Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae

I WAS STRANGELY disappointed by the fact that our team had lost the match and that feeling was compounded by the look on Geraldine’s face as she crossed the pitch. She looked truly crestfallen and guilt stirred in my gut at the knowledge that we had caused this downfall.

Max ripped his shirt off and the purple welts all over his skin glowed beneath the light of the silvery dome overhead. My gut twisted guiltily again. I hadn’t really thought he’d stick out the game with that stuff on his skin and end up so badly burned by it but he’d clearly made the choice to stay. I was kind of impressed by his dedication, even if he was a total jackass.

A huge crash sounded Darius kicking one of the pyramids which released the balls and I couldn’t help but be a little satisfied with how upset this had clearly made the Heirs.

A faint vibration rumbled through the ground at my feet and I looked up as the huge, silver dome above our heads started to retract, allowing a view of the blue sky beyond.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“The dome holds the magic which powers the no-magic zone around the Pit and the forcefield protecting the stands,” Sofia explained. “They lower it at the end of the match to turn them off. It makes it easier for the maintenance staff to re-set the pitch and retrieve the balls from the Pit.”

“Are you ready to go, girls?” Nova asked loudly behind us and I felt her taloned hand land on my shoulder.

“Go where?” Darcy asked in confusion.

“Oh, did I forget to say? We thought it would be a nice touch to have the Vega Twins presenting the medals.”

“What? No, I really don’t think-” I tried to protest but she was already steering us both out onto the pitch and the students from Starlight Academy were cheering raucously.

Darcy caught my eye and I could tell she was about as keen as I was to stand up in front of all these people but it was clearly too late to stop it from happening.

I looked around and noticed the Celestial Council and their spouses grouping around Lionel as he produced a pouch of stardust from his pocket. Clearly none of them wanted to stay and watch the other team claim their victory and with a flash of light, all eight of them disappeared.

The two teams had lined up either side of a low podium and were waiting for us, with all members now fully healed.

The Heirs hardly even glanced our way, their eyes on the ground as they sagged with disappointment. I wondered if they’d ever lost at something like this before and I had the strong sensation that they hadn’t. If they were experiencing even an ounce of the humiliation that they’d caused us, then I was sure that it had been worth it.

A smile was fighting for control of my face though I fought against it. I was sure the rest of my classmates wouldn’t appreciate it if I grinned like a moron while presenting a trophy to the competition, but as Seth twisted his toe in the mud like a disappointed three year old I found it pretty hard to stop myself.

Nova clapped politely and pushed an envelope into Darcy’s hand before giving me a golden medal which hung from a red ribbon. She waved a hand at Darcy who opened the envelope nervously.

“Fae of the match,” she said and I flinched in surprise as her voice rang out over the whole stadium. “Goes to Geraldine Grus.”

I could finally let my smile free as I looked around to see Geraldine leaping out of her spot in the line up, her eyes glimmering with emotion.

“Oh sweet onion balls!” she gasped as she rushed towards us.

“Congratulations!” I said enthusiastically as I placed the medal over her head.

She crushed me in an embrace, lifting me clean off of my feet as she celebrated. Darcy wrapped her arms around us too and we laughed as Geraldine descended into happy tears.

“And congratulations to the winners of the match: Starlight Academy!” Nova added loudly when we didn’t seem likely to break free of Geraldine any time soon.

The crowd from Starlight went crazy, their applause deafening as the team jumped up and down in ecstatic celebration.

A low growl caught my attention and I glanced to my right where Darius stood almost close enough to touch. His jaw was locked tight, his spine rigid and his eyes burning with rage. I looked away from him quickly, though I couldn’t help but feel glad that this was upsetting him.

Poor little Darius lost his favourite game. Imagine how bad you’d feel if someone tried to drown you though? Not that I’m bitter at all…

Nova passed Darcy a bunch of flowers and gave me a medal on a green ribbon as the Starlight Airstriker stepped up to claim them.

The guy pulled both of us into an exuberant hug as he claimed his prizes and I couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased for the team as we worked our way through the line, handing over flowers and medals to each of them as they approached. I imagined beating a team filled with the Celestial Heirs was something that none of them would ever forget.

I could feel heat radiating off of Darius beside me as he fought to maintain his composure while the line worked its way past us but I didn’t look his way again.

The last Starlight player to approach us was the Captain, Quentin. He smiled widely as he accepted the flowers from Darcy, tossing her a wink. As I placed the medal around his neck he pulled me into a tight hug, his hand skimming my ass less than accidentally. I pushed him off with a laugh, his excitement infectious in a way that made me think he was a Siren but it didn’t feel invasive like the way it always did with Max. Maybe because he wasn’t trying to force any emotions onto me, just sharing his own.

“Why don’t you two girls come back and party with us at Starlight tonight?” he offered and I didn’t miss his suggestive tone.

“Why don’t you fuck off while you’ve still got some teeth left?” Darius said before we could respond.

I frowned at him but his gaze was locked on Quentin.

To my surprise, Quentin laughed tauntingly. “And to think, we were worried about facing off against the Celestial Heirs,” he said, aiming his comments at me and Darcy. “Turns out they really aren’t that impressive after all. It would be a shame if Solaria ended up in their loser hands. Maybe the two of you should reconsider the idea of taking up your crown?”

I laughed at his brazen behaviour, wondering how much more it would take for Darius to snap.

“Yeah,” I replied jokingly. “Maybe we should take our crowns back after all.”

Darcy laughed too, flicking her long hair. “Oh yeah,” she agreed. “I think a crown would suit me actually.”

Quentin yelled out in surprise as a shot of heated energy slammed into him like a freight train and he was catapulted halfway across the pitch before falling into a heap on the ground.

Before I could react in any way, I found a severely pissed off Dragon Shifter snarling in my face. My breath caught in my lungs and I blinked up at him as he growled at me.

Seth moved in on Darcy beside me, his face set with the same enraged scowl while the other two drew close behind them.

“Do you want to say that again?” Darius asked, his voice low, the threat in it sending a tremor right through my core.

Darcy caught my hand and I almost tugged her back a step but as our palms met, I felt a well of power brewing like a tempestuous storm between us. This wasn’t like when I power shared with Darius during fire Elemental training. My magic and my sister’s didn’t need any encouragement to merge with one another. They were born of the same womb, trusted each other implicitly, longed to be together.

Somewhere deep in the base of my soul, a warrior was crying out to be set free. I hadn’t meant to lay claim to the throne, but why the hell shouldn’t I? That throne had belonged to our father. Our veins held the blood of The Savage King and in that moment I felt pretty damn savage myself.

“You heard us,” I snarled right back at him.

“Unless losing affected your hearing?” Darcy added.

“Are you saying you want to try for your claim after all?” Seth asked, his tone laced with surprise.

“It’s not our claim,” I countered darkly.

“It’s our birthright,” Darcy finished.

A ripple of energy raced through the four Heirs like they were somehow communicating with each other despite the fact that none of them took their gazes from us and they didn’t utter a word.

“Alright then,” Darius said darkly. “If you want it then you’ll have to fight for it.”

“And crawl up out of the gutter to claim it,” Max added.

“Then strive to keep it every, single, day,” Caleb growled.

“So you’d better be ready,” Seth hissed.

Darius and Seth moved so quickly that we barely had time to react. We both flung our free hands up and our combined power shot from us in a wave of energy which managed to combine all four Elements.

The four Heirs were thrown away from us and the whole stadium fell into stunned silence as they crashed into the ground on the far side of the pitch.

For a moment, none of them moved and Darcy and I stepped off of the podium as we advanced on them, still hand in hand with raw power writhing beneath our skin.

Everyone in close proximity scattered as we advanced, even some of those in the stands began to turn and back away now that the forcefield was down and there was nothing to protect them from the magic we could unleash.

The Heirs regained their feet, moving together for a moment as they regarded us. Max and Caleb stepped back and for a second, I couldn’t figure out why until Seth and Darius stalked towards us, power surging around their open hands. This was the Fae way, one on one and as Darius’s gaze locked on me I knew what he was waiting for.

I exchanged a look with my sister and she nodded as our hands parted. My own power tumbled back into the well within me and I fought for control of it again as Darius advanced.

We hadn’t had a single class that even discussed using magic in combat but I knew without doubt that Darius didn’t give two shits about that.

He flicked his fingers at me and a fireball with the head of a dragon shot towards me with open jaws.

I gritted my teeth, calling on water as I threw a deluge his way, dousing the dragon and losing sight of Darius as the torrent concealed him. Before I could figure out what to do next, Darius leapt through the downpour, protected by his own water magic as it parted mine like a tide.

He launched a javelin made of ice straight for me and I screamed as I leapt back, tripping as I fought to escape it and falling in the mud on my back.

I caught a glimpse of Darcy as she was swept up into a vortex of Seth’s creation and my heart leapt with panic.

Darius advanced on me quickly and I drove my fingers into the soil on either side of me, guiding vines up out of the ground to bind him. Hundreds of the vines slithered around him, working to lock him in their grasp but they were burned from his flesh as soon as they met with it.

I rolled aside, scrambling to my feet just as Darcy fell in a heap beside me, dumped from Seth’s magical whirlwind unceremoniously. She wheezed out a cough but drove up a hand in the same motion, engulfing the Werewolf in a fireball. Before it could do any damage, Seth stole the oxygen from the blaze, extinguishing it instantly.

I launched another wave of water at Darius to slow him down as I caught Darcy’s hand and yanked her to her feet.

She threw me a desperate look as she directed more water at Seth but he created a wall of soil to protect himself from it.

Darius broke through my water attack again with a vicious swipe of his hand and the two of them advanced on us like predators with cornered prey.

I backed up but my foot slipped over the edge of a hole and only my grip on my sister stopped me from falling.

I looked down to see the Pit opening up beneath me, countless balls resting in the depths of it alongside the shadows.

“We gave you the chance to bow to us willingly!” Darius shouted loud enough for the whole stadium to hear him. “But it seems you have to be brought to your knees before you learn!”

As one, he and Seth threw their hands out at us and I had no chance to defend myself before a blast of icy water slammed straight into my chest just as Seth threw a gust of air at Darcy.

We fell back with a scream, falling, falling, then splat. The air was driven from my lungs as I landed flat on my back in the thick mud at the base of the Pit. Pain flared through my body and tears swam in my eyes as the stadium beyond us erupted into cheers and laughter.

Darcy groaned beside me and I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the darkened space.

“If you want to get out of there, you’ll have to fight your way through our magic,” Seth called as he moved to stand over the hole above us with Darius at his side. “Which should be easy for someone as powerful as the two of you.”

Panic bled along my limbs as he and Darius started casting magic over the roof of the hole above us. Glimmering colours lit the air as they placed spells overhead to keep us trapped and I shivered as I scrambled to my feet.

Darcy moved close enough for her arm to brush against mine as we waited for them to stop.

When they’d finally finished, Max and Caleb moved to stand beside them, the four Heirs looking down on us, united as one.

Max spat at us and I flinched but the wad of spittle just hit the magical shield above us before slowly sliding down the side of it. “Catch ya later, little Vegas,” he purred before turning and walking away.

Seth followed next and Caleb held my eye for a moment before he followed too. Darius lingered the longest, his jaw tight as he stood over us. He lowered his gaze slowly, dropping his head before turning and abandoning us to the Pit.