Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates

I trudged back to Aer Tower in my filthy Pitball uniform, my mood somewhere between misery and despair. It was the last day of term and we’d lost the final Pitball game of the season, meaning Neversky Academy had won the tournament.

The past three months in training had been abysmal. Professor Prestos had taken over coaching, but between her busy social life and the Elemental Combat classes she’d taken over from Orion too, she was finding it hard to cope. It made me realise how much of his time he’d given to this school, how he’d actually been more dedicated than half the staff here. Our training had fallen apart without him, and with me and Darius constantly distracted, it hadn’t helped in our final match. We’d only been two points down, but it was still a sore loss for the school. Especially when they hadn’t lost out on winning the tournament cup in years.

I didn’t even remain at the stadium to get changed, I was heading back to my room for the longest shower in the history of Fae kind then I’d pack for tomorrow. Tory and I would be heading to the Palace of Souls for the summer. We’d passed our exams with flying colours, but even that wasn’t enough to soothe the eternal, crushing ache in my heart over Orion.

My friends had said it would get easier, but if anything it was getting worse. A bitter reality was setting into me now and part of me just wanted to curl into a ball and hide away for the summer. But I couldn’t do that. We had to try and find the Imperial Star before Lionel did. And with nothing to go on except a few ancient legends we’d dug up in the archives, I wasn’t sure how we were going to pull it off.

Darius had Xavier spying on his family as much as possible and Gabriel was spending hours every day forecasting to try and get a glimpse of where the star was hidden. So far, they’d had little luck. But we wouldn’t give up. Tomorrow, Tory and I were going to hunt through the library at the palace. Geraldine said there were whole tomes about the star in there, so the sooner we could start looking for more clues, the better.

I kicked off my shoes as I arrived at my room, locking the door and stripping off as I headed into the shower.

After a couple of hours, my bag was packed and I sat on my bed in some black shorts and a grey sports bra as I thumbed through a book about the ancient royals, the heat in the air growing stifling. I cast frost over the ceiling and cooled the air to shake off the summer warmth, listening to the laughter of students out in the halls as they readied for tonight’s celebrations.

My Atlas pinged and I checked my messages, finding a couple from Tory after I’d missed dinner. She hounded me at every meal to make sure I was eating and I loved that she cared to make sure I didn’t fade away. It had been a while since I’d skipped a meal, but tonight held a weight to it that I couldn’t escape. It was the last day of our first year at Zodiac and I should have been celebrating with Orion. I should have been thanking him for everything he did to help me get here. Instead, we were thousands of miles apart and he was stuck underground in some miserable hellhole. I’d kept to my word and hadn’t written to him, but even so, Darius had made no progress in encouraging him to agree to the appeal. Which made me truly fear he was never going to.

I spent the rest of the evening reading everything I could about the royals, but found no clues to the star’s whereabouts. When I finally finished the book, it was gone midnight and my mind was on overdrive with worry. We really have to find something tangible to go on soon or we’re screwed.

I moved to the window, cracking it open to let some air in and my gaze snagged on a light in The Wailing Wood. It was in the direction of King’s Hollow, but it was too dark to tell exactly where it was coming from. I guessed the Heirs were still up partying.

My mind played tricks on me as shadows danced down on the grass below and I shivered as I moved away from the glass and dropped onto my bed.

I picked up my Atlas, scrolling through FaeBook posts as I tried to stop the quiet from dragging me back to the dark thoughts which were always hovering on the edges of my mind. A post about Orion made my stomach knot and I couldn’t help but pause on it.

Marguerite Helebor: Three reasons why I believe Professor Orion would never Dark Coerce a Vega into screwing him…

1. Er, why would he bother? The girl has blue hair and talks to ravens. Unless he’s got a thing for freaks, there’s no way he’d pick her of all students to risk his reputation on. #hehadbetteroptions

2. He wouldn’t need to Coerce her to do shit. She was always drooling over him in class (according to a reliable source). I bet she begged to suck his dick on a daily basis. #teacherspet #ibetshegotonherkneesforit

3. See number 1

Conclusion: Darcy Vega can perform Dark Coercion! Isn’t it obvious? She forced Professor Orion to screw her then made him take the blame for it in court. We need to watch our backs everyone! Even Professor Highspell agrees. #darkvegas #likefatherlikedaughter #theressomethingnotrightaboutthem

I tossed my Atlas down beside me with a growl. Now why did I torture myself by reading that?

Marguerite only had a couple of brain cells, but she’d worked real hard at rubbing them together to come up with that vicious little post. It had fifty likes already and I couldn’t believe people were actually lapping up her bullshit. It was bad enough that they swallowed Orion’s story, now they were making up their own too.

I rolled onto my side with a huff, taking comfort in the fact that I at least wouldn’t have to see her or any more of the bitch squad for the whole summer.

My Atlas pinged and I picked it up again, my heart beating out of tune at the sight of a group message from Gabriel to me and Tory.

Gabriel:

The love of my life just went into labour! I’m heading home. Wish me luck!

P.S.

I’ll come to the palace soon and help you search for the Imperial Star. If I see anything in the meantime, I’ll let you know.

The biggest, most genuine smile I’d worn in ages spread across my face and I sat up in bed as I tapped out a reply, sending him a string of happy emojis at the end of it. I couldn’t wait to meet my little niece or nephew. It was crazy to think we had a family, one that was actively growing too. After meeting Gabriel’s family a few months back, I couldn’t wait to have them over to the palace in the summer. Especially now there was going to be a whole new little life to meet. Oooh and have cuddles with. I shot Tory a quick message though she hadn’t replied to Gabriel’s yet so I guessed she was asleep.

Darcy:

Dibs on first cuddles!

My smile wouldn’t go away and it was so good to actually feel happy for once. I gave up on trying to settle down and slid out of bed, kicking my sneakers on and heading out the door, not bothering to bring my Atlas as I didn’t have any pockets. I’d go for a walk to expend this wild energy and try to calm my mind enough to get some sleep. Though I couldn’t see it happening anytime soon. On top of this exciting news, I also had a pile of books to work through on my desk that might glean us some information about the Imperial Star. If I couldn’t sleep then I could see a long night ahead of me searching through them. But right now, I just needed some air.

I soon stepped out onto the plain of grass beyond Aer Tower and headed across it into The Wailing Wood. I moved into the glowing orange light of one lamppost to the next, wondering if I should swing by The Orb to see if any of the A.S.S. were hanging out there. A lot of people had turned in for the night or headed home already. It was strange to think of this place sitting empty all summer and I was sure I was going to miss it.

The air was hot against my skin as I wound deeper into the forest, taking the long route that circled back around toward The Orb.

Footsteps padded somewhere along the path behind me and I turned to look back, finding no one there. I tried not to let that unsettle me, but found myself upping my pace when the footsteps sounded again then the leaves rustled somewhere above me.

It’s just Fae in their Order forms.

But for some reason, it didn’t feel like that. It felt like I was being watched….hunted.

I upped my pace and readied magic in my palms just in case and the footsteps sounded behind me once more.

I glanced back over my shoulder, casting fire into my palms and hunting the darkened path with my heart pounding harder against my chest. I’d travelled a fair distance from the last lamppost and this corner of the track was thickly shrouded in shadow.

Maybe I should fly out of here.

A bone curdling rattle started up right behind me and fear slashed through my heart as I swung around. Hands grabbed me and a scream tore from my lungs, echoing up into the night before magic pressed into my lungs and stopped the sound dead, trapping it in my chest and cutting off any chance of anyone knowing I was in trouble.