Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

I WAS JUST drifting off to sleep when my Atlas starting pinging. I took it from the nightstand, finding Tory calling me.

My heart beat harder as I tapped the screen to answer, fearful that something had happened to her.

“Tory, are you alright?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m good. But can I come stay with you tonight? I heard the Heirs plotting to jump me in the morning and…well there’s something we need to talk about too.”

“Sure I’ll meet you outside Aer Tower,” I said, sitting up with a yawn.

“I’m already here,” she said with amusement in her tone.

I grinned, springing out of bed as the line cut out. I grabbed my sports sweater and pulled it on, heading quietly out into the corridor. My bare feet grew cold against the hard stone floor and I started tip-toeing to save my heels from its icy touch.

Moving into the stairwell, I hurried down at double speed, the tower achingly quiet around me. I made it to the ground floor, only receiving two glares from a couple of students on their way to bed. Win!

I tugged the large iron door open and stepped outside, searching for Tory as the chilly night air blew around me.

“I’m here,” she said, stepping out from behind a bush that clung to the wall. She gave me a frown that said something was bothering her. “If Seth catches me, the game’s up.”

“He won’t. Come on.” I raised a hand, casting a gust of wind at the Aer symbol above the door to open it again. I led the way inside and Tory kept on my heels as we hurried up the spiralling staircase.

I nearly tripped over a step as I veered into my floor, muttering a curse at myself as I hurried along the corridor to my room. I jammed the key in the lock and a second later we were safely inside.

I gave Tory a triumphant smile but she didn’t return it.

“Darcy, something really weird is going on,” she said, dropping down to perch on my bed and planting her bag by her feet.

“What do you mean?” I grabbed the desk chair and turned it around to sit before her.

She pulled her hair over one shoulder, knotting her fingers in it. “I followed Darius tonight. He split up from the Heirs and was acting all shady so I went after him. And he led me right to Orion.”

“Orion?” I breathed in confusion. “Why?”

“They were hiding something.” Tory relayed everything they’d said and my mind snagged on the worst of it all. That it very much sounded like Darius and Orion wanted us dead.

I chewed on my lip as I willed my heart to settle. “Maybe you misunderstood?” I tried and Tory nodded slowly.

“Maybe…but I’m pretty sure.”

“Then what do we do?” I asked.

“What about Falling Star?” she suggested. “Didn’t they say something about Orion? That he wasn’t telling us everything. Maybe they have the answers.”

I frowned, my gut knotting. “We don’t even know who they are. They could be an Heir messing with us for all we know.” I didn’t like the idea of placing our trust in some unknown source. “What if we’re just playing into the Heirs’ hands by responding to that account?”

“Seems like a weird game to play,” Tory encouraged. “They haven’t exactly said anything to hurt us. Just…confuse us.” 

I remained quiet, lifting a hand to wrap my hair in my fingers. 

Tory’s brow wrinkled as she looked to me and a flash of pity entered her gaze. “You don’t have to trust them, Darcy. Just see what they say.”

I nodded, giving in as I took my Atlas from my bag. I jumped onto the bed with her, sitting cross-legged as I lay the device on my lap.

I brought up the chat window and tapped out our question to Falling Star as my heart hammered violently beneath my ribcage.

Darcy Vega:

You said there were things we didn’t know about Orion. Care to explain?

We waited in tense silence and I wondered if we shouldn’t expect an answer until tomorrow. It was past midnight and most students were in bed by now.

A moment later, three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, telling me Falling Star was writing a reply.

I shared an anxious look with Tory as we waited in tense silence and finally the message came through.

Falling Star:

I don’t like the company he keeps.

Darcy Vega:

Do you mean Darius?

My heart was fit to burst as we waited on their reply again.

Falling Star:

Yes.

“Holy shit,” Tory breathed in my ear.

I tapped out another question, my teeth clenched together.

Darcy Vega:

Do you know what they’re up to?

Falling Star:

No.

I sighed, lowering the Atlas when another message came through.

Falling Star:

But I do know this…

Anyone in allegiance with the Acrux family is bad news.

Don’t trust them.

Darcy Vega:

But why?

Tory’s shoulder pressed against mine as she leaned in closer, both of us hanging on their reply. I was now convinced this couldn’t be the Heirs messing with us.

The three dots taunted us as we waited with bated breath.

Falling Star:

I believe the House of Acrux was involved in the death of your birth parents.

And I have my suspicions that the other Heirs’ families assisted.

I turned to Tory in alarm. “Do you believe this?”

Tory gazed at me, her eyes wide as she thought on it. “I don’t know. We don’t even know who this Falling Star person is.”

“But if they’re right and Darius and Orion are coming after us then…” Fear crackled in my chest.

“Then we’re so screwed,” she whispered.

My Atlas pinged as another message came through.

Falling Star:

I can’t share all of the findings through FaeBook. It’s not secure.

But read this and I’ll be in touch soon.

A link came up beneath their message and I clicked on the site, finding myself looking at what appeared to be a news report printed the day after the deaths of our real parents. Heat rolled down my spine as I started reading it.

King Hail Vega, his wife Merissa and their two children, Roxanya and Gwendalina, were found dead in their palace beds at 7:08 yesterday morning. King Hail, termed The Savage King during his reign, and his two children were the last living heirs to the throne of Solaria. Their deaths have now been declared as murder and the evidence points to a calculated Nymph attack involving two or more of the creatures.

With the kingdom already in turmoil, the four Houses of the Celestial Council (Acrux, Rigel, Altair and Capella) have stepped up to rule in King Vega’s place.

Lord Lionel Acrux was the first on the scene in an effort to help his life-long friend King Vega when a distress call was reportedly sent to him. Unfortunately, his arrival came too late and the Nymphs in question still remain at large. The offending Nymphs now possess the magic of the royal line and are the most powerful and dangerous of their kind ever to have existed. A mass hunt has begun in an effort to destroy the creatures before they have time to harness their newly absorbed powers.

The news has been taken with a mixture of grief and celebration since the reign of King Vega was one of hardship and turmoil. Professor Astrum of Zodiac Academy was quoted as predicting what he termed as ‘the bloody decades’ through Tarot and star charting before the King’s ascension. Though dismissed previously, his words have since been adopted to describe the reign of The Savage King and are now printed on banners across the City of Lunar in protest to the millions of aurums being spent on a funeral organised by the royal supporters.

One lead advocate of King Vega and his family, Hamish Grus, demanded that the throne be handed to the nearest royal bloodline. But with only distant cousins remaining in the Vega family, the four houses of the Celestial Council are in opposition to this proposal. They are currently petitioning for the throne to remain empty until an appropriate ruler can be found. Royal blood or not. In the meantime, the four houses will rule together – a motion which has been greeted with open arms by many in Solaria.

I dragged my eyes from the article with a heavy breath and Tory flopped back onto the bed beside me.

“Falling Star could be right,” she said and I nodded.

“The Heirs’ families had motive to kill them,” I agreed with a sickly taste in my mouth. “But this report says Nymphs did it. And Diego was telling me they do something weird like… stab you in the heart and suck out the magic with their claws.”

“Ew,” Tory breathed. “There would have been evidence of that.”

“Yeah…” I desperately wanted to rule out the possibility that the Heirs’ families could have been involved. That one of them was coming after us. And Professor Orion was helping them. Because if it was true, I didn’t know how we’d ever escape.

I sat in Cardinal Magic with a tightness in my chest. Orion was late. And I kept glancing at the door, half-expecting him to march in with a machine gun to take out Tory and I.

Stop getting carried away. 

Besides, he wouldn’t need a machine gun, he could cut you to ribbons with his cheekbones alone – not to mention his fangs…

After everything we’d learned last night, I’d barely gotten any sleep. And I’d been dreading this lesson all morning.

Diego looked between us, his pale blue eyes twinkling with concern. “Everything bien? You guys look like the undead today.”

I forced out a laugh but it didn’t sound very convincing.

“I missed you last night,” Sofia whispered to Tory. “It’s not the same in Ignis without you.”

Tory gave her an apologetic smile. “The Heirs were out for my blood. I had to lay low.”

Sofia sighed, painting a circle on the table with her finger. “I wish they’d back off.”

Kylie was parading through the room, handing out bright pink leaflets as she danced between the aisles. “Fresher’s party in The Orb next Friday!” she said brightly, arriving at our row.

She clutched the leaflets in her hand as she glanced between Tory and I, her rich amber eyes moving between us like a viper about to strike. “Oh I suppose you guys won’t be coming.” She waved a leaflet in front of our faces with a mock frown.

“Why?” Sofia took the bait.

“Because no one wants you there,” she said with a poison ivy glare and I bristled with unease.

The door swung open and Orion strode in, causing my heart to clench into a hard ball. He took one, sweeping glance at the classroom then at the leaflets in Kylie’s grip.

“No,” he snarled, waving a hand so every single leaflet in the room swept toward him on a violent breeze then slammed into the trash can beside his desk.

Kylie froze, looking to him in alarm, turning as pale as a sheet. “Sir, I-”

“Miss Major if you ever hand out garbage in my classroom again you’ll be banned from attending a single one of this year’s formals.”

Kylie’s mouth dropped open and I couldn’t help the little thrill I got at seeing her knocked down several pegs. Even if it was by a potential psycho.

“But sir!” she gasped.

He flicked his hand and the remaining leaflets were snatched from her grip and torn to shreds, cascading over her in a shower of pink confetti.

Oh my God he could probably do that to me if he wanted to.

Then why hasn’t he yet?

Laughter rang out around us and a small snort escaped me as Kylie turned bright red and rushed back to her seat.

Orion slammed his coffee cup on the desk and the room fell quiet as he glared across the sea of faces before him. His eyes lingered on me for half a second and I lifted my chin.

You don’t scare me.

Except crap, maybe you do.

Orion turned to the board, writing on it with his digital pen.

YOU ARE NOT UNIQUE.

I blew out a breath. Man did this guy know how to give a pep talk…

He snapped around to face us, seeming extra pissy today (which was saying something). “Every star sign in the Zodiac holds its own attributes. Good and bad. They can influence your nature. But they do not make you different or special. They make you Fae.” He tapped on the board and my Atlas flashed up with the first image in our lesson notes. The Zodiac appeared: a beautiful circle in which all of the star signs interconnected.

“All Fae are a part of this,” he continued, his tone suddenly softer. “And we all share two defining celestial beings in common.” He pointed at the centre of the Zodiac. “The sun and the moon. They bind us. And no Order, no eyeliner, or blue hair-” he gave me a pointed look as he stepped into the aisles and I pursed my lips. “Or beanie hat.” He took a swipe at Diego’s hat but he grabbed hold of it, glaring up at Orion in a challenge.

The Professor smirked, “Makes you different,” he finished. He headed deeper into the classroom and I kept my eyes on the board as he continued.

“There are twelve signs, I expect even our royal Vega Heirs know what they are. So let’s hear them.” He was suddenly behind us, a hand on each of our shoulders.

My skin tingled from the imprint of his palm and I refused to turn my head to look at him. “Go ahead, Miss Vega,” he commanded.

“Which one?” Tory and I said at the same time.

“Blue.” He tapped me on the shoulder. “Vega number two can come with me.” He nudged Tory and she rose to her feet with a frown, casting a look my way. I gave her a sympathetic glance as Orion led her to his desk and sat down in his chair. “Palm,” he ordered and she hesitantly placed her hand in his. He started doing a reading and I wondered if it was the same one he’d done on me the other night. “I don’t hear Zodiac Signs filling my ears.”

I ground my teeth at his rude tone and the sound of giggles carrying from Kylie and her friends.

I called out the names to him in a flat tone. “Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn.”

“Good, five points to House Aer,” Orion said and I could have sworn my jaw nearly hit the table.

Maybe he’s covering his tracks. When they find my mutilated body Kylie will say, “He can’t have killed her Principle Nova, he gave her five house points just a few hours ago!”

Orion jotted down notes as he read Tory’s palm and she squirmed uncomfortably under his touch. Her posture alone told me how much she hated him.

He finally released her hand and passed her a slip of paper. “These are your Element scores. The higher the number, the stronger your power. Your principal magic is fire.”

“Oh…right.” She nodded, moving to walk away but he caught her wrist and dragged her forwards.

A wave of horror crashed into my chest as he dug his fangs into her wrist.

She gritted her teeth, sagging forward as he drained her power and stopped her from using her magic to throw him off.

“Oh my God, sir!” Kylie gasped, but he ignored her, continuing to feed from my sister.

“Stop it!” I snapped at him, raising a hand in a wild act as I prepared to slam a blast of air into his face to push him off. Tory threw me a look, shaking her head in warning and I released a noise of distress.

When Orion finally released her, she staggered away from him with a dark expression. He rose to his feet, seeming in a better mood as he continued to chat about star signs.

As Tory walked back to her desk, my attention was snagged by a notification flashing up on her Atlas.

You’ve been mentioned in a FaeBook post, Tory!

My heart stammered as I clicked on my own Atlas, tapping on the app to find the post. Tory dropped into her seat at the same moment as I found it.

Kylie Major: Looks like Professor Orion is tapping in to someone else’s Source. #sharingiscaring #hairsgonnacare

Attached to the post was a picture of Orion feeding from Tory’s wrist. My sister shot a vicious look at Kylie over her shoulder.

Comments popped up at the bottom of the post and I bit into my lip as I pointed out the top one to Tory.

Comments:

Caleb Altair: W.T.F???????????????????????????

Ranjeep Shan: @Calebaltair – this is not okay bro…

Tyler Corbin: Had a front row seat for it. #Orionwentdeep

Laughter started ringing out in the room and Orion halted mid-sentence as he spotted all of us staring at our Atlases.

He looked like he was about to murder every one of us when the door flew wide open and Caleb sprinted into the room, diving over Orion’s desk. He slammed the Professor against the board and a collective inhale sounded around me. My heart took a freedive as Orion shoved him off with a blast of air and Caleb’s head slammed into the desk, sending a crack up the middle of the wood.

Caleb snarled like a beast, slashing at Orion’s face with a hand full of flames.

“Enough!” Orion bellowed before Caleb could land the strike. The Terra Heir paused and it felt like everyone in the class had turned to stone.

Tension rippled through the air as Caleb extinguished the flames in his palms, a low growl emitting from his throat. “She’s my Source. Touch her again and you’re dead. Professor or not.”

Orion snatched the front of his shirt, pulling him within an inch of his face. “Get out of my classroom.”

“Not until you swear it,” Caleb spat, wheeling a hand around to point at Tory. “She’s mine. Keep your teeth out of her.”

“I don’t belong to anyone!” Tory snapped and I nodded my agreement.

When Orion didn’t respond, Caleb pushed the Professor off of him so hard his back smashed into the board.

Tense mutters broke out in the class and I realised I was clutching the edge of my desk, my knuckles turning white.

“Fine,” Orion said in a deadly tone. “But the other Vega Twin is mine.”

“Excuse me?” I gasped, but they continued to ignore us.

Caleb grumbled something, starting to stalk back and forth before him like a caged lion. “Deal,” he finally forced out then marched from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Orion straightened his shirt then turned back to the board. “Aries are ruled by Mars so they can be particularly impulsive and often aggressive when…” He went on and I turned to Tory in absolute shock as Orion continued as if nothing had just happened.

“Don’t we get a say in this?” I hissed to my sister.

“Not unless we can fight them off,” Tory said, her brow creasing with rage.

“Which you won’t be able to do unless you listen in class!” A book slammed into our desk and Tory and I sprang apart to avoid it hitting us. Orion glared at us, the clear perpetrator. “One more word out of either of you and you’ll be in detention for the rest of the year.”

I pressed my lips together as fury bubbled and steamed inside me.

Is he serious right now?

He stared at us, waiting for either of us to talk back. We remained silent and he returned to teaching.

“When you’re Awakened, you will always obtain the Elemental power linked to your star sign. For example, as a water sign, all Pisceans are gifted with the Elemental magic of water. Those who gain more than one Element are usually gifted this way because they are linked to more than one constellation.” Orion tapped the board and a chart appeared which showed every constellation in the sky. “As you can see, there are hundreds of combinations. The powers gifted to you by the stars are very elusive. Little is known about how or why some Fae are born with more than one Element. But we do know that genetics play a roll and so does your Order.” He gave us a pointed look and I gave him a cold stare back.

You literally just claimed me as your blood bag, you jackass! How can you go on with life as if nothing just happened!?

He approached me with a smile that made my chest hollow out. “Can you name some of the constellations which aren’t linked to a Zodiac sign, Miss Vega?”

Why was he always picking on us? There were nearly a hundred people in this class. And he knew for a fact that my sister and I had the least knowledge here out of everyone.

I thought back to my youth, lying under the stars beside Tory. Our foster mother at the time had laid with us, pointing out the few constellations she knew. She’d been a kind woman, but her husband had never wanted us there. In the end, she chose him and we were cast out. The story of my life.

One of the constellations had stuck in my mind from those long-ago days. “Um…” I cleared my throat. “The little bear?”

“Correct.” He pointed at Diego beside me. “Which is also known as?”

“The little dipper, sir,” he supplied.

“I bet Diego’s got a Little Dipper,” Tyler Corbin snorted from the front row.

“Five points from Terra,” Orion snapped at him and Tyler huffed.

“And the Latin name?” Orion pointed at Sofia who turned pink-faced as she answered.

“Ursa Minor?” she squeaked.

“Ten points to House Ignis.” Orion strode away and Sofia beamed from ear to ear. I didn’t know why she doubted herself so much, she knew more than Tory, Diego and I combined.

Orion started writing on the board again. “So if you are an Aquarius but are also linked to Ursa Minor which has the power of earth, you will possibly be gifted with two Elements.”

“Possibly, sir?” a girl with a long braid of raven hair asked from the second row.

“The stars can be unpredictable,” Orion explained. “Their nature must compliment ours for everything to align.” Orion folded his arms. “So, what does your Zodiac Sign mean for you personally? Does anyone know?”

A few hands rose and he picked out a boy in the row behind us. “It tells you your nature.”

“Inaccurate,” Orion said. “Try again.”

“It er…” the boy glanced around for help but no one had any to offer. He cleared his throat then shrugged.

“Anyone?” Orion asked in annoyance.

“It influences your nature, sir?” Sofia offered.

“Correct,” he said brightly, moving to lean back against his desk. He pointed at the dark haired beauty Jillian who was always in Kylie’s shadow. “Miss Minor, what are the other three things that influence a Fae’s nature?”

She turned the colour of a beetroot, looking to Kylie who sighed dramatically.

“Order,” Kylie offered for her.

“And?” Orion pressed.

“Er…genetics?” she guessed.

“Correct. And?” he demanded.

She fell quiet and an answer sprang into my mind, hovering on the tip of my tongue.

“Anyone?” Orion asked, gazing over us all in clear disappointment.

Oh what the hell? 

“Life experience, sir?” I’d been through enough in my life to know exactly how shaped I’d been by everything I’d endured. If he disagreed that experiences didn’t affect the way we were, then I was ready to dispute it. My hair was one example.

To most, blue meant cold or sad, the sea, the sky. To me, it was something else. And that reason was why I wore it in my hair. As a constant reminder of that meaning. Don’t. Forget.

“Correct,” Orion said, seeming surprised. He strode down the aisle, halting in front of my desk and I raked my eyes up his athletic body to his penetrating eyes. “Also known as?”

“Nurture,” I said, my tongue parched.

“Good. See me after class.” He marched away, leaving me in the wake of that A-bomb with my heart rattling in my chest.

Tory gave me an alarmed look and an ice-cold creature slithered up my spine.

Crap.

Tory waited until every last person had filed out of the classroom before she left me alone with Orion.

“I’ll wait outside,” she whispered and I gave her a smile that I hoped soothed her worries as she headed through the door. But it didn’t do much to soothe mine.

Orion was gazing at something on his Atlas, resting back in his chair as the door swung closed behind my sister.

I stood awkwardly, adjusting my satchel over my shoulder as I waited for him to explain why he’d kept me back.

“How’s the Coercion shield coming?” he asked, not looking up from his Atlas.

“Better. I’ve been practicing with friends.”

He nodded, seeming satisfied with that. “You should be spending every free moment on it.” He swung around in his chair, snaring me in his onyx gaze. “It’s imperative that you can throw off basic Coercion. Do you understand how vulnerable you are while you’re unable to?”

I nodded, thinking of all the embarrassing times I’d succumbed to it in the past couple of days. My insides crumbled into dust at the memories. 

“Yes, sir.” I surveyed him closely, wondering why he would try to help me out with this if he was plotting to kill Tory and I.

Could be a cover…but for who? There was no one in this room but me.

“Good.” His hard mask broke into a soft smile and I was completely taken aback by it. “So, I wanted to be clear about what it means to be my Source.”

“I don’t want to be your Source,” I said immediately, my skin itching at the mere idea of it.

“Until you manage to stop me, I’m afraid that’s not your decision.” He gave me a bemused look and I scowled at him, tempted to shout, is it just my magic you want or is it my life too?

Orion stood, moving around his desk to stand before me. I swallowed against the lump in my throat, gazing up at him and refusing to let him see my fear.

“You will tell me if any other Vampire bites you. That is non-negotiable, Miss Vega. I will make it known to the Academy that you’re mine and that should save us any more incidents like today. I am not likely to be challenged by anyone except Caleb, but now that has been settled we should have no more issues. However, if another Vampire happens to take a liking to you …you will tell me.”

He didn’t Coerce me and I had to wonder why. Maybe he wanted me to agree to this on my own terms. And an internal battle took hold of me as I thought about what he was demanding. At least this would stop other Vampires taking a bite out of me in the corridors. But that was about the only plus side I could see. 

“How often do you expect to feed from me?” I folded my arms and his brows lifted.

“Once or twice a week.” He shrugged. “But if I become drained then it may be more.”

I nodded stiffly, knowing I didn’t have a choice anyway. I’d take the small benefit of not being bitten by other Vampires and in the meantime I’d work my ass off to harness my magic.

I lifted my chin and the air became thick between us. “One day, Professor, I’m going to be strong enough to fight you off.”

He took a measured breath and I felt like he was sucking something vital out of my body that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get back.

“I know,” he said, his eyes glittering. “But until that day, you’re mine, Blue.”