Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess

Good morning Gemini.

The stars have spoken about your day!

Today may bring an unexpected surprise your way and the following upheaval could lead to a dramatic change in your circumstances. Try to have an open heart and give way to forgiveness when anger rears its head and you will find yourself waking up to a brighter sun tomorrow.

I chewed over that little nugget of non information and tried to figure out what it meant. The shadows still clung to me after yet another night of listening to Clara’s whispers. Sometimes I felt the lost girl was the only person I’d ever met who truly understood me.

I frowned as that idea started to take root. It wasn’t true. Darcy knew me better than anyone and the suggestion that some Shadow Princess could even begin to compare was utter nonsense. It wasn’t my thought at all. It was a shadow trying to take root in me. Trying to spread its poison beneath my skin and draw me away from my reality so that I would embrace the call of its master. I wondered if that was what had happened to Clara.

My Phoenix shifted beneath my skin and the kiss of its flames chased the shadows away again.

I finished buttoning my shirt and moved to look out the window.

The snow really was beautiful; the glistening white landscape spread out as far as I could see, looking even more magical than usual beneath its touch.

I yawned as I turned away from the window and moved to grab a coat and hat from my cupboard. I didn’t strictly need to dress for the weather with my fire magic, but I felt like embracing the season today. I wanted to feel the bite of frost on my cheeks and see my breath rise into a cloud of vapour before me.

I pulled my thick, navy coat on and pulled my hat down over my ears before swinging my satchel over my shoulder and heading out.

Milton Hubert was heading out of the common room at the same time as me and he smiled as he moved to walk by my side.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, casting a sidelong look at me.

“Oh yeah?” I asked.

“Well, I can’t help but notice that for someone who claims to be a sex addict, you don’t actually seem to be getting laid very often.”

“That’s a super odd thing to have noticed about me,” I pointed out.

He snorted a laugh. “I don’t think you understand quite how many guys I have asking me about how to get on your radar. They know we’re friends and seem to think that means I’m also your pimp, or maybe they want me to be their pimp for you… Either way, it drew my attention to the fact that there doesn’t ever seem to be anyone coming or going from your room and you don’t stay away from the House overnight anymore either…”

“Maybe you shouldn’t believe everything you read in the papers,” I teased.

“Like articles given by you, about you?” He smirked at me and I shrugged.

“Those are the most misleading of all. Why don’t you tell your little buddies that I’m in recovery? I’m fifty days celibate today actually and about to receive my coin at my sex addicts anonymous meeting.”

“Is that so?” he laughed.

“Depressingly…yeah I think it actually might be.” I pursed my lips as I considered that. I hadn’t been with anybody since that mental break I’d had at the Shimmering Springs with Darius. That absolutely unforgettable, I-might-just-dream-about-it-every-night-for-the-rest-of-my-life slip in sanity that I liked to pretend hadn’t happened. Even thinking about it now had me biting my lip and I wasn’t really sure what to do with the surge of heat tingling along my spine. Because Darius Acrux was absolutely not a mistake I was going to make twice. Certainly not while I was sober. I definitely wasn’t going back there…like fifty four percent. Dammit.

“Well if you want any help with that, I’ve got a list of options for you,” Milton joked.

“Gee thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

We approached The Orb and my Atlas pinged in my pocket.

Caleb:

Five minutes, sweetheart. You might wanna run 😉

My heart leapt as I read the message over for a second time. That wasn’t the rules we used to play by. And he didn’t seem to be giving me a choice in whether or not I wanted to play either. Which should have totally pissed me off. But I had actually been missing the games we used to play. I was getting tired with my routine of boredom and solitude and if a hot Vampire wanted to chase me about and drink my blood then who was I to say no?

“I’ve gotta go,” I said to Milton as I glanced around, looking for any signs of Caleb. “I’ll catch you later.”

“Okay…” he replied, but I didn’t have time for explanations and I turned away from him, jogging straight towards the closest building which happened to be Jupiter Hall.

I pulled my hood up and tucked my hair beneath my hat as I started running in the hopes that it might mean less people recognised me. Caleb’s fan club would be more than willing to sell me out to him for the chance that a moment of his pleasure might be aimed at them.

The lower level of Jupiter Hall seemed busier than usual for this time of day, so I turned away from it and hurried up the huge stone staircase to the next floor instead.

I headed down the wide corridor and glanced over my shoulder, checking for any sign that I was being followed and smirking to myself as I failed to spot anyone.

I kept my pace quick but didn’t run as I carried on down the long corridor, releasing a breath of laughter.

I took another step just as a door flew open beside me and a blur of motion announced the arrival of a Vampire.

I shrieked in surprise as strong arms wrapped around my waist and I was hoisted off of my feet.

We shot back inside the room and the sound of a door slamming came from behind me as the world spun and the scent of cinnamon assaulted me.

My ass hit a desk and I blinked in surprise as Orion shoved me backwards, pushing my thighs apart and moving between my legs as he pressed me back on to the desk.

“Fuck. I’ve been waiting to do this for so long,” he gasped as his mouth moved to my neck and his fangs brushed against my skin. I recoiled in shock, my heart hammering with fear as confusion almost drowned me. What did he mean he’d been waiting to bite me? Had I just stumbled into some weird Vampire blood claiming war that he was waging with Caleb?

Orion’s grip on me tightened as his fangs brushed my neck again, but instead of biting me, he kissed me, his mouth moving on my skin as his weight pressed me down.

What the fuck is happening right now??

I squirmed beneath him, trying to shove him back as my brain scrambled to figure out what the fuck was going on. 

“Professor!” I snapped, shoving him again as he pushed his hands inside my coat and started tugging at my shirt buttons. My skin crawled as he pawed at me and I wriggled more, trying to push him off but he groaned like he thought I was pawing him back.

“You wanna play that game? Have you been a bad girl then?” Orion laughed darkly and my heart thundered in a panicked beat, but my brain was quickly catching up to the insanity taking place here and there was no way in hell my body was going to be taking part. 

I opened my mouth to tell him to get the fuck off of me just as he wrenched me into his arms again and lifted me back off of his desk.

The world blurred again and the next thing I knew, he’d thrown me back against the book shelf to the side of the room. My eyes widened in horror as he crushed me with his body and I stared at him in what was quickly becoming full blown rage. 

“What the fu-”

His mouth hit mine and I slammed my lips shut, grinding my jaw as I squirmed back against the bookshelf, my hands finding his chest as I tried to shove him back. But he was like a wall of pure fucking muscle.

Orion pushed my coat roughly and my hood fell off, taking my hat with it so that my brunette hair tumbled around my face. He jerked backwards, his eyes widening with surprise and what looked like pure horror.

“Oh shit,” he breathed just as I kneed him in the balls as hard as I fucking could.

“Fuck!” Orion wheezed as he staggered back and I swung at him, punching him straight in the jaw.

“What the actual fuck?” I yelled at him as he backed up, holding a hand out to ward me off as he cupped his battered junk with the other hand.

“Wait,” he gasped just as the door flew open behind him.

Darcy stood there, her lips parting with shock as she stared between me and Orion like she couldn’t quite figure out what she was seeing.

I ripped a book off of the shelf behind me and threw it at Orion’s head. “Run, Darcy!” I gasped, throwing another book at him. “He’s lost his fucking mind!”

“What?” she breathed, taking a step closer in spite of my instructions.

“He’s had a brain transplant with Washer, but decided to go full on gropey in his creepy ass Professor Pervert role!”

“Oh shit,” Darcy breathed, stepping into the room, throwing the door closed behind her and tossing a silencing bubble around us. Her face paled and pure alarm washed over her features. “It’s not what you think, Tor.”

“So he didn’t just snatch me out of the corridor, try to yank my clothes off and put his fucking mouth on me?” I demanded, throwing another book which hit Orion in the head.

“Ow! Stop throwing my fucking books!” he hissed, still nursing his manhood.

Darcy’s eyes widened in panic as she looked to Orion. “No, Tor, you don’t understand. He wasn’t attacking you! He must have thought…”

“She had a goddamn hat on,” Orion gritted out before turning a glare my way. “I told you about wearing fucking hats before!”

“What? Have you got a hat fetish or something? Because maybe you should be molesting Diego in that case instead of me!” I hefted another book into my grasp but Darcy put herself between us.

“No! I thought you were your sister,” Orion growled, glaring at me like this was somehow my fault.

“And how is you dry humping my sister any better than…” I cut my tirade short, my gaze sliding from him to Darcy as her bottom lip started trembling.

“This is what I couldn’t tell you,” she breathed. “Me and Lance-”

“Lance?” I repeated, looking at Orion again like he’d just grown a second head.

“Don’t look at me like I’m some old pervert,” he snapped.

“You are,” I replied instantly.

“He’s only eight years older than me, Tor, you’ve had boyfriends older than him before,” Darcy said, rolling her goddamn eyes at me like I was the one who was acting like a crazy person here.

“Well they turned out to be shady assholes too,” I bit back.

“That’s not because they were older than you, it’s because you have terrible taste in men,” she growled and my eyes widened as I realised she cared about this enough to actually go to bat for him over it.

I stared at her for a long moment then flicked my gaze back to him. Orion looked like he didn’t know whether to be angry, relieved or afraid and he stepped closer to my sister, taking her hand in his as if to say he’d stand by her no matter how this played out.

“I don’t…I mean, how did you…when did you…?” I waved my hand between the two of them as my nose scrunched up in horror, all kinds of old school porno scenarios running through my head. Like him keeping her back after class for being a naughty girl, or her bringing him a shiny red apple and offering to do anything to get a better grade in his class.

“We…” Darcy looked at Orion like she wasn’t even sure if she should tell me and he let out a low breath as he finally stopped cupping his junk like it might fall off. He gave her a slight nod and tension seemed to drain from her shoulders as she went on. “We’ve always had a connection-”

“Yeah I know you thought he was hot by the way you drooled in his classes. I want to know at which point he decided to start molesting you?” I demanded.

“I’m not some fucking predator,” Orion growled.

“Says the Vampire,” I bit back.

“It’s more than just some physical connection,” Darcy said quickly, shifting so that she was slightly between me and Professor Humpsalot like she thought I might lunge at him at any given moment. And that didn’t actually sound like the worst fucking idea in the world. He’d clearly been forcing her to lie to me about this. He was the reason I’d been alone for so long. And to think I’d actually begun to think of him as something less than an asshole.

My lip pulled back and Phoenix fire sprang to life in my hands, scorching his precious book and making his face twist with anger.

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” I swore, taking a step forward.

“No, Tory!” Darcy moved between us and her own fire flickered along her arms as she faced me down. “Just listen would you? Instead of making assumptions! If you could ever just control your temper you wouldn’t have half the problems you do!”

I stared at her in shock, the flames in my palms flickering uncertainly. I didn’t think she’d ever shouted at me like that in our entire lives. The fact that she clearly felt so strongly about this was enough to make me pause and with a grunt of effort, I banished my flames. The book in my hand smoked slightly and Orion blanched like it physically hurt him to look at it. I had no idea why. It was titled Advanced Numerology, so I was really doing him a favour.

“Well start talking because if you can’t convince me that he’s not some kind of sex pestering, brain washing, secret keeping, dirty old pervert then I’m gonna fucking burn his balls off right here and now.”

“What the fuck?” Orion snarled but Darcy ignored him.

“Okay, okay, just listen. I think it all started the moment we met really. We have a connection, Tor. He gets me in ways that no one else ever has. And I trust him so implicitly that it’s like my soul knows I should. And we tried to fight what was happening between us because we know it’s not allowed. But then, that night when we all went to the party at the Acrux Manor, we just…gave in.” She shrugged helplessly. “And I know it’s crazy and insane and against the rules and that both of us could get into so much trouble because of it but…I can’t just turn off the way I feel about him. I can’t deny what my heart wants and what I need.”

Tears glimmered in her eyes as she pleaded with me to understand and I could see the depth of her feelings shining in her gaze. But that didn’t mean he felt the same. Didn’t mean he hadn’t manipulated her or brain washed her or used his position as her Liaison to abuse her trust.

“Now you,” I snapped, glaring at him. “Tell me what you want from my sister and don’t you dare fucking lie about it.”

Orion looked at me for a long moment before his gaze slid to her.

“Darcy is everything to me,” he breathed. “She’s all I think about and all I want. I see so much good in her and she somehow brings out the best in me. And if you feel that you can’t keep this secret for us or like you have to tell the authorities about what’s going on between us, then I understand. Because you want to protect her as fiercely as I do. But even if we’re torn apart, even if I went to Darkmore Penitentiary and had to live out the rest of my days behind bars, I’d never regret a moment of it. Because my life was empty before I loved her. And parting us won’t change the way I feel for her.”

My lips parted, my heart beating to a heady rhythm as the honesty in his voice called to me. There was no way he could fake that look in his eyes. No way he could lie that convincingly. He loved her. And as I looked at her and took on the wild panic in her gaze, the desperate need for me to understand, I realised that she loved him too. This wasn’t some sordid affair. It was real.

“Why did you lie to me about this?” I asked in confusion. Did she really think I would have blabbed if she’d just confided in me?

Darcy’s eyes glimmered with tears. “At first I didn’t want you to be implicated if it came out. But then Seth found out at Halloween and I decided to tell you anyway…but he blackmailed me not to. He’s been holding this secret over us, making us do all kinds of things with the threat of telling everyone. Lance would be power shamed for loving me, Tor. And worse…”

“Love,” I breathed simply. Because what else even really mattered in this world? I stood looking between the two of them again as I tried to figure out what else to say and suddenly wondering how I hadn’t seen it before. “Okay… But what the hell are you going to do now?”

They exchanged a look and Darcy shrugged. “We just have to keep it secret. Then hopefully, once I graduate and a bit of time has passed…” Her cheeks coloured with embarrassment and I got the feeling she hadn’t voiced that plan before, but Orion looked like he was trying hard not to grin at her words so I was guessing he liked the sound of it.

I lowered the book in my hand and dropped it to the floor.

“Can you stop damaging priceless books please?” Orion muttered and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You assault me, blame me for wearing a hat then tell me you’re in love with my sister and the most pressing issue you have is my treatment of some old books?” I snorted a laugh.

“You assaulted me,” he protested.

“What did she do?” Darcy asked in confusion.

“He was trying to shove his tongue down my throat so I kicked him in the balls,” I said with a smirk.

“You didn’t just kick me in the balls, I think you fucking broke them,” Orion snarled and Darcy laughed. “It’s not funny.”

“It is pretty funny,” I contradicted.

Darcy laughed harder and suddenly she threw herself at me.

“Can you forgive me, Tor? I was just so afraid of what Seth would do. He can’t figure out that you know about us – he’s been using this to drive us further and further from each other. I didn’t know what to do, but it cut me apart being away from you. I’m so, so, sorry.” She squeezed me so tight that I could hardly breathe and I crushed her back with just as much force. 

“I’m sorry for not trusting that you had a good reason to lie to me,” I whispered back. “And I swear on everything I am that we’ll find a way to make Seth Capella pay for this.” My gaze slid beyond her as we pulled apart and Orion shifted uncomfortably as I looked at him.

“You get one shot to do right by her,” I warned, pointing at him. “And if you fuck it up, if you hurt her or break her heart, then I won’t just kick you in the balls. I’ll castrate you.”

Orion shifted his hands before his junk protectively, clearing his throat as he glanced at Darcy. “Fucking hell, I think she actually would,” he muttered, like I was insane.

Darcy offered me the brightest smile in the world as she answered him. “Yeah, she totally would.”