Zodiac Academy: The Awakening As Told By The Boys

As I made it to the Lunar Leisure building and the raucous cheers of a crowd grew to a din in my ears, I glanced back at Darcy, saw the gleaming panic in her eyes and shot away from her with a burst of speed in search of her sister. It sounded like the danger was ahead of us anyway, and her fear over her sister sent another bolt of determination through me to stop the Heirs.

I made it inside as cruel laughter tangled with the air and a snarl rolled from my tongue as I spotted the ice and the girl trapped beneath it.

I reached the edge of the pool and dove off the side, casting a torrent of water from my palms which melted the ice before I hit it. I sank deep into the freezing pool, the raging storm of magic swirling around my body, gripping my limbs and I powered through it with the strength of my own magic, carving a path through the water all the way to Tory’s unconscious body which was sinking deeper into the pool.

I hooked my arm around her and kicked hard, using my gifts to harness the water and propel us to the surface faster.

I snatched a lungful of air as I breached the surface and locked Tory tight against me as the noise of the crowd dropped to excited chatter and slightly more nervous laughter. My jaw pulsed as I swam for the edge of the pool, trying not to think about what was going to happen if she was dead. If the Heirs had fucking killed her. If Darius had.

Darcy released a desperate sob as I lifted Tory up on the side of the pool and she caught hold of her arm as I heaved myself out of the water.

My heart ticked like a bomb waiting to explode, but I had to focus, I had to fucking heal her.

“Tory,” Darcy sobbed and my mind was cast back to the past to the moment when I’d watched my own sister die, her name tearing from my lips with as much grief as Tory’s name had left hers.

My pulse rioted in my ears as I knelt on Tory’s other side and pressed a hand to her forehead, her skin was so cold and her heartbeat wasn’t reaching my ears. I wasn’t sure if that was because Darcy’s was beating so loudly or because it wasn’t there, but either way I had to act as fast as fucking possible to try and bring her back.

Darcy took a shuddering breath, her eyes locked on Tory’s still features, her blue lips.

Come on. You’re a fighter, Tory Vega. Wake up.

I sought out the water in her lungs with my Element, latching onto it as I continued to pour healing magic into her veins. And with one assured tug of magic, I forced her to cough.

Her eyes flew open and she heaved as the water came up, spluttering as I lurched aside to get out of the way. She was in her underwear, her body shivering violently, but as Darcy wrapped her in her arms, I knew she’d be just fine.

The Heirs on the other hand….

My gaze snapped to them as all four of them started backing towards the exit and anger crashed through me like thunder.

“IF A SINGLE PERSON IN THIS ROOM MOVES ANOTHER INCH, YOU WILL BE FACING IMMEDIATE EXPULSION!” I bellowed so loud that not a single student in this space could miss it.

The Heirs stopped walking, falling silent.

Darius scraped a hand down the back of his neck, his jaw flexing and his eyes a sea of untold darkness.

Seth was rubbing against all of them as if trying to soothe them and the sight of Darcy’s hair peaking from his pocket sharpened my anger into a deadly blade.

“Face the fucking wall,” I commanded, making half the students here flinch, but not the fucking Heirs. No. They were the kings of the star damned world, and they clearly thought they could trample over anyone they liked and get away with it.

I tried to catch Darius’s gaze, but he wouldn’t look at me. His jaw was set, his features a mask of cold detachment and I had the horrible feeling his father had really won this time. He’d finally succeeded in moulding his son into his own image, and fuck, it was terrifying to see the result of that staring back at me. The four of them turned as one, obeying me as they lined up facing the wall and I paced while I decided what to do with them.

My muscles flexed as the rest of the band of onlookers grouped together like that would save them from my wrath.

“Are you alright?” Darcy choked out behind me and that was enough to set my veins alight all over again. This wasn’t Fae. This was a coward’s move. And it made my skin prickle with revulsion.

“I’m sorry, Darcy,” Tory said in a raspy tone and my chest tightened like it was in a vice.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Darcy whispered.

I stared at the back of the Heirs’ heads, knowing there wasn’t anything I could truly do in punishment for this. The Celestial Councillors would back them to their graves, even if Tory had died. They would have found a way to make it look like an accident, protected their precious little prodigies. And in the face of that power, I felt useless. Because what was the point in rules and codes and morals if they meant jack shit to the people ruling the world? And it made me realise I was standing in front of four people who would one day hold the fate of Solaria in their hands, and this one act was enough to make me doubt my desire for that. I’d never cared much for the other Heirs, but I’d thought they were better than this. I’d thought their parents were. But now I was standing in the wake of their capabilities and found they had chosen to act with underhanded tactics and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Darius most of all. Because I knew he wasn’t this man. And yet it was terrifying how easily he could become a monster.

The crowd of the Heirs’ followers started muttering between themselves and some made a bid for the exit which was a fool’s attempt.

“No one is leaving this room until I hear what happened,” I snarled at them and the straying students backed up into their ranks like frightened sheep before a wolf.

I prowled toward the Heirs, my gaze locked on Seth before I grasped his long hair in my fist and slammed his head against the wall with a loud crack. Fuck, that felt good.

“Do you have anything to say about what happened to the Vega Twins tonight?” I demanded as Seth let out a hiss of pain between his teeth and satisfaction rolled through me.

That’s for Blue, you entitled prick.

“No, sir,” Seth said in a low voice.

Of course he fucking didn’t.

I stepped toward Max beside him, pressing his face into the wall until he cursed me under his breath. “How about you. Rigel?”

“No, sir,” he muttered and I knew exactly how this was going to go.

I moved to Caleb, leaning in to speak in his ear. “Have you been fucking with your Source, Caleb? You know that goes against the Vampire code and I might just be in the mood to get your fangs ripped out for it.” It was an idle threat. Melinda Altair would move the heavens to keep her son out of trouble. But several breaches of the Vampire Code could end in such a thing, and I hoped he at least believed I might have a way to pull it off.

Caleb’s broad shoulders tensed in anger and I knew he was holding back his instinct to fight me. One more infraction tonight and his mommy might just have to come and question me about why her son’s head had been torn off. “I’m aware of the code, sir. I didn’t do anything to her.”

“Bullshit,” I snapped, rage simmering in my blood.

I moved to Darius next, resting a hand on his shoulder as the bond drew me to him, begging me to make amends with him. I didn’t care for its wants, but I did care that I got a real answer from him. The others could get fucked, but Darius would at least be honest with me. He shrugged my hand off but I wrapped my arm tightly around him instead, forcing him to feel the bond between us and the tension in his body doubled as he battled against it.

“Are you going to lie to my face too, Darius?” I asked.

Darius shook me off. “Can’t lie to your face when I’m facing a wall, can I sir?” His tone was mocking and designed to shut me out, making the Guardian bond flare sharply inside me, demanding I fix things between us. But fuck him. He was the one who did this. I wasn’t going to pander to him even if the bond destroyed me from the inside out.

I whipped him around, releasing him in the same moment and he stared at me with an icy detachment worthy of Lionel Acrux. I sought out the boy I knew and loved in his eyes, finding it so fucking hard to find him there that for a second, I was afraid of how far gone he was.

“One last chance,” I said in a low voice just for him. “Explain.”

Darius’s eyes slid from my face to Tory, his jaw ticking and a flicker of pain in his eyes, making relief fill me as I found a man there not a monster.

“We want them out,” Darius said in a low tone. “We’re just trying to get them out – you know the pressure we’re under. Max found out their fears and well…we brought them to life.” He shrugged like it was nothing, but it was everything.

I shook my head in disappointment. I knew he was being threatened, I knew the risk he was taking by defying Lionel, I knew he was putting Xavier in the firing line but this…this was the work of a heartless tyrant. Not a Fae who deserved the throne. “I thought you of all the Heirs were better than your parents.”

Darius’s face contorted and I turned my back on him, showing how little I thought of his actions tonight. I’d worked tirelessly to help him prepare to take Lionel’s seat on the Council as soon as possible, to crush him beneath his heel. But had I been blind to what he was becoming right before my eyes? Was he Lionel’s puppet now?

It wasn’t like I couldn’t understand his need to protect Xavier, but dealing with the Vegas in this way wasn’t necessary. It could have been handled far better, with far more dignity. And now the whole world would see how he and the other Heirs dealt with a threat. And it wasn’t with any fucking nobility, that was for sure.

“Everyone present in this room bar the Vega girls is now in detention with me for a full week. Capella, Altair, Rigel and Acrux, you will take two weeks and you’re on a warning. One more stunt like this and I don’t care if you’re the sons of the stars themselves, you will be expelled from Zodiac.” That was about as far as I could take this. The Councillors wouldn’t stand for any further punishment than that. It was fucked up, but I was beginning to think the world was fucked up. And power was at the centre of it all, corrupting the good and intensifying the bad.

“You know what, Orion? Go fuck yourself,” Darius snarled, barging past me and marching straight out of the door.

I bristled at the detached way he spoke to me, glaring after him and fighting the bond with all I had as it demanded I follow. But I wasn’t going to go running to him like a whipped guard dog. He’d made his choice tonight. He’d had plenty of opportunity to discuss this with me, to come up with some alternative. But no, this was the Heirs’ choice. And right now I was sickened by the thought of bowing to them all one day.

“Detention?” Tory hissed. “Is that it?”

My teeth ground in my mouth as I remained silent, not having an answer that would satisfy that question. Though it tugged on some long lost piece of me as I looked at her, unable to help see anyone but Clara staring back at me.

“How can you let them get away with this?” Darcy demanded and my eyes switched to her, that yank in my chest deepening. Because I have no fucking choice, Blue.

I moved to crouch down before them both and reached for Tory’s hand, offering the only thing I could in that moment. “You need more healing.”

“Not here,” she muttered, her eyes whipping to the onlooking crowd. “I just want to go.”

I ignored her, pressing my hand to her shoulder and working to heal her further as a turbulent storm built in my head. I poured all of my energy into doing this, feeling like I was right where I should be as I gave my power to this girl and wondering why it felt like all the stars in the sky were watching us. I had the niggling feeling that I’d let them down somehow, but that was foolish. I wasn’t on their side in this war, but that didn’t mean I’d wanted this.

I stole a look at Darcy as she clutched her sister’s hand and wondered if they really would leave now. Go back to the Mortal Realm. Run for their fucking lives. They had barely had time to adjust to the ways of Solaria, of the Fae, so why would they stay?

The Fae in me wanted to see a fight in their eyes, but there wasn’t any. They looked defeated. And something about that didn’t sit right with me.

Not like this. You don’t bow out like this.

Tory curled her legs up to her chest, her teeth chattering as the cold continued to grip her body. She reached out to Darcy’s hair as if noticing it for the first time and Darcy’s throat bobbed in a way that made me want to drive my fist into Seth Capella’s chest and tear his heart clean out of it.

It’ll grow back. She just needs a hair growth potion. Someone will surely tell her about it.

“Draw on your fire magic,” I muttered to Tory. “It’ll help warm you up.”

Her gaze slid to me for a moment and she shifted away from me a little but I didn’t let her go. I knew she saw an enemy in me and maybe that was an accurate assessment. But I was still her teacher, I still had a duty to her outside of this feud and I didn’t care if she knew I didn’t condone what had been done her.

“I’m just making sure all of the water is out of your lungs and healing any damage it did,” I explained in a flat tone, my heart sinking further and further in my chest as I stared at this girl and the result of Darius’s fury. He chose to be like Lionel tonight. He chose this path and I fear he won’t come back from it now he’s on it.

“What happened to you?” Tory asked her sister, her voice still raw.

Darcy’s lips parted then closed again and her gaze moved to Seth, Caleb and Max beyond me and Tory followed her line of sight. She quickly looked away again and my magic started to empty out as I healed away the last of the damage to her lungs, dropping my hand from her shoulder.

Tory stared at me uncertainty then dragged her knees closer to her body, clearly aiming to cover up the lacy underwear she was in. The crowd were still watching and this other level of humiliation was not going to continue.

“Caleb, take off your shirt and give it to Miss Vega,” I snapped.

Caleb hesitated a moment before he started to unhook his buttons.

“I don’t want anything from him,” Tory said, her voice low, full of horrors, but her decision was clear.

Caleb paused and I let out a low growl at the situation, shedding my own jacket and handing it to her. Darcy guided Tory’s arms into the sleeves and tugged her wet hair out from under the collar. I was relieved when she got to her feet and buttoned it up, sure she’d be fine. Maybe not mentally, but physically at least. Her eyes remained on her feet and I had the quiet hope that this girl would not let the Heirs douse her fire. She was stronger than this. Stronger than she could even imagine. Both of them were.

“I’ll walk you back to-” I started, but a high-pitched scream filled with terror punctuated the air from somewhere outside the building. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, stars?

“What now?” I growled as I turned and started jogging towards the exit.

Darcy and Tory caught up to me as I made it to the double doors and my instincts told me not to leave them behind as I shoved the doors open and reined in the urge to use my Vampire speed.

I marched along the path, my fangs extending as a chill rolled down my spine and I quickened my pace towards The Orb.

A crowd were gathered there as the light of a fire reflected within the golden exterior of The Orb and alarm rushed through me. What the fuck is going on?

“Move aside!” I commanded and the crowd parted to let me through.

The twins stayed right behind me as I went and my fingers itched for the sword concealed as a switch blade in my pocket as I made it to the front of the crowds.

“Who is it?” a boy muttered to my right.

“Do you think it was a Nymph?” a girl whispered fearfully.

The heat of a fire poured over me and the vile smell of death hit my senses just before I saw the body.

“What the hell is that?” Darcy whispered in fear.

“I’ve only ever seen Dragon Fire burn like that,” a boy’s voice came from my left, but as I stared at the roaring blaze before me, I was sure this wasn’t Dragon fire. It burned with the white hot heat of an inferno, unlike the red blaze of a Dragon’s. It could have been Elemental magic, and yet…they would have had to be one helluva a powerful motherfucker to make a blaze like that.

I raised my arms, dousing the fire in a wave of water, fighting with the power of it as my magic ran even lower. And as the flames finally went out under the onslaught of my gifts, my eyes locked on a charred body on the ground, a lump lodging in my throat.

The twins suddenly stepped around me to get a better look and my mind went into a spiral as I tried to work out what the fuck had happened here. Who was that? And who had fucking killed them?

“Holy shit,” Tory breathed and Darcy clapped a hand to her mouth.

My mind finally snapped back into gear and I straightened. “All students will return to their Houses now!” I barked. “Any witnesses who saw these flames being cast or anything suspicious leading up to this death will come forward immediately.” I spotted Washer in the crowd and pointed at him, his face pale and his eyes wide as he stared at the body on the ground. “Get Elaine!” I commanded him and he nodded, blinking back into reality and darting away into the crowd.

The students surged around me in a sea of moving bodies as I threatened them with detention and worked to maintain order. I didn’t know how this had happened or who that was lying on the ground but I needed to find Darius. Because this death had been caused by someone immensely powerful and I needed to be sure he was safe. A sickening thought crossed my mind that that charred body could be his before I felt the powerful thrumming of the Guardian bond between us and immediately knew it wasn’t, the tension running from my shoulders. He’s fine. I just need to find him.

I lost my temper with all the remaining students who were still trying to see the body or even snap a photo of it.

“IN FIVE SECONDS I’M DOUSING ANYONE STILL HERE WITH ENOUGH WATER TO WASH YOU RIGHT OUT OF THE GROUNDS!” I bellowed and the lingering students hurried to comply, a few releasing squeals of fright.

“What are you two still doing here?” I barked as I spotted the twins and they spun towards me in surprise.

“We were just…” Darcy began, trailing off as she failed to come up with an end to that sentence. Panic washed through my chest and my jaw ticked as I gazed at them. They needed to go, get back to their Houses. There was a fucking murderer on the loose.

“Get the hell out of here!” I snapped and Darcy flinched, the two of them stumbling away from me and running along the path with the other students.

My breaths came heavier as I dragged my fingers through my hair and walked up to the body, gazing down at the remains and trying to spot any sign of who it could be.

The stars seemed to shine brighter above me and I looked up at them for answers, feeling like I was being watched. A shadow crossed them above and my heart swooped a beat before Gabriel landed behind me, tugging my arm to make me face him.

“Gabriel,” I gasped, gripping his shoulder hard. “What’s going on?”

“You need to go,” he said, panic flashing in his eyes.

“Go where?” I asked in confusion.

“To Darius. Now, Lance,” he said frantically. “He’s about to go home to kill his father. The Guardian bond will draw you to him the moment the fight begins. And you’ll die in the crossfire before Darius is brought to his knees at Lionel’s feet.”

“What?” I breathed, my mind not catching up as the madness of this night continued.

“Hurry,” he barked as the sound of approaching teachers came from further down the path. “You only have minutes to stop this fate. He’s in his room, but not for long.”

I nodded and I could practically feel the dice beginning to roll on this fate.

Fuck, I was dead if I didn’t move.

I shot away from Gabriel with the full speed of my Order and a thousand whispers filled my ears that I couldn’t understand, like the stars were talking among themselves in the heavens above. And I felt all too close to their embrace as my death hung in the balance.

Darius, what the hell are you doing?