Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae

THE SCENT OF a burning body still lingered in the air, catching in the back of my throat and making my scowl deepen. My heightened senses picked up every drop of blood which had been spilled tonight and I wondered again how such a thing had happened in the middle of campus with teachers all around.

I marched through The Wailing Wood with Max and Seth on either side of me. We travelled in silence, waiting until we could be sure of complete privacy before we discussed what had happened tonight with the Vega Twins.

The air between the trees was thick with tension and the darkness beneath their canopy almost complete. None of us summoned a light into existence though. Even in the dark we knew where we were going and we didn’t want any chance of anyone following us tonight. Not after what had just happened. What we’d just done.

I strained my ears for any sound of Darius approaching. There had been no sign of him since he’d stormed out of the Lunar Leisure building and left us all to deal with Orion’s wrath by the poolside.

My lip curled back as my mind landed on our Cardinal Magic Professor. No one had dared give me so much as a verbal warning since we’d arrived at this school yet he’d just seen fit to give us two weeks in detention. Who the hell did he think he was? Didn’t he consider the fact that we would be his kings soon? Was he really so angry with us that he’d risk incurring our wrath?

He’ll realise exactly who he’s crossed once I’ve graduated this place. I’m more than an Heir to him; I’m the most powerful Vampire in Solaria and his superior in every way once I leave this academy behind.

My mind snagged on the way Tory had looked when he’d pulled her out of that pool and a sliver of ice trickled down my spine. I didn’t want to think about that. I didn’t want to remember the way her heart had been beating too slowly when I’d strained my ears to listen for it. I didn’t want to think about the way she’d kept her eyes to the floor instead of glaring right back at us.

We’d needed to break them. It had to be done.

So why does it make me feel like a piece of shit?

It was cold in the woods and I drew on my fire Element to warm myself through. Flames licked along my limbs from the inside but it didn’t do much to chase away the cold pit in my gut.

My energy was running low. I could feel the well of power within me straining to maintain the heat of my fire. I should have topped up on Tory’s magic while we were at the dance. But I’d known the others were planning something for her and I just… hadn’t.

I pushed a hand through my hair, my fingers catching in the curls as I messed it up.

It was her own fault really. I’d tried to get her to leave the dance with me before anything had happened. I’d done my best.

Keep telling yourself that.

Seth was toying with something in his hands and I glanced at it, spotting the coil of black and blue hair he had wrapped through his fingers.

He noticed my attention and smirked at me but I looked away without giving him a response.

His shoulder bumped against mine affectionately but I shrugged him off. Werewolf and Vampire natures were about as different as you could get when it came to tactile behaviour. And though I’d grown used to the way he pawed at me all the time and usually didn’t mind it, I found it hard to tolerate when I was tense. And with what we’d just done, the dead body that had shown up, Darius going missing and my power running low, I was definitely tense.

I could see Seth pouting at me from the corner of my eye but I didn’t care. I upped my pace a little and we turned off of the pathway, slipping between the trees towards King’s Hollow.

We passed through a clearing and the light of the moon shone down on us for a moment. I glanced up, almost certain that I’d seen a shadow passing under the stars out of the corner of my eye.

I looked around curiously, wondering if Darius was flying above us in his Dragon form. Apart from a small patch around the moon, the sky was thick with clouds and even my Vampire eyesight couldn’t pick out anything moving above us. It didn’t mean he wasn’t there though. Where else would he have gone? Darius wasn’t quick to anger but when he did lose his temper he was always drawn to the release of transformation. His Dragon form was the perfect outlet for rage and as a Leo, his temper was fierce when it was unleashed.

The others didn’t slow as I searched the sky for a sign of the fourth Heir but I didn’t care about them leaving me behind.

I needed a moment away from them to think about what I was going to say when we made it to King’s Hollow. I knew that what had happened tonight had been necessary in a way but it also didn’t seem right to me. The Vampire Code forbade me from torturing my Source so I hadn’t had anything to do with what they’d done to Tory; I hadn’t even known what they had planned until it was underway. But even though I could claim to have been nothing more than a witness I still felt… kinda shitty.

I sighed.

There was no way to be sure if Darius was up there or not so I gave up on my hunt for him. If he wanted to see us then he knew where we’d be.

I put on a spurt of speed and raced between towering trunks, delving into the heart of The Wailing Wood until I felt the brush of magic against my skin.

The wards we’d placed around this place swept welcomingly across my flesh as I pushed through them, passing Max and Seth and making it to the Hollow first.

The ancient oak which housed King’s Hollow towered above me as I made it to the entrance at its roots. Long ago, someone had wielded powerful Earth magic on this tree to create the place we called our haven. The four of us were always under so much pressure to portray the perfect image, to exude power and strength and command the attention of every Fae in the room, this one spot was the only place we had that we could call our own and truly be ourselves.

It was a sanctuary and an oasis in the maelstrom of our lives but for the first time that I could remember, I wasn’t looking forward to entering it.

The huge door before me was woven from the very fabric of the bark and roots of the colossal tree. As I reached out to touch it, it welcomed the essence of my magic like it was greeting an old friend. Only the most powerful Fae could gain access to this place and as such, within its walls we could be free.

I didn’t wait for Seth and Max as the door swung open to admit me. Instead I headed onto the staircase which was forged from the internal structure of the hollow trunk and began to ascend. Faeflies crawled across the wooden walls, glowing blue and green with their own little wells of magic and lighting the way for me.

The stairs wound up, curving around again and again until I reached another door made out of living vines. I reached out to them with my magic and they curled away from the entrance to admit me, white flowers blooming along their lengths as they took joy in the power I fed them.

My gut swirled uncomfortably as I tapped into my diminishing reserves again and I cursed the fact that I’d let myself run so low.

I released some more power, lighting a fire in the grate as I entered the huge treehouse which dominated the towering branches at the top of the oak tree.

I used the power of the flames I’d already created to aid me in making more so that I could light the lamps around the space too. Using one flame to create another took less magic than summoning one into existence from nothing but it irritated me that I was reduced to it.

An L-shaped grey couch was revealed at the heart of the room as the wooden walls were lit warmly by the firelight. To the right of the den was a ladder which led up to the higher level where beds awaited us should we decide to stay here tonight. I was torn between the desire to do that and avoid the curiosity of the members of my House and my desire to escape the other Heirs. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d wanted to avoid them but right now, I didn’t feel like lingering in their company.

My mother’s words rang in my ears at that thought. If you can love the other Heirs like brothers then your life will be all the easier for it, but either way, you are stuck together. Through the good and the bad you are united. Your individual feelings do not matter when it comes to the actions of the group. You are one. And you must never show even the slightest form of weakness to the outside world. The actions of each of you are the actions of all of you. You stand together. If you falter, the whole of Solaria will fall.

With the Nymph attacks on the rise, I knew that that sentiment had never been more important than it was right now. Our kingdom was being thrown into turmoil, teetering on the edge of war. The last thing we needed at this moment in time had been the royal Vega Heirs turning up. And yet here they were, two girls with the potential to unhinge everything we’d come to know and trust about the world since The Savage King had died.

I dropped down onto the only armchair in the room. As soon as Seth arrived he’d be snuggling up to anyone sat on the couch and I wasn’t in the mood for it.

I used the moment of solitude to let out a long breath as I ran a hand over my face.

I kept thinking about the look Tory had given me when I’d kissed her in that classroom. My heart had leapt with excitement when she hadn’t pushed me away. And it wasn’t just because I’d known I shouldn’t be doing it. There was something about the twins that intrigued me to no end. 

They’d grown up as Changelings in the mortal world with no knowledge of Fae or the way we ran our society. And yet somehow they kept on rising to the challenges thrown their way. It was like their birthright ran in their blood with all the ferocity of The Savage King himself, despite the fact that they’d never known they’d be expected to claim their power. 

If they had grown up amongst the Fae, I had no doubt in my mind that they already would have secured their position above the four of us. And I supposed we wouldn’t have balked at it if that was the way it had always been. If no one had ever thought they were dead in the first place, then we never would have expected to rule without them. But now they were just a problem; two powerful girls with no knowledge of our world or the ways of our people.

They couldn’t be expected to lead us. They couldn’t possibly hold us together in the face of war. If they claimed their birthright it would be disastrous for Solaria. Our parents were right to insist on us chasing them out of here. We couldn’t let them graduate from the Academy. But what we’d done tonight…

“What are you moping about, Cal?” Max asked as he sauntered into the room.

I sat back, dropping my hands from my face to look up at him and Seth. The Werewolf crossed the room, retrieving some beers from the bucket of ice which had been created with water magic so that it never thawed, and tossing one into my lap. I sat the can down on the wooden floor without opening it.

“Nothing,” I muttered, eyeing the half-smirk on Max’s face. He was obviously pleased with how the night had gone and I didn’t want to get into it with him. What was I even supposed to say? ‘Good work tonight guys but now I feel like an asshole and I don’t like it…’ Nice way to come off sounding like a pouty bitch there, Caleb. No. It was probably best I held my tongue until I got over it.

“Look what I’ve made,” Seth said, grinning as he held out Darcy’s hair which he’d braided into a bracelet and placed around his wrist.

“That’s sick,” Max said enthusiastically.

I rolled my eyes without responding.

“Maybe she’ll cut off your hair in revenge,” I muttered, eyeing Seth’s long, hazel locks.

“No chance. I broke her, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the two of them have dropped out come morning,” Seth said cockily, spinning his new bracelet around his wrist.

Max barked a laugh. “They should count themselves lucky to be able to walk out of here at all,” he said, though I didn’t buy it. He always fought against the image that Sirens were sympathetic by nature and he never wanted to admit that the fear and misery of others upset him when he fed on it. But I knew it did. He couldn’t hide his true self from me or the other Heirs no matter how hard he tried. “For a minute there I thought we’d killed Tory – did you see how still she was when Orion snatched her out of the pool?”

“So you’d have been pleased with yourself if you’d killed her, would you?” I asked, my voice low with warning. I may not have bought into his shit all the time but in this instance he was acting too damn pleased with himself for what we’d done.

“It would have made things easier for us,” Max said with a cocky smirk.

Before I could consider it, I shot out of my chair and threw him against the wall. Seth cried out in surprise as the wooden structure of the treehouse rattled with the force of our collision. Max swore as he aimed a punch at my side.

I snarled at him, the beast beneath my skin rising to the surface as I lost my temper and my fangs grew.

I lunged at his neck and Max ducked aside, snatching my face in his hand as he forced my canines away from him.

“Holy shit, Caleb, why are you so angry?” he asked, his eyes widening in surprise as his Siren gift got to work, feeding on my emotions and the remaining dregs of my power.

I lost control as he sucked at the shallow pool of my magic, my muscles flaring with the strength of my kind as I threw a punch into his face and he was thrown aside. Before he could recover, I leapt at him again, my fangs sinking deep into the flesh of his neck.

Max swore as he fell still beneath the weight of my power, my venom immobilising his magic as I drew it out of him and into myself.

I kept him pinned to the wall as I fed on him, draining much more from him than I would usually take from one of my friends. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken power from any of them by force like this either but I was too angry and too empty to pull back.

“Fuck! Haven’t you taken enough yet?” Max snarled as I refused to release him.

I growled low in the back of my throat, letting him know that I had zero intentions of stopping.

Seth laughed behind me like this was all some big joke but he wasn’t stupid enough to approach. “Shit, Caleb, when was the last time you fed?”

A huge bang announced the arrival of a dragon landing on the roof and the whole treehouse shuddered beneath its weight.

A moment later, Darius dropped in through a hatch above us and I shoved Max away from me as I finally released him.

Darius barely even spared us a glance as he crossed the room butt naked, the stench of smoke and fire following in his wake. He opened a heavy chest and pulled out a pair of sweatpants to cover himself.

“Where the hell did you go?” I asked angrily as Darius continued to ignore the rest of us, claiming my former seat and my beer for good measure.

“You’ve got blood around your mouth,” he said, ignoring my question as he opened the bottle and drained the whole thing.

I wiped Max’s blood from my lip and sucked it from my thumb as I took the seat closest to Darius and pinned him in my gaze.

He scowled at me for several long seconds but I didn’t back off so he finally gave me an answer.

“I needed to fly,” he said with a shrug. “Or I was going to bite Orion’s head off. Literally.”

He still seemed pretty damn pissed off so I guessed that he was telling the truth about that. Everyone knew that if a Dragon Shifter really lost their temper with you they were likely to transform and eat you whole. Not that I’d seen Darius lose his cool like that very often. He’d learned the hard way how to keep his temper in check growing up with his father.

“And did you happen to accidentally barbecue someone on your way out?” Seth asked Darius casually, dropping down beside me and petting my arm. I knew he could tell that I was still riled up and he was looking to comfort me like I was one of his pack-mates, but I wasn’t a damn wolf and the only thing I wanted right now was space.

“Of course I didn’t,” Darius replied dismissively like he thought Seth had been joking.

“Well someone did,” Max said as he took a seat at the other end of the couch and healed the wound on his neck without looking at me. “There was a body all crisped up right outside Lunar Leisure when we left.”

“Seriously?” Darius asked, looking between us like he thought we might be joking.

“If I’m honest, I thought you’d done it,” Seth said as he shifted closer to me, pulling my hand into his like that would soothe me. “It certainly looked like Dragon Fire to me,” he added.

I shoved him off of me and he whimpered a little before nuzzling against my neck.

“Piss off, Seth,” I snapped, shoving him back again and eyeing that goddamn bracelet on his wrist as I leaned away from him.

“I don’t like it when you’re sad,” he replied, reaching towards me once more despite the fact that I was clearly in no mood for it.

I got to my feet and stalked away, claiming another beer from the ice bucket just to give myself an excuse to leave.

“Why are you sad?” Darius asked me, his eyes following my movements.

“He’s not sad, he’s fucking raging,” Max muttered, shooting me an irritated look.

“I thought we were discussing your sudden disappearance right around the time someone was burned to death?” I snapped in reply, refusing to let them turn the subject of the conversation around to me.

“I told you, I went for a flight,” Darius snarled. “Or are you doubting me now too?”

“Who’s doubting you?” Seth asked innocently, even though he’d just said that he thought Darius had killed someone.

“He means Orion. He’s pissed we got detention from his buddy,” Max supplied.

“He’s not my buddy,” Darius said. “He’s a goddamn hypocrite.”

“Well I think that detention is probably the least we should have expected after we nearly killed Tory,” I muttered. I was still pissed at Orion for daring to give it to us but I guessed I could suck it up in light of what we’d almost done.

“I didn’t see you doing much,” Max replied. “In fact, if it wasn’t for the Code you hide behind, I’d think that maybe you weren’t standing with us on this. You didn’t even help with the preparation of it.”

“Well if this is what it takes to keep our positions then maybe I don’t like being a part of it,” I countered. As soon as the words left my lips I wished they hadn’t. The three of them were staring at me like I’d just grown a second head.

Darius got to his feet and stalked toward me, his eyes narrowing to golden, reptilian slits as his Order tried to push its way out of his skin.

“Do you think I enjoyed doing that?” he demanded. “Do you think I want to be terrorising people and preying on their worst fears? You think I don’t realise what that makes me? Who that makes me?”

I squared my shoulders, holding his eye. I shouldn’t have said it but the words were out there now and I wasn’t going to be forced into taking them back like a goddamn coward.

“How many times have we sat around this room and discussed all the things we don’t like about the way our parents rule?” I hissed. “And yet at the first real test of our claim, we bow to their way of doing things.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Darius said. “The Nymphs are already circling closer and the Vegas have barely been back a few weeks. They can smell weakness in the air. If those girls take the throne then we’re all doomed.”

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t get rid of them,” I said angrily. “But I am saying that I don’t think becoming your father is the way to do it.”

Darius’s eyes flared with rage at my words but before he could lunge at me, I shot across the room and leapt out of the window.

With my Vampire speed, I was half way through The Wailing Wood before I even considered slowing down.

I didn’t want to be around the other Heirs right now. Hell, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to be around myself.