Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae

I WATCHED DARCY as she walked away from me outside Aer Tower, heading for Jupiter Hall and Orion’s office. The black baseball cap she’d pulled down over her ruined hair set a burning pit of rage blazing in my chest. She kept her head down as she walked, her shoulders a little hunched, though her stride was determined.

I wished we didn’t have to split up to do this; the idea of her falling prey to any of the monsters in this school again made me feel so angry I could spit. But our plan was solid. They were all in the assembly about Astrum’s death; no one would want to risk their precious House Points. Though I for one hoped they docked Ignis a thousand points for my absence and the shock of it gave Darius an aneurism.

Distant thunder rumbled overhead and I glanced up at the cloud-filled sky. It was dark enough to feel like dusk instead of mid-morning but I welcomed the lack of light; at least it would make it harder for anyone to see me from a distance.

Darcy moved out of sight and I released a long breath, psyching myself up for my part of our mad plan. I turned away from Aer House and headed south, taking a roundabout route to the Fire Territory which avoided the pathways while using my Atlas to stay on track. I walked along the line of the cliff which overlooked the churning sea. I kept my distance from the edge though, the sight of that fall and the tempestuous water beyond it making my throat tighten.

I tried to shake off the feeling of dread as the memories of last night surfaced again. So much had happened that it was hard to process all of it but it was almost impossible to shake the roiling terror that had filled me. I’d really thought that I was going to die in that pool. The kiss of the icy water, the frantic pounding of my heart… every time I’d closed my eyes last night the fear of it had crept in on me again. In the end I hadn’t slept at all. I’d propped my back against the wall and waited while Darcy got some rest, trying not to flinch each time a nightmare caused her to groan in her sleep.

The Heirs had made it clear from the moment we met them that they wanted us broken and they wanted us gone. I’d been a fool to think we could stand in the face of that kind of power and hatred and survive it unscathed. This was what that naive belief had gotten me. We’d been humiliated, belittled, abused and beaten.

But not broken.

We were made of stronger stuff than that.

My sister and I had been moulded for survival since the day we’d been born. We’d escaped the Nymphs who’d killed our parents here in Solaria, then survived the flames which had destroyed our mortal family too. Together, we’d it made through countless foster homes, neglect, uncertainty, poverty and hunger. We’d always found our own way to endure it. We’d been born to survive. The fire that should have killed us when we were babies hadn’t; it forged us into something stronger, cast our bones in steel and gave us strength in each other’s company.

And if fire couldn’t kill me then water sure as hell couldn’t have me either. But I wasn’t an idiot. If staying in this academy meant facing off against the Heirs at every turn then I knew we weren’t equipped for that. Orion and Nova had tried to trap us here by holding our inheritance hostage but I wasn’t the kind of girl to be held over a barrel. The stars might have guided us to this school but I’d been making my own luck and guiding my own destiny for long enough to know that I could take my fate into my own hands when I had to.

We needed money if we were going to get out of here and there was one way for us to get it.

I considered the insanity of what I was about to do for a moment and let myself focus on the thrill of the challenge instead of the wrath I could incur from Darius if he caught me.

There wasn’t much more he could do to me at this point anyway. And the more I looked at this as a job, the calmer I became. This was what I’d done to survive for years; breaking and entering was my bread and butter. There was nothing quite like the thrill of the challenge when I had a job underway and a trickle of adrenaline ran down my spine in anticipation of it.

I checked my location on my Atlas, eyeing the little star which represented me before turning right and heading west towards Fire Territory.

The ground sloped down sharply as I descended the cliffs and I spotted the imposing structure of Ignis House ahead of me. Its jagged glass walls rose up towards the grey clouds in every shade of red, yellow and orange like a living flame. It was beautiful in a harsh kind of way, sort of like the Fae people.

Thunder rumbled overhead again and I glanced up at the sky as it grew even darker. There was still no sign of rain but the clouds looked pregnant with it, promising a downpour of epic proportions once they broke.

I upped my pace. Now that my destination was in sight, the call of the job had me in its grasp. I felt more like myself, shedding the feelings of inadequacy as I walked towards something I knew I could do. I’d spent the last few weeks trying to claim a new start here at Zodiac Academy but this was who I’d always been. So instead of striving to be something new, someone more I was going to embrace who I already was. And that, was a damn good thief.

I lifted my chin as I made it to Ignis House and summoned flames to get in. The heat in my palm flared into a ball of fire which crashed against the triangular symbol and unlocked the door. I tried to ignore the fact that I’d released too much power with that blast yet again. My fire magic didn’t want to bow to my commands but I’d just have to keep practicing with it once we were away from here. I hoped that Darcy and I would be able to figure out how to control our powers without help, at least enough to get by in the mortal world. And though we obviously wouldn’t ever learn to wield them in the way that we could have done by studying here, we would still be more powerful than any human who gave us trouble. That would be more than enough. Coercion alone should make life with the mortals a piece of cake; the first thing I’d be doing when we got back to Chicago was convincing some flashy hotel executives to give us a free stay in their penthouse. From there, the world would be our oyster.

I hurried up the stairs and into the common room, releasing a relieved breath as I found it empty. That notification had expressed that all students were required to attend the assembly but I hadn’t been entirely sure that everyone would clear out like this. Apparently the threat of losing House Points was more than enough of a reason for them to attend. I guessed they’d face the wrath of the Heirs if they cost their House one hundred and fifty points and no one wanted to be on their bad side. I knew I certainly didn’t; not that they’d ever given me a choice in the matter.

I crossed the open space at a determined march and headed for my own room first. I changed quickly, pulling on ripped jeans and a grey sweater before tying my long, black hair in a high ponytail.

At the base of my wardrobe was a large sports bag emblazoned with the Zodiac Academy crest for use in Physical Enhancement. We’d never even gotten around to taking that class yet and I guessed we never would now either. I tossed the sports kit out of it and threw it over my shoulder.

Next, I stepped into my en-suite and grabbed a couple of hair pins. They wouldn’t be as good as the picks I’d owned back in my old apartment but I was sure I could work with them just fine.

I cast one last look over my room with a small flutter of disappointment whirling in my gut. For a little while I’d begun to think of this place as somewhere we could call home. But that had been a foolish idea. We’d never stayed anywhere long enough to make a home out of it before and I should have realised that this would be no different.

Bye bye room, it was nice while it lasted.

I closed the door with a sharp click then headed for the top floor.

My feet moved silently along the plush carpet even though I knew there was no need for it: there was no one here to hear me anyway. But skills honed from years of creeping, sneaking, breaking and entering wouldn’t be forgotten out of a sloppy sense of safety. I’d stick to my own rules and get this done right.

I reached Darius’s door and my heart thumped a warning tune in my chest. The last time I’d come here, he’d threatened me in no uncertain terms and after last night I had no question of just how ruthless he could be.

I reached out to test the handle and released a long breath to stop the trembling in my fingers.

He’s not here. I’ll never have to see him or any of those other assholes ever again after this. They can have their throne and we can have our freedom. And I hope all that power makes them miserable.

But if I wanted that to be true then we needed money. And who better take it from then the king of dark and dangerous himself?

Unsurprisingly, the handle didn’t turn when I tried it. The door was locked. He wasn’t here.

I smiled to myself and dropped to my knees before the door, bringing the hair pins up to the lock.

I closed my eyes in concentration as I worked them into the small space, feeling the faint pressure of resistance from the metal pieces within it. It took me less than thirty seconds to align the pieces and with the right amount of pressure…

Click.

The victory dance was unnecessary but well earned. I grinned in satisfaction as I pushed the door wide and got to my feet.

Darius’s room sprawled out before me and I hesitated on the threshold.

My boots skimmed the edge of his red carpet, my gaze took in the lavish decoration, the gold adornments everywhere.

That asshole had tried to break me but he’d failed. A broken girl would have turned and run for the hills with nothing and no one. But here I was, standing on the threshold of the Dragon’s lair about to steal his treasure.

I may have been no match for his magic but my balls were as big as his any day of the week.

I stepped inside and pressed the door shut behind me with a flush of triumph.

I moved toward the chest at the foot of his bed and the scent of him surrounded me, smoke, cedar and raw power filling my lungs like a warning. But I was in my element now and I wouldn’t be leaving without my prize. We needed this to start our lives away from this place. And a little bit of money was the least he owed us.

Warmth washed against my skin and I turned to see flames still burning in the grate. His bed covers were tossed aside haphazardly too and a glance at his lavish bathroom revealed wet towels on the floor and steam lining the walls. I guessed he’d been in a rush to get to the assembly as the rest of the room was immaculately tidy. In fact, it looked kinda like he was a bit OCD.

My gaze landed on a long desk beneath the red glass window beyond his bed and curiosity had me crossing the room to it before I gave it much thought.

Papers were lined up in neat piles and two stacks of envelopes addressed to ‘Darius Acrux, Celestial Heir’ sat to the left of the mahogany surface.

I wasn’t sure why I was bothering to snoop on him but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to know what made that asshole tick. If I could understand him a bit better then maybe I could get a bit of closure about what he’d done to me. Or maybe I was just a nosey bitch. Either way, I wanted to see what dirt he was hiding in his fancy desk.

I picked up a pale pink envelope from the top of the closest pile and yanked the contents out.

On top of the wad was a letter written in elegant script and signed with a lipstick kiss. I skimmed the words, my eyebrows raising as I read over it.

Dear Darius,

I recently read the interview you did for The Celestial Times and couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by your poise and strength in the face of the trials you’ve been through. Only a true leader could see things as clearly you do. I can’t wait to follow more of your progress towards the throne.

The photographs attached to the article only confirmed my suspicions about the pure, powerful man you are growing into and I will admit that I kept the one of you in your Pitball kit for my own personal collection.

I find myself thinking of you in the dark, my body aching for the touch of your flesh against mine. The power you command and the strength of your nature combined with your chiselled features and temptation-worthy body have spurred me on to contact you this way. I know that you are duty bound to keep your bloodline pure with marriage but if you ever had need of a body to take pleasure in then I would offer mine without question, any time you wished for it.

I hope with an ache of longing that you will accept my proposal and await your call on my flesh with eager anticipation.

Forever yours Cindy-Lou Galaxa

I raised an eyebrow at the grossly suggestive letter, feeling the urge to wipe my hand clean after touching it. A handful of photographs accompanied the letter and I glanced at them, finding a very flexible, very naked Cindy-Lou posing in a lot of hard to achieve poses which left nothing at all to the imagination.

Ewww.

I dropped the letter with a cringe, glancing at a few of the ones beneath it and finding a lot of the same stuff, from girls and guys alike. More than half of them hadn’t even been opened and I wondered if that meant that Darius had no interest in them or if he was just saving them for later.

The other pile of mail was a little more interesting; letters from Fae asking him to give certain political matters his attention or use his influence to ask his father for help with various situations from crop growth to a Werewolf territory dispute to a suggestion about a politically motivated marriage or two.

I didn’t have time to waste going through all of it though and it wasn’t like it mattered anyway. I wasn’t going to be living in Solaria after today so whatever way he chose to rule this kingdom had nothing to do with me.

I turned my back on the desk and headed for the chest at the foot of his bed instead. At least I’d be able to laugh myself sick every time I spent his money.

My heart pounded with a mixture of adrenaline, fear and exhilaration. This was probably one of the stupidest things I’d ever done but holy hell did it feel good. 

Darius’s treasure called to me like the whisper of darkest temptation and promised a hint of vengeance. 

I dropped the sports bag beside me and pushed the heavy chest open. Gold coins mixed with gemstones and jewellery in a hoard worthy of a pirate king. I started scooping it into the bag, a wild grin capturing my lips as I made this small strike back at the asshole who had tormented me and my sister.

“Yo ho, yo ho and a bottle of rum,” I murmured for my own benefit, snorting a laugh. 

It didn’t take long to fill the bag and I zipped it up, frowning into the chest which was still practically full.

I glanced around, wondering if there was something here that I could use to carry more of it but as I tried to move the bag I’d filled, I realised there was no point. I could barely lift it so there was no way I’d be able to carry any more.

With a sigh of disappointment, I heaved the bag into my arms, my muscles trembling with the effort as I dragged it over my shoulder.

Shit this stuff is heavy.

I was looking forward to pawning it and converting it into cold hard, American cash. The kind made of paper instead of heavy-ass bits of metal which would be a lot easier to transport. And spend.

I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to carry it back to Darcy’s room but I refused to put any of it down. That bag was filled with our future and I wasn’t going to put a single coin back.

I made it to the door and glanced back at Darius’s room with a twinge of disappointment swirling in my gut. I wasn’t even sure he’d notice this dent in his treasure and even if he did, it was hardly much of a blow against him. I’d wanted to take all of it from him but there was no way I could carry any more.

Maybe I could throw it out of the window or destroy it somehow…

My gaze fell on a chair which was sitting beside the fire. He’d tossed a pair of sweatpants over the back of it and they hung kinda close to the flames.

Dangerously close…

That may not have been strictly true, but it could have been.

I dropped the bag of treasure by the door with a heavy thump and stalked towards the fire. My heart started to pound a little faster. I wasn’t really considering this… there was no way I’d actually-

I pushed the chair a few inches closer to the fire. The sweatpants swung back and forth above the flames.

My magic flared in response to the fire and I tugged on it, just a little.

My wayward control over my magic meant that just a little was actually a hell of a lot and I leapt back with a squeal of surprise as a tongue of flames licked its way over the sweatpants and quickly engulfed them. The chair went up next and then the carpet burst alight.

I backed up, caught between shock and laughter at what I’d done.

The heat of the flames licked against my skin but instead of recoiling from them, I felt like their power was filling me with energy and I wanted to join them in their destruction instead.

I backed up and bumped against Darius’s huge bed, steadying myself on the bedpost which was made of solid gold.

The power of my fire magic was warring within the confines of my skin and beneath my heated fingers, the gold turned to liquid which ran down to the floor by my feet. I stared at my hands in surprise; I’d done that without even feeling a tingle of pain in my palms. The heat of my skin had been enough to melt gold, but my magic had protected me from it.

I stared at the puddle of melted gold beside me in shock for a moment before a crazed laugh left my lips.

That asshole tried to drown me… why not get a little revenge before I leave?

I moved to grab the next bedpost, melting that one too as soon as my skin made contact with the metal, quickly followed by the third and the fourth. The mattress fell to the floor with nothing to support the bed frame and the fire advanced on it for a new victim.

Smoke from the flames was beginning to fill the room and I upped my pace, resisting the urge to cough. I dropped down to my knees before the treasure chest and shoved my hands straight into it, drawing heat to my palms in a flood of magic.

Gold melted, gemstones sank into it, jewellery was destroyed and everything was reduced to a liquid lump of nothing. I twisted my hands through it like it was gold soup not boiling metal and marvelled at the magic I was managing. This little slice of revenge felt damn good.

When the contents of the chest had been reduced to a molten puddle, I withdrew my hands but something solid knocked against my knuckles.

I caught it in my grip on reflex, glancing down at the silver dagger in my hand as I backed away from the melted treasure. The handle was carved with strange symbols and it seemed unusually heavy.

For a moment I fell still, the dagger in my grip almost seeming to tremble with raw energy which wound its way through my own like a strange kind of greeting.

I ran my thumb over the sharp blade and the urge to press down pulled at me, an ache to spill a little blood coming over me for a moment.

I pressed the tip against my thumb, increasing the pressure slowly-

A loud crack sounded as one of the joists supporting the door to the en-suite buckled beneath the heat of the fire. I stared around in surprise as I realised I was standing in the only part of the room which hadn’t yet been engulfed by the inferno.

The fire didn’t come close to me, like it knew I was the one who had summoned it and it didn’t want to hurt me, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last.

The whole room was falling prey to the flames now and I had to leave.

I made it to the door and heaved the bag of treasure over my shoulder, looking at the room one last time as the fire raced to claim everything in it. Every piece of gold in the room had been reduced to a puddle of gloop. My heart pounded with adrenaline at what I’d done but there was no going back on it now. And I wouldn’t want to even if I could; this was the least that psychotic douchebag deserved.

I shoved the door open and backed out, stopping to re-lock the door as quickly as I could. I had to drop the dagger to use the hairpins but I needed to do it if I expected anyone to believe the fire had been an accident. Not that it mattered too much; I hoped to be long gone before anyone ever came looking for a suspect, but years of dodging the cops made covering my tracks second nature.

As soon as it was done, I snatched the dagger back into my grip. There was something about it that spoke to me, awakening a weird urge in my soul which said it should be mine. Any why the hell not? He’d taken more than enough from me. I shoved it into my pocket before hoisting the bag of loot over my shoulder and jogging back out of Ignis House.

The scent of smoke followed me on the wind and thunder crashed in the sky above.

I kept my pace fierce, the weight of my haul driving me on as I raced out of Fire Territory as quickly as I could manage. I still didn’t see anyone and I was more than pleased that they’d all been distracted by the assembly for so long.

As I made it back up the hill towards the cliff in Air Territory, I looked back down at Ignis House in the distance.

Flames had broken through the windows on the top floor where Darius’s room sat, confirming that everything within it had been destroyed.

I stood watching the fire for several long seconds as the wind picked up around me and a savage grin pulled at my lips.

That asshole and his friends had gone way too far last night but this might just go a little way towards paying him back for it.

After all, they did believe in fate and destiny so why not a little kismet too?

Everyone knows, karma’s a bitch. And today her name was Tory Vega.