Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates

The first day back in the new semester set my stomach swirling with butterflies. So much had changed. And yet school still continued like nothing had happened. But Tory’s dark fate was written in the stars, Orion’s sister had banded together with our enemies and the shadows that lived in my veins felt like nothing in comparison to the ones growing on the horizon.

With each passing day, it felt like we were waiting for something terrible to happen. For Lionel to make a move for the throne, or for Clara to come back to finish what she’d started. Nearly losing Orion had made me feel fragile, weak. But we’d been impossibly lucky. And now I knew this time needed to be spent getting stronger. More prepared. Because if Clara or any of Darius’s nightmare family showed up again, I was going to be ready to make sure they never hurt anyone I loved ever again.

I headed out of my room dressed in my uniform, taking a deep breath as I tried to settle the unease that had taken root in me. The shadows were more hungry these days, always trying to lure me into a pit of darkness and sweet promises. But somehow, I found it even easier to pull away from them now. When they tugged at me, all I could see was Orion’s blood. All I could feel was that hollow, terrible fear of thinking he was gone. They reminded me of Clara, of the worst night of my life. And I’d never let them have me.

I took out my Atlas, reading my horoscope as I walked along the corridor towards the stairs. I was going to pay serious attention to them from now on. If the stars had any warning about my day, I was going to find it and try to heed it. But sometimes they were so cryptic, it was almost like they were designed to make sense only after they’d come to fruition.

Good morning Gemini.

The stars have spoken about your day!

You may feel the world is hanging over you right now. A great task presents itself which you feel far too small to conquer alone. But take courage, for so long as those around you are in balance, you won’t have to be. With the moon in your chart, you may feel more emotional at the moment. But take comfort in her lulling presence. It is a time for reflection, focus and preparation for the coming days.

“Morning, babe.”

I looked up from my Atlas with a frown, spotting Seth in the stairwell leaning against the wall. He looked like a cruel god with his dark hair and muscular frame, his angular features perfectly arranged into a cool indifference. Was he freaking waiting for me?

I slowed to a halt in front of him despite the fact that ninety nine percent of me wanted to keep walking. I still hated him. But there was something slipping through my veins now which I couldn’t ignore. Gratitude.

If it hadn’t been for him, Orion would be dead. It was as simple as that. And as twisted and as screwed up as that was, it was still the truth. The hardest part about that, was I had to accept that he wasn’t bad to the bone. He had a fragment of good in him which I would never be able to ignore because of what he’d done.

“What are you doing here?” I narrowed my eyes and he moved forward, dropping his arm over my shoulders and steering me down the stairs.

I tried to shrug him off, but he held on tight and I ground my jaw as his muscles locked me in place. I didn’t see the point in starting a fight for the sake of getting rid of him. And maybe I was a tiny bit interested in what he had to say.

“I thought we could have a little chat.” He waved his hand so a silencing bubble expanded around us and I shot him a glare.

“What do you want?” I pressed, my tone sharpening. I may have been grateful to him, but I still didn’t trust a single hair on his head.

“So suspicious,” he taunted. “Maybe I just want to talk about the weather. Or how your roots need doing.” He glanced down at my hair and I scowled, trying to shrug him off again. He laughed darkly. “Or maybe I wanna talk about what you and your boyfriend were doing down in that cave on New Year’s Eve.”

“That’s none of your business,” I said, my heart thumping harder in my chest.

“Yeah, see…that shit’s not gonna fly with me, babe. I’m owed an explanation.” He gave me a razor sharp look, proving that he was just as much of a dick as always. “I know you were doing dark magic. But what I don’t know is how Orion ended up skewered. Because it sure looked like someone did the stabbing.”

I anxiously thumbed my mother’s ring on my finger which I’d found at the Palace of Souls. “Why don’t you ask Darius? He’s your bestie, isn’t he?” I asked and his scowl deepened at my words. If Darius wasn’t being open about it, then that was up to him. But it sure as shit wasn’t going to come from me.

“I’m asking you about it,” he growled.

“He slipped on a wet rock and fell onto his draining dagger,” I said flatly.

Seth wheeled me around, throwing me back against the wall with a snarl. Students scattered around us, squealing in fright. I clenched my jaw, glaring at Seth as magic trickled into my blood. I wasn’t scared, I was mad. The kind of mad that made my veins scorch. Part of me wanted to burn him into a pile of ash and never have to deal with his bullshit again. But I didn’t think murdering an Heir was going to solve my problems. Even if it would feel freaking amazing.

He pressed his hands either side of me on the wall, caging me in as his upper lip peeled back on a wolfish snarl. “Don’t lie to me, Vega. I’m owed the truth.”

I kicked off of the wall, getting right into his face as anger flashed hotter inside me, but it was starting to tangle with something else. Something softer I wanted to ignore. “That’s your trouble isn’t it, Seth? You can’t do a good deed unless you get something in return for it. Just because you saved him, doesn’t mean either of us are going to tell you anything about that night.”

He slammed his palm against the wall in frustration. “You ungrateful little-”

My rage gave way to that treacherous piece of my heart and I lurched forward in a moment of madness, wrapping my arms around him and hugging him tight. The earthy scent of him ran under my nose and the heat of his hard body reminded me he wasn’t just some coldblooded being.

“I am grateful. I am so fucking grateful.” Tears seared my eyes and I wondered if the moon was to blame for me being so emotional or if it was just the fact that my relationship with Seth had become so messy that I didn’t have words for what I felt towards him anymore. There was a bitter kind of hate that lived in me, digging deeper and deeper. But now there was a warmth toward him too which was just as resilient. Because I could never, ever repay him for giving Orion the magic he needed to survive.

I stepped back and Seth stared at me with wide eyes, his features suddenly boyish instead of harsh and distant.

“But you can’t really think one good deed, even if it was the best deed you could possibly commit, could make me trust you for even a single second,” I said breathlessly, my lungs working too hard.

My dislike of Seth had been so clear cut, I hated that it was foggy now. I hated that I’d hugged him. Hated that I had to feel anything toward him but anger. He was the guy who’d cut off my hair, the guy who held me and Orion hostage to his demands, who’d mocked and humiliated me. I was never going to forget that.

A frown worked its way into his forehead and he slowly nodded. He disbanded the silencing bubble, stepping back to let me pass and I kept my eyes locked on his as I moved down onto a lower step.

“Don’t ask me about this again,” I said firmly and his lips pursed in that entitled rich boy way that said he despised being denied anything.

I turned away and kept walking, taking a calming breath as I headed down the stairs.

“I still own you!” Seth called after me, his voice ringing around the stairwell. I didn’t answer, despite my chest compressing and my jaw tightening.

We’ll see about that when Darius Acrux has a word with you, asshole.

After breakfast, I headed to my first Cardinal Magic class of the semester. Tory hadn’t shown up to eat and my heart niggled with worry for her as I arrived at Jupiter Hall, making my way through the huge white atrium and upstairs to the classroom.

Students were filing inside and I headed in with Diego and Sofia, dropping into our usual seats.

“I hope Tory’s okay,” Sofia said sadly, glancing over at me. “I knocked for her this morning but she didn’t answer.”

“She’ll be alright,” I said automatically.

Tory was the strongest person I knew. But deep down, I knew she was breaking. This was one enemy she couldn’t fight, punch or insult. It was a quiet thing that was going to live with her forever, the knowledge that she could never find love would chip away at her always. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through right now, but I was gonna be there for her no matter what.

At ten past nine, Tory arrived with a give-no-shits expression, her hair flowing around her in perfect waves and her eyes thick with eyeliner like she actually wanted to draw attention to the dark rings that circled her irises.

A hushed silence fell over the room and I chewed on my tongue, wanting to slap everyone for treating her like she was some ghost floating around the place.

She dropped into her seat, taking out her Atlas and tossing it on the desk with a clatter.

“Hey,” I said lightly.

The last thing in the world Tory would want was people acting like she was made of glass. Which was why she was acting like she was made of freaking platinum. She was gonna front this out with the strongest wall she could possibly build. But inside, I knew she was hurting.

I took out the pastry I’d saved for her at breakfast, planting it on her desk. She glanced over at me with a smirk. “You’re a life saver, Darcy.” She snatched it up, taking a bite and leaning back in her seat with a moan of enjoyment, ignoring the stares she was getting from around the room.

I glanced at the door, my heart beating faster as I expected Orion to arrive at any moment. I didn’t know why I was so on edge. Maybe because every time I’d seen him since New Year’s Eve, I’d been reminded that he was still breathing. And all the while I couldn’t see him, my heart started to get tricked into thinking something terrible had happened again. Or that I’d imagined him being saved at all and was living in some false, pretty illusion.

Tyler Corbin took out a large bag of Order Snaps and started working his way through the chewy sweets (which came in multicoloured versions of different Orders) as he tapped excitedly on his Atlas.

The door flew open and Orion strolled into the room like he was on time and the rest of the world was early. My mouth dried up as he made it to the front of the class, planting a coffee mug down on his desk and casually thumbing through a pile of papers. Then he looked up and his gaze slammed into mine. I released a breath that had been trapped in my lungs and a smile hooked up the corner of my mouth. His eyes danced with light for a moment and I swear I could have swum in that light forever.

Alive. Safe. Same old Orion.

He snapped around with a bolt of Vampire speed, a pen in his grip as he wrote on the board.

YOU ALL HAVE DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS.

A few people chuckled nervously as he turned back to face the class, his eyes fixing on Tyler as he continued to look at his Atlas and toss Order Snaps into his mouth intermittently. Orion shot toward him in a blur, snatching the sweets and throwing them at the wall so they exploded everywhere. He grabbed Tyler’s Atlas in the next breath, tossing it onto his own desk before folding his arms and glaring down his nose at him.

“Do not eat in my classroom!” Orion barked, his harsh tone sending an injection of adrenaline into my veins.

Tyler gaped at him, swivelling in his seat to point at Tory who was still munching on her pastry. “But Tory Vega’s eating!” he complained.

“I don’t care if Tory Vega is starting her own bakery back there and using Polaris as a rolling pin, I’m talking to you, Corbin,” Orion snapped and I suppressed a laugh, sharing a look with Tory as she smirked.

“That’s so unfair,” Tyler complained.

“Fair is a concept,” Orion said with a shrug.

“But you’re a Libra!” Tyler said in exasperation. “You’re all about fairness.”

“Wrong. Ten points from Terra. Libras are about justice. And I decide what that means to me. And if I say that Tory Vega can have a bake sale and employ her sister as a cupcake stand, then I will be the first in line for the grand opening. But you, Corbin. Do not have that right. So clean up your mess and see me in detention on Thursday.”

Tyler pursed his lips, rising from his seat and marching towards the sweets scattered all over the floor, starting to pick them up and muttering about favouritism.

“My favourite students are the ones who don’t piss me the fuck off,” Orion snapped.

“And the ones who suck his cock best,” Kylie whispered from behind me with a giggle and a gust of air rushed over me as Orion shot up to her desk.

I twisted around with my lips parting as I found Orion had hefted Kylie’s whole chair up onto her desk and was holding the front two legs as he tipped it backwards. She screamed wildly, throwing out her hands to cast air magic and sending people’s notebooks scattering everywhere as she failed to get a hold of her powers.

“If you ever insinuate anything like that in my classroom again, you won’t just be in detention for the rest of the month – which you are by the way – you will be packing your fucking bags.” He let go of the chair legs and she wailed as the whole thing toppled backwards over the desk. I gasped as she crashed toward the ground, catching herself with air magic a second before her head impacted with the floor.

Orion sped back to the front of the classroom, casually adjusting his tie and taking a sip of his coffee like he hadn’t just almost mortally wounded a student.

“Right,” he said like there’d been no interruption at all. “Today you’ll be learning a concealment spell. Can anyone tell me the three types of magic which can be effective in concealing an object?”

Sofia raised her hand along with a few other students and Orion pointed her out. “Miss Cygnus?”

Sofia cleared her throat. “Illusion, confounding and influence.”

“Good, ten points to Ignis,” Orion said, tapping the board to bring up a list of examples.

Concealment Spells

Illusion – magical hiding places

Confounding – causing any Fae who approach the concealed item to become confused and forget why they were there or what they were looking for

Influence – causing a physical or psychological response to coming close to the concealed object

“Confounding and influence are more advanced magic, so today you’ll be learning a simple illusion. Can anyone give an example of illusion concealment?” Orion asked.

Diego’s hand raised and he pointed him out. “A hidden pocket?” he guessed.

“Correct,” Orion confirmed. “Other examples might be a hidden door or floor space, or an object can even be hidden in plain view and caused to blend with its surroundings. Illusion magic works like a mask. If you make it to your senior year, these masks can be used for other more advanced magic. Such as concealing your face to look like another Fae.” He raised a hand to his face, running his palm across it so a faint blue light trickled over his skin. A moment later his face appeared as Tyler Corbin’s. Everyone started laughing, but by the time Tyler looked around from where he was kneeling on the floor, Orion disbanded the illusion and gave him a stern expression instead. “You will also be taught to protect your identities. Most Fae can effectively put an anti-mimicry spell on their appearance. However, powerful Fae can break past these barriers, so it is not totally effective. That is something you will be taught in time.”

I frowned at Tory, not liking the idea that someone could just take our identity whenever they liked right now. So long as they were capable of the magic. And our list of powerful enemies was growing every day. I was gonna have to start an excel spreadsheet soon.

Orion smirked as concerned chatter broke out. “Bars, clubs, banks and any other private institutes have anti-mimicry technology installed at the doors, so don’t worry about your precious identities,” he said, pushing his hands into his pockets. “Not that anyone would bother to impersonate most of you,” he muttered under his breath. “Can anyone give an example of a confounding concealment spell?”

“Making someone, um, need the toilet sir?” a girl in the front row offered.

“Yes, a spectacular case of getting the shits can draw a Fae away from your concealed object nicely,” Orion said with a grin and everyone chuckled. “But it takes powerful magic to effect a Fae’s body like that. Especially when you’re not present to cast it.”

Orion moved to his desk, picking up a mason jar full of gold coins. He started moving through the classroom and throwing them out to everyone, making them try to catch so coins went flying everywhere.

“Pitball Keeper!” he barked at me before throwing one my way and my heart juddered as I lurched out of my seat and caught it at the last second. He smirked, his eyes glittering with satisfaction. “We may have a shot at beating Aurora Academy in the next game after all.”

I grinned, dropping into my seat as he tossed one to Tory. She wasn’t even paying attention and it bounced off of her desk so hard, it pinged right into Diego and hit him in the eye. Which was pretty weird considering he was adjacent to her, so I had a sneaking feeling Orion had used his air magic to send it in his direction.

“Hijo de puta,” Diego hissed, cupping his eye.

“Language, Polaris. Five points from Aer,” Orion snapped at him and I pursed my lips. He could be such a dick sometimes.

When everyone had a coin, Orion headed to the front of the class, placing his own coin down on the desk.

“Illusion is all about subtly,” he explained, tapping the wood beside the coin. “You need to study the area you’re going to copy and make sure the mask you create around the object is seamless. Poor concealment spells can be noticed a mile off if someone is looking for whatever you’ve hidden.” He glanced around at us all. “And I’m sure at least one of you have items you’d rather keep out of sight. I for one, don’t take any pleasure in turning out freshmen rooms. You can only imagine the amount of fucking Order porn and weird and wonderful sex toys I’ve had the displeasure of discovering. If you get this spell right, you’ll have a shot at hiding them. Of course, I am unfortunately very apt at discovering concealment spells so unless you can disguise your magical signature too, you’re most likely fucked.”

“I wonder how many sparkly Pegasus horn vibrators Caleb Altair has hidden around his room,” Tyler mused as he dropped back into his seat with a full bag of sweets and laughter exploded around the classroom.

I glanced at Tory with a smirk, but she didn’t even have it in her to smile. And that just broke my heart to pieces.

Orion pressed his tongue into his cheek, leaning back against his desk and clasping the edge of it. “Well, I’ve only found the one, but Mr Altair’s skill could mean every lamp, candle and potted plant in his room are concealing glittering dicks. Not that I’m judging.”

More laughter carried around the room and Tyler bobbed in his seat excitedly. “He probably has one concealed in his butt at all times!”

“Another ten points from Terra,” Orion barked at him and the class fell completely quiet.

Orion was seriously playing Jekyll and Hide today and the smile dancing around his lips said he was enjoying the hell out of it. Asshole that he was, I couldn’t help but love him for being a teensy bit psycho. His idea of fun came with a sadistic little twist. And I was hot for it.

Tyler sank lower in his seat with a huff, but didn’t say another word.

Orion pressed his fingers to the coin on his desk. “Bring pure energy to your fingertips and envision the surface you’re trying to conceal it within. The clearer the image you imagine, the easier the magic will be to mould. Once you have it in your grasp, a simple hand movement like this-” He ran his fingers over the coin and it instantly vanished. “Will do the trick. If it helps, the movement is similar to that of turning a page of a book. Gentle, with little effort required. If your movements are too harsh, well…”

As if on cue, Diego’s table cracked right down the middle as he attempted the spell and Orion pointed it out. “That can happen. And if you’re more powerful than Polaris – and let’s face it, most of the world are – then you can cause a lot more damage than he has. Begin.” 

Diego growled under his breath as chatter broke out around the room and everyone attempted the spell.

Orion moved up to stand in front of Diego, clasping his hands behind his back. “Again,” he demanded and Diego took a breath, looking a little sweaty under the intensity of Orion’s glare as he raised his hand above the coin. He did a subtle sweep over it and the coin turned as black as pitch.

Orion’s mouth twisted down at the corners. “Focus on the surface.” He tapped the desk.

“I’m trying,” Diego said firmly. “But all I’m seeing is your loco black eyes staring at me, sir.”

Orion rolled said eyes and sidestepped to stand in front of me instead. “Put Polaris to shame, Blue,” he encouraged and I held my fingers above my coin.

“He has a point, sir, you’re pretty distracting standing there like the Grim Reaper,” I said lightly.

He placed his hands on my desk, leaning over me with his fangs on show. “What if you need to conceal a murder weapon with the cops two seconds away, hm? What if you don’t do it right because of the stress?”

“Are you teaching me to get away with murder, sir?” I teased and he chuckled in a low tone.

“I’m teaching you to cast magic under pressure,” he said, pinning me in those endlessly dark eyes of his. My stomach dipped and heat trickled down my spine. Yah. Officially distracted.

I dropped my gaze to the coin and focused on the table surface around it. Blocking Orion out wasn’t easy, but I just about managed it before I lifted my hand and gently brushed my fingers over the coin in the way he’d taught us. The coin changed colour to blend with the table, but it was still visible. I pursed my lips, glancing up at Orion for pointers and he reached out to take my hand. The frenzied energy that passed between us made my pulse skip as he guided my fingers over the coin.

“You have to believe it isn’t there with all your heart,” he whispered, his voice making the hairs rise along my arms.

I swallowed thickly, dropping my gaze to the coin as I released the magic from my fingertips again with him guiding my hand. The moment I imagined the table without a coin on it, holding that picture vividly in my mind, it vanished, as simple as that.

I glanced over to find Tory mimicking us with a taut expression and she managed it too.

Orion glanced between us with a smirk, then lowered his tone. “The Heirs are given more advanced tasks in my classes. If you two ever want to challenge yourselves, you only have to ask.” He shot away to help Jillian as her table rocketed up to the ceiling and smashed to pieces.

Tory’s eyes brightened for a moment as she looked to me and my heart lifted at the sight.

“We should do that,” she said. “We have to play catch up. Hard.”

I nodded in agreement. “Definitely. And one day we’ll zoom on past them and leave them in our dust trails.”

Her mouth pulled up a little at the corner, but she didn’t really smile. And I couldn’t bear it. If there was anything I could have done to fix what had happened between her and Darius, I would do it no question. The worst thing of all, was that she’d chosen this. Preferred it to the alternative. But were the stars really so cruel that she should be punished for the rest of her life because she hadn’t chosen to mate with a guy who’d hurt her in unspeakable ways?

I curled my hands into fists on the table, not knowing what to do with all the rage and hurt that lived in me on her behalf. The shadows clawed their way up under my skin, trying to feed on that pain, take it away. But they couldn’t have it. It was mine to bear, and I wasn’t going to let them pacify me.

By the time class ended, Diego had gotten the spell right and Orion had taught me and Tory how to hide our magical signatures on our concealments too. It was like withdrawing the energy around the spell we’d just laid, siphoning it away until there was as little as possible used for the concealment, leaving no clues that an object was there at all. I was excited to use it for real, and kinda annoyed I hadn’t known how to do this before now to conceal the Aquarius Moonstone from Seth. He might never have figured out I’d given him fleas. But in all fairness, it felt pretty good that he knew I’d struck that blow against him. After all the shit he’d put me through, a little isolation from his pack and constant itchy balls had definitely been due.

The bell rang and we all started heading for the door.

“I need to discuss your Order gifts paper with you, Blue,” Orion’s voice cut through the air and I fought a grin as I held back.

“I’ll save you a seat in Tarot,” Tory said with a knowing look and I squeezed her arm in thanks before slipping away toward Orion’s desk. Someone tugged on my sleeve and I glanced back to see Diego there with a pale expression.

“Um, Darcy, can I talk to you?”

“Not right now, Polaris,” Orion snapped, waving a hand so a gust of air crashed into Diego and sent him flying out the door with the last of the students. The door slammed shut and I glared at Orion, planting a hand on my hip.

“That was rude,” I said sternly. He flicked a hand to cast a silencing bubble then shot toward me, taking my breath right out of my lungs as he threw me back onto Tyler’s desk and pressed his tongue between my lips.

“I am rude,” he growled into my mouth.

I moaned, tangling my hands in his hair as the heat of his flesh brought my body to life. I forgot everything, the world just a hazy grey blur around us as I clung to this man who made every part of me sing. My heart felt like it was trying to claw its way out of my chest to get closer to him, but I knew this had to stop. It was the middle of a school day and though I knew he could hear anyone approaching, my pulse still pounded with adrenaline.

“Lance, if we get caught…” I said breathlessly as he forced my thighs wider around his hips.

“We won’t,” he growled, knotting his fingers in my shirt.

He kissed me again, pulling buttons free and sliding his hand into my bra, a growl of desire leaving him as he found my nipple pebbled and aching for him. I gasped as he pinched my sensitive flesh, his other hand sailing beneath my skirt and brushing up the centre of my panties.

“Ah,” I gasped, his thumb skating over that perfect spot between my thighs.

We were so hungry for each other, everything about our movements was frantic and pawing. He tilted my head to the side, his mouth trailing across my neck as he hunted for a vein, his desire for my blood as keen as his desire for me.

A knock came at the door and he groaned, pressing his forehead to my shoulder in frustration.

He flicked his fingers to disband the silencing bubble and shouted, “I’m busy! Come back later.”

“It’s just…it’s quite important,” Diego’s voice sounded beyond the door.

“I said not now!” Orion barked, but I pressed a hand to his chest, shaking my head.

“He said it’s important,” I whispered and Orion pulled his hand out of my shirt, his brows stitching together as he raked his knuckles across my cheek.

“You’re important,” he growled, his thumb pressing down between my thighs the same moment he clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Lance,” I begged against his palm, though my thighs widened, betraying that plea to stop.

The knocking came again and Orion’s head snapped towards the door with murder in his eyes.

“It’s about…about your sister, sir,” Diego hissed and my heart lurched.

I caught Orion’s wrist, tugging his hand free from my skirt and pushing him back. I was flustered and hot all over, but this wasn’t something that could wait.

I quickly did up the buttons of my shirt and Orion checked me over before shooting to his desk and dropping into the seat behind it. He rearranged his pants and I fought a smirk before moving to stand before the desk, then he casually whipped a hand at the door to wrench it open.

“In,” he demanded of Diego, flipping his fingers to slam the door behind him.

Diego tugged at one side of his black beanie hat as he moved toward us, anxiety flickering through his eyes.

Orion cast another silencing bubble and cocked an eyebrow at Diego. “Well?”

Diego glanced between us, knotting his fingers together. “Well…you know how I told you about how mi abuela made this hat?” He pointed to it.

“How could I forget?” Orion asked dryly, leaning back in his seat with a suspicious expression.

Diego cleared his throat and I gave him an encouraging look. “It’s connected to the souls of my family. We can use it to show each other things…like our memories.”

“That’s crazy,” I breathed. “So you can see your parents’ thoughts?”

“Si.” He nodded. “But only what we choose to share with each other though. Once it’s shared, it’s accessible to everyone connected through mi abuela’s red de almas. Her web of souls.”

“You’re circling the point like a fucking braindead vulture, Polaris. Get to it,” Orion snapped.

Diego’s throat bobbed and I stepped closer to him, laying my hand on his arm. “It’s okay,” I said. “What is it?”

“My family are helping the Acruxes.” He glanced at Orion nervously.

Orion wet his lips, sitting forward in his chair. “I’m listening.”

“They went to visit them last night and I felt them add a memory to the web. When I looked, I saw…I saw…” He started sweating, pulling off his hat and dabbing at his forehead with it.

Orion slammed his hand down on the desk impatiently and Diego flinched.

“I saw la Princesa de las Sombras,” he breathed, looking to Orion. “The Shadow Princess. Your sister.”

My gut knotted and I clutched Diego’s arm tighter. “What was she doing?”

“I can show you,” he said. “I want to help.”

“You’d go against your own family?” Orion asked in a deadly tone. “Why?”

Diego wrung his hat between his fingers. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Then try,” Orion growled.

I chewed on my lip, waiting for Diego to speak, unsure if I trusted him or not. My heart told me he really wanted to help. But how could I know for sure?

Diego cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening as he turned his gaze to the floor. “The honest truth is that I’ve never known a home before I came to Zodiac Academy. I’ve been a disappointment to everyone in my life. My family think I’m useless. And I thought that too for a while…but I can help with this. I can be useful. But not to them, to my friends.” He looked to me with a faint smile pulling at his lips that made my heart tug. “To people who have accepted me as I am, who never asked me to be anything but me.”

I gave him a reassuring smile, saddened that he felt that way about his family. But I was sure he was telling the truth. Something bone deep told me that.

“Well excuse me if I don’t pull out the tissue box and start playing the tiniest violin in the world, Polaris, but I’m gonna need more than a fucking sob story to be convinced.” Orion rose from his seat, apparently boner free as he strode around the desk and stared down at Diego with his eyes narrowed.

“Give him a chance to prove it,” I said, lifting my chin. “I believe him.”

Orion’s gaze slid to me and his jaw ticked as he mulled over my words. “I’m not going to take any stupid risks.”

“There’s no risk,” Diego promised. “I can show you the memories through the shadows. That’s all. They could never tell you saw them.”

Orion ran his tongue over his teeth, moving closer to Diego in an intimidating stance. “If you try to fuck me over, kid, I’ll break every bone in your body. And if you try to fuck over the Vegas, I’ll rip out said broken bones one by one, put them in a blender and feed them to you through a straw. I know some nasty fucking spells that will make sure you stay alive through the entire thing. Mark. My. Words.”

My lips popped open and hell, I was shamefully turned on by him in that moment.

Diego straightened his spine and balled his fists. “I swear I won’t.” He held out his hand. “I’ll swear it on the stars if that makes you feel better.”

Orion’s eyes slid down to Diego’s hand extended between them then he clucked his tongue, turning and striding back to his desk. He opened his drawers one at a time, rummaging through them for something before finally producing a beautiful blue Lapis Lazuli crystal.

“I’ll go one better,” he said, deadly calm. “You will make a star promise with me and Blue. Then you will do it with Darius and Tory when you see them too. If you break the promise, we’ll feel it. And the stars will curse you for the rest of your miserable days. Which will be a sum total of one, during which the bone-breaking-smoothie fest will commence.”

I would have laughed if he hadn’t looked so damn serious. I really did think my crazy Professor boyfriend would have made Diego drink his own bones in the world’s most messed up milkshake.

“I’ll do whatever you need to gain your trust.” Diego continued to hold out his hand, but it was definitely shaking a little as Orion grabbed it and pressed the crystal to his inner palm and it started to glow. He scored lines across it and I shifted closer to watch as he painted Diego’s star sign constellation of Aquarius onto his skin in a mark that glimmered like the crystal. Then he marked the Libra constellation on his own palm and took hold of Diego’s hand in what looked like a bruising grip. “You will swear not to breathe a word of what we discuss together, never share a memory or a thought about your time with me, the Vegas or Darius Acrux unless we agree to.”

“I swear it.” Magic flashed between their palms and Orion dropped his hand, seeming satisfied as he moved forward to take mine. He lifted it, pressing the crystal to my palm and drawing the Gemini constellation across it with gentle strokes. I glanced up at him under my lashes, seeing the worry in his expression and wishing I could soothe it away. I knew how he felt. He was afraid. Afraid of the world falling away from beneath our feet at any moment. And I was scared of the same thing.

Amongst all of the darkness hanging over us, he was a solid beacon of light I could focus on. Him and Tory were the only things that mattered. I had to protect them, keep them close. But we couldn’t just hide, or run. We had to stand and fight. And if Diego could help us do that, then this was a chance we had to take.

Diego moved forward, taking my hand and Orion directed me to repeat the words he’d spoken before. When Diego agreed, a cool, powerful magic flooded into my veins. I felt the weight of the deal slipping around my heart, sitting there with the other one I’d made with Orion. When we’d promised to always do whatever it took to stay together.

“Show us then,” Orion demanded, looking to Diego with a tight jaw. “Let’s see this memory.”

Diego’s hand was still holding mine and he reached out to take Orion’s.

Orion looked like he wanted to hold hands with Diego about as much as he wanted to throw himself from the nearest window and dash his head to pieces on the cobblestones below, but he reached out and did it anyway.

“We have to connect through the shadows,” Diego explained. “Reach out to me with them.”

I took in a slow breath then let my eyes fall closed as I concentrated. The shadows were waiting, ready, coiled like a snake in my chest looking for prey. They slithered toward Diego without much encouragement and I felt the lull of them surrounding me.

My pulse sounded slow and steady in my ears, the thump thump thump of it the only thing I could hear as I started to drift into the abyss.

Diego and Orion’s presence shimmered in my periphery and I felt Diego tugging us into the dark, leading us deep, deep, deep down into the belly of the shadows.

My grip on the Fae world was slipping away as I became weightless, floating in a sea of nothing. It should have been frightening, but the shadows wound through me, keeping my mind calm and my pulse beating out that ever-steady tune.

Thump, thump, thump.

A light expanded before us and suddenly I was gazing at what looked like a cloud, suspended before us in the dark. It was white and yet seemed denser than a normal cloud, like I could dip my fingers into and find a foamy texture awaiting me.

Flickers of light danced through it and with each flash, I saw faces, landscapes, moments. I saw Diego as a young boy standing on a hill in the dark, his eyes wide and his cheeks flecked with red paint. Then it flashed away and I saw him holding his acceptance letter to Zodiac Academy, his face bright with enthusiasm. I felt the atmosphere twist and writhe and suddenly a memory grew brighter amongst them all, drawn to the surface of the cloud and filling the entirety of it, then more and more until it slipped into my mind and played as if I was seeing it through my own eyes.

I was in Lionel Acrux’s home, watching as Clara stood up on the dining table. Lionel sat at the far end while his vile followers huddled around it, marvelling at Clara as she wielded the shadows like they were extensions of her limbs. Her body was cloaked in darkness and she filled the entire vaulted ceiling with shadow, casting them all in gloomy tones. Lionel gazed up at it with a sinister kind of victory in his eyes. Like he’d won this war already.

My gut tightened into a ball of rage as I stared at the girl who’d hurt Orion. I knew she was his blood, but I saw nothing but a monster lurking behind her eyes. And if this hadn’t been a memory, I would have tried to tear her apart with my Phoenix fire, destroy her for ever laying a hand on her brother.

“Clara Orion will guide us in the way of the shadows,” Lionel announced. “She has suffered in darkness for us all and now we owe her our gratitude.” He stood from the table, raising a blade before ripping his sleeve back and slicing open his arm.

I gasped in time with the body I was experiencing this memory through as Lionel spilled his blood into a crystal glass, holding it out to Clara with a dark smile.

Clara rushed forward to take it, dropping to her knees before him on the table and swallowing every last drop from the glass.

“You will honour her as I do,” Lionel said, an edge to his tone and everyone around the table hurried to offer her blood too. “Our Shadow Princess!”

The memory faded away before she dove on more glasses of blood and I found myself yanked from the darkness, blinking sharply as I took in the room around me. My eyes locked with Orion’s as we released Diego’s hands and my heart pounded wildly out of rhythm.

Orion’s brow was crinkled and he looked pale, broken, his heart shattered. I wanted to rush forward and wrap my arms around him, promising it would be okay. That we’d figure out what to do about his sister. But with Diego there, I could do nothing but stare and feel all the hurt exuding from him like a wave crashing against my soul.

“I can show you everything,” Diego breathed. “Everything there is to show.”

“Thank you, Diego,” I said earnestly, moving forward to hug him. With him, we had a line to Lionel. He was our very own shadow spy, a chance to get ahead of our enemies.