Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne

With Catalina gone, something in me settled. But to see the woman who’d been suppressed within her all these years had left me feeling guilty and ashamed. She’d tried to ask for my help and I hadn’t seen the wood for the trees. It was another black mark against my name. I wondered if the queen had told my father what I’d become. Just a nothing, nobody who made too many poor choices.

I’d spent years trying to ensure Darius could be strong enough to fight his father, my own hunger for vengeance thriving on his. But the Vegas returning had changed everything. And with hours alone with just myself for company, I started to run over all the decisions I’d made and started questioning everything. Every one of them but her. I couldn’t regret her.

I should have done more to help Clara.

I should have pushed Darius harder, got him ready to fight Lionel before any of this ever happened.

I should have helped the Vegas from day one.

But I guessed if what Jasper had said was right, I’d always been on the right path. I was meant to end up in prison to meet him. I just wished it hadn’t cost me Darcy.

I rubbed my eyes, draining the last of the bourbon in my glass and sighing as I knew it was the end of my supply. Darius would bring me more, even though he cursed me for it every time. I was fast slipping back into old habits, but whereas alcohol had once given me some relief from my demons, nothing could rid me of the loss of my girl. I’d considered calling her a hundred times during this evening alone, but I always ended up talking myself out of it. Just because I wasn’t in Darkmore, didn’t mean I was free. I was still a Power Shamed loser who would never hold any kind of position in society again. And once Lionel was done with me, I’d be back behind bars for the remainder of my sentence.

I’d considered running, talking it out with Darius over and over. But even if I made it beyond the barrier and Darius stardusted me away before I was caught, what use would I be then? Lionel would hunt me to the ends of the earth. Darius would be put under surveillance, his memories tapped into if he ever came to visit me. And there was no way he would be able to keep away with the bond tying us. Besides, tomorrow was the full moon. And Lionel had no idea that I hadn’t been reading the diary all this time. So he also wouldn’t realise how important tomorrow was or what I might find.

Tory had been listening in on Vard’s conversations with Lionel, and she was sure he didn’t seem to have any clear idea of what was in the diary or how I was deciphering it. He only knew that I needed space to work and it would take some time. Luckily for us, that meant there was a chance that I could get the location to Darius and the twins before Lionel ever figured out I even knew where it was.

Just one more day and maybe we can finally get an advantage in this war.

My Atlas buzzed and I tugged it out of my pocket, my mind going to Darcy. I’d hoped she might ask for my help with her magic, but since I’d last seen her, I hadn’t heard anything from her.

I was seriously pissed that Honey Highspell was fucking up my Cardinal Magic classes. I’d never thought I’d miss teaching, but apparently it had grown on me, because the thought of that witch standing behind my desk and treating my students like shit was infuriating. Only I had the right to do that.

My mood took a bigger dive as I found a message waiting for me from Seth fucking Capella. It was a photo of Darcy standing on the edge of Aqua Lake in a fitted white swimming costume that emphasised her breasts. Her hair was dripping wet and shining in the sunlight so I guessed it had been taken earlier today. There were other students around her in the water and from the looks of it, this was Physical Enhancement. Underneath the photo was a caption from Seth. Boner status: 10/10.

My fangs snapped out and it took every ounce of self control I had not to break the Atlas in my palms as my fingers crushed it. It was my only line of communication outside of this place, but fuck. Fucking fuck.

Another message arrived and I snarled like a tiger as I took in the next image. Seth was standing behind Darcy, her body wrapped in a towel as he hugged her and snapped the shot of them, his head resting on top of hers. She was pressing a finger to her lips, a wild mischief in her expression that made me want to rip my own eyes out.

The caption below it said: No law can keep me from my girl.

I lost it, pushing out of my seat and tossing my Atlas away from me before I did anything stupid with it. I started pacing, clawing at my hair and panting heavily. I was going to kill him. Tear his fucking head off slow enough that he felt every bone snap under my hands. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to rid myself of images of them together. Hugging, kissing, fucking.

“No,” I spat, snatching up a wooden chair and launching it at the wall.

It shattered into fifty pieces, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to see Seth torn into fifty pieces, not a fucking chair. I needed to make him hurt, make him fucking scream.

The sliding door opened and I wheeled around with a growl, my gaze falling on the girl stepping in.

The air rushed out of my body and my heart free fell in my chest. I’d longed for her to come and see me since I’d arrived here, but she’d never appeared. Even when Lionel had come to visit, he’d only ever brought Tory. Not her. But now my sister was stepping into this house, looking curious yet nothing like herself. Her hair was a dark sea of shadow and her body was wrapped in the same substance, the dress coiling around her flesh. I finally had her alone. And I didn’t know how the fuck to act.

“Clara,” I rasped, rushing toward her, but before I could get close, she locked down the shadows in me, making me slam to a halt a few feet from her.

“Hello, baby brother,” she purred, cocking her head to one side as she moved further into the summerhouse. “I’m not supposed to be here.” She giggled, looking around mischievously. “Daddy doesn’t want me visiting you.”

“And why not?” I demanded, my blood heating as she drifted through the room like a wraith.

My stomach twisted as I examined her. She wasn’t herself. The shadows had consumed her. But I’d seen pieces of my sister in her eyes, so surely she could come back to me? Tory had. So why not her?

“Because you’re a bad, bad boy,” she said with a psychotic smile. She climbed up onto the back of the couch, tiptoeing along it as she gazed down at me with intrigue.

“Listen to me,” I gritted out. “Lionel’s your enemy, you’re trapped in the shadows.”

She flicked her hand and I yelled out as the shadows wrapped around my insides, squeezing until it felt like my organs were going to burst. I only managed to stay on my feet because she was keeping me upright with her power. “Don’t you dare say a nasty word against Daddy. He looks after me, he loves me.”

“He doesn’t love anything but himself,” I snarled and Clara shrieked like I’d struck her.

She leapt off of the couch, landing in front of me and grabbing my face between her hands, taking in the familiar freckles dotting her nose. Her touch was ice cold and her eyes were clouded with shadow. Beneath them was a glimmer of my sister though, just waiting there to come out. I know you’re in there.

“Clara,” I croaked. “Don’t you remember me?”

Her gaze moved over my face, the anger in her features slipping away until a longing filled them instead. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she drew in a small and hopeful breath.

“Lance,” she breathed, falling forward and holding onto me. The shadows stopped controlling my body and I gasped, wrapping my arms around her, her slight frame pressing to mine. Her shoulders shuddered and her nails dug into my back in desperation. “Help me,” she sobbed. “Don’t let me go. Let it end here. No more, no more, no more.”

Pain spilled through me at her words and I wished I knew what to do. I pressed her back, my heart thrashing as I caught her chin and tilted her head up to look at me. Her lower lip quivered and the fog cleared in her eyes, so her beautiful ebony irises shone back at me.

“Is it really you?” I asked in desperation and she nodded.

“I’m here. I’m always here,” she said with a choked noise. “But she’s here too.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded, holding onto her as I tried to figure out what to do. How the fuck could I help her??

She snarled suddenly, jerking away from me and whipping a hand out. The shadows forced me to the ground on my front and her bare foot dug into my spine. “Worthless little beast, don’t you touch me. Only my king can touch me!”

The shadows dug deeper, burrowing into my chest as agony splintered through my limbs. My jaw locked as I was held in their power and felt them winding around my heart, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing.

“It’s going to go pop, and then you’ll never upset me or Daddy again,” she hissed and I fought harder, trying to get away, but her power was all consuming.

“Stop!” Tory’s voice filled the air. “Our king wants him alive. He’ll hate you if you kill him.”

Clara paused, both of her heels driving into my back as she stood fully on top of me. “Hate me?” she gasped.

“Yes, he told me so himself,” Tory said firmly and the shadows suddenly loosened, letting me go so a breath of relief escaped me. “He’s looking for you.”

“Oh Daddy, what have I done?!” Clara ran out the door with a burst of Vampire speed, disappearing into the dark.

I pushed myself to my feet, healing myself. “Thank you,” I sighed and Tory smiled sadly, knocking the door closed behind her.

It haunted me every day knowing my sister was fucking Lionel Acrux. That she was imprisoned by the shadows. She wasn’t herself. I just didn’t know what to do. Tory had her Phoenix to help keep the shadows away now, but unless Darcy worked out how to drive the shadows from the rest of us, I didn’t know how I could save Clara.

“I have to help her,” I said heavily and Tory frowned, making me fear that she might voice what she had before. That Clara couldn’t come back. That she wasn’t in there. But I’d just seen it for myself. “Don’t say she can’t be saved,” I said gruffly, turning away from her dark expression.

“I wasn’t going to,” she said seriously. “Actually…now I’ve been a slave to the shadows myself, I think that maybe you’re right. But that still doesn’t explain how she could be alive after all this time.”

“I know,” I sighed, scraping a hand over my face before looking to the empty bottle of bourbon with a need in me that wouldn’t quit.

“Looking for more of this?” Tory taunted.

I turned and found an illusion shifting at her side, revealing a bottle of bourbon in her grip. I’d spent some time teaching her what I’d taught Darcy and fuck if the two of them weren’t quick learners.

“You and your sister are going to surpass me one of these days.” I smirked and she mirrored my expression as she offered me the bottle.

I took it, grabbing another glass for her from the kitchenette and pouring us each one, all in under two seconds. “Why are you feeding my bad habit, Tory Vega?” I asked suspiciously.

“Well I figure you can heal yourself of liver rot whenever you like so it’s hardly that bad of a habit,” she said, sipping from her glass with a smirk.

“Cheers to that.” I knocked my glass against hers before draining half of mine, the burn on the way down to my stomach easing some of the suffocating pain of seeing my sister like that.

“So, I actually have another little gift for you,” she said, falling onto the couch and I moved to sit in the chair opposite.

“I can’t believe you remembered it’s my birthday,” I said in surprise and her lips popped open.

“Yeah…of course I did dude,” she said, trying to play it off. “Hence all the gifts, duh.”

“It’s tomorrow.” I grinned tauntingly and she scowled.

“Alright, whatever, I didn’t remember. But I clearly get brownie points because my subconscious was like ‘bring Lance a bunch of cool shit.’ And I’ll even let you off the dick kick today as I’m feeling extra generous. So do you want my gift or not?”

“Go on then. But unless it’s a key to my freedom, the reinstating of my position of power in society, and your sister wrapped in a bow in a mood to forgive me, it’s probably not gonna be what I want.”

She sniggered. “Keep dreaming about the second two. But the first one…” She wiggled her eyebrows and reached into her pocket, taking out a gold ring with a red stone embedded in the top. “I found this in the King’s quarters today,” she whispered. “I think it was my father’s.”

“Oh Tory…I couldn’t wear that.”

The twins had told me all about the vision they’d had of their father being Dark Coerced by Lionel, and it had fucked with my head ever since. I’d hated the Savage King on principle for years. I’d wanted more than anything for Darius and the other Heirs to claim the throne together so the Vegas couldn’t take it back from them, fearing the blood of their father running in their veins. But I’d been so fucking wrong. Not just about them, but about him. The whole kingdom had blamed Hail Vega for the atrocities he’d caused, and all along it had been his devious friend whispering in his ear instead. It changed everything. And nothing. Because it was done, history. But it gave me a thousand more reasons to despise the Dragon King. As if I need any more of those.

I’d been a total hypocrite anyway, worrying about what the Vega twins might become back then based off of their father. I’d always stood by Darius despite how awful Lionel was. Maybe bad people were born not bred.

“You can and you will.” Tory jumped up. “So, the other day me and Gabriel made one of these rings for him and I decided to make you one too. I used a little binding spell to put my blood in this stone here and spelled it with some of my magic too. Which basically means this is a key to the King’s passages.” Her eyes sparkled excitedly and the bottom dropped out of my gut.

“I can’t go beyond the shadow boundary either way,” I said, my eyes fixed on that ring.

“Except, I think I can maybe let you,” she said, moving toward me and reaching for my wrists. Her fingers wound around the dark rings of shadow twisting beneath my flesh and I looked up at her in concern.

“What if Clara can feel it?” I asked.

“She won’t,” Tory said confidently. “Because I’m not going to break the bonds. I’m going to shield them.” Shadows coiled out from her palms and I felt the call of them in my bones, begging me to sink into their hungry embrace. A sigh left me as she pressed them beneath my skin and their cool touch wrapped around my wrists. The bonds were slightly larger now, but it wasn’t noticeable as she shut her eyes and whispered something under her breath I didn’t understand. It barely sounded like her voice at all and my blood chilled at the thought of the shadows speaking through her.

“There,” she said, stepping back with darkness swirling around her irises. “That should work.”

“I can’t run,” I told her, shaking my head. “Even if this does work, I can’t leave this place. Lionel will have the FIB hunt me to the ends of the earth. I wouldn’t be able to help you or Darcy or-”

“I know,” she said, her brows pulling together. “But this means you can come and go without Lionel ever knowing. And when it’s time to run, you can. It’ll be better than him throwing you back into Darkmore, right?”

The weight of what she was offering pressed down on my heart and though I didn’t like the idea of living the rest of my life on the run if Lionel remained in power, at least it was an option. And possibly a better one than twenty five years in prison. When I’d found a way to save Clara, when the twins had the Imperial Star…if it all came together, maybe then I could go.

I opened my mouth to thank her, but she spoke over me before I could.

“Let’s see if it actually works first,” she said with a nervous laugh, drawing me up from my seat and gesturing toward the secret hatch in the kitchenette.

I reached for the ring and she handed it over, the brush of her magic humming from the metal as I slid it onto my thumb and making me feel weirdly close to her as I looked up and gave her a smile.

“Ah, shit, you’re gonna cry, aren’t you?” she teased. “Suck it up, dude, I can’t deal with you getting all emotional on me.”

“As if,” I scoffed, twisting the ring back and forth as I got used to the feeling of it sitting there. “But Darius might when he realises I’m clearly your favourite.”

“Uh huh. You can tell him I got down on one knee when I gave it to you too, give him something to really get worked up over.”

“I think I prefer my head attached to my shoulders thanks all the same,” I joked and she nodded towards the kitchenette again to remind me of what I was supposed to be doing.

I walked over to it, crouching down and pressing my hand to the faint Hydra mark hidden in the pattern of the floor tiles. It lit up under my touch and I looked up at Tory with my heart pounding. “Well fuck me.”

“No thanks, dude.” She grinned as I opened the hatch.

“It wasn’t an offer.” I smirked.

“It’s still a no.” She nodded to the hatch. “Go on, see if you can get out of here. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Lionel will eat me whole in Dragon form then shit me back out just so I can continue to work on finding the Imperial Star?” I suggested and she laughed.

“If it sets off the alarm, you can shoot back here and I’ll tell Lionel I got carried away torturing you and threw you across the boundary. He won’t bother to question me because he thinks I’m his little lap dog.”

“Alright. Fuck it.” I dropped down into the tunnel and shot away with a burst of speed. I took a left as the path split, mentally mapping out the grounds above me in my mind and tearing along in the dark with a whoop of exhilaration. I hadn’t run this fast in too long, it felt fucking incredible. I reached the far end of the tunnel and cast a Faelight above me, hunting around the dead end with a frown.

Another Hydra symbol caught my gaze and I shot toward it, pressing my hand to the mark so it lit up like a star. My pulse drummed in my ears as the roots above me in the earth twisted and grew down, forming a stairway that led above ground. I hurried up it, finding myself out in a dark wood that must have been beyond the palace walls.

A laugh escaped me then I raced back down the stairs, zooming along the tunnels as fast as I could before making it back to the hatch. I pulled myself out and looked to Tory who was smiling.

“Well?” I asked. “No alarm?”

“Nothing,” she said then reached into her pocket and waved a pouch of stardust at me. “So if you ever need to run, you run like the fucking wind, got it?” She tossed me the pouch and I caught it.

“Got it,” I said, grinning and tucking it into my pocket as I shut the hatch. “Where did you get that stardust from anyway?”

“Totally stole it from Darius. He’s way too easy to pickpocket for someone who believes he’s all powerful.”

I barked a laugh, making a mental note to taunt him over that when I saw him later and Tory glanced at the clock with a frown.

“I’ve gotta go back to the palace,” she sighed and my heart sank for her. “You’d better save some of that bourbon for your birthday tomorrow.”

“Nah, no drinking tomorrow, Tory. It’s the full moon.”

“So you’ll get to read that diary all night long like a total geek? Seems like your ideal day,” she said with a hopeful expression and I gave her a tight smile.

My idea of an ideal day was something I could never have again. But I wasn’t going to bother voicing that and dragging her into my ongoing pity party.

She headed to the door, waving goodbye before fixing on her resting bitch face and stepping outside. My chest tightened as I watched her go, knowing she was returning to the arms of Lionel and there was nothing I could do to help her or my sister. Not yet anyway. Darcy would figure out how to burn the shadows out of Darius then she would do it for everyone. I knew she could do it. And every time I suffered under the onslaught of fire she poured into Darius’s veins, I knew it was worth it. Because she was going to work it out and free us all.

I headed back to my faithful friend bourbon and watched the clock tick around to midnight as I drowned my sorrows.

Happy birthday to me.

I thought over my last birthday with a longing in my soul, missing those times. I still had one of Darcy’s IOUs tucked into my wallet, and I guessed it would stay there until it rotted now. She didn’t owe me shit. Never had, never would.

My head grew fuzzy and I was definitely deep into the land of wasted when my phone buzzed.

I picked it up and found another photo sent from Seth that immediately raised my hackles. It was a picture of the rose quartz I’d given Darcy, sitting in his palm, a symbol of my love for her, my fucking commitment.

Seth:

Don’t mind if I engrave this tonight and repurpose it, do you Lancey? I couldn’t get hold of any on short notice, but she just gave me the best blowjob of my life, so I really need to make sure she doesn’t put those pretty lips on anyone else.

Another photo came in of him lying in Darcy’s bed, one hand cupped behind the back of his head and the rose quartz held between his teeth as he grinned.

“Motherfucker,” I spat, shoving to my feet and stumbling as my head spun. A roar of emotion blinded me, the hot, potent anger in me fogging my thoughts in a black cloud.

Fuck no. I wasn’t going to let this stand. That mutt was not going to steal her from me.

I ignored the little voice in the back of my mind that said he couldn’t steal what was already gone, but I wasn’t listening. I’d had enough of his messages. He had to be fucking with me. There was no way Darcy would date that piece of shit. No fucking way.

I can just slip out of the palace, stardust to Zodiac Academy and check on her. No harm in that. I’m just looking out for her anyway. I could totally be there and back within half an hour. Just a quick check.

I glanced over at the hatch which seemed to be whispering my name, then down at the ring on my thumb which seemed to scream go and kill Seth. The inanimate objects all made good points.

I shot to the hatch, opening it and dropping down into the dark, pulling it shut behind me and speeding off into the tunnel. Only I actually smashed head first into a wall instead and knocked myself onto my ass. Fucking drunk dick of a wall.

I shoved myself to my feet, casting a Faelight which wobbled off ahead of me. Or maybe it was me who was wobbling. I tore off into the dark, speeding out to the far end of the tunnel and slapping my hand against the wall where the next Hydra mark lay, extinguishing my Faelight as it bumped into my head.

The stairway appeared, the roots winding together until I could climb out. As soon as I made it to the surface, I took the stardust from my pocket and struggled to focus. I just need to go to Zodiac Academy. But I can’t just stardust to my office like I used to. Gotta go to that other place. The place with the bushes and shit.

I threw the stardust into the air and was yanked into the ether as I tried to focus on my destination. Fucking Werewolf. I’m gonna break his legs and shove his head up the ass of a Griffin.

The stars spat me out and suddenly I was falling. I was hundreds of feet up in the air and tumbling through the clouds. Aer Tower appeared far below me and I swore as I tried to wrangle my air magic to stop myself falling. I slammed into the wards around the academy and what felt like a thousand bolts of electricity exploded through my body as I was thrown away from it. I cried out, the world a mass of black and grey as I tried to figure out what way was up, my brain rattling in my head.

I managed to get hold of my air magic and pulled myself upright, standing in a cloud as the moon gazed down at me.

“Don’t judge me,” I slurred at it. “It’s easy being you, all the way up there with your big, glowy head and your smug little crater face.” I threw another pinch of stardust over myself and was transported away again, getting the last word with the moon and this time landing in a bush beyond the fence. Ha.

I got up off my ass and headed to the fake bar in the fence that would let me into the academy, walking fast toward it. My forehead collided with the metal and a loud dong rang out that echoed through my skull. Nope. Not that one.

I sidestepped, moving through the next one and onto the academy grounds. This is definitely a good idea.

I should probably illusion up my body though.

I lifted a hand, running a palm over my chest and face, casting some sort of illusion that would make me look like a Wolf in my Order form roaming campus. Or was it a Pegasus? Anyway, I was definitely hidden if someone spotted me. Which they wouldn’t, because I could move as fast as a Harpy with its wings on fire.

I made it to the path that led up to Aer Tower, coming to a halt outside and craning my neck as I gazed up towards Darcy’s room. What if she’s fucking him right now? I’m definitely going to break stuff. The window. Seth’s neck. Any semblance of respect Darcy still has for me.

Oh fuck. I gazed at the stars, shaking my head at them. You wouldn’t do that to me. Come on, I’ve suffered enough, haven’t I? Don’t let her be fucking him. I’ll make a deal with you right now. You can have a limb. Any limb. Just pick a limb.

The glittery shitbags remained deathly quietly, but I had the feeling they were laughing at me. Yeah, it must have looked so fucking funny all the way up there. With their shiny pals all placing bets on which Fae would crack first under their bullshit. Well the joke’s on you guys, I cracked a long time ago.

Wait…

“Ahh!” a girl screamed bloody murder and I dropped my head, finding Kylie Major stepping out of the tower, her snake hair bursting from the crown of her head and standing on end in fright.

My heart lurched and I whipped my hand out on a knee jerk reaction, sending her flying away on an enormous breeze. She was thrown in the direction of The Wailing Wood and her screams faded into the distance as she cartwheeled through the sky.

She’d dropped a mirror in her wake and I hurried forward, picking it up and checking my reflection. Oh shit. I looked like a deranged yeti with a glittering horn poking out the centre of my face and huge fangs peeking out of my mouth.

I stared in the direction I’d launched Kylie, sure I could still hear her screams carrying to me.

I have no regrets.

I dropped the mirror and darted around the tower before using air magic to shoot myself up it at fifty miles an hour. I landed on Darcy’s windowsill with surprising grace, then gazed inside, cloaking myself in an illusion of shadow as my eyes fell on the bed. The covers were pulled over a couple fucking like rabbits and my breathing grew out of control as I became nothing but a carnivorous beast looking for its next kill. I was about to force the window open and kill Seth with my bare hands, when the covers were thrown back and I realised it wasn’t them at all. Just a couple of dudes having the time of their lives. Oh, wrong room.

I carried myself up another level, figuring out where I was then landing on the next windowsill along.

A spill of blue hair made my gut clench and I gazed in at her curled up in bed between the paws of a white Wolf. My heart fractured and my body deflated as I watched them together. My eyes tracked over her face, her expression taut like she was trapped in a painful nightmare, but then Seth nuzzled into her in his sleep and the tension in her features eased.

“Blue…” I rasped, inching forward, pressing my hand to the glass as I prepared to smash my way in there and make the Wolf bleed and hurt and beg for a mercy I was never going to give.

But then a moment of clarity gripped me.

I couldn’t go in there. I’d lost the right to do that when I’d given her up. When I’d given up everything. And no matter how much I wanted to destroy Seth for this – and I really, really fucking did – I couldn’t. I’d forced her away. Told her to move on. I’d just never been prepared for the fact that she’d actually listen.

I hadn’t thought my heart could break any more than it already had, but apparently there was a little left of it still to shatter.

I turned and jumped off of the ledge, lowering myself down with my air magic and hitting the ground running. There was only one place I wanted to be now. I ran to Ignis House, casting myself up to Darius’s room on a gust of air and feeling myself slip through his wards as they allowed me access. I pushed his window open, dropping into his room and he shot upright in bed with flames roaring in his palms.

“Who are you?!” he bellowed, his face twisting in horror at the sight of me. He launched the flames at me and I threw out a blast of water to douse them before they could burn me to dust.

“Darius,” I snapped. “It’s me.”

“Lance?” he gasped in confusion and I nodded. “By the fucking sun, what kind of illusion is that?”

“Oh right,” I muttered, waving a hand to dissolve it.

“How did you get here? Are you running? Do we need to go?” He jumped out of bed, starting to grab his stuff and a smile pulled at my mouth.

“No, brother.” I shot toward him, knocking him back onto the bed and winding my arms around him. He pulled me closer with a sigh of relief as our foreheads pressed together.

“Tory found a way for me to get out.” I showed him the King’s ring, explaining the situation.

“You’re drunk,” he accused when I was done and I shrugged one shoulder.

“I’m not not drunk,” I admitted and he pressed his fingers to my temple, starting to heal away the effects of the bourbon. With every inch my mind that cleared, the more regrets I started to have. Ah fuck, I shouldn’t have come here.

I groaned, rubbing my eyes and rolling onto my back, my heart feeling pulverised by a blender by what I’d just seen. Darius propped himself up on his elbow, frowning down at me.

“What’s going on?” he asked and I sighed.

“Seth is with Darcy. The two of them-” I pressed my lips tightly together, unable to finish that sentence as rage and possessiveness clogged up my throat. Jealousy didn’t come close to describing how I was feeling. I was being eaten alive by the need to lay my claim on her and snap the neck of the motherfucker who dared lay his filthy hands on her.

“What? They’re not together,” he said and I frowned at him.

“I just saw them in the same bed,” I growled.

“Yeah well, Seth does that with any of his friends when they’re sad,” he said with a shrug like it meant nothing. But it meant everything.

“It’s more than that,” I muttered, taking my Atlas out and showing him the photos Seth had sent me.

“What…” Darius breathed as he scrolled through them. “This isn’t right.”

“Well maybe they’re keeping it a secret,” I said, my breathing getting laboured as I thought of that. I was her deepest secret, not him. Not fucking him. At least…I had been.

“I’ll find out, okay?” he promised and I nodded, though I knew it wasn’t enough just knowing. I was never going to feel right again whether she was with fucking Seth, or some other guy. I didn’t care how irrational it was, I wanted to maim and torture and destroy anyone who dared to try and claim her heart. A heart she’d given to me.

“I told her to move on, but I can’t let go, Darius,” I gritted out, my eyes fixed on the wooden canopy over his four poster bed. “I made this happen. I pushed her away. I thought I could handle it, but I can’t. I didn’t think anything could be more painful than losing her, but now seeing her with him…” My heart was slashed open, oozing blood. I’m not going to survive losing her. It’s a long and agonising death, but the end is fucking nigh.

“Look, I really don’t think they’re together, but Lance…one day she is going to move on,” Darius reasoned.

“I know,” I hissed, venom lacing my words, my veins. “I fucking know. And I’m gonna end up with a life sentence in Darkmore for it instead of twenty five years because whoever it is is going to fucking die.”

Darius grabbed my face, yanking my head around so I was looking at him. “Then don’t let her go.”

I shoved him off with a growl. “She’s already gone. And even if in some hypothetical reality she could forgive me and take me back, what life could I offer her now anyway? I’m fucked whichever way you look at it. I’m Lionel’s prisoner for as long as he wants me, then I’ll be shipped back off to Darkmore for the remainder of my sentence. Even if I can run away before that happens, I’ll have to live in hiding unless we can defeat Lionel. I can’t re-join society as it is, I’m a Power Shamed loser. I have no future. No way to offer her anything.”

“I will kill my father,” Darius vowed. “And the Heirs and I will take his place as rulers of this kingdom and-”

“Wait, what? As a Councillor to the Vega queens, you mean?” I looked up at him in confusion and his expression twisted in disgust.

“No,” he scoffed. “Of course not. I don’t intend to let them take the throne just because we’re friends now. Where the hell did you get that idea?”

I pushed myself up to sit with a growl. “Are you fucking with me right now? You’re in love with a Vega. You and the other Heirs have been working with Darcy for months and-”

“And what? You thought I was just going to stand aside and give them a clean shot at my father? Let them take the throne like I’m some sort of weak Fae who couldn’t claim it myself? They might be powerful, but they aren’t stronger than the Heirs so why the hell would we just give it to them? That’s not how it works,” he said in disbelief.

“It’s not about weakness,” I snarled, getting up in his face. “It’s about what’s best for the kingdom.”

“And you think they’re what’s best?” he asked in astonishment. “You’re the one who’s been training me up all these years to take my father’s place. Now you’re just switching allegiance?” he demanded.

“I’m not switching allegiance,” I said seriously, gripping the back of his head to make him look me in the eye. “I want you in power, Darius. But they’re the rightful queens. My father was a part of the Zodiac Guild, he protected the royals, the queen came to him with a vision that showed him the way.”

“You’ve told me all of this,” he snarled. “But you’re just going on the word of some dead old man who was locked up in Darkmore for years.”

“I had a letter from my father. And you know it’s more than that. The twins have been gifted visions from the stars. They’ve seen the truth. The Savage King wasn’t who we thought. What Hail Vega did was because of Lionel’s Dark Coercion. He’s been biding his time all these years, he constructed it all.”

“I’ve been training my entire life to rule this kingdom,” Darius growled, his eyes turning to the golden slits of a Dragon as smoke plumed between his teeth. “I will take down my father and I will rule alongside the other Heirs. The Vegas will not sit on the throne.”

I fell quiet, seeing the blazing determination in his eyes, the stubbornness that was never going to fade.

“Rule with them,” I begged, but he shook his head.

“No,” he hissed. “And the other Heirs will never stand for that either. We might be friends with the Vegas, Lance, but when it comes to the throne, we will fight them to claim it.”

I released a heavy breath, knowing I wasn’t going to change his mind. I pushed out of bed, heading to the window and running my fingers through my hair.

“I’ll always have your back, brother,” I swore and silence pooled between us.

“I’ll come home for when the moon rises tomorrow,” he said at last.

“See you then,” I said gravely, opening the window.

I cast an illusion over myself before leaping from the window ledge and racing away into the night.

***

I spent the next day alone, anxiously waiting for the sun to set while Darius and Xavier attended the lavish funeral Lionel had put on for Catalina. As Gabriel had predicted, there had been a brief, but very public trial for Christopher and he’d been sentenced to life in Darkmore for abducting, raping and murdering the Queen. I was actually surprised that Lionel hadn’t pushed for an execution, but I was guessing he just wanted it over with and this way he could move on.

I’d watched a little bit of the ridiculously over the top funeral on TV, but the fake grief Lionel displayed had been more than enough to turn my stomach and I’d turned it off after watching the horse drawn hearse leading an enormous procession down the street.

The papers were full of stories about how beloved Catalina had been and how terribly she’d be missed, and I had to wonder what people would think if they knew the truth of the life Lionel had forced her to live.

Geraldine had told everyone that Catalina was well hidden with her father and was settling in just fine, promising to arrange a visit for Darius and Xavier as soon as possible. I was just glad that she’d escaped the hell of Lionel’s company.

Gabriel called to wish me a happy birthday and told me the cards had mostly fallen in our favour today. The night would be clear, the moon bright, but he couldn’t tell me about the details of what was to come in case it changed things. Everything was looking relatively good though. Luckily, Lionel was going to be away tonight, milking Catalina’s funeral for all it was worth and giving Darius and I a clear opportunity to read my father’s diary.

As the last rays of sunlight dripped through the summerhouse windows, my pulse began to pound. Night slid into existence and a blanket of stars spread across the sky as I waited anxiously for the moon to rise.

After a while, one of Lionel’s henchmen showed up to cast a ward around the perimeter of the summerhouse and lock me in for the night. I casually flipped him the finger while he worked and he scowled at me before heading away.

The moon soon peeked out above the trees beyond the pool and I moved to fetch the diary from my nightstand with my heart rate elevating. The leather binding was etched with stars and I ran my thumb across it, feeling closer to my father for a second. I thought about him a lot lately. About all the secrets he’d hidden, about the sacrifice he’d made for the entire kingdom.

If I’d had any doubts at all about him being a good man in the past, they were thoroughly squashed now. I just wished I’d gotten the chance to know him beyond my childhood. That he could have been there when I needed him most. When Lionel had bound me to Darius, when I’d not known what paths to take.

I guessed this diary was proof that he’d had faith in me, and there was some comfort in that. But it wasn’t the same as having had a parent to rely on, someone who could have offered me guidance when I was lost.

I hope I’m not a fuck up in your eyes, Dad. Even if the rest of the world thinks so.

The sliding door sounded and I turned, finding Darius walking in wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, something gripped in his hand.

“Happy birthday, Lance,” he said with a slanted smile as he offered up the gift which looked like it had been wrapped by a kid. I smirked as I shot over to him and took it, ripping off the paper and finding a small box inside. I opened it, gazing down at the little glass ball inside which swirled with the colours of a sunset.

My brows arched in surprise. “Is this a memento?”

“Yeah.” Darius combed a hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t wanna fall out with you over the Vegas. My father forced you to be on my side no matter what by making you my Guardian and I’m not gonna make you feel shitty about making your own mind up about the throne. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.” His brow furrowed. “And even though my mom isn’t really dead, being at her funeral today made me think about how easily you can lose the people you love. I won’t lose you because I don’t like your opinions on something that hasn’t even come to pass yet.”

I twisted the orb between my fingers, gazing at him and noticing how much of a man he’d become recently. “I’m always in your corner, Darius,” I said seriously. “But I know what I’m asking of you is a lot.”

“You’re still asking it then?” he jibed and I grinned.

“No point denying it.” I shrugged and he folded his arms, jerking his chin at the memento.

“Aren’t you gonna put my ball in your mouth then?” he asked.

I laughed. “Alright, but only because you asked so nicely, sugar.” I reached for his zipper and he snorted, batting my hand away.

“Get on with it, asshole,” he pushed and I lifted the orb to my lips and pushed it into my mouth.

The world around me changed. I was suddenly on top of a mountain sitting on the back of a huge golden Dragon. My heart lifted at the sight of the incredible sunset beaming out toward us above a sea of cloud below. Pastel colours bled into the sky, all of it painfully temporary as the sun sank away beneath the horizon. Darius released a booming roar then took off, sending snow crumbling out beneath his talons as he carried me toward the sunset. I felt the wind on my face, the lasting heat of the sun’s ray against my flesh. The memory was perfectly captured, the magic of it astounding.

Darius circled away from the sun and I gazed at the seam in the sky where night divided from day, a pool of stars chasing away the light. Darius raced toward them until it felt like the heavens were going to swallow us up and peace caressed my heart.

I took the memento from my mouth and the memory evaporated around me so I was stood gazing at my closest friend once more.

“We’ll go there again one day,” he promised. “Somehow, we’ll figure out all this bullshit. I just wanted you to have a piece of something good. A time when things were better.”

I gave him a sad sort of smile and he moved forward to embrace me. I clapped him on the back knowing with absolute certainty that, Guardian bond or not, Darius Acrux was a friend made for me by the stars themselves. And nothing would ever change that.

“Shall we find out what my father knew?” I asked and he nodded as he pulled away, tension lining his brow.

I placed the memento in the drawer by my nightstand then headed to the sliding door, following Darius outside where we moved to sit at a table next to the pool. I laid the diary down as Darius started casting illusions to hide us and a silencing bubble too.

The full moon was hidden behind a small gathering of clouds above, but as I flipped open the first page of the diary, the clouds shifted and silvery light filtered over us like a fog. Letters lit up on it in silver, shimmering like stardust as they twisted around the paper then settled into place in dark ink, the light falling away. I held my breath as I tracked my eyes over the words and the hand drawn image of a fallen star at the bottom of the page. This is it. This is what we’ve been waiting for.

Your first and most urgent task.

Dearest Lancelot,

It’s time for you to learn the ways of the Zodiac Guild. The last of us lie dead, but I am the only one who found a grave. My death was planned meticulously for this purpose. And in my death, I can only hope you are the man Queen Vega foresaw you to be.

It is time for you to resurrect the Guild. You will take Ling Astrum’s position as Guild Master and initiate your most trusted, loyal friends to its cause.

The Imperial Star awaits you in my tomb at The Everhill Graveyard. Know this, it can only be wielded by a reigning sovereign, so it must stay out of Lionel Acrux’s hands if he has ascended to the throne.

If things have gone as hoped, you will have access to the rings of the Vega Princesses. Both are needed to open the tomb, but be warned, this ancient graveyard is heavily protected. Only those proficient in dark magic can enter.

Go now while the stars are in alignment.

You can do this, my boy.

Holy shit. My dad had a grave. I recalled my mom telling me he’d been cremated. She even had an urn on her mantlepiece. Had it all been a farce?

“Well this has been a waste of time,” Darius sighed and I looked up at him.

“What?” I balked.

“The moon isn’t doing shit,” Darius said, gesturing to the diary with a frown. “Maybe it needs to lay in the moonlight for a while?”

“You can’t see it?” I asked in surprise.

“Wait, you can?” he gasped, shifting closer.

I nodded, a laugh escaping me. “I guess it’s for my eyes only. Actually, my dad mentioned something about that in his letter to me-”

“What does it say, asshole?” he demanded.

“It says where the Imperial Star is,” I whispered, my heart pounding excitedly. “And we need to go get it right fucking now.”

I stood from my seat, pushing the diary into my pocket and Darius jumped up with a dark, unbridled wildness in his eyes. I’d continue reading tonight just as soon as we had the Imperial Star.

“Fuck yes.”

“The only thing is, it looks like we won’t be able to use it. It says only a reigning sovereign can wield it,” I sighed.

“Well let’s at least keep it the fuck away from my father,” Darius said firmly and I nodded.

“You’d better remember everything I taught you, because my dad says we’ll need dark magic to reach it. Have you kept all of my artefacts?” I asked.

“All of them,” he confirmed. “They’re at the academy.”

“We need the twins’ rings too, the ones their mother left for them,” I said and Darius nodded, his brows pulling together. “Alright. Do you know where we’re going?”

“Yes, my dad has a tomb at The Everhill Graveyard in western Lacrovia. The Imperial Star’s with him,” I said with a grin, remembering visiting the place as a boy. My dad had taken me there to steal bones, using his gifts to gain access to some of the crypts and graves that were less protected, though he’d always warned me not to attempt it at night. And never alone. We didn’t have much choice but to go this second though; there was no time to waste with Lionel out of town and the stars in alignment for us.

“Fuck yes. Then we’ll go to Zodiac. You can get into King’s Hollow and you’ll find all of the artefacts in the chest in my room while I get the ring from Roxy,” Darius said.

“Okay,” I agreed, my heart pumping with excitement for the first time in a long time. “Let’s go and get one up on the King.”