Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

THE AWAKENING HAD left me reeling, trapped within my own body as I tried to adjust to the sudden onslaught of power which had filled a void I’d never known I had. For the first time in my life, I was struck speechless. This power had crept up on me, whispered sweet nothings in my ear then slapped my face so hard it was left pink and stinging for the whole world to see.

My veins were alive with the force of what I was now. And I could no longer deny the truth of everything Orion had said to us since he’d turned up at our front door.

How could this have happened? How could it be happening? Everything I thought I knew about the world had just been flipped on its axis and I should have been left floundering in its wake and yet… I wasn’t.

Yes, my newfound power had overwhelmed me but I couldn’t deny just how good it felt as it writhed beneath my skin. It made me feel fearless, powerful, unstoppable. Every dream I’d ever had suddenly seemed irrelevant. The world held so much more than it ever had. And it was ready for Darcy and I to take our places amongst it.

In my power-drunk daze, I hadn’t noticed everyone filing away across the meadow but a sharp cough drew my attention to the fact. Orion raised an eyebrow at me, pointing me towards the line of freshmen who had already headed away. Only Darcy remained, taking a few hesitant steps before waiting for me while her eyes lit from within with the same writhing power I could feel harnessing itself to my soul.

I moved to her side at a quick jog, falling into step with her as we hurried after the group of our peers.

The path was winding beneath the dark sky and I was sure that under any other circumstances I would have tripped. But with the miracle of magic flowing through me, I managed to stay true to my course without upsetting so much as a lonely pebble.

The path led into a thick forest and we stepped beneath its branches where flaming torches sprang to life to guide the way on.

We caught up to some of the other students and they eyed us with interest. A short girl with a blonde pixie cut and freckles dotted across her nose offered us a friendly smile.

“I’m Sofia,” she breathed, casting a glance behind us at the teachers before obviously deciding they didn’t mind if we talked. “I’ve never met a Changeling before,” she gushed, looking between my sister and I.

“Hi,” Darcy replied with a smile.

“I’m Tory, that’s Darcy,” I supplied.

“I guess this whole place is super confusing to you?” she asked sympathetically. “I could be your walking, talking info source if you like?”

“Oh,” I said in surprise. It wasn’t really programmed in me to expect help from people I didn’t know. Or those who I did know for that matter. Where we’d grown up, people didn’t just do something for nothing, but as I looked at Sofia’s earnest expression, I couldn’t help but think her offer was just that. “That would be… great. Thanks,” I said, trying out a warm smile while wondering if I was managing to pull it off. I probably looked like a hyena on crack but Sofia seemed satisfied with my attempt.

The path beneath my feet turned from dirt to gravel to shining gold. I tore my mind away from the caress of my energy and looked up at the building we were approaching instead.

It was a huge, golden dome, so big that I couldn’t see anything else aside from it. Carved all over its surface were swirling decorations which looked almost like living flames, especially as the clouds shifted over the moon and shadows danced along the whorls in the metal. The gold markings which we were walking on shimmered too and I realised what the building was designed to mimic. It was a giant model of the sun, the ground beneath us decorated to look like beams of light reaching away from it.

“The Orb is where we’ll take all our meals and gather for announcements like this one to declare the start of term,” Sofia supplied as she noticed my widening eyes. “It’s designed to look that way because the zodiac is directed by the sun. Without it, we would have nothing. Everything begins and ends with it.”

“Poetic,” I muttered, still not completely buying in to the whole horoscope idea, though I had to admit that the arrival of my magic was throwing my assumptions into confused overdrive.

“It’s… amazing,” Darcy said, her mouth falling open with awe.

We moved inside the double doors lined with symbols depicting each sign of the zodiac. We found ourselves standing before a whole crowd of students so big that I could hardly distinguish one face from the next. I only knew there were hundreds of them. And they were all looking our way.

At the centre of the room, beside a roaring fire pit which was surrounded by a ring of water, a curving red couch stood out amongst all the others. Its four occupants all looked deliciously bored, barely sparing a glance at the new additions to their ranks as the rest of the freshmen began to file into the huge room, taking whatever chairs were left available in the circular space. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a group of guys who were quite as alluring as them. It was like I could feel a deep hum of power emanating from them and the hairs on the back of my neck raised accordingly.

They hadn’t looked our way yet and I found myself glad to have the opportunity to study them without being noticed.

Each of them held a deep aura which set them apart from the rest of the people in the room. I would have thought they were siblings except that they looked so different that I knew it couldn’t be the case. Something bonded them together though, something so clear that I could almost see it.

They were all tall and strongly built with muscles in a way that made my gaze roam over them a little inappropriately. They oozed power, wearing it as comfortably as the designer clothes they’d clad themselves in.

On the left was a guy with skin as dark as coffee, his black hair shaved into a mohawk which should have made him look like a total douchebag and yet somehow made me want to run my fingers over it instead.

He said something to the guy beside him who tossed his head back in laughter so loud that I wished I’d heard the joke too. The smile which accompanied that laugh drew my gaze for just long enough to rouse its owner’s attention.

My heart raced a little like I was a kid caught taking candy as his dark blue eyes trailed over me. He pushed a hand through his curling golden hair, drawing my gaze to his broad shoulders for a moment before I looked away without studying the other two so closely.

My gaze trailed over the curved roof above our heads and I noticed a set of elaborate carvings cut into the gold ceiling which depicted constellations and planets. There were too many for me to even begin to count but my gaze roamed over them hungrily and I knew I’d be compelled to look up at them every time I entered this room.

Darcy moved closer to me as we began to follow the others and I raised an eyebrow at her as I tried to gauge her reaction to this. We hadn’t exactly had time to discuss the life-altering, mind-crushing, new reality we’d found ourselves dumped in but the smile she was trying to hide let me know that she was just as energised about this place as me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but something about Zodiac Academy just felt right. It was like coming home after months abroad. Except for the fact that I’d never been abroad or ever really felt like I had a home in my entire life so that couldn’t be right.

Home was where my ass landed. But I was glad to find that that was here for now.

I glanced down at my feet and paused as I realised that the ground which I’d thought was decorated with tiles was actually carved stone. It was as if someone had spent years etching spirals and images into a giant slab of rock; the length of time it would have taken to do such a thing blew my mind.

Before I could take another step, a hand clamped around my elbow and I turned to look at the owner of it with a frown. The woman was tall, with long black hair twisted into a bun on the back of her head and her skin pale and glimmering like starlight. Her gaze roamed over my sister and I hungrily as she drank in every detail on display and I found myself wishing I’d opted to change out of the low-cut red vest. After seeing the rest of the students it was abundantly clear that this was supposed to be a dressy affair and my efforts at biker girl on a night out weren’t really meeting the bar. Then again, I’d started this night with the sole intention of stealing a motorcycle, not joining a mystical species in a realm I never knew existed… Even thinking that made my brain wrestle against the reality of this situation once more.

“I’m Principal Nova, your guiding star here at Zodiac Academy,” she said warmly. “I hear we have two things to celebrate with you both tonight.”

“You do?” Darcy asked, glancing at me with a small shrug.

“Of course!” Nova gasped. “When Orion informed me that the girls he’d been tracking were indeed the lost Vega Twins I couldn’t have been more delighted to welcome you back into the fold and return you to your people! But to then discover that the two of you hold all four Elements within your grasp… it’s unheard of. Your return will be the talk of the entire Fae population, not just the school. Your every move will be watched and assessed as we all clamour to find out if you can truly reclaim the throne and-”

“Throne?” Darcy squeaked.

“Yes, didn’t Professor Orion explain your heritage to you?” Principal Nova asked, looking around as if she hoped to spot the man in question. 

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed him slipping away through the crowd as if he’d overheard her and didn’t want to be caught.

“He just broke into our apartment and forced us to come here,” I said. 

“He told us our parents weren’t who we thought they were,” Darcy added. “And that we had to come here to claim our inheritance.”

“That’s… a very brief overview,” Nova said, her lips pressing to a firm line that told me she wasn’t pleased with Orion. “Your parents were the last King and Queen of Solaria, you return here as joint Heirs to the throne.”

My lips parted but no words came out. I caught Darcy’s eye, almost laughed then looked back at Nova and found I couldn’t actually come up with a response at all. 

“You mean we’re like… princesses?” Darcy asked and the disbelief in her tone was punctuated by my scoff of laughter. 

“Well, yes. Which is why you’ve caused quite a stir. Since the demise of your mother and father, the four Celestial families have held the power of the throne between them equally. They had intended to keep hold of that power with their own Heirs in the knowledge that the royal line had fallen. But with your return, everything could be about to change once more.”

Nova seemed excited by that idea as her eyes whipped between Darcy and me but in my head all I could think was hell no. We didn’t know the first thing about this place, let alone the family we’d supposedly been born into. How could she be standing there like Prince Charming with a glass slipper expecting us to shove our feet straight in?

“I really don’t think-” I began but Nova cut me off. 

“Of course, the throne won’t just be handed to you. You will have to graduate from the Academy and prove your worth before that could ever happen. And you’ll soon learn that Fae have to claim their own power if they want it. You have a lot of catching up to do if you want to reclaim the throne from the Celestial Heirs.”

I stared at her in a weird non-blinking way for several seconds too long before my mind snagged on the one part of her announcement that my brain could process with ease.

“So if our parents were royal, does that mean they left us a load of crown jewels and a castle in their will?” I asked.

Darcy’s eyes twinkled at the idea of that and a smile hooked the corner of my mouth.

Nova tittered a laugh. “Well of course your inheritance is quite sizeable – presuming you graduate and become eligible to claim it. And in the meantime you can acquaint yourselves with everything you will need to know to live up to your birthrights. And of course there will be interviews and exclusives, I’ve even heard talk of a documentary being made to detail your return and-”

“We don’t want any attention like that,” I said firmly, not knowing what the hell she was going on about and not really wanting to either. “We’re here because that Orion dude said we had to come to claim our inheritance. That’s it.” I didn’t mention the fact that since my magic had been Awakened I’d begun to think coming to this school could give me so much more than just money because it didn’t matter. Whatever way I looked at it, I knew neither my sister or I would want the kind of attention she was suggesting.

The Principal’s eyes widened in surprise but she covered it with the kind of fake-ass smile which wasn’t really a smile at all but held something much more calculated in check.

“It must be a lot to take in,” she conceded gently. “Of course you can spend a bit of time settling in before you have to make any choices about how you’ll handle your claim or anything else besides that. Perhaps we’ll hold the media off for a while so that you can get your bearings.”

“Great,” I bit out, not bothering to hide the fact that as far as I was concerned there wasn’t any choice to be made. I tried to step away but Principal Nova had her claws in my sister and I and she didn’t seem to be willing to let go any time soon.

A lump formed in the pit of my stomach as I realised she’d decided to make a spectacle of us on our very first day in front of the entire school and I couldn’t quite shake her off before she turned to address the crowd of students who filled the huge room.

“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Nova called and all eyes in The Orb swung to us as silence fell amongst the gathered students. I noticed several older men and women lining the edges of the room and spotted Orion amongst them which I guessed meant they were the faculty. Their eyes were on us too and I promptly looked away.

“I’d really rather not make a fuss,” Darcy muttered but the Principal continued as if she hadn’t spoken.

My gaze slid over the crowd and hooked on the group of guys sitting around the fire once more. They were looking at us curiously now and I tried not to let my gaze linger on them too long but it was difficult. Somehow, they commanded the room despite the fact that it was full to the brim with more people than I could count.

The guy on the right tilted his head to the side, his long, chestnut hair tipping over his fist as he leant his chin against his knuckles. There was something deeply animal in the way he eyed us and I found myself lifting my chin, refusing to cower beneath the challenge in his earthy brown eyes.

“This year’s attendees have been joined by two particularly important girls,” Principal Nova said, a wide smile pulling at her lips as I tried to ignore the fact that the entire student body of the Academy were looking at us now. “I am delighted to announce that we have recovered the missing Vega Heirs and brought them back under the protection of our great nation. For seventeen years the Vega Twins were lost to us, believed to be dead. But to our great surprise, with the surfacing of their powers on their eighteenth birthday we were able to track them down in the mortal realm and return them to their rightful place amongst us.”

No applause followed her words, though the long pause she gave suggested she was expecting one. Instead a pregnant silence had built in the room and I held my breath as I waited for someone to break it.

A high-pitched shriek of excitement broke the silence as a tall, broad shouldered girl with long, brown hair leapt to her feet. She started applauding so quickly that her hands were almost a blur and the wide smile on her face looked more than a little manic. 

Her movement set off a little tidal wave of enthusiastic applauders who were dotted around the room, though there were still plenty of people sitting stock still and seeming less than impressed by my sister and me. I wasn’t sure which response was worse. 

Slow movement caught my eye and I glanced back at the couch dominated by the four heartbreakers as the final guy leaned forward to get a better look at us.

He rested his elbows on his knees, his dark eyes crawling over my flesh in a way that made heat rise along my spine. He was broader than the others, his muscles tight beneath a maroon t-shirt which clung to the curves of his powerful frame. His hair was jet black, and just long enough to shadow his eyes as it spilled over his forehead. Ink lined his biceps, disappearing beneath the short sleeves of his t-shirt, the designs intricate yet powerful in a way I couldn’t quite name. His face was cut from my very own personal fantasy, as if someone had delved into my deepest desires and drawn them into strong angles and perfect temptation made just for me. My gaze caught on his muscular body, his mouth, the stubble gracing his jaw, his mouth again…

My heart raced a little faster as his eyes met mine for a moment and I felt like a lamb caught in the gaze of a lion. He was dangerous in all the right ways and I knew without doubt that the fire in his eyes would burn me up if I strayed too close.

The applause took way too long to run its course and our number one fan was the last to stop. She reclaimed her chair but didn’t tear her adoring gaze from us for a second. We were left standing there as a thousand pairs of eyes ripped us apart, curiosity ready to tear every secret from us.

I pulled my gaze away from the hungry crowd and found my sister’s green eyes instead.

The same nervous energy danced in her gaze as I felt writhing beneath my skin and I released a slow breath as I pulled my arm out of the Principal’s grip. She wasn’t so easily deterred and swiftly hooked her arm behind my back instead before pushing us forward so we started walking. Straight towards the group of guys whose faces were set in expressions that seemed anything but friendly.

“Gentlemen,” Principal Nova purred as she gave me a little shove so that I was forced to stand before them like a sacrificial offering. “These are the Celestial Heirs,” she explained to me and Darcy, naming them from left to right. “Max Rigel,” (the dark skinned demi-god). “Caleb Altair,” (the blonde haired beaux next door), “Darius Acrux,” (my sin-filled fantasy). “And Seth Capella,” (the long haired lothario). “This is Gwendalina and Roxanya Vega-”

“Those aren’t our names,” I interrupted, refusing to keep standing there like a lemon while the pack of muscle-filled daydreams assessed us like we were fresh meat. “I’m Tory and that’s Darcy.”

“I’m aware that your Changeling family gave you the names of their birth children,” Nova said, like she was pacifying a small child, much to the delight of the blonde guy she’d named as Caleb. “But now that you’re home you don’t have to keep using-”

“I like my name,” Darcy interjected.

“I’m sure as shit not going to start going by Roxanya,” I agreed in a tone that closed the subject for further discussion.

Principal Nova eyed us like she was considering arguing further but I guessed the answer she saw in our eyes encouraged her to leave it. She sighed dramatically before continuing to address the distractingly good looking specimens before us. “Well whatever names you go by, you’re still Vegas. The last in your line and rightful holders of the Solarian throne once you come of age. So long as you pass your assessments here and go on to graduate from Zodiac you will reclaim the throne from the Celestial Heirs.” She indicated the four guys who sat before us and I frowned as I tried to comprehend exactly what she was suggesting. Before she gave me a moment to compute that little nugget of information, she continued to address the Heirs. “I do hope you hadn’t gotten too comfortable with the idea of holding the throne together. I’m sure you’ll want to be the first to offer the girls the hand of friendship as they embark upon this journey of education.”

The four guys looked at us like offering the hand of friendship was the last thing on their minds. In fact, I got the distinct feeling that Dark and Dangerous might be trying to set us on fire with his eyes alone.

To my surprise, he was the one to speak first, a smile lighting his face which was no doubt meant to look friendly but seemed like a mask to me. I was a specialist in detecting bullshit and this guy looked like he was stuffing himself full of it especially for the Principal’s benefit.

“Did you say they’ve been hiding in the mortal realm?” Darius asked curiously. “Without an ounce of training at all?” His voice was deep and rough in a way that made my skin tingle and I couldn’t help but glance at his mouth as the corner of it lifted in amusement.

“Well I’m sure you boys will be more than willing to bring them up to speed.” Nova patted me and Darcy like we were good children and moved away, leaving us standing before the wolves.

“Can you feel that power?” Caleb asked, leaning towards us as if he intended to sniff us like a dog.

Darcy stepped back and I frowned at him. The other three were looking at us curiously and I found myself wanting to be anywhere other than here.

“I guess we’ll see you around,” I said dismissively, turning my back on them as I tried to draw Darcy away.

Before we could get two steps, I came face to face with a broad chest as the four Heirs suddenly rose to stand around us.

“That was a little rude,” Seth murmured, his voice almost like an animal growl as he looked down at me, his long hair spilling over his shoulders.

“Cut them some slack, Seth,” Darius said as he stepped closer too and we found ourselves boxed in by a wall of testosterone-fuelled muscle. I didn’t much like being forced into a corner like that. “They don’t know how it works here yet. I’m guessing you didn’t realise that turning your back on your superiors is considered an insult?” His tone was almost kind but his words sent a trickle of fuck you right along my spine and I straightened as I turned my gaze on him instead. He was even more intimidating now that he was upright, his broad chest in line with my face so I was forced to tilt my head to look up at him.

“Superiors?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at him. “I don’t see anyone superior to me around here.”

“Well maybe you should look a little closer, Roxy,” he taunted, using that name to try and get a rise out of me. Poking fun at my dead parents’ choice in baby names. Classy.

I made a show of trailing my gaze across the four of them before shrugging dismissively. “I can’t see anyone better than us here. How about you, Darcy?”

“Nope,” my sister replied dismissively.

Before he could reply, I turned my back on him again, pushing between Max and Caleb as we and began to walk away.

“I think they could do with a lesson in how things work around here,” Max growled as we gained some distance from them but I didn’t bother to look back. I’d never made a habit of being popular in any of our other schools and I wasn’t bothered about that now either.

Darcy raised an eyebrow at me as we walked away from them and my lips lifted in response. She’d never been quite so keen to rock the boat as me but I’d never been too concerned with making friends. Especially not the kind who demanded respect instead of making sure they earned it.

Before I could say anything else to her, a solid weight slammed into my side and I released a cry of surprise as I was propelled around and shoved up against the golden wall of the curving room.

My heart leapt with fear as I tried to break loose of my attacker’s grip and Caleb smiled at me as he pressed his strong body against mine, pinning me in place.

“Wanna beg for forgiveness?” he purred and a shiver raced down my spine as my sister yelled at him to stop and tried to come to my aid. Max grabbed her before she got close and my gaze slid around the room, hunting out the teachers but none of them seemed to care about what the Heirs were doing to us.

My heart was pounding and I struggled feebly against Caleb’s hold on my wrists before trying to slam my knee into his crotch. He avoided my attack easily, pressing his body to mine so that I couldn’t repeat it.

“Last chance,” he offered, his gaze sliding over me in a way that sent fear crawling through my limbs despite his devastatingly good looks.

“Fuck you,” I growled, my fists clenching with the desire to punch his pretty face.

“I hoped you’d say that.” His mouth dipped to my neck and for half a second I thought he was going to kiss me before the sting of his teeth pierced my flesh.

I cried out, bucking against him in disbelief as the most horrifying sucking sensation pulled at my blood and worse than that – my newfound power. I could feel him draining it, drawing it out of me and into himself.

Holy shit, what the hell is he?

Everyone in The Orb was staring at us now but no one took so much as a step forward to help.

My gaze fell on Sofia who looked like she wished she could intervene, Orion who seemed mildly bored, the Principal who appeared disappointed and finally the other three Heirs. Max held my sister back as easily as if she were a child, despite the fact that she was thrashing and cursing at him. Darius and Seth had moved to stand beside him as they watched the show with amused expressions. They watched their friend feed on me with a sickening sense of satisfaction rolling from them. Darius caught my eye and for a moment I felt like I was looking at a monster instead of a man.

He smiled at me with all the smug satisfaction of a mainstream asshole who thought he could win just by throwing his weight around.

My heart slammed against my ribs and my knees grew weak as Darcy shouted for someone to do something. Somewhere deep inside my chest a defiant little spark lit beneath the pyre of my panic and I clung onto it like a life raft. I wasn’t going to let this touch that flame. And together we’d ride out the dark.