Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning

I GUIDED MY CAR down the road with half an eye on Tory in the seat beside me as she fixed her damn lipstick like we hadn’t just had the craziest fucking argument of my life on the side of a mountain. Did anything ever faze that girl? Or had she really just been through so much shit in her life that what had just happened between us wasn’t even a big deal to her?

I didn’t know. And I couldn’t figure it out. She was a closed book and it drove me mad. Girls usually chased me but with her I honestly felt like she wasn’t even interested half the time. Which didn’t make sense because I was goddamn hilarious and the sex was fucking mind blowing so what else did she even want?

Her window was open and she still hadn’t put her seatbelt on. What did she have against seatbelts? I swear the girl had more mysteries in her travel preferences than I had in my whole life.

We turned towards the fair and the sidewalks slowly filled with people. I flicked the button beside me to close her window and she cast a glance my way out of the corner of her eyes, her fingers flexing like she wanted to hit the button to drop it again instantly. But if she didn’t want her face plastered all over tomorrow’s Celestial Times then she was better off hidden behind the blacked out windows.

I drove right past a no vehicles sign and kept going beyond the crowds of people walking into the fair on foot until I turned right alongside the gates where the other Heirs’ cars were already parked. A security guard eyed my car with disapproval, his lips set in a thin line but he didn’t make any attempt to come and tell me to move it. If he wanted me to, he’d have to make me and he knew he wasn’t strong enough to do that.

“Full disclosure, the press will have recognised my car. Do you wanna pose for photos or let me carry you the hell away from them?” I asked, turning to look at Tory as I cut the engine.

She looked out through the tinted glass and I followed her gaze. Sure enough I spotted several paparazzi with cameras eyeing the car hopefully already.

“Well as the press seem to think I’m a sex addict it might not look good for you to be seen with me,” she commented. “They’ll think you’re my latest conquest.”

“I am,” I said with a grin which drew a laugh from her. “Does that mean you’re accepting my offer of a ride?”

“I guess so.” Tory looked at me, her gaze trailing down to my chest as she pursed her lips.

I looked down too and cursed as I spotted the bloodstains all over my white t-shirt. The girl had hit me really damn hard with that branch. It was pretty hot.

“Kinda looks like you’re a messy eater,” she teased. Her fingers brushed her neck absentmindedly where I’d bitten her, sending a zip of energy straight through my body to my dick.

I cleared my throat, looking in the back of the car like I might find something in the tiny space between the seats to change into. I spotted my Pitball jacket and hooked it into my grasp, shrugging it on and zipping it up to cover the bloodstains. I found her Atlas down there too and handed it back to her without mentioning the whole I snatched it like a psycho thing from earlier.

The navy jacket was lined with silver stripes and my name was stamped across the back of it in shining silver letters. It was hardly subtle but I was always recognised wherever I went anyway so it didn’t make much difference.

“You look like an extra from Grease,” Tory said, smirking at me.

“You got something against being my Sandy?” I asked, unclipping my belt as I leaned over her to open her door.

She snorted a laugh as I hooked my arms around her waist, not giving that a response. But I was fairly sure that snort meant she didn’t see me as much of a Danny. Fair point. He never kidnapped Sandy and drained her of her blood up a mountain like a serial killer. Or course Sandy never would have been able to handle the kind of man who did that so I guessed Tory wasn’t much of a Sandy either. Aside from that leather jacket and tight jeans, pity they weren’t leather too…

The door opened and I leapt out of the car with Tory’s arms around my neck and her warm body against my chest.

I used my Vampire speed to shoot straight through the gates, tossing a wedge of auras at the kiosk to cover our entrance fee before the paparazzi could get any shots of us. I dove into the crowd, speeding between vendors and rides until I spotted Seth, Darius and Max moving towards the log ride.

I came to a halt a few meters away, calling out to them to let them know I was here.

Tory slid out of my arms, cast a single look at the guys and turned her back on them before walking away.

All three of them tensed, glaring at me with questions in their eyes which were gonna need answering before I could spend the evening with Tory.

I held a finger up at the guys and darted after Tory, catching her hand and tugging her to a halt. My gaze hooked on her lips which she’d painted blood red and I had to resist the urge to kiss her.

“I need to talk to the other Heirs for a sec, wait for me, yeah?”

“Sure,” she replied sweetly. Too damn sweetly. “I’ll just have a look at some of the stands.”

I narrowed my gaze on her for a moment but I couldn’t figure out her angle so I pressed a kiss to her cheek before heading back over to the other Heirs.

“Nice job there, Cal, looks like you really scared the shit out of her in the mountains,” Max said sarcastically as I stopped in front of them.

I’d known this was coming when I backed out of the plan to scare a confession out of her and leave her up that mountain on her own. It hadn’t been a part of the plans we’d been making for after The Reckoning, but I’d been so angry about the Pegasex bullshit that I’d insisted on breaking things off with her and I’d wanted her to know exactly why too. The other Heirs hadn’t put up much of an argument against it and Darius had been all for it. Which wasn’t a surprise because he’d made it clear that me hooking up with Tory pissed him off something chronic and he’d obviously been pleased I was going to call time on it. Except now I wasn’t. And one look at his face let me know he wasn’t fucking happy about it.

That had absolutely been my plan right up until I’d gotten her up there and looked her in the eyes. I thought she’d crumble when I pushed her. I thought she’d cry or beg or…something. But she just stared me in the face and lied. She didn’t even bother to lie well. She knew I’d caught her out and she just owned it. Pushing back at me and daring me to do something about it or let it go. And it was so fucking hot that I’d chosen option B. I didn’t know what it was about Tory Vega, but I was fast becoming addicted to it.

“Yeah well…” I glanced over at Tory as she started talking to some girl selling sparkling balloons shaped like various different Order forms. “I took her up there and did what I said but-”

“But then she started sucking your dick, right?” Seth asked with a smirk.

Darius growled at him and I laughed.

“No. She wouldn’t admit it,” I said. “And I thought about leaving her up there in the dark and I just didn’t want to do it. We need to make sure they don’t claim their throne, but we don’t have to be total assholes in the process. And if I forget the fact that she’s a Vega then I don’t have any reason not to keep seeing her,” I said, knowing the words would damn me but fuck it, it was the truth.

“But she is a Vega,” Darius snapped like it was the only thing that even mattered. And maybe it was. Or maybe it should have been.

“Yeah. Well I’m an Altair. And I don’t do what I’m told by anyone, so you can save your lecture,” I snarled back.

“Are you sure you know what you’re getting into with her?” Max asked, shifting closer to me. “That’s not just lust you’re feeling anymore.”

Darius growled again and Max shifted his attention to him, his eyebrows drawing together sharply.

“That girl is trouble,” Max said darkly, his eyes whipping between me and Darius as he fed on the emotions bubbling around us.

“Pfft, maybe I like trouble. It doesn’t mean I’m going to forget what’s important to us. Or Solaria,” I said firmly and Max nodded, relaxing as he read my emotions on that too.

“So keep screwing her if that’s what you want,” Seth said with a shrug, pushing a hand through his long hair. “Just so long as it doesn’t change anything else.”

Darius looked like he was fighting hard not to add anything on the subject and I decided against baiting him on it. If he’d wanted a shot at Tory then I wasn’t what was standing in his way; he was the one who had made her hate him like she did. And if he had some other reason to object to what I chose to do then it was up to him to say it to me or not.

“It won’t,” I replied firmly. “The Reckoning’s tomorrow anyway, chances are she won’t make it through. Even if she does we’ve got better plans to put the Vegas in their place than me breaking her heart.”

Seth snorted with amusement. “I don’t think there was ever much danger of you managing that,” he said, nodding towards something over my shoulder.

Tory had just stepped forward to take her turn at the Siren kissing booth. The guy who pulled her into his arms wasn’t wearing a shirt and he was built like a tank. He started saying something to her which made her laugh loudly enough for us to hear it. She hadn’t kissed him yet and I had no intention of letting it happen either.

“Can’t she fight off a Siren lure yet?” I snapped as I stalked towards her with the other Heirs in tow. Irritation slid beneath my skin that she hadn’t even learned to keep up a basic mental shield like that.

“He’s not using a lure on her,” Max said casually and I snapped around to him with a frown.

“What do you mean?” I demanded.

“I mean, your little Vega chose to go up there without him needing to use any power on her at all,” Max said with a smirk. “Maybe she’s more likely to break your heart than the other way around.”

I swore at him as I shot forward to stop that Siren asshole from touching her but Darius had made it there first.

“Back off,” he snarled at the kissing booth douchebag and the Siren instantly did as he was told, shifting away from Tory like she was contagious.

Darius caught Tory’s arm and tugged her away from the stand while she tried to claw his fingers off of her. He moved her to stand before him and she shoved his hand off of her aggressively.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she spat, glaring at him with so much venom in her gaze that I halted my advance on them.

“Stopping you from embarrassing yourself and ending up all over the press tomorrow in a story about how you have to pay for kisses as well as having a sex addiction,” he replied scathingly. “You’re welcome.”

“I was asking him about which charity the kissing booth is raising money for,” she bit back instantly. “Not paying for a fucking kiss. Unlike you, I don’t just pay my way through life, living off of Daddy’s credit card. But I do have a stipend that’s stupidly generous and a fucking conscience and I was trying to do something decent. Which I guess you wouldn’t know jack shit about.”

Darius cast a look over his shoulder at the sign announcing the fact that the kissing booth was raising funds for a charity and I shifted uncomfortably as I read it too. Missing Moon Orphanage.

Tory and her sister were orphans twice over and even though I’d never gotten any details from her about their childhood, I knew it wasn’t all sunshine and roses.

When we turned back to Tory she was already gone.

“Nice work, man,” I snapped at Darius as I pushed past him to chase her down.

“You were gonna punch that asshole too,” he called after me, but I ignored him. Partly because he was pissing me off lately. Mostly because he was right and I was just lucky Darius had gotten there first.

I pulled my Atlas from my pocket as I followed her and sent a quick email to the family lawyer, getting her to set up a donation to the Missing Moon Orphanage from my trust fund and asking her to send me a confirmation ASAP.

I caught Tory as she drew close to the hook-a-duck stand and turned her around to face me.

“You have some really annoying friends too, you know,” I said before she could say anything.

“Oh yeah?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “I bet you can’t even name any of my friends.”

“Darcy,” I said quickly and her lips twitched with amusement.

“Name five more and I’ll let you off the hook for your asshole associations.”

“Come on, we both know you don’t have five more friends. You’re not that likeable,” I teased and I got a full smile in response for that.

“Three then and you can name your prize,” she offered.

“Grus,” I said instantly, smiling widely.

“I’m gonna want a full name for the prize.”

“Geraldine Grus,” I said enthusiastically. I couldn’t even really claim to dislike that girl, she was a goddamn machine on the Pitball pitch and at least she was consistent with her beliefs. She was an open book. Sure, it was set to a page I didn’t like much but at least I knew she wasn’t a conniving asshole like a lot of the Fae I knew. With her you knew exactly where you stood without having to second guess it.

“That’s one,” Tory conceded.

“And, errr…” I pushed a hand through my hair but found the curls sticky with drying blood as I did. I dropped my hand irritably, hoping it wasn’t noticeable. I’d wiped the blood off of my face in the car but it wasn’t going to come out of my hair without a shower. “You know…the little one with the nice ass and the pixie cut. I wanna say she’s called…Sorange?”

“Not even at all,” Tory laughed and I knew I had her again.

I pushed my advantage and caught her hand, wrapping my fingers between hers as I pulled her into a walk. I could feel the guys watching us but I couldn’t deal with them now. I had my sights set on Tory Vega tonight and I wasn’t letting her slip away.

“Okay, that’s two,” I said, ignoring the eye roll I got for counting Sorange as a win. “Aaaaand…Hat Boy.”

Tory gave me a full laugh for that one and I turned towards her, capturing her lips with mine before she could stop me.

She didn’t resist much, her lips moulding to mine as she gave in to the heat between us and I pressed her back against the hook-a-duck stand. Her lips parted for me and I wrapped my hands around her waist beneath her leather jacket, the soft skin of her stomach warm against my palms.

A kid swore at us as I nudged him and accidentally made him lose his duck which quacked angrily as the spell released it and it splashed away.

Tory pressed me back and I sighed dramatically as she moved away from me, but she let me take her hand again as I fell into step beside her.

I glanced over my shoulder and found Darius scowling at us – no surprises there – Max had folded his arms while he watched us and Seth mimed striking a whip at me. I wasn’t even sure I could deny it at this particular moment. Tory Vega was getting under my skin and I wasn’t sure I could do much to stop it. I shrugged at the other Heirs like I didn’t give a shit what they thought which was mostly true anyway, and drew Tory away from them into the crowd.

“So what do I get for my prize?” I asked casually as I eyed the brightly coloured stands and vendors peddling all kinds of strange and wonderful things.

Tory was drinking everything in with wide eyes and a smile played around her lips which actually made her look kind of innocent for once.

“You just had your prize,” she said dismissively.

“You would have let me kiss you anyway!” I protested.

“Not likely,” she teased.

Her eyes fell on a guy selling brightly coloured sticks of cotton candfae and I tugged her towards him knowingly. I ordered her one and tossed the guy a twenty when he asked for two auras, drawing Tory away again without bothering to wait for the change.

Tory raised an eyebrow at me as she took a bite of her cotton candfae which was changing from pink to blue to lilac as she held it. “Why did you do that?” she asked me, casting a look back at the vendor who was grinning like that tip had just made his day.

I shrugged. “That money doesn’t mean anything to me, it makes him happy. Why not?”

“Aaand?” she pushed, her eyes picking me apart like I was just so damn easy for her to read.

I sighed. “And it doesn’t hurt my reputation for people to think of me as generous. When I’m sitting on the Celestial Council one day and I make some choice that that guy’s friends are pissed about he’ll be there saying, ‘I met Caleb Altair once, he was damn decent – gave me an eighteen dollar tip on some cotton candfae.”

“There it is,” she said with a satisfied smirk, taking another bite.

“It’s still a nice thing to do,” I protested. “Ulterior motives aside.”

“Sure,” she agreed like she didn’t agree or maybe she did, I couldn’t fucking tell and she was already walking away again.

My Atlas pinged in my pocket and I pulled it out, grinning at the email from the family lawyer.

“I thought I’d make up for the whole kissing booth thing back there,” I said, holding out the email for her to look at.

She raised an eyebrow as she read it. “You donated ten thousand auras to the orphanage?” she asked, her lips parting in surprise.

A grin was tugging at my lips in anticipation of what she’d do next but instead of the hug, tears of joy and making out sesh which would undoubtedly lead to me getting her back in my bed again tonight, she frowned at me.

“Why?” she asked warily. “What exactly is it that you want from me?”

“I…” I pushed a hand into my hair, unsure how this seemed to have had the opposite effect to what I’d wanted. “I thought it would make you happy.”

Tory looked at me for a long moment, twirling the cotton candfae between her fingers. “You know what I like about you, Caleb?” she asked like she was asking me a math problem.

“Everything?” I suggested.

Tory rolled her eyes. “I like it when you don’t try so hard. I don’t need you to make grand gestures or buy me sweets. I’m not your girlfriend and I don’t want to be.”

Ouch.

“So why don’t you just save the bullshit for a nice girl who needs hearts and flowers because that’s not me. I’m not impressed by shit like that.”

“So what are you impressed by?” I asked, needing to know more than I liked to admit.

“I just want someone to make my heart beat faster,” she said in a low voice that had me drawing closer to her as I looked into her dark eyes. “To challenge me and make me laugh and push back against my bullshit. I want to be forced out of my comfort zone and I want to feel excited, exhilarated, afraid. But not just because you’re an asshole. Because I want to feel alive.”

“So not much then?” I confirmed teasingly. This girl was going to be the death of me. I couldn’t resist that glint in her eye or the challenge in her tone and I was pretty sure she knew it.

“No, not much.” She smirked as she finished her cotton candfae and released a blaze of fire magic in her palm to destroy the wooden stick it had been wrapped around.

“Fuck it then, come on.” I snatched her hand and this time I didn’t try to hold onto it all sweet and innocent, I just tugged her through the crowd behind me.

The Fairy Fair was the same every year and I knew by now where all the best parts of it were found. We wound between countless people and I dragged Tory on when she spotted Geraldine Grus and her Ass idiots. She waved at them but didn’t try very hard to get away from me and I smirked to myself, knowing I had her attention again.

A shadow stepped into my path and I scowled as Hat Boy himself set his eyes on my date.

“Are you okay, chica?” he asked, catching Tory’s other arm so that she stopped to speak to him.

“Yeah,” she said brightly. “Caleb’s just showing me around the fair. Where’s Darcy?”

Hat Boy’s gaze darkened slightly and he shrugged. “She blew me off. Turns out our date didn’t mean as much to her as it did to me.”

“Speaking of dates,” I interrupted loudly. “We were actually-” 

“What happened?” Tory asked, cutting me off and my irritation grew a notch as she chose to give this loser her attention instead of me.

“We were having a really good time, we even kissed and then-”

“You what?” Tory gasped. 

I growled as he continued to dominate her attention and lifted her wrist to my lips, pressing a kiss against her skin. Her heart beat a little harder and I smirked as I moved closer, kissing her neck instead.

“Yeah she…” Hat Boy paused as I wrapped my arms around Tory’s waist and she put a half assed effort into batting me off. “Can we go somewhere to talk in private?”

“Oh, ummm. Me and Caleb were kinda-”

“Please, chica,” he begged and I moved behind Tory, dragging her body back to press against mine as I kept my arms around her. 

“I think she’s made her choice,” I growled, scowling at him. “Tory doesn’t wanna spend her evening with you any more than her sister did.”

“Caleb,” she hissed but I ran my fingers down her sides and a laugh escaped her too.

“Forget it. Eres una puta como tu hermana.” He turned and started walking away but I flicked my fingers at him, making the earth tremble beneath his feet so that he almost fell.

Tory sucked in a breath in surprise but I ignored her. “I’m pretty sure you just called my date a whore,” I growled. 

He looked around at us again, his face paling but he didn’t deny it.

Tory looked at her so-called friend for a long moment then just shook her head. “I just wanna enjoy the fair,” she said, glancing around at me. “Leave it.”

Hat Boy looked between the two of us with anger swimming in his gaze but his power was so low he wasn’t even worth my time. “You heard her. Fuck off,” I snapped.

He scurried away from us and I grinned as I tried to kiss her again but she pushed me off.

“You’re such a dick,” she said halfheartedly.

“Isn’t that why you like me?” I challenged.

“No. I like you because you’re half decent in bed.”

A shit eating grin bit at my cheeks at that comment. “I’ll work on convincing you of the other half tonight.” I promised, snatching her hand again so that we could get back to our date.

“Not likely,” Tory muttered but she let me drag her on with a smile playing around her lips.

We made it to the big, dark tower in the centre of the fair and Tory tipped her head back, looking up at the sign above the entrance which read House of Horrors.

Her eyes lit with interest and I grinned at her as I headed towards the queue. Tory slowed down as we reached the back of it, but I tugged on her hand to keep her moving. I was a Celestial Heir; I didn’t queue.

Tory gave me a look that said I was an entitled prick and I smirked, letting her know I agreed.

We reached the front of the queue without anyone daring to voice a complaint and I pulled a few aura notes out of my pocket, pressing them into the hand of the guy running it.

“Make sure we get the full experience,” I said to him in an undertone and he smiled knowingly, casting a look Tory’s way.

She was paying more attention to the big fake spider hanging over the entrance than she was to us though so I wasn’t sure if she’d heard me. Either way, if she wanted to feel alive, I was gonna deliver.

The guy handed over four bracelets and I slipped two over my wrists before turning and doing the same to Tory.

“What’s this for?” she asked, eyeing the silver bangles.

“They stop you from casting magic in case you panic,” I said. “It can get kinda intense in there and they don’t want anyone accidentally burning the place down.”

“So we’re just leaving ourselves vulnerable?” she asked slowly.

“Hardly,” I teased. “The bangles slip right back off again. They aren’t FIB manacles, just a backup in case of panic. But if you’re afraid…”

Tory straightened her spine at that insinuation and shook her head, making her high ponytail swing back and forth. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re the one clinging onto my hand like the sky might come crashing down if you let go of me,” she countered.

“Let’s see if you’re still feeling so brave on the other side,” I teased.

The door opened for us and we stepped inside, walking over creaking floorboards as I released my grip on Tory’s hand and let her go ahead of me. 

She didn’t hesitate and I followed her silhouette in the darkened space as creepy music came from speakers hidden somewhere. I resisted the urge to sharpen my eyesight with my Vampire gifts, letting the dark press in on me so that I could enjoy the House of Horrors the same way as her.

As we headed down the long corridor, something brushed against my ankle and I almost flinched.

Tory gasped, falling still a few paces in front of me before stumbling back a step and bumping into my chest.

“There’s something in here,” she breathed, her heart beat spiking a little just as another small body scuttled over my sneaker.

I only offered a dark laugh as I nudged her to get her moving again. The summoning room always gave me the creeps but I wasn’t going to let it show. I wanted to see how she coped when she realised we were surrounded by rats.

Tory headed further into the dark space, her pace slower now as she tried to figure out what was going on and I followed a few steps behind.

A high pitched squeak came from our right and she stilled. She was nearing the centre of the room now and any moment-

Tory stepped forward and the panel beneath her feet flipped up, revealing the pale glow of a huge summoning crystal. The second it was revealed, the rats went wild, flooding towards it from everywhere, scampering over our feet, brushing against our legs, dropping down from the pipes and beams which ran along the ceiling.

Tory screamed and started running, darting towards the doorway which fell open ahead of us, allowing red light to pour into the room.

I chased after her, flinching as a rat fell onto my shoulder and dislodging it as we raced through to the red lit room.

“Were those real rats?” Tory demanded, swiping at her body like they could still be crawling over her.

I laughed as she shuddered in disgust. “Yeah, they summon them there, I hear they’re nice, clean rats though – no plague carriers.”

She gaped at me like I was insane but before she could say anything else, the door to the rat room snapped shut and the floor beneath our feet began to tremble.

Flames sprang to life beside us and Tory spun towards them in surprise. More fire licked along the ceiling then to our left, but this room didn’t seem to offer any fear for her and she just looked around at the magic curiously. After seeing her performance in her Fire Trial I wasn’t that surprised that she wasn’t afraid of the flames but as she stepped towards them with her hand held out, I quickly shot forward to stop her.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, holding her back as her fingers danced close to the flames. We’d all seen them walk through fire like it was nothing during that trial but I’d assumed it was more to do with their magic than them actually being fire-proof. People weren’t just immune to burning.

“I wanna know if I’ll burn with my magic blocked off,” she said, looking up at me with flames dancing in her eyes.

“I don’t think that’s a good-”

Tory yanked out of my grip and pushed her fist straight into the flames. After half a beat, a laugh fell from her lips and she looked up at me excitedly.

“Maybe I’ll be an even bigger Dragon than Darius and I can beat the crap out of him with teeth and claws,” she joked.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of that. Darius already equalled his father’s size in Dragon form and they were the biggest of their kind recorded in a century. If her and her sister really were bigger than the Acruxes I didn’t think it would sit too well with them. It probably wouldn’t really be a good look for them either, especially as Lionel flaunted his Order form like it made him royalty of his own kind. I imagined his reputation might take a hit if the two Vegas turned out to be bigger badder beasts than them. It would strengthen their claim to the throne too. It’d be better for all of us if they emerged as a common Order, preferably something non-threatening. But everything I knew about Tory Vega and her sister made me think that was a pointless hope.

She pulled her hand back from the flames as more and more fires sprang to life all around us. The way on was up a winding staircase at the far end of the room and Tory jogged up it quickly. I could hear her heart pumping with the thrill of this place and I smiled to myself knowing I’d succeeded in giving her one of the things she’d requested at least.

On the next floor the creepy music was louder and as the door closed behind us, the floor started to tip.

Tory caught my arm, her fingers curling around my bicep and making heat wind through my body in response.

The lights stuttered out and a creepy voice started singing a nursery rhyme.

Tory released her grip on me and started forward, holding her arms out to the sides a little to balance herself as the floor continued to shift.

A panel slid open to our left and Tory flinched as a woman dressed like an old maid leaned out, throwing a gust of air magic at us as she shrieked threateningly.

We were knocked back against the opposite wall which instantly spun around, flinging us into a dark space. Tory caught my hand again as she almost fell and I smiled when she didn’t release me.

Another panel slid open and the maid appeared again, striking us with air magic as she screamed curses our way.

We were knocked into the path of a guy dressed like a servant who cast more magic at us, knocking us through another hidden door. Then another.

Tory let out a little shriek of surprise each time one of them appeared again, half laughing as we were knocked back and forth and tightening her grip on my hand so that she didn’t lose me.

I held her firmly, laughing too as I let myself forget all about her Order and her claim, my inheritance and Solaria as a whole. For a little while I wasn’t going to worry about any of it. I’d asked her after the Nymph attack to draw a line between our personal relationship and our political one and I was going to stick to my own word on that. When I was with her like this, I wasn’t going to think about any of that other stuff, I was going to just stay in the moment.

We were knocked through a final door so hard that we fell to the ground, hitting soft mats which were there for that very reason.

Tory fell on top of me and she laughed, leaning down and pressing her lips to mine way too briefly. I tried to catch her hand as she pushed away from me but she danced aside, skipping ahead as she started climbing the next set of stairs.

A roar echoed from somewhere above us and Tory paused for half a second before hurrying on.

I chased after her, meaning to claim a proper kiss but she made it to the room above before I could.

A steady drip, drip, drip sounded from somewhere in the dark and I hesitated, wondering if she really wanted to face the water horror or if I should just run her through it with my Vampire speed.

But I got the impression Tory Vega didn’t want her hand held to get her through anything. Every day she was proving herself to be Fae through and through and I was pretty sure she’d rise to this challenge just like everything else.

Soft splashes sounded as we walked out into the room over the thin puddle of water which lined the floor.

“Caleb?” Tory breathed in the dark and I shifted closer to her.

“Yeah?”

“These sneakers are new, I don’t want them to-”

The floor fell away beneath us before she could finish that thought and a flood of water fell over us. Tory screamed as she plummeted down the slide and I laughed, my voice echoing around us as we shot down so fast that it felt like I’d left my stomach in the room above.

We skidded out into a dark room at the bottom and Tory got to her feet, offering me a hand to pull me up just as three guys in black cloaks with their hoods drawn up stepped from the shadows.

They raised their palms at us, chanting in deep voices as they advanced and Tory shrieked again, backing up and tugging me with her. Her heart was pounding and her eyes were alight with exhilaration as she let herself fall into the fear of the place.

She tugged on my arm, yanking me towards the elevator which stood open on the far side of the room as the guys in the cloaks drew all of the water back out of our clothes and hair with their magic.

As soon as they’d done it, they ran at us and Tory yelled out as she dragged me into the elevator, slamming her thumb on the single button in the dimly lit cube again and again.

The doors slid shut just before they reached it and she sagged back against the wall as the elevator began to ascend, biting her lip in amusement.

I caught her waist and pulled her closer to me just as the lights flickered overhead. Her hands fisted in the material of my jacket as the elevator came to a halt and the lights died all together.

Half a heartbeat passed before the whole thing plummeted towards the ground way too fast and she screamed as she clung to me for dear life.

I tightened my hold on her, adrenaline rocketing through my limbs as we fell. The elevator slowed before it could hit the ground and Tory laughed nervously as the lights flickered back on and it began to climb again.

“Having fun?” I asked her, as she pressed her face against my chest.

“Hell yes, but this place is insane.”

The doors opened again behind us as we reached the top floor and she stepped out of my arms as she looked along the corridor which spread away from us.

Tory glanced at me hesitantly for a moment before moving out.

I fell into step beside her as she looked back and forth, trying to figure out what would happen next.

A prickle of anticipation slid down my spine as I heard the hidden door behind us easing open but Tory didn’t notice it.

I fought the urge to look back as two large sets of feet padded into the space behind us.

We made it several more steps before a low growl sounded and Tory whirled around to look at the two Manticores at our backs.

“Holy shit,” she breathed, her eyes widening at the beasts who looked like lions with giant leathery wings and scorpion stingers for tails.

The Manticores let out huge roars and leapt at us. Tory screamed, snatching my hand as she started running and we raced away from them down the corridor to the opening at the far end which showed the star speckled sky outside.

Two sets of huge paws thundered after us as we ran as fast as she could go and I looked back over my shoulder just as the first Manticore pounced.

His teeth clamped down on a mouthful of Tory’s leather jacket and she shrieked as he lifted her clean off of the ground, taking off and shooting out of the opening in front of us. Half a second later, the second Manticore caught me and I whooped excitedly as I was lifted off of my feet and we shot out of the building up towards the sky.

I caught sight of Tory for a moment as the beast flew higher and higher and then all of a sudden, it released me.

I yelled out as I fell and Tory’s screams came from somewhere close as she plummeted towards the ground too.

The wind whipped around me, my stomach lurched and the ground rushed ever closer.

At the last second, a cushion of air wrapped around me, folding me into it before I could hit the concrete and go splat.

We hung suspended for a moment, hearts racing as we looked at each other, grinning like a couple of kids.

The magic released us, flipping us around so that our feet hit the ground and Tory leapt on me a second later.

I laughed as I caught her and she wrapped her arms and legs around me, kissing me so hard it was almost punishing. Her hands fisted in my hair and her ankles locked tight behind my back as her tongue brushed against mine in a way that made me hard almost instantly.

“Fuck, Tory, I can’t get enough of you,” I murmured against her lips and she laughed just as I shoved her back against the wall of the House of Horrors.

My hands moved beneath her jacket, skimming her perfect tits over the material of that tiny crop top as I ached to rip it off of her right there.

“Ah, Mr Altair?” a nervous voice came from beside us and I pulled away from Tory with a growl of irritation.

The guy running the House of Horrors flinched at my expression but he barrelled on all the same.

“It’s just that the next participants in the House of Horrors will be falling right on top of your heads any moment if you don’t vacate the area,” he said anxiously, glancing up at the sky.

Tory laughed as she unhooked her legs from my waist and pulled me away from the wall even though I had half a mind to order him to shut the whole attraction down until we were done here.

She pulled the magic-restricting bangles off of her wrists and tossed them in a bucket by the entrance and I followed her lead as she dragged me out of the attraction and back into the mayhem of the fair.

“What do you want to do now?” I asked her as she looked up at me with bright eyes, her heart pounding and cheeks flushed.

I was half hoping she’d say she just wanted to leave and head back to my room or maybe even just find some quiet corner around here to have her way with me but of course she didn’t.

“Everything,” she replied with a grin. “I want to do it all.”

“I’ll do whatever makes you happy,” I replied, throwing my arm over her shoulders as I led her towards the next ride. And the strangest thing was, I was pretty sure that was the truth.