Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne

The stars spat us out in the middle of a sweltering jungle and I sucked in a breath of the humid air as Gabriel started off through the trees at a fast pace.

‘There are still ancient wards around this place,’ he said without looking back at me. ‘But they allowed me to pass them by and I’ve seen you entering them too. I just thought I should warn you, because you’ll know all about it when you pass through them.’

‘Okay,’ I agreed, striding after him as he used his earth Element to force the foliage to part for us, creating a path through the dense jungle.

I stripped out of my heavy suit jacket as I walked, tossing it aside without a care before ripping the fucking cravat off too. It was sweltering here and I didn’t want to wear the fucking thing anyway, it was only a reminder of the twisted fate I’d just managed to escape.

‘You’re sure this is where we need to be?’ I asked anxiously, hating that I was so far from the people I loved most in this world when they obviously needed my help.

‘This is one of the clearest visions I’ve ever had. The only chance we have of both of my sisters surviving the day is by being here. There are so many paths to death for the two of them today that I’m getting constant flashes of one or the other dying repeatedly. This is how we save them,” Gabriel said firmly and I could see how much the fear of those visions coming to pass was weighing on him.

‘Let’s hurry then,’ I growled, focusing on the task at hand and refusing to let myself get caught up in worries. If this was what I had to do then I would.

Gabriel upped his pace and suddenly the air all around us seemed to come to life with energy. I gasped as tiny pinpricks of light sparked and zapped everywhere and my skin buzzed from the contact as the ancient magic pressed in on my skin, stealing my breath.

‘Acrux,’ a voice spoke in my head which was soft and feminine and yet fierce and full of power too. ‘Descendent of the oath breaker. Harbinger of doom. The blood in your veins runs thick with lies and betrayal.’

The power surrounding me grew denser and more potent, immobilising me as I gasped for breath and the zaps of energy began to burn against my skin.

‘I see two paths before you, blood of the deceiver. Choose wisely.’

The power released me so suddenly that I fell to my knees, sucking in a shaky breath and my limbs trembled as I fought to regain my composure.

‘Told you you’d feel it,’ Gabriel said as he stood over me and I forced myself to my feet with a grunt of pain.

‘What the fuck was that?’ I snarled.

‘Something far older than us,’ he supplied before turning and leading me on through the trees again.

I hurried after him, tugging open the buttons at my throat as sweat lined my skin and I used my water magic to cool down.

Gabriel suddenly stepped through the trees ahead and I glanced down at my feet, noticing the bronze pathway peeking out between the foliage before I pushed through behind him and found myself standing at the entrance to an enormous cave.

‘Are you ready, Darius?’ he asked me seriously and I shrugged.

‘I guess we’re about to find out.’

We strode into the darkness of the cave, but before I could cast a Faelight to see by, huge, silvery runes illuminated on the wall. Gabriel nodded at me to go ahead as I looked to him in question.

I stepped forward and brushed my fingers over them, gasping as a surge of power flooded beneath my skin, seeking out my magic and seeming to weigh its worth before retreating again.

Before I could ask what we were supposed to do now, more of the ancient runes lit up along the wall, twisting away down a passage that turned right.

“They’ll show us the way,” Gabriel said and I broke into a run as I chased after them.

Our footsteps echoed heavily along the wide, stone tunnels and I spied ancient relics and treasures along the way, some so precious that the Dragon in me ached to stop and claim them for my own. But there wasn’t a single treasure on this earth more precious than the girl I loved and I wasn’t going to be distracted from what I needed to do here.

The tunnels angled downwards and the deeper we delved into the caves, the more powerfully the magic of this place seemed to hum around me. It was beautiful and terrible and somehow hauntingly familiar to me too.

We suddenly burst into a cavern which opened up all around us and as the runes illuminated all over the walls, I found life and greenery flourishing everywhere. 

A small, trickling waterfall ran down the cave wall on our left from somewhere high above us and a stunning tree had grown up beside it, its roots spreading out all over the cavern. Little white flowers blossomed everywhere on thick green vines that covered the stone walls and I gaped at the place, wondering how the hell all of this had flourished so much beneath the ground in the dark like this.

Was the magic here so potent that it had taken on a life of its own? Not needing the hand of a Fae to guide it? Or was this some creation from centuries past, the magic that had created it so strong that it still held power here?

The runes pulsed and flickered, and my gaze was drawn to the far side of the cavern where a round, stone door sat closed against the wall, the wheel of the zodiac surrounding it and every symbol illuminated in silver.

I stepped closer, afraid to break the silence as I held my breath and approached the door, knowing with a certainty that ran soul deep that my destiny lay beyond it.

‘This is as far as I go,’ Gabriel said darkly, reaching out to grasp my shoulder and causing me to turn and look at him. ‘I can’t see what you’re going to find beyond that door, Darius. I only know that once you’re inside, whatever happens will twist the wheel of fate in a fundamental way that could change many things. So many that I can’t even begin to see them all.’

‘But if I do something right in there, the Vegas will survive?’ I asked, needing to know it without any doubt.

Gabriel hesitated, reaching out to brush his fingers over the stone door, making it quiver and illuminate with his star sign for a moment before he drew back. ‘Yes. You can save them by going in there. But I can’t see any more than that. This is a test for you alone.’

‘Then I’ll be certain not to fail it,’ I swore, clapping him on the shoulder and stepping forward to look at the door.

I placed my hand against the rough stone and the Leo symbol lit up brighter than all of the others, magic rumbling through my limbs as the zodiac wheel began to rotate until my star sign sat above the entrance and the door swung open.

It was dark beyond the door, but I refused to balk, raising my chin and striding inside.

‘Acrux,’ the ethereal voice spoke in my mind again. ‘Your destiny awaits.’