Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne

The grand ballroom at the palace where we’d celebrated last Christmas remained well and truly locked up tight against any and every attempt that Lionel made to get into it. He cursed and ranted about the palace, using every kind of spell he could think of and even getting in earth Elementals with expertise in building and architecture to try and break through the magic that was keeping him out, but it was no good. He hadn’t even been able to blast his way through the door with Dragon fire.

So, much to his disgust, instead of holding his ball in there, he’d had to make use of a huge pavilion out in the east gardens for the occasion. Tonight was the annual Dragon Guild’s Oath celebration which Clara had informed me was the night when every Dragon in Solaria was expected to come and reaffirm their loyalty to the Guild by remaking their oath beneath the watchful gaze of the stars. Lionel had taken advantage of that last part when telling everyone that it would be held outside, playing up to the idea of the heavens watching over the occasion, but I knew the truth. And the tantrum he’d thrown over the palace rejecting him had a smile toying around the corners of my lips.

Beyond the pompous oath nonsense, Darius had told me that this night would mostly be used by Lionel to make certain that his most loyal supporters were all still firmly on team Asscrux. The Dragons would all be making arrangements for political gains such as marriage contracts, trade deals and the like. All that standard let’s keep the rich dudes rich bullshit that went on in fancy ass boardrooms everywhere just dressed up prettily for a party instead.

The dress I was wearing tonight was actually something I might have picked out for myself and I was going to put that down to the people who bought the clothes rather than give Lionel any credit for it. It was a deep, forest green velvet that brought out the colour in my eyes and was backless, though the long sleeves covered my arms. 

I walked down to the ball with Clara at my side as we followed Lionel. He had Catalina on his arm, looking stunning as always, perfectly made up in a silver dress that drew attention to her curves. Clara was pouting because he hadn’t wanted her to take his other arm. Tonight was about showing his strength as a Dragon and he wouldn’t be seen with anyone other than his pure blooded bride in front of all the others. But of course, Clara was petulant and childish and wasn’t just going to accept that.

‘Might I remind you that Guardians are only invited to this function as a courtesy,’ Lionel growled when she huffed dramatically for the eighth time as we passed a window with a view out to the huge wooden pavilion which was teaming with Dragon Shifters.

I looked over the hexagonal shaped building with its white roof and mid-level railings surrounding it and couldn’t help but appreciate how pretty it was. Apparently it had been built for my mother so that she could have musicians come and play for her whenever she wanted.

‘If you are unable to behave, then I will send you back to my quarters and you had better believe I won’t be kind when I return there later on tonight,” Lionel snarled.

‘But Daddy,’ Clara whined. ‘I don’t see why I can’t-‘

Lionel released his hold on Catalina’s arm and whirled on Clara in the blink of an eye, a silencing bubble crashing over our small group as he reached out and grabbed her around the throat. 

‘Do you wish for Roxanya to become my favourite?’ he threatened, and I fought a shudder at the implications of that.

Before I’d been brought back to myself, I’d wanted to be the favourite more than anything. But now that I was looking at it without the crazy tinted glasses, I realised the only real difference between me and Clara was that he called her his favourite and he fucked her. I might have had a need in me to please him and be close to him, but thankfully there had never been a stirring of sexual desire towards him in me. That said, I knew I would have done it if he’d told me to before. I would have gotten on my knees and done anything he wanted just to please him. Thank fuck for possessive shadow bitch nutcases.

‘No, Daddy,’ Clara balked, throwing me a glare full of enough acid to melt the skin from my bones. 

‘Then go back to my room and wait for me there. I’ll be along when I’m done with the party and you can show me how sorry you are then. Perhaps I will be merciful if you manage to do enough to appease me.’

Clara looked half way between thrilled at that prospect and horrified about being banished but as Lionel’s glare hardened, she murmured her agreement then shot away, wailing with tears, her sobs echoing off of the palace walls.

Lionel’s gaze slid to me with a hungry kind of desire that sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

‘You’re going to be a good girl, aren’t you, Roxanya?’ he asked in a low and deadly tone as he reached out to slide his fingers around my throat the way he had to Clara.

‘Yes, my King,’ I breathed as his nostrils flared and smoke trailed from them. 

Lionel’s grip on me tightened painfully and I had to fight against the urge to try and rip his hands from my throat with everything I had as Catalina released a whimper of distress.

‘Sometimes I can see so much of your father in you,’ he murmured thoughtfully and rage built in me at the reminder of what the stars had shown us he’d done to our father.

This kingdom had never had a Savage King, it had been this hateful puppet master and his dark magic all along. All for this. He’d been plotting to take the throne even then, doing everything he could to gain the advantage he needed over the other Councillors. It made me sick to know he’d achieved all of that. And that my father may never have known he wasn’t a monster.

His grip tightened until I couldn’t draw breath and light flared in his eyes before he released me just as suddenly as he’d grabbed me and turned to take Catalina’s arm once more.

I had to bite my tongue so hard against all the things I wanted to say to this lying, scheming sack of shit that I made it bleed and that was still only just enough to keep me quiet.

We headed out into the gardens where the path had been lit up with such a beautiful use of fire magic that I was offered the distraction I needed to pull myself together just by looking at it. The flames burned in a thousand different complicated shapes and patterns, and when we reached the enormous pavilion where the ball was being held, I couldn’t help but stare at the life sized Dragon crafted from flames which perched upon the roof.

My magic flared hungrily as it was recharged by so much fire all around me and I followed Lionel and Catalina up into the pavilion, feeling slightly calmer thanks to the distraction, glad that I didn’t have to call on the shadows. 

A herald announced Lionel’s arrival like the pretentious douche he was and to my disgust every fucker standing in the beautiful wooden structure bowed low for their king.

Lionel preened like an overstuffed peacock as the first of the simpering sycophants rushed over to join us and my gaze fell on a giant of a man as he lumbered forward. In fact, every fucker here was huge, I guessed on account of the fact that they were Dragons. 

‘Ah, Christopher,’ Lionel greeted warmly as the big motherfucker tilted his head in acknowledgement of his king. ‘I was hoping to have a discussion with you later about the Minotaurs living in your part of the kingdom.”

‘Of course,’ the Dragon replied, licking his lips and running his beady eyes all over Catalina without an inch of shame. ‘I’d be more than happy to help you rid Solaria of the vermin who have been holding us back for so long.’

‘Good,’ Lionel said. ‘Because there are a few favours I need of you and it would be most helpful if you could see to it that they were done sooner rather than later. Of course, I would reward you greatly for your help in this matter.’

Christopher agreed to speak with him more later and another Dragon stepped forward, this one eyeing me warily as he bowed to Lionel.

‘Your Highness,’ he said crisply, his black beard moving just enough to show he’d spoken. His eyes darted my way again and Lionel sighed. 

‘I’ll come and speak with you alone soon, Tomas,’ he said. ‘Once my Guardian is otherwise occupied.’

The bearded Dragon seemed pleased by that suggestion, bowing low before heading away and Lionel cut me an irritated look as if it was my fault his followers didn’t like me being here. Technically, this was supposed to be Dragons only, but he’d said it was customary for Guardians to be allowed to attend too. It just didn’t seem like the other Dragons were all too pleased about it.

I looked towards the next Dragon who was ushered up to approach us and had to hide a smile as I recognised Dante Oscura, pleased to find that there was at least one marginally more likeable person here than I’d expected. He was huge like all the other Fae here, but he wasn’t like them at all somehow with his gold jewellery and causally swept back black hair, the few buttons left open at his throat and a general aura of not wanting to be here. He stood out in all the best ways and I was fairly certain he was someone I could call a friend. Or at least I could have before Lionel got his claws into me.

‘Good evening, bella,’ Dante purred, his Faetalian accent dripping over his words as he smiled at me then turned his attention to Catalina. ‘And of course the Dragon Queen is looking beautiful as always.’ Catalina smiled graciously and thanked him as Lionel bristled at being left until last. ‘And finally, my lord and over-ruler, King of all of Solaria and the most powerful Fae I know,’ Dante said finally, his words oozing disdain and I noticed he didn’t bow either.

‘I hear congratulations are in order, Storm Dragon,’ Lionel growled. ‘Though I hope you don’t think that your arrangement with Juniper means your other children are exempt from my rule. If they Emerge as our kind then I’ll be expecting them to join to the Guild.’

Dante didn’t even bother to suppress a growl as static electricity washed off of his skin and lifted my hair around my shoulders.

‘Well, we’re actually hoping for my Wolf blood to shine through. Let’s not forget I’m only a Dragon because of a gift from the stars. I doubt I’ll be passing on the Dragon gene,’ Dante said roughly.

‘Who knows what ways the heavens work,’ Lionel disagreed. ‘My blood is as pure as it gets and yet my youngest was cursed to become a Pegasus. Perhaps the stars are righting that oversight by gifting you the genetics to produce an entire army of Storm Dragons to make up for his shortcomings.’

‘Yes, no doubt my life and Order were all planned out by the stars to suit your purposes, my king,’ Dante replied scathingly. ‘We all live to serve you after all, lucertola viscida.’

Lionel tsked at his tone but made no further efforts to reprimand him.

‘I expect another baby in Juniper’s belly by the end of the year,’ he said. ‘She’s here somewhere. I suggest you find her and put one in her before the night is over.’

I stifled a gasp as he bound Dante with the Dark Coercion that would force him to cheat on his wife and Dante’s eyes flared with the power of a storm as he glared at Lionel in outrage. A crash of thunder sounded overhead and as I looked out of the open wall of the pavilion, I could have sworn I spotted a huge, feathered wing crossing over the moon where it hung low in the sky.

I half expected Dante to lunge at Lionel and rip his throat out with the fury that was burning in his gaze as his posture locked tight and his muscles flexed within his expensive black suit, threatening to burst the seams of it.

He ground his jaw for several seconds and Lionel smirked at him like he was hoping he really would attack. I flexed my fingers, magic pooling to them while I readied myself to leap before my king if he needed defending, equally hating myself for doing it and unable to stop.

Dante growled and more static poured from him but instead of attacking, he turned to look at me and forced a smile. ‘Would you like to dance with me, bella?’ he asked, offering me his hand and I raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden turn of events.

‘I’m glad to see you’re accepting of your task,’ Lionel said triumphantly looking like the cockiest, smuggest bastard I’d ever seen. ‘And yes, I think it might be for the best if my Guardian were to spend some time away from me so that I can speak with my subjects in private. Run along, Roxanya, dance, eat and just keep out of the way.’

I agreed instantly, giving Dante my hand and letting him walk me over to the dance floor on the far side of the pavilion. Where his skin touched mine, electricity skittered against my palm and I shivered at the reminder of the torture I’d endured even though the voltage he was exuding now was nothing like the agony I’d received at Lionel’s hand.

Luckily Vard wasn’t here tonight either as no Cyclopses were invited so I was about as close to free as I ever got while back at the palace.

Dancers were taking their places on the floor, all of them dressed elegantly and looking supremely comfortable as someone called out to let us know this was going to be a foxtrot.

‘Can I tell you a secret, bella?’ Dante asked, lowering his voice conspiratorially and smirking at me like we were firm friends even though I didn’t know him all that well.

“What?’ I asked, keeping my tone flat.

‘I don’t know the steps to this dance,’ he whispered loudly and I had to fight a smile.

‘Well then we may be in trouble, because I don’t either,’ I admitted. ‘Perhaps it’s better if we don’t-‘

‘Nonsense.’ Dante tugged me into his strong arms and I had to fight a surprised laugh as my hand fell against his shoulder and his hand moved to hold my waist. 

The music started playing and he swept me into the dance, whirling me around in circles, not seeming to give one shit that we weren’t following the steps at all. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing as he knocked into the other dancers, carving out a path for us and causing carnage with his total lack of shits to give. He wasn’t a bad dancer, he just wasn’t following the status quo and I got the feeling he enjoyed shaking it up. There was no law to say we had to do the dance that everyone else was doing anyway and I just wished I could drop my mask and laugh my way through this with him.

‘Do you trust me, little principessa?’ Dante asked, whirling me around and I shifted my hand in his as my mind lingered on the Dark Coercion Lionel had placed on him.

‘Why are you asking if-‘

‘Gabby told me I could trust you,’ he said, flashing me a smile. ‘And he said that you could help me too.’

My lips parted in confusion as I tried to figure out who Gabby was and Dante spun me beneath his arm suddenly, forcing another couple to stumble away from us as he almost knocked me into them. He tugged me back into his arms and my eyes widened as I found a silencing bubble pressing close around the two of us to keep our conversation private.

‘What are you doing?’ I breathed.

‘No need to keep up the shadow twat act with me, principessa,’ he teased. ‘I see the real girl peering back at me clear as day from those big green eyes of yours.’

‘I don’t know what you-‘

‘Give it up, bella. Gabby told me your secret. So do you trust me with it?’

My lips fell open as I tried to figure out what he was saying, not to mention who the hell Gabby was. I didn’t know a Gabby.

‘Don’t tell me, he makes you call him Gabriel,” Dante groaned dramatically. “He’s such a stronzo sometimes.’

The penny finally dropped and I snorted a laugh. ‘You call him Gabby?’

‘Yeah. He loves it. Don’t let him tell you different. So can you help me with my little Dragon bitch issue, principessa? Because if this Coercion makes me fuck her, my wife will cut my balls off and I happen to be pretty damn fond of them.’

I had to fight my smile back so that no one else would see it as I nodded, relief spilling into me at the knowledge that I could do this for him. If Gabriel had sent him to me then there was no doubt in my mind about that. 

I squeezed his fingers, my Phoenix fire crackling against the electricity in his veins as I pushed it beneath his skin and sought out the Dark Coercion binding him to Lionel’s will. I burned through it easily and Dante laughed loudly, spinning me again as he bumped into a guy hard enough to knock him on his ass.

‘What are you going to do about Juniper?’ I asked. ‘If she doesn’t end up pregnant then Lionel will know you didn’t-‘

‘Don’t worry about that. Gabby has a plan and I’ve got back up to execute it from mia famiglia.’ Dante smirked at me as the song ended and he turned me around, bringing me face to face with Darius who was glaring over my shoulder at the Storm Dragon like he had half a mind to shift and lay into him. ‘Ah here’s our new prince,’ Dante mocked. 

‘You two seem cosy,’ Darius said in a flat tone, his gaze taking in Dante’s hand in mine as the hint of a snarl escaped him.

‘Calm down, mio amico, I have my own girl to keep me more than occupied. I was only dancing with your beautiful mate. But now I need to run and she finds herself in need of a new dance partner.” Dante gave me a little push and I stumbled forward a step so that Darius caught me.

The feeling of his hands on my waist lit a fire beneath my skin and I drew in a breath as he looked down at me.

‘Your fiancé will be a little late to the party, so you have time for a dance before she gets here,’ Dante added with a grin that said Gabriel had told him that too before he strode away.

Darius looked beyond me towards the throne where Lionel had set himself up to receive his subjects before his grip tightened on my waist and he drew me closer. 

I looked up at him in surprise as he slid his hand around my back, his rough palm landing on my bare skin as he pulled me into his arms, his other hand taking mine as the music started up.

‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ I asked though I wasn’t making any attempt to pull away as he moved me out into the crowd of dancers as a waltz was announced.

Unlike Dante, Darius clearly knew all of the steps and he led me around the floor with such confidence that it was easy for me to follow him and replicate them too. 

‘My father enjoys watching me suffer over you,’ he said, pulling me even closer so that our chests were touching. ‘So he won’t have any objections. Especially once Mildred arrives and I’m forced to endure her company for the rest of the night. Besides, being in a crowd this big might buy us a few minutes from the stars.’

I probably should have said more, but I didn’t want to be anywhere else so I just gave in, letting him spin me around the ballroom like a fairy tale princess even though we both knew I wasn’t anything of the sort. 

We danced around and around, my skirt whirling around my ankles and our bodies pressing so close that I could feel the hard ridges of his muscles through his shirt and I grew breathless as the smoke and cedar scent of him drew me even closer.

My heart was thumping to a treacherous rhythm and I was glad he held me so tightly or I was almost certain everyone in the room would be able to see that I was anything but a shell of a girl when I was in his arms. 

The music dipped and suddenly his hands were on my waist as he lifted me, spinning me in time with all the other dancers and placing me back on my feet with my body pressed to his.

‘When did you learn to dance like this?’ I asked him and he smirked at me as we swept over the wooden floor again, the steps so fast that I wasn’t even certain how I was keeping up with him.

‘Around about the same time as you learned to hotwire a bike,’ he teased. ‘Some of us were raised for this life.’

‘And some of us learned how to really live,’ I taunted back.

Darius’s lips lifted in amusement and I was caught in his dark eyes as he directed us across the dance floor once more. 

‘Are you enjoying this?’ he murmured.

‘Yes,’ I breathed, unable to deny the way my heart was hammering against my ribcage and my skin was burning up everywhere that we were pressed together. 

‘So it feels good to let me take charge?’ he pushed and I narrowed my eyes at him.

‘Don’t go thinking you’ll make a habit of it.’

Darius leaned down so that his lips brushed my ear as he spoke his next words and a tremor ran right through me which I was sure he must have been able to feel too. ‘You’d love being dominated by me, Roxy,’ he promised. ‘I’d pin you down and make you scream so good you’d forget all about trying to stop me as I marked you as mine so thoroughly that you’d never doubt that it was true ever again.’

A throb of need built in my core at his words and I wondered if he knew how much I wanted him to try that. I was aching for his touch on my flesh, my cheeks flushed and my panties wet as he held me almost tight enough to bruise.

But before I could give him an answer to that suggestion, a roar which sounded kind of like a pig going into battle with an angry sheep announced Mildred’s arrival to the party. I flinched back out of Darius’s arms as an explosion of vomit-yellow taffeta charged our way.

‘Here I am snookums!’ she cried as she launched herself into his arms, knocking me back and making me curse as I fought to steady myself in my heels. ‘No need to waste your time dancing with anyone else,’ she added, tossing a pointed look my way as she wrapped her arms around Darius possessively.

Everything in my being screamed at me to punch her stupid pug face and my muscles locked up as I fought to try and control my anger, cutting a glance towards Lionel on his throne.

He was watching us, his gaze on Darius and an amused smirk on his lips as I forced myself to turn and walk away. I didn’t head back to Lionel though. He’d told me to dance, eat and stay out of the way so I knew he didn’t want me around his Dragon asshole buddies.

I took a shaky breath as I tried to calm my pounding heart and headed over to the feast which had been laid out to the side of the pavilion. There was every kind of food you could imagine on it, beautifully presented with golden plates ready to be filled by the servants who perked up as they saw me approaching.

I told the guy who offered to get me food that I didn’t care what he picked out then took it to the far side of the pavilion with the intention of hiding out in the shadows until I had to return to Lionel’s bed later tonight.

Wow, my life was so fucking painful. I felt trapped in this endless cycle of lying about who I was, faking a lack of emotions about everything that mattered to me then stealing moments to be myself while still having to lie about the part of me that just ached to be with Lionel every minute of every fucking day.

Time ticked by as I stood there alone, my plate of untouched food balanced on the railing beside me as I tried not to watch Mildred pawing at Darius and failed miserably. She was all over him and it didn’t even matter that I knew full well he had no interest in her. He was still destined to be hers. And unless we managed to stop Lionel by the time they graduated then he’d have to go through with the marriage too. 

‘You look as miserable as I feel.’ Orion’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked around to find him leaning against the railing a few feet from me.

‘Shit, you made me jump,’ I scolded as I glanced at his blue suit and tie while he folded his arms over his chest.

‘Yeah, well, everyone is Power Shaming me so I might as well be invisible here. But Uncle Lionel says his Heir’s Guardian had to be present so here I am.’

I nodded in understanding because that was why I’d been gifted an invite too.

‘Please alleviate my boredom – I need something to get me through the reality of spooning with that motherfucker tonight,’ I begged and Orion’s lips twitched the tiniest amount as he handed me a glass of champagne before taking a long swig of his own.

‘You and I both know you’ll be diving in for that spooning head first,’ he scoffed, leaning back against the railing.

‘At least allow me to pretend I’ve still got some dignity,’ I muttered. 

‘It’s fine – I’ll be in bed with Darius, no doubt listening to him talking about you incessantly while he makes me his little spoon.’

‘I would have pegged you for a big spoon kind of guy,’ I teased, not sure what to think of Darius talking about me like that.

‘Yeah, well I would be if I had my girl in my bed, but the bond makes me want to please my Ward and seeing as Darius suffers from the superiority complex of a lifetime, let’s just say the domineering asshole always wants to be the big one.’

I smiled a little at that visual, taking a sip of my drink to cover it in case anyone was looking our way, but they all seemed too invested in their bullshit to pay attention to the unwanted additions to the party anyway.

‘You said your girl,’ I pointed out, giving him a sidelong look as his brow furrowed and he sighed, casting a hopeless kind of look my way.

‘Shit, you really look like her sometimes, you know?’ Orion breathed, swiping a hand over his face and looking so freaking tired and broken that I kinda wanted to hug him despite all the witnesses.

‘I look like my identical twin? Really? No fucking way,’ I teased and he shook his head.

‘Yeah, well, when you smiled you just reminded me of her more than usual. Or at least of the way she used to look before I…’ He trailed off, looking out over the party and my heart twisted for him, but he really had been the architect of this fucking mess between them, so I wasn’t going to offer him platitudes. He needed to buck the fuck up and fix it.

I twisted my fingers where he couldn’t see beside me, crafting air magic into the shape of a fist before slamming it into his junk at least as hard as I would have punched him if we didn’t have an audience.

Orion cursed, doubling over and dropping his drink so that the glass shattered and several of the Dragons looked to him in shock. They hurriedly looked away again like he didn’t exist and one pinched face woman loudly said, “For shame.”

I bit my lip as I slowly took another drink, hiding my amusement as Orion tried to subtly cast healing magic on his balls while pushing himself upright again.

‘Why?’ he hissed and I cut him a look that said ‘you know why’ to which he muttered beneath his breath something along the lines of me being a fucking psychopath and feeling sorry for Darius if that was how I treated his junk.

‘If you recall correctly, I offered you one chance not to fuck things up with her and promised castration if you hurt her,’ I said casually. ‘So really you’re getting off lightly.’

‘By the stars, you’re a monster,’ he growled.

‘Damn straight I am,’ I agreed. ‘So fix it and I won’t have to elevate your punishments.’

‘Elevate?’ he asked, his voice raising an octave and making me smirk into my drink again. ‘If you elevate it, I won’t be left functioning.’

I cut him a look and mimed snipping a pair of scissors with my fingers while he grimaced, shifting a protective hand over his balls as he shook his head in horror at me.

Darius and Mildred swept around the centre of the dance floor and my amusement fell away as I watched them. She might have had a frame almost as big as his and feet which in all honesty looked even bigger than his, but she had clearly been taught how to do all of these fancy formal dances. The two of them moved around the dance floor in perfect synchronisation and as I watched them, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if we failed to get hold of the Imperial Star. What if all of our plans and goals and aims to thwart Lionel and dethrone him just didn’t work out?

Was this the life I was destined to lead forever? Watching Darius with that nasty troll of a girl as he danced with her at parties, was forced to marry her, had little pure-blooded Dragon babies with her. All while I was cursed to spend my nights warming Lionel’s bed and following his every command in the vain hope that we might one day find some way to break this bond he’d put on me.

My chest tightened as I watched Mildred’s vomit-yellow dress sweeping out behind her, Darius’s hand resting on the small of her hairy back. His eyes met mine through the crowd and I could see that same ache there, that longing for a different life which I could see no path to. Because even if we did manage to take the throne back from his father, it wouldn’t change this curse I’d put on us. We’d still be Star Crossed, destined to be alone, pining for each other forever. 

Was this all my future held? Looking at him across crowded rooms and wishing I’d made the other choice?

‘He really does love you,’ Orion said in a low voice which jolted me out of my staring and I cleared my throat as I dropped my gaze down to my feet.

‘I’m not an easy person to love,’ I muttered.

‘Neither is he. That’s probably what makes you so perfect for each other.’

I hmmed lightly but not really because I didn’t agree, more because it seemed so pointless to even consider it. Nothing could change our fates now anyway.

‘I actually came over here to hang out alone in the corner so that I could feel less shitty,’ I teased. ‘You’re kind of a downer, you know that?’

‘I’m a heartbroken criminal who has now had two careers destroyed before I’ve even turned thirty,’ he growled. ‘So you really shouldn’t be surprised by that. Besides, what do you want me to do about it?’

‘Be more fun,’ I joked and he rolled his eyes.

‘Fine. You wanna play a game?’

‘What kind of game?’ I asked.

‘That was a joke.’

‘Your delivery requires some work. Come on, you’ve promised me a game now. Why don’t I guess what the pompous douche hats are saying to each other and you can use your bat ears to tell me if I’m right?’ I suggested.

‘Sure. But don’t blame me when it’s nothing but posturing bullshit,’ Orion agreed, sounding less than enthused by my idea but he was less than enthused by most things since he’d fucked up his relationship with my sister, so I was willing to ignore that.

‘Okay, sooo… that big guy over there is saying; ‘I just got that new butt plug you recommended, Brenda, and you’re right, it does help keep the stick even further up my ass’.’

Orion snorted a laugh then nodded. ‘First off, every guy here is a ‘big guy’ so I’m gonna need more to go on than that. But also, I definitely heard more than a few of them talking about those new Dragon scale butt plugs that are all the rage right now, so I’m sure you’re right.’

‘And I heard the sticks have extra splinters which explains why they’re all grumpy fuckers. Aside from Dante – he clearly had his removed.’

‘What about Darius?’

‘Darius may have forgone the butt plug, but the stick is most likely still pretty firmly up there. But the stars won’t let me get him naked to check.’

‘I’ll be sure to tell him you want to get him naked when he crawls into my bed tonight,’ Orion said.

‘If you must. Getting naked has never been my issue. Sex is a whole lot simpler than…all that other relationship shit. Now focus on the game and tell me what that Christopher dude is saying to Lionel. Is it something like; ‘I only wish to lick your ass, oh King of the Dragons!’?’

Orion inclined his head as he trained his senses on the big bald Dragon in question while he spoke to Lionel on his throne. I watched the conversation too, noting the way Christopher nodded excitedly at something Lionel said as he placed a possessive hand on Catalina’s thigh.

Darius’s mom nodded robotically and Christopher grinned as she got to her feet.

‘What the fuck…’ Orion murmured, drawing my attention back to him as he pushed himself upright, frowning over at Catalina as she walked out of the pavilion with Christopher beside her.

‘What?’ I asked. ‘Where are they going?’

Orion looked more than a little sickened as he glanced between them and Darius who was still caught in Mildred’s grasp on the dance floor.

‘We have to go after them,’ he hissed. 

‘We can’t,’ I replied and my pulse picked up as I checked around to see if anyone was paying us any attention. 

“Lionel just told that big motherfucker that he could have Catalina for the night,” he growled urgently. “And then he Dark Coerced her to go with him and do whatever he wanted.”

My lips fell open and I shook my head, though I didn’t know why I was trying to deny it. I knew exactly how much of a monster Lionel Acrux was. I knew that he’d been controlling and abusing everyone around him for years and years, so this shouldn’t have surprised me but it did. She was his wife. The mother of his sons. And he was just handing her out as a favour to some gross old sleezebag to use however he wanted for the night like she was nothing? 

Catalina had been on my mind a lot over the last few weeks since I’d been brought back to myself, and I’d been worried about her stuck here in this house. But I’d never once imagined she was being subjected to something like this.

‘Wait,’ I growled as Orion made a move to leave. ‘Can you hear them? Catalina and that fucking pig she’s gone off with?’

He paused a moment, looking around and focusing. ‘Yes. They’re still walking back towards the palace. He’s…telling her rather graphically what he plans to spend the night doing with her.’

‘But he’s not touching her yet?’ I confirmed, trying to keep my vacant mask in place as I looked out over the sea of Dragons.

‘Lionel told him to be subtle about it. He said to wait to enjoy his prize behind closed doors.’

‘Then we have a few minutes. I’m going to make an excuse to leave. Can you slip out and meet me at the end of the path?’

‘What about Darius?’ Orion asked, his gaze moving to his friend who was still stuck with Mildred.

‘We have to do this without him,’ I said. ‘No one cares if we’re here or not, but the son of the King will be missed.’

Orion cursed then agreed, shooting away from me as I took off across the pavilion, heading for the throne where Lionel still sat.

‘There you are, Roxanya,’ he said with a smile that turned my insides. 

‘My King,’ I greeted, dipping my head even though it went against every instinct in my soul. ‘I miss you.’

He sighed, seeming both pleased and irritated by the show of needy behaviour like I knew he would be, and he beckoned me closer as he got to his feet. ‘I don’t plan on this party going on much longer. Why don’t you head back to our bed and make sure Clara isn’t up to any mischief?’

I nodded eagerly, feeling like a whipped little puppy dog as he cupped my face in his palm and placed a wet kiss on my cheek before waving me away. I turned and headed out of the party as fast as I could without drawing attention.

The path seemed abandoned as I strode down it purposefully, but as I drew closer to the palace, a blur of movement caught my gaze and I was swept off of my feet as Orion grabbed me and sped us inside.

I could hardly keep my bearings as he shot past the household staff, down long corridors and headed into the guest wing of the palace before skidding to a halt outside a closed wooden door. 

He dropped me to the floor and kicked the door open before shooting inside and throwing a blast of air magic at Christopher’s back before I even made it over the threshold.

The Dragon Shifter had already taken his shirt off and Catalina was in her underwear on the bed, her eyes wild as she spotted us.

Christopher stumbled back beneath Orion’s attack but recovered quickly, lifting his hands and throwing a torrent of Dragon Fire straight at Orion who barely managed to shield in time to protect himself from it.

The flames ricocheted off of the shield and Catalina screamed as they were directed at the bed where she lay instead.

I cursed as I threw magic towards her, mixing ice and air into a powerful shield around her and grunting with the effort of maintaining it as the Dragon fire blasted the bed apart with a tremendous crash.

The second the flames died down, Orion hit Christopher with a shot of air so hard that he was thrown back against the wall where his head made a horrible cracking sound against the bricks before he dropped to the floor unconscious.

‘Shit,” I gasped as I dispersed my shield, panting in relief as I found Catalina cowering beneath it. 

I hurried past Orion as he moved to make sure Christopher wasn’t about to wake up and grabbed her hand, pushing Phoenix fire beneath her skin and seeking out all of the Dark Coercion that Lionel had forced on her yet again.

‘Are you okay?’ I breathed, looking around for her clothes and finding her dress burned to a crisp on the remnants of the burning bed.

I took her hand and hauled her up and she glanced between me and Orion with relief and fear filling her gaze in equal measures.

‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ she breathed, wrapping her arms around herself and Orion shrugged out of his jacket before handing it to her so that she could cover herself up.

‘We weren’t going to just let him abuse you like that,’ Orion snarled in disgust.

‘It wouldn’t have been the first time,’ she said, shaking her head hopelessly. ‘Lionel has been using me to help him secure deals for years. At first it was just flirting which I did willingly enough, but then…’

‘You were Coerced to come here tonight,’ I said angrily. ‘That doesn’t sound like you were willing to me.’

Catalina blanched. ‘A few years ago, one of his political contacts wanted more than flirting from me and when I refused, he tried to pull out of a major deal Lionel had wanted to make. So, to save the deal he told me to go through with it and when I refused again, he just…’

My blood burned with fury and outrage on her behalf and I pulled her into a tight embrace as she trembled in my arms.

‘I know you were trying to help me, but if Lionel figures out what happened here, he’ll kill all of us,’ she breathed fearfully and I looked around at Orion with concern, wondering how we were going to get out of this.

A knock at the door almost made me jump out of my skin and fire blazed to life in my palm as I whirled around, finding Gabriel standing there with a grin on his face.

‘Oh good, I wasn’t certain if I’d get here now or after the roof caves in and I would have been a lot more pushed for time if it was after,’ he said like him just casually appearing right now was no big deal and there wasn’t a half dead Dragon on the floor while fires burned all around the room.

‘Gabriel, what the-‘ I began but he waved me off, tossing Catalina a hoody and a pair of sweatpants.

“Have you seen what to do, Noxy?” Orion asked hopefully.

‘Yes, we need to add some of Catalina’s blood to the fire on the bed then get the fuck out of here,’ Gabriel said. ‘Lionel will think Christopher accidentally killed her in the throes of passion and he’ll be sent to Darkmore for her murder. I’m gonna fly her out of here and he’ll be none the wiser.’

‘Where are you taking me?’ Catalina asked anxiously as she pulled the clothes on automatically before handing Orion his jacket back. ‘I can’t leave my boys. They need me, I-‘

‘Hamish Grus will take you in,’ Gabriel promised, moving towards her with a small knife in his hand. ‘Darius and Xavier will be able to come see you in time. But we have five minutes to get out of here or this path changes again and you need to add some blood to the bed for evidence before we can go.’

Catalina looked completely overwhelmed but she took the knife and cut into her arm, her blood spilling onto the charred remains of the bed. Gabriel caught her arm when he was satisfied it was enough and healed her.

She still didn’t seem entirely convinced about leaving though, so I gave her a light push towards the door, urging her to just go. 

The fires were growing all around us, licking up the walls and setting the curtains alight as they spread and smoke filled the air.

‘Christopher will know the truth when he wakes,’ I pointed out, but Gabriel just smirked like an all-knowing bastard and tossed Orion a little bottle of potion.

‘Memory wipe,’ he explained. ‘And I had to give up a night alone with my wife to get my hands on that so fast, so you’d better know how much you fucking owe me for it, Orio.”

‘And no one’s gonna question why he just conveniently lost his memory over what happened here?’ I asked suspiciously as Orion shot over to pour the potion down Christopher’s throat.

‘Nope. Now step outside,’ Gabriel commanded, catching Catalina’s arm and tugging her into the hall.

I followed right behind her and a splintering crack sounded from the roof of the room behind me just as Orion shot out too. A huge beam fell from the roof with an enormous crash, lumps of masonry tumbling down over Christopher where he lay on the floor and my eyes widened in surprise.

‘See – no reason to question why Christopher can’t remember,’ Gabriel said casually, tossing the door closed on the destruction and tugging Catalina into a jog as he crossed the corridor before lifting an old tapestry that hung there and pointing out a Hydra symbol on the bricks behind it.

I quickly placed my palm against it and the bricks rearranged themselves to reveal a doorway as Gabriel directed us into the hidden passage.

The rest of us followed quickly and Gabriel pulled a hidden lever which activated the earth magic embedded in the wall and closed the entrance behind us. We all fell still as the footsteps of someone coming to investigate the sounds of destruction reached us and Orion tossed a silencing bubble over us to make sure we weren’t detected.

Gabriel lit a Faelight ahead of us and beckoned us into the cold passageway hidden within the walls, leading us down a long slope and on and on until we finally came to a fork in the path.

Another Faelight lit the passageway to our right and I gasped in alarm as I spotted the large figure there before Dante’s features came into focus.

‘Come on, Gabby, I want to get home in time to actually get some sleep tonight,’ he called, making me grin as Gabriel frowned at that nickname. 

“What did you just call me?” he asked.

“I thought you might like your sister to have a cute little nickname for you,” Dante said grinning broadly and Gabriel shook his head.

“No. No fucking way.”

“I think it might catch on,” Dante teased and Gabriel shook his head as he dismissed him.

‘It won’t. You two need to take this passage,’ Gabriel said, pointing to the one on our left. ‘Follow it to the stairs then head up one flight and exit there. No one will ever even suspect your hand in what happened to Catalina. And me and Dante will make sure she gets to Hamish safely once Darcy lets us back out of the tunnel at the far end.’

‘You’re certain my boys will be okay?’ Catalina asked, pinning me in her gaze, clearly not sure what to make of Gabriel.

‘You can trust him,’ I swore to her. ‘He has The Sight. If he says this will work, then it will.’

‘Okay,’ she agreed hesitantly.

‘I’m sorry, Catalina,’ Orion rumbled, stepping closer to her with his eyes full of pain. ‘If I’d known what Lionel was doing to you, I would have-‘

‘Shhh,’ she breathed, reaching out to cup his jaw in her hand and soothing him like he was her child. ‘I want you to know I’m sorry too. For flirting with you and making you so uncomfortable. I’ve never seen you that way, Lance. You’re like one of my boys.’ A tear slid from her eye as she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him. ‘I was just trying to warn you about Lionel but the spells he put on me made it almost impossible, and now it’s too late-‘

‘It’s not your fault,’ Orion growled, holding her tightly. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t see it, but I swear we’ll make him pay one day. You’re free now. That’s all that matters.’

‘We have to go,’ Gabriel said so firmly that none of us questioned it and Orion released her so that we could all go our separate ways.

Orion lit a Faelight as we hurried up the passageway and I kept close beside him, hoisting my skirt up so that I could move faster in my dress and heels. 

When we reached the end of the passage where Gabriel had told us to exit, Orion caught my arm suddenly, his eyes full of anguish as he looked at me.

‘She was trying to tell me,’ he said roughly, his fingers digging in.

‘Tell you what?’ I asked in confusion.

‘Whenever she came pawing at me or flirting with me, she always used to say the same things over and over. Always the same words in the same order and I was so caught up in being horrified that my friend’s mother was trying it on with me that I never really thought about what she was really saying.’

‘What words?’ I asked.

‘Handsome, enamouring, lovely, powerful. And sometimes she’d add unbelievable and sexy too.’

‘So…’

‘The first letter of each of those words spells out the message she was trying to give me. ‘Help us.’’

My throat tightened and tears pricked the backs of my eyes as I realised he was right. How long had she been suffering under her husband’s control? How long had she been forced to do anything and everything he wanted while watching him abuse the children he wouldn’t even let her show affection to?

‘He’s a fucking monster,’ I hissed, throwing my arms around Orion as I saw the devastation on his features so clearly that it made me hurt even more.

‘If I’d understood sooner-‘ he began in a horrified whisper, but I shook my head violently.

‘There was nothing you could have done. But there is now,’ I said fiercely. ‘Find the Imperial Star. We’re so close, Orion. The full moon is only a few days away and then you’ll be able to read your father’s diary and we can get our hands on it. A few days and we will have what we need to destroy him. For all of our sakes.’

‘You’re right,’ he agreed with a determined snarl. ‘Just a few more days.’