Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess

I lay on my bed, frowning at a Numerology equation while my stomach grumbled for lunch. It was a Saturday and the chatter on campus gravitated around everyone’s Christmas plans.

I didn’t want to think about Christmas approaching when Tory and I were still arguing. She was the only constant I’d had for every Christmas since I could remember. It didn’t matter what house we were in, which foster parents did or didn’t celebrate with us. It mattered that every Christmas morning, we’d wake up and share it together. Me at the crack of dawn and Tory an hour later once I’d finally dragged her out of bed.

When it snowed, we built snowmen, had snowball fights and made a sled out of a metal tray. We’d stay outside until our fingers and toes were frozen and our noses bright red. It was our way. And I didn’t care how old we were, I still wanted to wake up on Christmas morning and do all of those things with my only flesh and blood in the world.

I sent Tory a message, my heart thumping as I tried to decide what to say.

Darcy:

If I could tell you what’s going on, I would. Please don’t shut me out Tory. It’s Christmas soon. We’re going to be here alone at the academy, but that won’t matter at all so long as I have you.

I could see she was typing a reply, the dots appearing then disappearing as she rewrote her answer several times.

Tory:

I don’t understand why you can’t trust me with this.

Darcy:

It’s not about trust.

Tory:

Clearly.

I sighed, trying to figure out how to fix this. If I said too much about why I couldn’t tell her, she’d figure out I was being threatened. As painful as it was, the best way to protect her was to pretend I really didn’t want to share this secret with her. But that felt as good as hammering a nail into my heart.

Something glittered in my periphery and I swung around, inhaling sharply as Orion appeared amongst a cloud of stardust which quickly vanished into the ether.

“Holy shit,” I breathed as I took in his appearance. He wore smart trousers and a crisp white shirt, his hair styled and a dark blue flower in his hand which was the same colour as my hair. It looked like a lily, the petals large and the dusty white pollen shimmering.

“Are you surprised?” he asked and I sprang off the bed, wrapping my arms around him and stealing the kiss I’d dreamed of for days. His mouth was warm and inviting and his grip on me tightened, my toes almost leaving the ground.

“I’m definitely surprised,” I said with a grin as I drew away.

He held up the flower, twirling it between his fingers with a smirk and handed it over.

I took it, heat invading my cheeks. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s average. You on the other hand…” He pulled me in again, plucking the flower from my grip and tossing it down on my desk. “Look absolutely kidnappable.”

“Wha-” Before I could finish that word, Orion tossed a handful of stardust over us and I was sucked into a galaxy of stars.

I tumbled through the fabric between worlds and nearly crashed into Orion as my feet hit solid ground. I was definitely getting better at landing though.

I looked around and forgot to breathe as I took in the space around me. We were beneath a huge weeping willow, the thick fronds hanging around the edges of the wide clearing underneath it. Frost coated the branches in sparkling blue and a chandelier of pure ice hung down above us with orbs of golden light glimmering within it. Beneath it was a table and two chairs carved from ice and covered with thick fur blankets. Food filled every corner of it and a bottle of wine stood at the heart of it. The ground was covered with a fluffy white layer of snow and a frozen stream ran through the heart of it like a sheen of glass.

“It’s too much, isn’t it?” Orion broke the silence. “I knew it was too much but I just kept adding icicles…”

“Lance it’s incredible,” I turned to him, in awe of what he’d done. He took my hand and a hundred words came to my lips, but none of them made it out. Not a single one of them was good enough to express how much this meant to me.

He created little worlds that belonged just to us. Beneath a swimming pool, between the sheets, under a willow tree. He could make anywhere ours and shut out every other living thing.

His throat bobbed and a vulnerable kind of smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “I’ve not really dated a girl before. Not like this. Not the proper way. But with you, making you smile like that…it’s everything. A few months ago, I would have looked at myself now and thought I was losing my fucking mind. You make me wanna dress up trees, Blue. I’m one hundred percent a lunatic for you. And I don’t give a damn.”

I smiled giddily, committing every part of this place, this moment, his crazy-ass speech to memory. It was our kind of perfect.

“Way to make a girl speechless.” I bit my lip and he grinned wickedly.

He unfurled his fingers, planting a piece of paper in my hand and I looked down at one of the IOUs I’d given him for his birthday.

IOU

One day date.

“I was supposed to organise the date for you,” I said, glancing up at him.

“Well I don’t play by your rules, Blue.” His lips hooked up at the corner and heat splashed through my chest. I didn’t tend to play by his either so I couldn’t argue with that.

I tip-toed up and brushed my mouth over his in the lightest, sweetest of kisses as his fingers slid between mine. He guided me to one of the seats and I dropped into it, eyeing him with a playful smile as he moved to the other chair.

He felt so far away and a blush was clawing its way into my cheeks. I wasn’t really a formal dinners kind of girl and he didn’t strike me as that kind of guy either.

He surveyed me for a second with a frown. “This isn’t really us, is it?”

“No, but I know how we can fix it.” I jumped up, grabbed the blanket off of my seat and laid it across the ground.

He grinned, standing and we gathered the food onto the blanket to make a picnic of it. He uncorked the wine with his teeth and I relaxed, dropping down beside him on the ground. Much better.

I opened my palm, encouraging a fire into it then placing it gently over the snow beyond the blanket. The snow started to melt and Orion took my hand, shifting up beside me. “If you don’t want the snow to melt, you can protect it like this…” His magic butted up against my skin and I let my barriers down so his power washed through me.

I felt him guiding magic to my fingertips and the rush that swept through me was intoxicating. He showed me how to protect the snow from the heat and I soon felt the two Elements of fire and water working in harmony together.

Orion pulled his magic away again and I sighed as the raw energy of him left me.

“So I have some news,” he said as he held out a bowl of stuffed olives to me.

I took one, crunching down on it and enjoying the bitter taste. “Oh yeah?”

“Darius and I made up,” he said.

“That’s great,” I gasped. “So you can tell him about us and-”

Orion shook his head, lines forming on his brow as the words died in my throat. He sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground. “He apologised for being an asshole, but he didn’t bring up anything else I’d said when we argued. If I tell him about us, I think it will just shatter his confidence in me entirely…”

I took his hand, my heart clenching into a tight ball. “I don’t want to drive a wedge between you and your friend.”

“It’s not your fault,” he growled, looking me in the eye. “He needs to learn the error of his ways. He has to come to terms with his feelings about your sister. Now they’ve slept together he might eventually-”

“Wait – what?” I gasped, my mouth dropping right open.

Holy crap, she screwed Darius??

Orion’s brows arched. “I assumed you knew.”

“Tory won’t talk to me, how could I know?”

“It was a while ago.” He scrubbed at his beard with an apologetic look.

“Yeah, well it seems like forever since Tory and I have been on good terms.” I frowned, my soul aching for the company of my twin. “I guess I get it. Why would she share this with me when I’m keeping so much from her?”

Orion took my hand, squeezing gently. “I’ve been reading the cards, there’s hope yet, Blue. Don’t stop trying with her.”

I smiled hopefully, wanting to believe that so much. “Of course I won’t. It’s so stupid anyway, if I’d just told her about us from the start, I could have saved all of this from happening. She slept with Darius for god’s sake, why would she care about me being with you? And even if she did, she still wouldn’t cut me off over it.”

“It was for more reasons than that, you were trying to protect her from getting wrapped up in this.”

I sighed, hanging my head. “I know and now I’ve screwed everything up instead.”

Orion tugged me close, taking hold of my chin to make me look up at him. “We didn’t know things would get this far. And besides, I was the one who warned you against telling her.”

“Well I usually don’t let you boss me around, so now we know why that’s a bad idea,” I teased, pushing his arm playfully.

He grinned wolfishly and pulled me closer. “Maybe I like it when you rebel anyway, it gives me reasons to punish you.” He nuzzled into my neck and his fangs against my skin made my thoughts hazy. “Do you remember when you threw me off Aer Tower and I caught you in the stairwell?”

I nodded, biting my lip at the memory. “That was kinda hot in hindsight.”

“Fuck hindsight. Do you know how many cold showers I’ve had to have because of you?”

A laugh fell from my lungs and I leaned into his arms, stealing a kiss and letting my worries tumble away. The magic of this place was captivating and I wanted to enjoy this stolen moment of pure peace, even if I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

We made our way through the food and I was soon full, laying back on the blanket with my hand resting on my stomach. Orion used his air magic to lazily send the plates and leftovers back to the table then fell down beside me, cupping his head with his hand.

I gazed up at the glittering canopy above and happiness washed over me.

“Where are we?” I asked, wondering for the first time.

“This is on the edge of the Airvale Estate. My family home. My sister and I used to play here as kids.”

“This is where you grew up?” I asked, suddenly itching to head out from under the willow tree and see it for myself.

“Yeah. Stella’s away in the city so the house is empty – just like her heart.”

I laughed and he leaned forward to brush a lock of hair behind my ear.

“So I guess you won’t be having a cosy Christmas at home with your mother?” I asked.

“I’d rather eat iron nails and wash them down with a pint of acid.”

I frowned. “So what will you do?”

“Probably stay at the academy. Unless Lionel ropes me into some festive fun at the Acruxes’.”

“Maybe we’ll see each other then if you stay at Zodiac,” I said, but my heart was too heavy at the thought of not spending it with Tory to enjoy that idea. We had to make up before then. I couldn’t bear to spend it without her.

Orion eyed me in confusion. “Hasn’t anyone told you?”

“Told me what?”

“You and your sister will be expected to spend it at the palace. It’s been prepared for your arrival.”

“Are you serious?” I breathed, my heart pattering wildly. I’d wanted to go and visit the palace the second I’d heard about it, but I’d never have expected to actually stay there – even if we did technically own it now. And over Christmas no less.

“Yeah. I would have said sooner, but I figured Grus would have mentioned it. Her family have been involved in the preparations.”

“Knowing her, she probably wanted it to be a surprise on Christmas Eve,” I laughed, but my smile died as I considered what it would be like to step into my birth parents’ home. The place I must have been once as a baby. It was completely surreal.

“Do you not want to go?” Orion asked, surveying my expression.

“I just…don’t know what to expect I guess.”

“Think Acrux manor times a thousand.”

“Oh my god,” I breathed. “Have you been there?”

“Once. I went with Darius for a tour while a photographer took pictures of him.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, making me forget my worries in a flash. “You’ll like it, Blue. It’s fit for a queen.”

I raised a brow. “But not a queen you’d kneel for,” I said airily. “You’d only get on your knees for a king or four.”

“In my defence, I only gave Darius a blowjob one time while I was drunk so it really doesn’t count,” he joked.

I fell apart and he grinned, running his mouth down to my throat. His fangs skimmed my pulse and a hungry growl escaped him. I clutched his shoulders, titling my head to the side in offering and he dug his teeth into my skin without a moment’s hesitation. I arched into him as he drank, my eyes fluttering closed as his hand found my wrists and pressed them into the blanket. He knew he didn’t need to hold me down, but I was pretty sure he got off on it.

When he tugged his fangs free, his pupils were dilated and he was breathing heavily as he gazed down at me.

“What do I taste like?” I mused, quirking up a brow.

“Like power and fire and melted sugar.”

“That’s very specific.” I grinned.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it.” He bared his fangs as he smiled and my heart dissolved like a tablet fizzing in water.

“Can I see your house?” I asked, glancing hopefully at the branches surrounding us.

“Do you want to?” he asked, rolling onto his back with a frown. “It’s just a house.”

“No…it’s a piece of you.” I reached over to trail my fingers across his jaw. “I’m collecting the set.”

He smirked at that, taking my hand and shooting to his feet, pulling me up with his Vampire speed. “You convinced me.”

“It didn’t take much,” I taunted.

“You make it difficult to say no to, Blue.”

He took the lead, guiding me to the edge of the tree and pushing the fronds aside with a sound like clinking glasses. I slipped through the gap and gazed across a plain of snow to where a beautiful house was nestled between two hills. All was still, even the air barely blew against my cheeks as I stepped onto the powdery snow beyond the willow.

The frozen stream wound up to the house and passed beneath an old waterwheel on the side of it. It was picturesque, like a modernised farmhouse with iron brick walls and painted red window frames.

Orion cast a wind behind us as we walked, veiling our footprints in a dusting of snow. I threw him a questioning look.

“Just in case,” he explained.

“What would your mother do if she found me here with you?” I asked, unsure if I should be more worried about that possibility.

“Disown me. Oh wait, she already did that.” He chuckled, but a growl left my throat on instinct.

“She’s an idiot.”

He squeezed my hand, but said nothing in response.

We approached the house and Orion moved to the front door, pressing his palm to it and shutting his eyes as he concentrated. A glimmer of light flickered across the door, then it opened with a click. “She hasn’t stopped me from gaining access so I guess she still trusts me in some way.”

He pushed it wide and gestured for me to go in ahead of him. I moved into the hallway which was large and cold with dark floorboards and paintings of electric storms in frames on the walls. An iron stairway curved up at the centre of the space and the exposed brick archways gave glimpses into other rooms around us.

Orion took a moment to remove the snow from our shoes with his water magic and deposited it outside. Then he pushed the door closed and gestured for me to explore.

I smiled, slipping away into the huge kitchen where a large red Aga stood heating the space. I ran my fingers across a wood-topped kitchen island and glanced up at Orion mischievously.

“Which one was your seat?”

He pointed to the one at the end and I brushed my fingers over that too. He moved forward, a frown pulling at his brow as he touched a chair at the opposite end. “This was my dad’s.” He stepped forward, skimming his fingers over the next one. “And Clara’s.” His hand remained on that one and his jaw ticked as he stared at the empty seat.

“We’ll get her back,” I promised and his gaze lifted to meet mine.

He nodded once then turned and strode from the kitchen. “Come on, there’s one place I’d like you to see.”

I hurried after him across the large hallway and up to a wooden panel in the wall. He pressed his hand to it and a flare of magic sprawled across the wood as he pushed the secret door open. A staircase was revealed running down beneath the house and a cold wind blew up around me, sending a chill through to my core.

“Where does it go?” I asked excitedly.

“It’s where Dad used to experiment with dark magic.” His eyes rippled with shadows and a shiver ran across my skin as I followed him into the narrow space, heading down beneath the house.

He cast a light orb ahead of us and my lips parted as we arrived at the bottom of the stairs. A large stone chamber spread out before us. One side held an old desk and the other was full of chests and shelves.

Darkness washed over me in a torrent and I gasped as a powerful sense dragged through the depths of my body.

“Close…so close,” Clara’s voice filled my mind and Orion turned to me in alarm as I lurched past him. “You’ll need it to set me free.”

The shadows were wild, wrapping around me, trying to pull me along.

“Blue?” Orion braced me, but I pushed away from him, a river of darkness guiding my footsteps as I moved toward one of the old wooden chests across the room. I dropped to my knees and pulled it open, rifling through the contents. Orion’s voice sounded faraway like it was behind a barrier and I couldn’t make out the words.

My hand snagged on a box and I pulled it out, setting it down on the ground. The shadows flittered away as if on a breeze and everything came sharply back into focus. Orion was kneeling beside me, his hand resting on the carved wooden box I’d taken from the chest.

“What’s going on?” he asked anxiously.

“Clara said we need this to bring her back.”

Orion’s eyes searched mine, frantic with hope. He flipped open the box and stardust stared up at me, twinkling faintly, the strength of its immense power writhing through the air. It was no normal stardust, I could tell simply from the aura it gave off. This was the stardust that could allow a Fae to travel to the Shadow Realm. The kind Lionel had created the night of the Lunar Eclipse. The memory of that night seemed to cling to this dark material before me. I knew it like it was bound to my soul. And maybe in some way, it was.

“This is…genius,” Orion breathed. “I’d thought perhaps that normal stardust would be enough, but this will open the path completely.”

He hurried around to the chest, taking out a jar and scooping a measure of the dark stardust into it.

A door sounded upstairs and we both froze. Like literally, turned to goddamn ice sculptures because holy shit.

“Did you shut the hidden door?” I breathed, fearing his mother would see it open upstairs.

Orion nodded.

“Let’s just stardust out of here then,” I whispered hurriedly.

“We can’t,” he growled. “The house has a ward around it to stop anyone from stardusting directly into it or out of it. It’s a security measure.”

“Shit,” I hissed, getting to my feet and Orion did the same.

“I can distract Stella while you sneak out the front door,” he said, looking like the last thing in the world he wanted to do was talk to his mother.

I caught his hand, a wild energy building in my veins. “Screw that, let’s run for it together.”

His eyes glittered at that idea and he moved across the room into the stairwell in silent agreement. I hurried after him and felt the pressure of a silencing bubble slipping over me.

“Stay close,” he murmured.

We reached the top of the stairs and I squeezed up next to Orion’s broad frame as we peered out of the slim cracks around the door which gave a view into the hallway.

Stella came into sight in a tight red dress and killer heels. “You can hang your coat and gloves over there,” she spoke to someone I couldn’t see.

My heart thumped wildly as another woman stepped into view. Something was oddly familiar about her, though I was sure I’d never seen her before. Her dark hair was short and tightly curling, her face gaunt, but her small stature didn’t take away from the flicker of power which seemed to emanate from her. She wore a thick black coat and a pair of ugly knitted gloves, leaving them on despite Stella’s direction.

“I won’t be staying long,” the woman said in a throaty tone. “I’m just here for my portion of the dark stardust.”

I glanced at Orion, sharing a concerned look. If they came down here, we were in serious trouble. Orion might have been able to explain away why he was in his family home, but how was he supposed to explain why a Vega Twin was accompanying him?

“Coffee first, Drusilla,” Stella said. It was an order and though Drusilla looked reluctant to comply, she followed Stella into the kitchen all the same.

A ragged breath escaped me and Orion pulled me closer.  “Time to go.”

I nodded, steeling myself as he pushed the door open. We waited for a tense second before stepping out into the hall.

“-and how is your son getting along at the academy?” Stella’s voice carried to us.

“Diego’s worthless, he won’t do anything I say,” Drusilla said coldly and my mind reeled. “I wish I’d had a daughter. Much more compliant.”

My mouth fell open. That was Diego’s mother?

“Well I wholly agree with you there. Since I lost my baby girl, my son has been nothing but a thorn in my side. I swear he tries to upset me on purpose.”

I crept along at Orion’s side and he slipped the front door open, pushing me out before following.

“Let’s run,” he announced and he snatched my hand as we fled into the snow, whipping me off of my feet into his arms. I covered our tracks with a gust of air while he took the stardust from his pocket. “That tree is the boundary.” He pointed up ahead and he shot toward it at high speed.

Adrenaline sailed through my veins as we came closer and closer to making our escape.

The second we passed the tree, Orion threw a handful of stardust into the air. I was wrenched into the abyss, spinning through a sea of stars before landing back at the academy in an instant. We were in his office and I laughed as I realised we’d gotten away unnoticed.

“What about the food under the willow tree?” I asked. I didn’t imagine Stella would be taking a stroll that way any time soon, but it was possible.

“I’ll go back for it later,” Orion said then cupped my cheek and pulled me closer. I could feel his heart pounding as I rested a hand to his chest and I gave him a sideways smile.

“Looks like Diego’s family is as messed up as mine,” he sighed. “I suppose I could go slightly easier on him…”

“He has a good heart,” I said softly.

He nodded, his lips tight like this was still difficult for him to accept. “Sorry today was a disaster.”

“It wasn’t,” I said honestly, drawing him closer by tugging on his shirt. “I loved it.”

“I love you,” he countered and the world paused as the weight of his words slowed time itself.

“Lance,” I inhaled, a feeling of raw happiness threading itself into my heart.

“This isn’t the way I was going to say it and I’m still not sure that I should have…” His brows pulled together. “I don’t know how long we have, Blue, but my heart will be yours whether we’re together or not.”

Tears pricked my eyes because the idea of us being torn apart was just too unbearable to face right then. I leaned up and pressed my lips to his, drowning in the way he made me feel. Because of course I loved him too. How could I not have realised it until now?

A knock came at the door and Orion pulled away as our moment was stolen from us. I hadn’t even gotten to say it back to him.

Orion frowned, moving to the door and I dropped into the seat at his desk, rearranging my features to boredom.

He opened the door and Professor Perseus poked his head in the door. “Ah, Lance, I wondered if I could pick your brain about a few air spells I’ve been thinking of adding to the syllabus?”

“Of course. Miss Vega was just leaving.”

I stood and headed to the door and Perseus gave me a friendly smile. I glanced back over my shoulder, my gaze meeting Orion’s in a silent goodbye before I slipped away.

“Remember to practise those star charts!” he called after me in a stern voice.

A grin pulled at my mouth as I headed back to Aer Tower, unable to wipe it from my face for the entire walk. By the time I reached my room, I felt totally high.

He loved me. Lance Orion loved me. And I loved him back with every corner of my heart and all the spaces in between.

I opened the door and my happy moment came crashing down around me as I found Seth sitting in my desk chair, blue petals scattered over his knees and across the floor.

I immediately put up a tight air shield, my teeth clenching as I stepped into the room. “What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“Shut the door,” he said casually, ignoring my question.

I resisted until he gave me a warning stare and I nudged it closed as my heart thrashed wildly in my chest. I stared at the destroyed flower with rage simmering beneath my flesh. He had no right to touch it.

“You should really get a magical lock on your door, babe. Someone unfriendly could get in…”

I scowled, folding my arms and disguising my discomfort at him being here with fury. “What do you want?”

He took something from his pocket and placed it down on the desk. My tongue thickened at the sight of the Aquarius Moonstone I’d used to infest him with fleas.

“I thought it was time to let you know that me and the other Heirs figured out what you and your sister did. All of what you did. The Pegasus rumours about Cal, the Griffin shit in Max’s Pitball kit, the fleas you used to alienate me from my pack…”

I swallowed the rising lump in my throat, staring at him unblinkingly. “So this is payback for that?” I guessed, wondering if I finally had the reason for why he was tormenting me.

“Not really,” he said casually, swinging himself from side to side in my chair.

My heart hardened into a cold ball as he stood up, gazing down his nose at me. I kept my chin high, staring right back at him. I might have been smaller, but I knew my own strength now. He couldn’t intimidate me with height alone.

“The news article was payback,” he explained. “But you just couldn’t let it lie, could you?” A growl escaped him and fire magic tingled along the inside of my palms. “You had to go and twist that story and fuck with us once again.”

The article had blown up since it had been printed and we were even starting to receive fan mail because of it. Barely a day went by on FaeBook where someone didn’t mention how compassionate I was or how strong Tory was for facing her addiction. It had had more of an impact than we ever could have predicted.

“The thing is, Seth, you keep expecting us to just roll over like trained dogs. When are you going to realise we’re never going to break?” I hissed the last word, the tension between us crackling through the air.

“I own you, Vega. And yet you still can’t seem to behave.” He strode toward me, tilting his head down as his gaze trickled over me. His hand shot out and fire flashed from my palms in warning. His hand closed on the door handle beside me and a grim smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “And now the world has acknowledged your power, I guess you really are a worthy opponent.” He opened the door and I stepped aside, frowning at the back of his head as he disappeared down the corridor.

I shut the door and locked it, trying to understand what way that guy’s head worked. Was he praising me or threatening me?

My eyes fell on the petals on the floor and the answer was clear. He wanted my life to fall apart just like that flower had. And he wanted to be the one who did it. A pretty thing crushed in his fist. But I wasn’t fragile, I was a weapon forged in fire. And it looked like he’d realised that at long last.