Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates

I was too hot in the back of the fancy chauffeured car Darius had organised to take us to court. He sat beside me, his hands knotted in his lap as we both gazed though opposite windows.

My heart beat differently than it used to. Ever since they’d taken Orion away, it was like it couldn’t keep pace with my breaths, like it was coping with too much pain to work properly.

A tear dropped down onto the white dress I wore. Below the knee, loosely fitting, long sleeves. Darius had been meeting with the Kipling lawyers all week and every time he came back, he had new advice for me. And this was one of their tips. I was supposed to look innocent, lovelorn. Apparently crying was a good thing. But the only real advice I’d been given for questioning was to tell the truth. Be heartfelt, honest and make sure the world knew that we were in love. That this wasn’t some fling or some pitch for grades as plenty of my classmates were happy to believe.

I wiped the tear from the skirt of my dress, rubbing angrily at it when the mark didn’t vanish and Darius laid a hand on my arm.

I glanced over at him with a sharp pinch in my chest. I hadn’t been allowed to bring Tory. And it felt like an impossible task to face this day without her. I had to rely on Darius to be at my side through this. And despite everything that had happened between us and the Heirs, I was glad he was here. I was glad Orion had him to rely on too. And I was comforted by the fact that Darius had done everything within his power to give Orion the best chance possible in his trial.

Darius retracted his hand, running it through his hair with a heavy sigh. “Are you ready for this?” he asked and I frowned, shaking my head.

“I don’t think I could ever be ready for this,” I breathed. “The worst thing is, I always knew this was a possibility, I just never took it seriously enough. I should have stayed away from him. I should have-”

Darius shifted across the seat and pulled me under his arm. I stilled for a moment as my cheek pressed to his chest and his arms folded around me. Then I wrapped my arms around him too and drew strength from having someone to go through this with. Even if it couldn’t be my sister. Darius loved Orion. He was heartbroken about this too. His despair might have been channelled into working his ass off to help him get the right lawyers, the right information to fight in court, but underneath it all, he’d been hurting like I had.

“He doesn’t deserve this,” I choked out. “It’s all my fault.”

He held me tighter and the scent of smoke filled the air as the Dragon in him rose to the surface. “This isn’t your fault. Lance has never spoken about any girl the way he speaks about you. It was inevitable that you’d end up together.”

I pulled back as he released me, hunting his eyes for the truth. “Do you really believe that?”

He nodded firmly, his jaw set, his mind made up and an inch of my heart was given to him in that moment. I could have said a thousand bad things about Darius Acrux, but the best ones shone brighter, outweighing them so they were all I could see.

“You’ve been a good friend,” I said. “He couldn’t ask for a better one.”

Darius’s eyebrows knitted together. “I hope it’s enough.”

“You couldn’t have done more.” I squeezed his arm reassuringly and he seemed to accept that.

The car pulled up outside a massive building built of matt white stone, reaching up towards the sky with the flag of Solaria hanging proudly from a pole above the doorway. The flag was black with a golden mountain at the base of it, rising up to the sun, the moon and the twelve zodiac constellations above. The press were gathered at the base of the steps beyond a cordon which held them back.

I wet my lips, wondering what the kingdom would think of Darius and I arriving together. It was a show of solidarity that was separate to any feud we had beyond Orion’s trial. And one I hadn’t even considered the political implications of before now. I found I didn’t care. And Darius clearly didn’t either. The driver stepped out, opening the door for Darius and I slid across the seat to follow him onto the sidewalk.

The noise from the press was deafening, cameras were pointed at us, the rattle of shutters clacking in my ears as questions were cried out to us.

Guards surrounded us as we moved up the steps side by side and my heart clenched into a tight fist as we reached the arching silver doors and headed inside. A large, marble atrium awaited us, but we were whisked across it before I could take in many details, guided directly through another set of doors and my breath snagged in my lungs.

The court room was the most intimidating place I’d ever stepped foot in, including the throne room in the Palace of Souls. But maybe that was partly because my whole world was about to fall apart in here.

We walked through aisles of white stone benches stretching out either side of us, full of people here to watch the trial. Ahead of us was a huge marble wall which rose to the judge’s bench and to the right side of it was a set of steps that curved up to a witness stand, the imposing seat carved into the stone itself. To the right of that was a raised seating area where all twelve members of the jury were waiting. Men and women, old and young. There were a few more women than men, but my gaze didn’t linger on them long as my gaze moved magnetically to the two, tall black tables in front of the benches.

Orion stood behind the one on the left with his lawyer. I could only see the back of his head, his chin dipped to his chest. As I drew closer, he turned like he could sense me there and Darius gripped the crook of my elbow like he expected me to run to him. And maybe it was a good move because every fibre of me wanted to.

Orion’s eyes were hollow and his mouth was a sharp line. His features were tightly drawn with worry and I desperately wanted to hold him and tell him it would be alright. The shame of knowing I’d be the cause of whatever sentence he got today was suffocating.

My throat closed up as Darius guided me down the aisle to the front bench on the right and I dropped onto the cold stone, the position giving me a clear view of the judge’s seat ahead. It was an intimidating chair that looked as though it was made of iron, the crest of the Solarian Court stamped into the back of it, picturing an astrology circle with the twelve constellations symbols within it.

The prosecution lawyer stood behind the black stone table to my right, thumbing through her notes. She had a fiery perm and a fitted pant suit that hugged her bony figure, her cheekbones blade sharp.

There was an icy chill in the room that clung to every inch of my skin. The only warmth around me was the steady, angry heat radiating from Darius with every breath he took.

“All rise for his honour, the High Court Judge Darkice,” a man in royal red robes spoke from the corner of the room.

I stood up with the rest of the court as the judge appeared from a black door behind his seat, noticing that Darius didn’t move to stand. The man’s robes were red too, but had gold embroidery and a crest that marked him as the judge. He sat down in the high backed chair and picked up a silver gavel, banging it against the block which sparked with a flash of purple magic. The noise rang cleanly around the room, sending my heart into overdrive.

“Court is now in session,” Darkice announced. “Please be seated.”

I dropped down, everyone but Orion and the two lawyers remaining on their feet.

My tongue scratched the roof of my mouth like sandpaper. I needed water, I needed air.

“The trial of Lance Azriel Orion for breaking law three oh three of the seventeen eighty four education act will now commence. Defendant, how do you plead?”

A beat of tense silence passed that made my skull feel like it was about to cave in.

“Not guilty,” Orion’s voice filled the room and the jurors surveyed him keenly, some of them looking like predators hunting for weaknesses, others curious, and the rest keeping their cards close to their chests.

I was hit with a burst of relief at hearing him say those words. It meant he was going to fight. And with Darius’s best lawyer standing at his side, maybe…just maybe he had a chance.

“I now ask that all evidence is presented to the jury,” Darkice instructed. “Mrs Whitclaw, will the prosecution please present their case.”

The woman with the perm moved around her table, walking up to the jury and turning so I could see her face. She looked professional, ruthlessly so. And I just had to hope she wasn’t as good at her job as her appearance suggested.

“May I turn your attention, ladies and gentleman, to the screen just to your right,” she spoke in a powerful voice. A wall jutting into the room beside the jury’s seats hid the screen from view of the public, and my heart crushed into dust as I guessed what they were about to watch. “The six hour video has been cut into four admissible points of evidence for this trial,” Whitclaw explained and I tried to fight the clawing embarrassment that those twelve strangers were going to watch that tape of me and Orion down in the archives, not to mention the judge and both lawyers who must have already seen it. “And I wish to highlight some key moments which I believe are of notable importance.”

She waved her hand at the screen and I was painfully thankful that the rest of the room couldn’t see it, but that didn’t save us from my moans filling the room or the breathy noises both of us were making. The clip played out each command Orion had given me that night and a blush burned so deeply into my cheeks, I didn’t think it would ever go away. People were whispering somewhere behind me and my gaze slipped to Orion, finding his body rigid, his hands curled into tight fists. Mr Kipling was talking into his ear and I had no doubt he was trying to keep him calm as Orion nodded, his eyes squeezing shut.

The clip finally ended and Whitclaw turned to the jury. “From this footage, it is quite clear that the relationship between Mr Orion and Miss Vega was dominant and submissive, fitting the teacher student roles and suggesting that their relationship never evolved beyond that fantasy. This is perfectly demonstrated by the phrase Mr Orion so clearly uses in the first segment of the footage stating that he would punish Miss Vega if she didn’t do as he said. Therefore, I think it is clear that this relationship held no depth, no divine pull from the stars and was easily avoidable.”

“Objection,” Kipling clipped. “Mrs Whitclaw cannot make assumptions about the divine pull of the stars without further evidence.”

“Sustained,” Darkice agreed and I released a shaky breath. “Proceed.”

Mrs Whitclaw shot Kipling a vicious look before moving onto the next clip. I sat through each of them with a burn in my brain, wishing I could block it all out as my skin flamed hotter and hotter. She used everything against us, making our relationship sound like nothing more than a dirty tryst that Orion had manipulated me into, abusing his power in the school to make me submit to him.

Finally, Kipling took her place and I had to listen to the entire four clips all over again as he explained everything in the complete opposite manner. Telling the jury that the fact Orion gave me cunnilingus (dear fucking god) twice was a sign of his undying and selfless affection for me, that the way I kissed him, cried his name and gave him fellatio in return (please kill me now) showed my devotion to him, and how we told each other we love one another proved I wasn’t just a girl who’d been taken advantage of by her teacher.

By the time it was over, I couldn’t tell who had made the strongest case. Both had been convincing as hell, but neither the jurors’ faces nor the judge’s gave anything away.

My fingers were knotted together in my lap, sweaty and cold. Darius continued to steadily expel heat as he sat quietly, taking it all in, saying nothing, never looking away from the jury like he was trying to decipher their thoughts. Or maybe he was planning to hunt down each and every one of them if they voted against Orion and make all of them pay for their mistake.

Mrs Whitclaw moved before them again and her apple green eyes found me amongst the crowd. “Your honour, I call Gwendalina Vega, informally known as Darcy Vega, to the stand.”

If I’d been anxious before, it was nothing in comparison to this. Heat spread everywhere, but somehow none of it warmed my outer flesh. I was frozen and scorching and I couldn’t find it in me to move.

Darius stood from the end of the aisle, his gaze meeting mine and I found the strength to get up. He was all I could see for a long second and he gave me a firm nod of encouragement, his faith in me iron clad.

I headed past him with countless eyes boring holes in my back as I walked towards the witness stand. It seemed far higher up close and I slowed at the base of the steps that led to it as a man in red robes moved before me, holding his palm out flat in front of me. I knew what to do, Darius had told me, so I lay my palm on top of the glittering, smoothly polished meteorite in his palm.

“Do you swear on every star in the sky that you will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth lest you be cursed by the heavens themselves?”

“I do,” I said, my voice coming out surprisingly strongly. And maybe that was because I wanted this. I needed to have my voice heard. I wanted to convince every single person in this court that what Orion and I had was love, as simple as that. And he didn’t deserve to be punished for something we never could have predicted let alone ignored.

“And do you understand that if your statement is brought into question by the proceedings here today, through evidence, witnesses or otherwise, his honourable High Court Judge Darkice is within his rights to submit you for Cyclops interrogation?”

“I do,” I said, my throat so dry it ached.

He stepped aside and I climbed the steps. I lifted my thumb to my mouth, sucking and casting a little water down my throat to ease my parched tongue.

I made it to the seat, dropping down and staring back over the entire court. My eyes swung to Orion and a knife seemed to drive itself into the pit of my heart. He looked desperate and hopeless.

I had to do whatever I could to make this right. I had to fix this. I had to make the judge and jury listen to me, really listen, and really believe what I had to say.

Mrs Whitclaw stepped in front of me, taking a slow breath as if she was measuring her words before she spoke. “Miss Vega, you are Mr Orion’s Source, correct?”

“Yes,” I agreed.

“Objection,” Kipling called, making my heart stutter. “The fact that Mr Orion bit Miss Vega cannot be used as evidence against him due to his Order.”

“The whereabouts of said bites, do however pose bearing in this trial,” Whitclaw shot back, lifting her chin.

My heart pounded harder as I waited for the judge to speak.

“Overruled, Mr Kipling. Will the prosecution please proceed.” He nodded to Whitclaw and she barely concealed her smug smile as she took a step towards the stand.

Despite being below me, it felt awfully like she was ten foot tall with a knife to my throat. “Which part of your body would you say, Miss Vega, that Mr Orion bit you most regularly before you became intimate with one another?”

I swallowed the swarm of bees that seemed to be piling up in my throat as I answered. “The neck.”

Whitclaw swung towards the jury like a cat with a mouse between its paws. “Interesting, wouldn’t you say, that a Vampire would bite his Source on the neck even after they were claimed? A Vampire usually bites the neck when fighting or…when sexual desire is involved.”

“Objection,” Kipling said firmly.

“Sustained,” Judge Darkice said and goosebumps tumbled down my spine. “Please rephrase your question, Mrs Whitclaw.”

“Would you agree, Miss Vega,” she rounded on me again, changing tact. “That there are several far less sexual places on the body that Mr Orion could have bitten you? Perhaps you could name some, hm?”

I despised the way she was talking to me. The way she was trying to plant answers in my mouth to feed her case. But I wasn’t going to play her game.

“I think the neck is as convenient a place as any, Mrs Whitclaw,” I said firmly. “In a school uniform, really his only choice would be my neck or my wrists, unless you think he’d be better getting on his knees to bite my ankles?”

“Of course not,” she said, a bright gleam in her eye like she’d won something. “But it is interesting that you mentioned the wrists.” She said the word interesting like it was a threat. This woman was fast becoming my number one enemy. And that was saying a lot considering how many I had these days.

She turned to the jury again, her high heels clipping over the marble floor as she approached them. “It could be argued that a Vampire who works in education would be quite used to biting his students. As such, he could easily keep a healthy distance between himself and said students by feeding from the wrist instead of the throat.”

A few of the jury nodded their agreement and anger boiled up hot and acidic in my chest.

“He didn’t bait me if that’s what you’re suggesting,” I snapped, refusing to take my eyes off of her as I felt everyone staring at me. “I wanted Orion from the moment I saw him. And that want grew to like and that like grew to love. I tried to fight against it, but I felt drawn to him like he did to me. We couldn’t help ourselves,” I said passionately. Because it was true, and it wasn’t right that I had to defend it, but I would. Until my dying fucking breath, I would. “We are in love. This isn’t some dirty affair or some bid for good grades. I love him and he loves me too. It’s as simple as that.”

I turned to Orion and he smiled in a way that broke my heart. A tear tumbled down my cheek and I let it fall, let it be seen, because it was proof. And though I hated to be so exposed, I would bleed for Orion. I’d cut myself open to win this case for him if it was asked of me.

“Your honour.” Kipling extracted a piece of paper from his briefcase, slamming it down on the table. “As is outlined in the Vampire Code, there is no rule stating that my client can’t bite his Source wherever he pleases on her body. There’s no law against it and it is conjecture to suggest one place on the body is more sexual than another. There are plenty of people in the world who have a foot fetish, finger fetish, or even a nose fetish. So you cannot take Mrs Whitclaw’s line of questioning into account.”

The judge considered that for a long moment then nodded, making a ragged breath escape me. “This line of questioning has been overruled and will not be taken into account as evidence. A Cyclops will remove the jurors’ memories of this line of inquiry before a verdict is decided. Mrs Whitclaw, please proceed.”

She moved closer to me again, that huntress look back in her eyes as she searched for a different angle. She wasn’t done with me, far from it. “Please detail the first instance you were intimate with Mr Orion.”

I took a breath, then another, trying to quiet the pounding of my pulse. “We were at Lord Lionel Acrux’s manor at a private party,” I said. “I went for a walk and bumped into him so we went outside together to get some air.”

“And who instigated that arrangement?” Whitclaw asked, making me fall still.

“I…I don’t know, I can’t remember. We both wanted to escape the party that’s all. So we went outside.”

“And then what?” Whitclaw pressed.

“Then…Lance made me a drink and-”

“He gave you alcohol?” Whitclaw interjected and my heart raced.

“Just a wine,” I said like it didn’t matter. And it didn’t, she was just looking for ways to use this story against him. I was allowed to drink, but she was making it sound like he’d poured alcohol down my throat.

I remembered the cocktail umbrella he’d put in it and a small smile pulled at my mouth. “He was sweet, we were laughing together, then he went for a dip in the pool.”

“So he plied you with alcohol then he took his clothes off in front of you?” Whitclaw guessed and my heart stammered.

“It wasn’t like that,” I blurted.

“What was it like?” She raised a questioning eyebrow and my heart thundered in my ears.

I searched for the right words, not wanting to give her any more ammo. “It was…fate. I could feel it in every part of my body. The sky wanted it. I wanted it. We wanted each other.” I chanced a look at Orion and I wished I hadn’t because I almost came apart, his dark and penetrating eyes making me weak.

“What happened next, Miss Vega?” Whitclaw pushed, clearly wanting me to move on from this.

“He went under the water,” I breathed. “He was under there for so long that I moved to the edge of the pool, ducking down to look for him. When he came up, he pulled me into the water.”

“He used force to get you in the pool?” Whitclaw questioned and I shook my head sharply.

“No, he was playing around.”

“Did he ask for your consent?” she pushed.

“No, but-”

“And what happened after he dragged you under the surface?” she asked, letting a little shock into her voice for show. Some of the jury were lapping it up, gazing at me in concern.

I wanted to leap from the stand and claw this woman’s eyes out. She was twisting everything I said, turning that perfectly magical night into something nasty and premediated. “He created an air pod at the bottom of the pool.” I let myself smile so the jury could see. I wasn’t going to let this bitch taint this story. “And we kissed.”

“He kissed you or you kissed him?” Whitclaw asked.

“He…I – I wanted it.”

“But who kissed who, Miss Vega?” Whitclaw demanded and I knew I had to give her the truth.

“He kissed me,” I breathed.

“And then what?” she pushed.

“Nothing,” I said firmly. “We went back to the party.”

“And who did you tell?” she asked.

“No one.”

“Did he threaten you to keep it quiet?”

“No,” I growled.

“What did he say exactly?” she asked and my brain rattled as I tried to think.

“He said…” I racked my memory and it came to me. “He said, you know how it has to be. And I said that I did know.”

“And did he explain what he meant by that?” Whitclaw asked, seeming aghast now.

“I…no, but I knew it meant that we couldn’t tell anyone. That’s obvious.”

“Is it?” she questioned, that eyebrow popping up again as she turned to the jury once more. “It is interesting that Mr Orion would use such a phrase. You know how it has to be….quite a threatening phrase some might say. The words ‘has to’ implies that if Miss Vega broke that rule she would be punished. And as he used exactly such a phrase in the video evidence provided, stating that he would punish you if you disobeyed him, it seems quite clear that’s what he meant.”

“That’s not what he meant,” I snapped.

“Objection. It’s conjecture,” Kipling said simply. “Without hearing the way it was spoken, we have no idea how it could be construed. She cannot compare it to any instance in the video evidence provided and assume it to be so.”

“Sustained,” the judge agreed and my shoulders relaxed as Whitclaw was stuffed back in her box. “Do you have any further questions, Mrs Whitclaw?”

She eyed me like she was trying to pick at my skin and see the blood and muscle that lived underneath. “Just one, your honour.” She moved closer and my heart struggled to pump blood for a long second. “Why, if he loves you so dearly as you claim, do you believe that Mr Orion did not quit his job at Zodiac Academy to be with you?”

My lungs compressed as I absorbed the question. There was a hundred answers to that. He’d been appointed his position there by Lionel Acrux himself, he had no choice but to stay there as Guardian to his son. He was training Darius in dark magic, he needed to be close to him, and to me and Tory too since we’d gotten the shadows. And regardless of all that, it was his job, his life, his home. I never would have let him give it all up for me.

“Miss Vega?” Whitclaw pressed as my lips opened and closed.

“He had responsibilities,” I said firmly.

“What responsibilities?”

“He’s Darius Acrux’s Guardian, for one,” I blurted.

“And for two?” She arched that damn brow again.

I struggled for anything I could say in court. I couldn’t bring up anything about the shadows or dark magic or Lionel Acrux being a domineering buttcrack of a Dragon lord.

“No further questions, your honour,” Mrs Whitclaw said and I sagged down in my seat, my gaze falling to my hands. I had the horrible, bone-deep feeling that I’d just let Orion down. And it was unbearable.

Mr Kipling came up to question me next, clasping his hands behind his back. He was so formal and yet he had a warm presence I far preferred over Whitclaw’s. And at least he was on our side.

He asked me all the same questions again plus more, letting me talk about Orion and our relationship in detail, asking about the time he’d taken me for a picnic at his home, the gifts he’d given me, including the rose quartz which was a symbol that we were exclusive. Then he declared to the jury that our love was plain for the world to see as Orion and I got caught in each other’s eyes and I hoped that was true with all my soul.

I was finally released from the stand and made it back to Darius’s side, my legs like jelly. I breathed a sigh of relief, leaning close to whisper in his ear as I sat down. “Did I do okay?”

“You did great, Darcy. No one can deny how much you love each other,” he said, lifting his chin as if he was ready to go to bat for us if anyone did dare deny it.

“Your honour, I’d like to call my next witness to the stand,” Whitclaw announced and Darkice inclined his head. “Miss Kylie Major.”

I froze, confused as the sound of heels clicking down the aisle behind me made me twist around in my seat. Kylie was dolled up in a bright pink dress that had no business in a place like this. Her high heels were over six inches tall and her perfect make-up and flowing blonde hair made her look like she was about to attend a catwalk over a damn trial.

She vowed to tell the truth then rose to the stand, crossing her legs and showing off ample skin as she smiled patiently at Mrs Whitclaw. Inside, I was screaming. Because I knew why she was there. It suddenly clicked together like a puzzle in my head that featured something dark and grotesque.

Kipling was talking into Orion’s ear again as his muscles bunched and flexed. I could see his jaw grinding and his rage was mirrored in my own heart.

“Miss Major, you presented this Atlas to the FIB on March twenty third, is that correct?” Whitclaw plucked a transparent bag out of her briefcase, holding it up for the jury, showing them the pink case of my Atlas inside.

I couldn’t draw a single breath, my fingernails driving into the skin of my palms and splitting it open. Magic was washing through my veins with the force of a tsunami, desperate to be unleashed on that bitch sitting on the stand.

“Yes,” Kylie agreed, nodding. “I found Darcy’s Atlas in The Orb at dinner. She must have left it there.”

No way. She’d stolen it. And this whole mess was her fault. She’d given them the evidence. Not Seth. That truth hit me like a heart attack and I rubbed my forehead as I tried to process it.

“And what did you do then?” Whitclaw asked.

“Well, I had my suspicions that Darcy Vega was sleeping with my ex-boyfriend. I have loads of friends who’ve seen her down on her knees for boys all over campus, but she’d been sleeping with my Sethy even when we were together.”

“That’s a lie!” I snapped, unable to help myself and Darkice banged his gavel.

“Silence in court!” he roared and my hands balled up even tighter until I made my palms bleed.

Kylie flicked her hair, not giving me her attention as she barrelled on. “I found a message from her from a codename called Starboy with arrangements to meet in the school archives. She’d been lying to me for months about sleeping with Seth, so I set up a camera down there and decided to out her for the liar she was.”

“But she wasn’t a liar, was she?” Whitclaw spoke in my favour for the first time, though I knew it wasn’t because she was going to vouch for me.

“Well, I wouldn’t put it past her for screwing my ex too, but I couldn’t believe what I’d caught on camera. At first, I was shocked. But then it made a whole lot of sense,” Kylie said thoughtfully and I wished I could grab a handful of all that blonde hair and rip a chunk of it out of her scalp.

“And why is that?” Whitclaw asked.

“Because Orion has always taken a liking to her. He calls her Blue like it’s a cute little nickname or something. It singles her out from the other students in class, makes her feel important, I guess.” She shrugged. “She wasn’t doing so great when she first started at Zodiac, but weirdly her grades got better and better as she went on. Now it makes complete sense. She’s been spreading her legs for a teacher!” She feigned her absolute shock and my insides shrivelled.

Kylie had always been a bitch, but to go this far to hurt me was just cruel. She was as venomous as her Order form.

“No further questions, your honour,” Whitclaw dismissed her and apparently Kipling didn’t have any intention of questioning her and giving her the limelight any longer than necessary as she clip-clopped her way to a bench at the back of the room with a smug as shit smile on her face. I wanted to tear her lips off and stuff them down her throat for what she’d done to us.

“It’s now time for the defendant to make a statement in light of the evidence brought before us and reaffirm his plea to the jury,” Judge Darkice announced and Orion strode toward the stand with his hands balling and unballing at his sides.

I didn’t breathe until he’d taken the oath to be honest and sat down on the witness stand, my teeth driving into my tongue. I stole a look at the jury and found many of them sitting up in their chairs. Like they wanted to listen, like they cared to. All he had to do was tell the truth and they’d believe him. I was sure of it.

“Please make your statement, then the prosecution will proceed with the questioning,” Judge Darkice instructed and Orion took in a long breath, his eyes finding mine in the audience.

The world seemed to fade so there was just us and far too much space separating our souls. I needed a moment in his arms, I needed his mouth against mine and his soothing caresses. I didn’t know when I’d get any of that again, or be able to give them to him in return. But if he could just avoid prison, I knew Darius could find a way to get me to him. There had to be a way. We could make it work. We just had to climb this momentous hurdle and seek the light on the other side. Because no one would ever compare to him. No one would ever own my heart but that man. It was a truth cast in iron, impossible to undo. And if I had to wait months or years or an eternity for him, I would.

Orion visibly swallowed, an apology in his eyes before he turned his gaze from me towards the jury instead. A horrible lick of dread ran up my spine at his expression and panic flittered through me. What’s he thinking?

“It’s with regret that I laid a hand on a princess of Solaria,” he spoke evenly and his words brought a sharp frown to my face. “And it’s with even more regret that I admit that I used her for my own gain. I groomed her, manipulated her and ultimately, I used Dark Coercion on her to force her to be mine.”

“No!” I screamed, rising from my seat as absolute horror encased me. Darius was up beside me too, fury in his eyes as he stared at his friend and a tumult of chatter broke out around us.

“Order, order!” the judge commanded, bashing his gavel down. “Sit down immediately!” A wave of air magic rushed across the room and I was forced back into my seat with everyone else.

“What’s he doing?” I begged of Darius, fear slicing my heart to ribbons. But he didn’t answer, just stared at Orion unblinkingly, desperation written into his features.

“Will the prosecution please approach the stand,” Darkice commanded, his voice sharp as he glared at Orion.

I was shaking all over, staring at Orion as I begged him to meet my gaze. Darius suddenly grabbed my hand, squeezing tight and I clung to it with all my strength.

“Dark Coercion is a form of dark magic,” Whitclaw purred, moving toward Orion like she was savouring the kill.

“No shit,” Orion gritted out.

“So you admit that you cast Dark Coercion on Gwendalina Vega, Princess of Solaria? A girl who is protected by the highest of royal laws?”

“I do,” Orion said with a nod that shattered my heart into a million sharp pieces. “She has no idea, of course. That’s why she told lies here today. I convinced her that she loved me, I made her forget that I forced her hand, I made her want me and desire me. Everything she believes about our relationship is a farce that I concocted.”

I shook my head, tears rolling down my cheeks as Darius’s grip tightened on my hand.

“And why would you do that?” Whitclaw asked sweetly.

“Because I wanted her. I got off on the power and I knew I could use her to rise in society,” Orion said with a shrug that was callous and cold.

He let the jury see him as a monster, painting himself as one. But I didn’t understand why. I wanted to scream and fight and demand he take it back, but he’d ensured that no one would believe me. They thought I’d been Coerced to feel this way. And the idea that he could betray me so deeply made me want to vomit.

“So do you change your plea?” Whitclaw asked, victory in her posture.

“Your honour, I demand a moment alone with my client,” Kipling insisted, his shoulders pressed back.

“I change my plea,” Orion said before Darkice could answer him. “I plead guilty.”

“He’s lying!” I rose from my seat again, refusing to let this stand.

“Have him put through Cyclops interrogation,” Darius demanded, pointing directly at the judge like he could threaten him into doing so. “Then you’ll see the truth.”

“Order in my court!” Darkice boomed. “If you do not sit down this instant, I will have you ejected.”

Darius’s hand was still locked with mine and we both dropped back down in unison as tears started washing down my cheeks.

This can’t be happening. Please tell me this isn’t happening. He wouldn’t do this to me. To himself.

Orion’s gaze was fixed on the wall, his jaw set in stone, his eyes infinitely dark.

Darkice straightened in his seat, drumming his fingers on the bench then bashed his gavel down on the block. “The defendant is power shamed and outcast from society indefinitely. He will serve a sentence in Darkmore Penitentiary of ten years on account of his manipulation of a Solarian Princess, and another fifteen for wielding dark magic to do so. Court adjourned.” He rose from his seat, sweeping out the door behind him with the finality of an axe falling. No.

A group of FIB agents strode towards Orion and he lifted his cuffed wrists, letting him bind them without a glimmer of a fight. I got out of my seat, pushing past Darius and running towards them with so much rage in me, it was surely going to set me on fire.

“How could you do this!?” I screamed at him, grabbing one of the agent’s arms as I tried to battle my way towards him. I caught Orion’s hand somewhere in the throng and his fingers hooked around mine for half a second before I was forced back.

“Stand down,” an agent commanded, marching away as he helped guide Orion toward the nearest door.

“Lance!” I screamed, tears searing my flesh as he went with them. Not looking back. Never giving me even a second to say goodbye as he cut out my heart and left it bloody and butchered in his wake.

His betrayal sliced deeper than a knife. He hadn’t fought for us. He’d dived head first into the pits of hell without me. And for what?

I felt a cracking in my soul that spoke of the promise we’d made on the stars together. To always fight to be together. He’d broken it. And he’d broken me in the process.