’ll kill you for exposing this,” she breathed, her eyes wide with fear.

“I’m pretty sure he plans on killing me anyway,” I said with a shrug. “At least if he kills me for this, it was for something that matters.”

“I-”

“Tell him I came here and spoke with you about Darius. Tell him I made some excuse to get you to leave the room and by the time you came back I’d done this. Put all the blame on me. I mean that.”

“Okay…” she said hesitantly and I met her eye.

“Do I need to make you swear it on the stars?” I growled.

“No. I’ll tell him. Thank you, Roxanya.”

“It’s Tory. Only Darius calls me Roxy and I can’t make him stop, but I don’t want anyone else making a habit of it,” I said. Although at this point if Darius started calling me Tory it would probably just be weird. Not that I’d ever admit that I was okay with the Roxy thing.

“Okay. Thank you, Tory.”

I smirked at her and hit post.

Catalina gasped as Xavier’s secret went viral and I glanced down at my Atlas as reactions and comments began to pour in before I locked the screen.

Shit, what if Daddy Acrux really does kill me for this?

“Run, Tory,” Catalina breathed, real fear dancing in her eyes. “Run for the gate and get back to the academy before he comes back. If he finds you here-”

“Consider me gone.” I barked a laugh as nerves made my heart flutter.

Catalina smiled at me before ripping her dress off, knocking her hair free of its perfectly styled bun, flashing me those gloriously fake tits and leaping out of the window after her son. She transformed as she plummeted and my lips fell open as a stunning silver Dragon burst from her flesh.

She beat a path up towards the clouds just as Xavier dipped beneath them with an excited whinny.

I quickly raised my Atlas and snapped a picture of the two of them dancing through the sky before I took a running jump out of the window too.

My wings burst to life at my back and I flew hard and fast along the drive until I soared over the gates, beyond the anti-stardust wards where I landed quickly, my boots skidding in the gravel.

I grabbed the stardust from my pocket and winked at the startled guards half a second before I tossed it over my head and the stars whisked me back to the academy.

I stumbled as they deposited me and suddenly strong arms locked around my chest from behind, making me scream in surprise.

A hand slapped over my mouth and I stilled for a moment as the scent of smoke and cedar overwhelmed me. 

Darius dragged me back through the hole in the wards, pulled me through the fence and shoved me up against a huge tree at the edge of campus before he took his hand from my mouth.

His hands landed either side of my head as he penned me in, glaring down at me with an angry as fuck Dragon peering out of his eyes, his pupils transformed into reptilian slits and a hint of smoke slipped between his lips. He was only wearing sweatpants and I got the impression he’d flown here to ambush me the moment I returned. I guess he didn’t like my FaeBook post.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he demanded.

“Whoa, chill out dude,” I said, pressing my hands to his chest to push him back. He didn’t move a single inch and I just ended up with my hands pressed to his rock hard muscles, his heart pounding frantically beneath my right palm.

“Do you know what you’ve done?” Darius snarled. “Father could kill Xavier for this! He could-”

“He won’t,” I snapped angrily. “He can’t. Don’t you see that?  The only power he held over Xavier was in keeping his real Order form a secret. Now everyone knows, he’s free. Killing him wouldn’t change the truth. And he can’t very well alienate every Pegasus in Solaria by making his Orderist bullshit public knowledge. He’ll have to let Xavier leave the house, join a herd, fly.”

Darius was staring at me like he didn’t know whether to kill me or kiss me and as my gaze fell on his mouth, I found myself aching for the latter. Fuck the stars.

“She has a point,” Caleb’s voice came from the shadows behind the massive Dragon who was taking all of my attention and I turned my head to find him, Seth and Max all watching this exchange with interest. That would explain the stars not smiting us or whatever other bullshit they might want to do. Though I was guessing I should really stop touching him…not that I did.

“You did this to…help him?” Darius asked like he couldn’t understand why the fuck I’d do that and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I’m only an asshole like, ninety percent of the time,” I said, rolling my eyes at him. “The other ten percent I’m a fucking saint. So yes, I did it to help him. Turns out I only hold two members of your family in low regard.”

“You pushed my brother out of a fucking window,” he growled.

“I would have caught him with my air magic if I had to. Besides, this way Daddy Acrux can’t try and claim he was in on it. It’s a genius plan and you know it. Plus, your mom told me to post it so I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“Mother?” Darius scoffed. “She hardly notices anything beyond appearances. The last thing she’d encourage is a scandal like this. She-”

“That’s not true, she loves you, she just…” I trailed off as the deal I’d made with Catalina stayed my tongue. I’d sworn not to tell a soul about the way I’d freed her from Lionel’s Dark Coercion and I wasn’t going to take even more punishment from the stars by breaking my word.

“Just what?” Darius demanded.

Phoenix fire burned hot beneath my skin and my palms twitched against his chest as a thought occurred to me. One I really should have considered before now if I hadn’t been so caught up with studying, the shadows, cheer practice and just plain old pining away for this monster before me to think of it.

“Do you trust me?” I asked, my fingers shifting on his skin just enough to draw his attention.

“Why?”

“I want to try something. Something I did for your mother. But you’ll have to stay still while I do it.”

Darius looked at me for a long moment and a faint tremor in the ground beneath my feet let me know that the stars had realised just how close we were to one another. Even with company they didn’t like us to touch each other, though it seemed to take them a lot longer to notice if we were.

Darius exhaled angrily but his eyes shifted back as he managed to rein in some of his temper, their deep brown colour ringed with black once again.

“I trust you,” he growled and the other Heirs muttered something behind him, but I didn’t care to hear it because there had been a sincerity in his words which reached out and touched my soul. He meant it. For whatever reason, despite everything we’d been through, he was still able to put his trust in me.

I offered him the hint of a smile as my Phoenix fire reared up to the surface of my skin before I guided it into his flesh where I touched him.

His muscles tightened beneath my hands, his eyes widening as he looked at me but he didn’t pull back, waiting as the liquid fire tore beneath his skin and sought out any signs of Lionel placing restrictions on his soul.

It only took me a moment to find one then another and another. I gasped as I found more and more and more of them. So many binds and restrictions on things he could say and do that I couldn’t even count them as I tore them all down, burning through them one after another.

My hands began to shake and my legs trembled as I blazed through my gifts, but I refused to stop until each and every piece of dark magic was shredded from his soul.

I gasped as I burned through the final one, my knees buckling as I fell against him but he caught me before I could hit the ground.

“You…” Darius lifted me into his arms, staring at me with wide eyes like he didn’t even have words to explain what I’d just done for him.

“What happened?” Max demanded as he moved closer, trying to get a look at me while Seth and Caleb jostled him.

Thunder crashed through the sky overhead and as I looked up above Darius’s head, I realised we were being sheltered from the storm by a huge air shield.

Lightning slammed from the sky, crashing into it and Seth cursed as he just managed to take the brunt of the blow with his magic.

“Put me down,” I murmured.

“You can’t even stand,” Darius snarled.

“I’ll take her,” Caleb offered and a ferocious growl tore from Darius’s lips as he reached out for me.

Caleb bared his teeth right back for a moment then managed to school his expression.

The ground beneath our feet was shaking even harder now and with a curse, Darius closed his eyes and handed me over to Caleb.

Everything began to calm down almost instantly and Darius growled again as he looked at me in Caleb’s arms.

“Just chill out, man. I’m only holding her,” Caleb huffed.

“Tell us what the hell she just did to you,” Seth pressed, his gaze fixed on Darius as he reached out and brushed a hand over his arm in a comforting gesture. 

“She…I think she…but I don’t understand how-”

“Phoenix fire burns through bullshit,” I supplied. “I just released him from every Dark Coercion spell Lionel has ever placed on him.”

The Heirs all turned to stare at me like I’d just told them an alien named Clive lived up my butt and I sighed as I leaned my head back against Caleb’s shoulder. I felt like I’d just gone ten rounds in the ring against a Dragon with toothache. My eyes were hooded already and I was pretty sure that if we stood here much longer I’d fall asleep.

“Thank you, Roxy,” Darius breathed and the look he was giving me made my heart do a weird squeezing kind of thing as I bit down on my bottom lip.

“Well, like I said. I’m only an asshole ninety percent of the time,” I joked, not really knowing what to do with the way he was looking at me. “But, if it’s all the same to you guys, I just want to go back to my bed and-”

“Take her back to my room,” Darius said, his gaze flipping up to meet Caleb’s. “Make sure there’s a fire roaring in the grate so she can restore her magic while she sleeps. I’ll sleep at the Hollow tonight. There’s things we all need to discuss.”

“Fuck yes,” Seth said enthusiastically as Max laughed darkly and I had to wonder just how many secrets Darius had been forced to keep from the other Heirs and what exactly was going to change now that he didn’t have to keep them anymore.

“I’ll meet you there,” Caleb said, tightening his grip on me as Darius handed over his room key.

Darius hesitated right beside us and reached out to run his fingers along the side of my face. “You were right you know,” he breathed as if the others weren’t surrounding us and as I looked into his eyes, it almost felt like they weren’t. “I’m not good enough for you.”

I didn’t even have time to respond before Caleb shot away from him, leaving the safety of Seth’s air bubble and tearing off into the storm with me in his arms.

I scrunched my eyes up against the hammering rain as we sped through it and before I knew it, we were outside Darius’s door and he was turning the key in the lock.

“I’d rather just go back to my own room,” I protested but Caleb ignored me, shooting straight inside and placing me on my feet beside the bed.

In a blur of motion, he shot around me, yanking off my boots, jeans and crop top before dumping one of Darius’s shirts over my head on top of my underwear then scooping me straight into the enormous bed and tucking the blankets right up beneath my chin.

“Caleb!” I snapped, but he just laughed.

“I’ve seen it all before anyway, sweetheart,” he joked as he sped off again, yanking the window and shutters closed before using his magic to light a huge fire in the grate.

The warmth of it washed over me and I sighed as my inner Phoenix bathed in the magic of the flames.

“I don’t wanna sleep here,” I muttered as Darius’s scent enveloped me and a whole host of regrets came whispering in my ears. But I was so exhausted from using my gifts that I just couldn’t stop my eyes from fluttering shut.

Caleb laughed softly. “I’ll lock the door and push the key back under it so you can escape in the morning.”

“Asshole,” I murmured.

“Always,” he agreed, flicking the lights off and the door clicked shut before the sound of the key turning in the lock followed.

I was too tired to argue further but before I gave in to sleep, I snagged my Atlas from the nightstand and forwarded the photograph I’d taken of Xavier and Catalina flying together in their Order forms to Darius. He deserved to see evidence of his mother’s love after all of these years and the knowledge that they’d all been denied that bond for so long made my heart ache for them.

A moment later, a message came through from him and I smiled to myself as I read it.

Darius:

Thank you, Roxy. This means more to me than words can convey.

My cheeks flushed at his reply and I bit my lip as exhaustion pulled at me. I sighed to myself as I nestled down in his bed, trying not to linger in the memories of sleeping here with his arms wrapped around me, feeling like nothing and no one in the world could ever hurt me so long as I just stayed right there. Maybe I should have listened to those instincts. Because his bed didn’t feel the same without him in it. And for the first time that I would admit to myself, I had to wonder if I’d made a terrible mistake when I said no.