Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates

I wandered through Fire Territory as the sun blazed overhead and the warmth of it tried to fight against the cold feeling which had sunk into my bones while I allowed the shadows to have free rein for a little while.

It was quiet out here, most people preferring the landscape of the other Territories to relax in on their Saturday afternoon over the barren, rocky terrain of Fire. But I’d been spending a lot of time out here during the last few weeks.

Darcy had taken to sleeping in my room every night, refusing to even mention Orion’s name by day. She saved her tears for the middle of the night when there was no one but me there to see them. And when she finally cried herself to sleep and I didn’t have to be strong for her anymore, I slipped out of my bed, lay on the floor and let the shadows have me.

When I’d started toying with the darkness Lionel Acrux had forced into my body, I’d only endured the shadows for a few minutes at a time. Sometimes I sank into them for hours now.

Orion’s conviction hung like a heavy weight over all of us. Darcy was struck dumb with grief and Darius had reverted into the rage filled monster I’d once known. Not that he directed any of it at me. He didn’t direct much of anything at me anymore. He still ran with me every morning, still got me my coffee and held the door for me. But there were no smiles. Not even when I slid my fingers though his and squeezed for the briefest of moments. Something in his eyes lightened whenever I did it, but the moment I pulled back, the walls went up again and he left me to it.

I knew he was grieving too and the Guardian bond between him and Orion was an agony of its own without them being able to see each other. He was hurting and I couldn’t even try to comfort him because if I went to him, the stars forced me away again.

I took my Atlas from my pocket and sighed as I pushed the shadows back. They were slipping beyond the confines of my flesh, coating my wrists and fingers in a way that would be too obvious to hide if anyone saw me.

A grunt escaped my lips as all of my pain resurfaced as I banished them and I had to fight against the urge to dip back into them to escape it again.

I pursed my lips as I typed out a text and then forced myself to hit send before I could chicken out.

Tory:

I miss you

I waited to see if Darius would open the message right away and my heart lifted as the red ticks appeared to show he’d read it.

Three little dots began to flash on his side of the screen and knots warred in my belly as I waited for his reply.

A minute ticked by. Then another. Then the dots disappeared. I waited for the message to come through. But it didn’t.

My heart sank as I watched the screen for another minute then I realised that he’d be able to see that I was online while I sat here staring and waiting for a message that obviously wasn’t coming.

Why the fuck did I send that?

Embarrassment clawed at me and my cheeks flushed with colour as I locked my Atlas and resisted the urge to throw it away from me in favour of jamming it back into my pocket.

Fuck. My. Life.

Before this had happened, I’d had things to focus on; Darcy’s happiness had lifted me up, banished some of my own pain. But now…

Well, now I had the shadows to steal it away.

They whispered sweet promises of oblivion in my ears and I fought not to listen. They were always harder to resist when I was feeling something unpleasant. Like attempting to be open and vulnerable with my feelings and having them completely ignored. Definitely unpleasant. And embarrassing. Humiliating. Devastating.

The shadows burrowed further into my skin and I sighed as I let them claim me for a moment. Just a moment. Long enough to forget about Dragons who had altogether too much sway over my heart and no chance of healing it anyway.

I rounded a corner and fell still as I spotted Marguerite Helebor and Mildred Canopus walking towards me from the Fire Arena. Their eyes fell on me and narrowed instantly as they stepped forward with intent in their gazes.

“Well if it isn’t the number one, gutter whore,” Marguerite said acidly, feeling brave with her big pal at her side.

I blinked at her through the fog of shadows as I tried to summon a fuck to give about her. But I was coming up blank and the shadows were hungry for a taste of her blood instead.

“I heard she’s amazing in bed and gives blowjobs that can blow a guy’s mind and that’s why all the guys go crawling to her,” Mildred sneered as she looked me up and down.

“That’s not an insult,” I said, my voice rougher than usual as the shadows coated it, hungry for a taste of her too.

“It is!” she cried, puffing her chest up. “Because that’s all you are. A super hot, super fuckable, super brainless, super whore.”

“Me and Darcy are top of our class,” I deadpanned. “So I’ll take all of your names aside from brainless. And whore suggests I get paid, which is bullshit.”

“Oh is it?” Mildred demanded, stomping towards me. “Because I happen to know for a fact that that pendant hanging around your neck is a fire ruby, forged by the Dragons of old back before the Hectian Revolt. There are only seven of that age and quality in the entire kingdom. Each are owned and guarded possessively by Dragons due to their immense value. So excuse me if I brand you a super whore for taking a necklace worth one point three million auras from my snookums in payment for use of your super pussy while he waits patiently for a real woman. But don’t get too comfortable warming his bed. Once he has a ride on his bride the night of our wedding, he’ll forget all about you anyway.”

She placed her hands on her hips and curled her lip back so that her lower jaw was even more prominent and Marguerite giggled like that was the best insult she’d ever heard.

I opened my mouth to bite back, but I was too stunned by her announcement that this necklace I’d been wearing for weeks could be worth over a million auras so I just gaped at her.

The two of them sauntered away like they’d won a point against me and my fingers closed around the heart shaped ruby as the inner heat of it warmed my palm and helped me to push the shadows off again. I seriously needed to question Darius on the value of this thing though. If it really was worth that much, I couldn’t keep it.

I wandered into the Fire Arena as I thought on it, but stumbled to a halt as I came face to face with an angry Vampire.

Caleb lunged at me with his teeth bared and eyes wild and I threw an air shield up between us at the last moment to hold him off.

“What the hell, asshole?” I demanded as he crashed into my shield and fell back on his ass, growling with frustration.

“Sorry,” he bit out, huffing a breath as he shoved his hand through his blonde curls and got to his feet. “I just…I’ve had a bit of bad news is all. And I’m thirsty. Don’t worry about it, I’ll go hunt down someone else.”

He made a move to pass me but I dropped my shield and caught his arm to stop him. “What’s wrong?”

He looked at me for a long moment then sighed as he decided to give in. “It’s nothing really. My uncle Marlowe has gone mouthing off to the press about family shit again and it makes us look bad. He went through some…stuff a few years back and he’s a little unhinged. But Mom refuses to confine him after what he went through and then she tosses the clean up duty to me when he ends up talking shit all over the papers about political matters and aligning his views to mine and Mom’s. And this time he’s making me look bad which is really fucking annoying.”

“Nightmare,” I agreed sarcastically and he rolled his eyes at me.

“It’s just a pain in the ass and the last thing I need at the moment. Plus I had to come here to complete some advanced fire magic work and I ended up tapped out which should have been fine because Seth promised to let me hunt him tonight. Except now he’s gone and initiated some girl into his pack today instead which means he’s off running with them all fucking night and probably screwing them all too and I’m thirsty.”

“Wow. I’ve never seen you throw a tantrum before,” I teased as he shoved his hands through his hair and started pacing.

“I know. Mars is in my chart tonight too and it’s the planet of war which basically equals insatiable blood lust for Vampires and now I can’t even get my drink and I’m going out of my head and-”

“So hunt me,” I suggested, cutting him off. “We used to do it all the time and you just tried to bite my head off anyway so you clearly want to. Plus, aren’t I supposed to be your Source still? Seems like you’ve only got a taste for Wolf these days.”

He shot me a look that was all predator and my heart leapt. “I assumed you didn’t want to do it again after I asked you at the cheer off and nothing came of it,” he said slowly. “Besides…I can’t really play the game with you now. Seth’s got me too used to hunting him down in his Order form and then we fight it out before I get to bite him and I’ve gotten used to being rough. So…”

“So what? You think you could catch me in my Order form?” I taunted. “Please. You’ll be running around in circles trying to catch me while I laugh my ass off at you. Besides, I’m tough enough to fight you off now. Especially if you’re all tapped out of magic.”

Caleb’s eyes flashed with excitement at that idea and the shadows fell back even further as adrenaline slid through my veins. This was exactly the kind of distraction I needed. Pure, honest, fun.

“I dunno,” Caleb hedged, but he licked his lips as his gaze dropped to my throat again. “Mars is making me kinda edgy-“

“Oh. So you’re a pussy?” I taunted.

“No.”

“Chicken shit?”

“Fuck it. Fine. You’re too fucking delicious to refuse again. But you’d better be ready for this, sweetheart.”

“There’s a problem though,” I said, holding up a hand as he bared his fangs at me. “What do I get if I win? Orgasms are off the menu, so how about a lesson instead?”

“A lesson?”

“Yeah. I wanna learn that fire and earth combo whip thing you used to knock Darius off his ass in Elemental Combat the other night.” I grinned at him and he groaned.

“You realise that would mean training up the enemy? Betraying my fellow Heirs and-”

“Do you wanna bite me or not, Caleb?” I demanded.

“Fuck it. Alright. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Catch me if you can.” I flicked my fingers at him and threw him away from me with a gust of wind so powerful that it sent him flying all the way to the other side of the Fire Arena as my wings burst from my back.

Caleb shot towards me again as I leapt into the air, his fingertips brushing my sneakers as I took off and he leapt for me.

Adrenaline burst through my veins and an excited laugh tumbled from my lips as I shot away, looking down as Caleb kept pace beneath me.

He was faster than me and my heart thundered as I flapped my wings harder, swooping around as many obstacles as I could so that he was forced to dodge them too.

I swept out of Fire Territory and zoomed across campus at high speed, laughter spilling from my lips as I headed for The Howling Meadow.

My feet touched down on the top of the highest boulder where the Heirs always hung out and a moment later, Caleb scaled them and tackled me.

His arms locked around me with crushing strength as his fangs lunged straight for my throat. I managed to throw an air shield up around my neck to block him as we rolled across the grass and I extinguished the flames on my wings to stop a fire from breaking out.

Caleb fought hard, snatching my wrist into his grasp and yanking it towards his teeth. Fire sprang to life along my skin, burning him so he was forced to release me.

He snarled ferociously as he lunged at me again, his weight falling on me so hard that my back was slammed into the ground painfully.

I swung a fist at his face, coating it in ice and catching him in the jaw as he scrambled to get a hold of any piece of me that he could bite.

I fought like a wild dog as he attacked like a beast and real fear coiled with excitement in me at the savage look in his eyes. I didn’t know if he’d just gotten used to playing this way with Seth or if Mars really was sending his bloodlust crazy, but I was suddenly struck with the certainty that I didn’t want him to get his teeth into me.

We rolled across the ground and I managed to end up on top as I coated his arms in vines and pinned him beneath me.

“Yield,” I demanded but he only snarled at me, using his Vampire strength to rip his way out of the vines, lunging for my neck again.

I coated my fist in ice again and punched him in the jaw, knocking his aim off as his fang chipped a chunk of ice from my knuckle and a bead of my blood was spilled.

Caleb snarled as the taste of my power touched his tongue and he lunged at me with the strength of a charging bull, slamming me down beneath him once more.

He snatched my hand into his grip and his fangs crashed against the ice as he tried to break through it with pure force.

I gasped as I struggled beneath him and the hard plain of his body pinned me down, but without his magic he was at a serious disadvantage and there was no fucking way I wanted him biting me while he was frantic like this.

With a grunt of effort, I managed to slam my palm into his chest, loaded with air magic that threw him away from me. I scrambled upright as he shot back towards me, opening a chasm at his feet to trap him and keep him away.

The wild look in his eyes made my pulse race and for a moment it didn’t even seem like I was looking at the Caleb I knew.

He scrambled over the edge of the pit I’d conjured with a hungry snarl and I leapt into the air taking off as fast as I could, aiming for the sky as I looked down at his snarling face below me.

I flew hard and fast, heading for The Wailing Wood as the sound of a Wolf pack howling in the trees caught my ear.

I lost sight of Caleb beneath me amongst the leafy branches and my heart began to slow as I swept across the trees.

The roof of King’s Hollow appeared ahead of me and aimed for it to hide and wait out the game while he was left to hunt the woods for me.

Remind me not to taunt a Vampire when Mars is in their chart ever again.

My heart fluttered nervously as I landed softly on the roof of the massive treehouse and I looked down over the huge drop below as I checked to make sure Caleb was nowhere in sight before sinking down to sit and wait for my win.

The soft murmuring of voices reached me from the treehouse beneath my feet and I stilled as I realised Darius and Max were in there talking.

It was fine though, because I couldn’t make out what they were saying so it wasn’t like I was spying or anything.

Darius spoke again and I could have sworn I heard my sister’s name.

Dammit.

I quickly cast an amplification spell on the area around me and their voices suddenly became loud and clear.

“-he was fucking thinking, but he’s going to have to tell me soon. The bond feels like it’s going to tear me in two if I don’t see him and he finally accepted my request for visitation. I swear, I could fucking murder him for that alone. Fuck knows how I’m supposed to survive twenty five years of him stuck that far away from me,” Darius growled. If I were to take an educated guess, I’d say he might just be drinking.

“If your dad is still being an asshole about it, why don’t I see if mine can pull a few strings?” Max suggested but before Darius could reply, a shiver raced down my spine and I spun around just as Caleb leapt up onto the roof.

“Wait!” I gasped, lurching upright as he shot towards me and I tried to summon magic to hold him off.

His eyes were manic and bloodshot, sparking with the desperate need of his hunger and I didn’t even recognise the creature before me. They said Vampires didn’t shift like other Orders, but in that moment I was sure he had. Caleb had checked the fuck out and there was nothing but a bloodthirsty demon in his place.

My fingertips had barely even tingled before he slammed into me and I screamed as his fangs tore into my neck, pain blossoming through me more keenly than I’d ever felt as he pinned me in his arms.

I stumbled back, my foot slipping on the edge of the wooden roof as my limbs lost energy and suddenly we were falling. My gut lurched and I threw my hands out in some desperate bid to save us with my air magic, but it was no use. My power was utterly immobilised by his venom and I screamed as we fell through the branches of the canopy which slapped and scratched at my skin.

Caleb’s grip on me loosened seconds before we hit the ground and he tore his fangs from my neck as he threw his hands out to save us.

We hit the ground hard and the most horrifying crack sounded as an explosion of agony tore through my body.

I tried to scream again, but suddenly I couldn’t draw in any air and I was coughing and spluttering against something warm and wet which filled my airway and threatened to drown me.

“Help!” Caleb roared, his navy eyes meeting mine with a terrified kind of panic as he clapped a hand over my neck and pressed down so hard I feared he was going to choke me.

I tried to move beneath him but none of my limbs would respond, nothing would do as I commanded and I was still choking on whatever the fuck was blocking my airways.

“I’m sorry, Tory,” Caleb gasped, as he looked down into my eyes. “I’m so, fucking sorry. Shit, shit! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

An almighty roar cut the air in two a fraction of a second before Caleb was torn off of me with the force of a tsunami and thrown away across the clearing.

Darius’s face appeared above me a moment later, his rough palm landing on my throat and he squeezed tightly as he pressed healing magic beneath my flesh.

The pain in my neck began to fade and I started coughing, blood coating my tongue as I managed to heave it up out of my lungs.

“I’ve got you, Roxy,” Darius growled, his hands moving again as he used his water magic to pull the rest of my blood up out of my lungs so that I could breathe again and I sucked a breath down immediately as my vision focused once more.

I gasped as pain continued to blossom through the rest of my body and panic consumed me as I realised I still couldn’t move at all.

“Where does it hurt?” Darius asked in a deadly voice as a tear slid from my eye.

“Everywhere,” I hissed, biting down on another scream as Caleb started calling out more apologies.

“I managed to soften the ground a bit before we hit it with the magic I’d taken from her, but it wasn’t much,” he called. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I swear I didn’t mean to.”

He was cut off by the arrival of a huge white Wolf. I hissed in disgust as Seth shifted right beside me and flashed me a view of the underside of his dick.

“What the hell happened?” Seth gasped, dropping down next to me as Darius slid his hands over my hips and stomach, growling beneath his breath.

“Caleb knocked her off the roof and bit her real bad,” Max muttered as he dropped down too.

“He’s broken her fucking spine,” Darius growled and the terror in his eyes would have frozen me in place even if I could move. “I’ve never fixed something this complicated before.”

“You can do it,” Max said confidently, placing a hand on Darius’s shoulder to lend him magic if he needed it.

Seth released a worried whimper and placed his hand on his other shoulder to offer the same and Darius’s brow furrowed in concentration as I felt his magic pouring beneath my skin.

The pain began to ebb away and I drew in a shaky breath as the feeling slowly returned to my limbs. First my fingers and toes tingled before the sensation slid further up and up until everything felt normal again.

Darius looked down at me with a sea of agony in his eyes and I reached for him, my fingers brushing across his solid jawline in the gentlest touch. Just long enough for him to be sure that I was alright before he lurched away from me with a roar of utter fury.

I gasped as he leapt at Caleb, throwing him down into the dirt before slamming his fist straight into his face.

“You will never hunt her again!” he roared as he battered his fists down over and over. “You will never put your fucking mouth on her, never sink your fucking fangs into her ever again!”

Max and Seth leapt on him with panicked curses, somehow managing to rip him off of Caleb who lay bleeding in the dirt beneath him.

“I’m sorry, man, I’m sorry, Tory,” he gasped as he looked between me and the Dragon who looked dead set on killing him.

“Get the fuck out of here, Cal,” Max snapped just as Darius tore his arm free and elbowed him straight in the face.

Caleb hesitated for half a second, but I was willing to guess he could see his own death shining in Darius’s eyes. He threw one more, desperate apology my way before turning and shooting off through the trees.

Darius dislodged Seth with another roar and looked like he was about to take off after him just as Max leapt into his path.

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?” Max demanded, pointing over at me as I managed to get to my feet.

I still felt shaky, a bit of an ache radiating through my hips, but it was endlessly better than it had been.

Darius whirled around, his face painted with emotion as he looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world to him.

He moved towards me suddenly, backing me up against the huge tree which housed King’s Hollow as he stood before me, looking like the whole world was caving in on him as he refrained from touching me.

“I’ll go after Cal,” Seth murmured, giving me a final glance to check I was okay before shifting back into his Wolf form and speeding away through the trees.

Darius didn’t even spare him a glance, his gaze fixed on me as his dark eyes danced with emotion and terror.

He reached up tentatively, his hands painted red with my blood as he brushed the tips of his fingers along the lines of my face with the gentlest of touches, like he feared he’d break me.

I watched him in silence and my skin tingled from the feather-light caress of his fingertips tracing my jaw, my cheekbones, nose, brows, neck and lips like he just had to be sure it was all there, safe and accounted for.

He leaned forward slowly until his forehead was pressed to mine and I could feel a slight tremor in his body which betrayed just how much he cared, how frightened he’d been, how concerned.

“I’d take death over life without you,” he breathed, his voice rough and broken by fear.

I reached up to lay my palm on his jaw too, my other hand landing on his arm. “Darius,” I murmured, unsure what I was even going to say just as thunder crashed in the sky above.

“I miss you too,” he interrupted. “More than any words could ever convey.”

Thunder crashed again and he stepped back so suddenly that I almost fell.

Max moved to take his place, reaching for me calmly as Darius backed up. “We need to take you to the infirmary to get those bones checked out, little Vega,” he said softly. “I can carry you if you can’t walk.”

“I can walk,” I protested, glancing at Darius again as he watched me with nothing but horror in his eyes, like he was somehow responsible for what had just happened.

“Come on, let me. Or Darius is only gonna chew me out for it.”

I sighed in acceptance as Max lifted me into his arms and the three of us headed to the infirmary in the centre of campus.

Darius followed on silently, not saying a word even when I goaded him about giving me a necklace worth a small fortune. But when I’d made a move to take it off and return it to him, he caught my wrists and shook his head firmly. “It’s yours.”

And something about the tone of his voice and the way he’d looked at me made me relent even when he went right back to silence.