Zodiac Academy 7: Heartless Sky

I woke to the sound of banging which seemed to rattle all around the inside of my skull. On instinct, I reached for my magic to protect me and was endlessly relieved when it came to me from the darkness, though my Phoenix was slower to respond.

I forced my eyes open as I pieced together everything that had happened and panic descended on me fast, realising I was now in mine and Orion’s room.

“Tory,” I gasped, shoving out of the soft bed and finding Darius in the room with me, throwing his flame covered fists at the door over and over again. But the door shimmered with the might of magic that echoed all the way around the room, clearly stopping him from breaking through.

I was dressed in a soft pair of blue pyjamas with frilly bows on the cuffs and collar, making me instantly certain they were Geraldine’s and I had to assume she had changed me out of my armour while I was sleeping.

“What’s going on?” I hurried toward Darius, but as I made it to him, weakness pressed down on me and my knees hit the floor.

No, get up. Fight for her. Find Tory.

Darius suddenly took hold of my arm, pulling me to my feet with worry in his eyes and cradling me in his strong arms carefully. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, tugging free of his grip and turning to the door with determination burning through my soul. “But it doesn’t matter. We have to get out of here. We have to get back to Tory.”

He nodded, though his eyes lingered on me with concern written into his strong features as I turned to the door and placed my hands against it, encouraging my earth Element to rise. It came heavily, like it was being dragged out of a sinkhole and I growled determinedly as I forced it to obey my command.

I blasted the door with the force of an earthquake, trying to break it off at its hinges, but the forcefield cast around it wouldn’t give.

“Lance!” I shouted. “Are you out there?”

“I’m here, Blue,” he replied darkly. “Don’t ask me to let you out. Gabriel instructed us to do this.”

“Good, then I know whose head to rip off first when I get free,” I snarled as Darius moved to my side, pressing his own magic into the door again as we worked to break it open together.

“It’s for the best, Darcy,” Gabriel’s voice carried to me next. “Do you really think I’d do anything that put either of you in danger?”

“So she’s not in danger?” I asked, hope spiralling through my chest.

“Well…” His hesitation made me snarl and Darius’s fist collided with the door again, a Dragon roar leaving him.

“Let us out!” I yelled.

“You’ll regret this. All of you,” Darius spat like an animal.

“When have I ever led you astray?” Gabriel asked calmly, and I wanted to punch him for that relaxed tone of his.

I knew he wouldn’t put Tory in direct danger, but she was still alone out there. And as tough as she was, it wouldn’t matter if Lavinia teamed up against her with a Nymph army.

“Please,” I begged. “Please let me go to her.”

“You need to rest,” Orion growled like a bossy asshole.

“What I need is my sister,” I snarled.

“Are you feeling okay?” Lance asked like I hadn’t just snapped at him.

“I’m fine,” I ground out.

“She collapsed again,” Darius said and I shot him a glare that marked him as a traitor.

He shrugged, showing me exactly where his loyalty lay and I punched him in the arm.

“You and your sister are violent women,” he muttered, though not like he had an issue with it.

I turned back to the door, anger swirling in me like a raging vortex. “You have no right to hold us here!”

“Trust Gabriel,” Orion urged.

“No,” I hissed, venom bleeding through my veins as a wild and violent creature rose up in me, ready to destroy the entire world for my other half.

Darius pummelled the door again, falling into a frenzy as he fought to get us out and I helped him for as long as I could before weakness rolled over me once more.

I was suddenly falling and Darius scooped me up in his arms before I hit the floor, moving to the bed and laying me down on it as he sat beside me, guiding healing magic into my flesh.

“I’ve got you, little shrew,” he murmured reassuringly, a soft, teddy bear of a Dragon peering down at me instead of a raging animal as I felt the truth of that statement.

“What’s wrong with me?” I whispered in fear, not wanting to voice it to anyone else but him. I didn’t want Orion or my brother to think I couldn’t look after myself. Not when Tory needed me, and I needed to convince them to let me go to her.

Darius frowned, feeling my forehead for a temperature then dropping his hand. “Maybe you’re sick,” he said weakly, but I shook my head, knowing what this was deep down, but I was terrified of admitting it.

“What is it?” he asked, clearly seeing something in my expression that gave my fears away. “No bullshit, shrew.”

I swallowed thickly, dragging the words up from the depths of my chest and letting them out. “Lavinia’s curse.”

The door opened and Orion shot into the room, passing through the forcefield as if it was nothing as he sped to my side. Darius charged at the door, slamming into the magic cast over it and crashing down onto the floor with a grunt.

Gabriel stepped over him, hurrying to my side and both he and Orion leaned over me, clearly having heard what I’d said. Orion gripped my face in his hands and examined my eyes, hunting for something that confirmed or denied it, but I wasn’t sure what he found.

“You’re not cursed, Blue,” he said in a way that told me how absolutely terrified he was that I could be. Like saying those words would stop it from being true.

I rested my hands over his with an echo of pain in my heart. “But what if I am?”

His features twisted and I stared at this dark and forbidding man who would do anything to protect me from this fate.

“Then I will sell my soul to save you,” he growled, the power of those words falling into a pit of terror inside me. Because I didn’t want him to pay any price for me. He’d already given up his whole world for me, I wouldn’t let him do it again.

“No,” I said through my teeth. “We’ll figure this out together.”

He nodded, though the dark promise in his eyes told me of the sacrifice he was willing to make for me, and it left me unsettled.

“All of us will,” Gabriel agreed and I looked over at him as Orion released me, finding a line of worry on my brother’s brow. “Every curse has a way to be broken,” he added heavily and I frowned, desperately hoping there was a simple way out of this. But when had we ever been so lucky as that?

“Can you see anything that could help us?” I asked.

“If Lavinia did this, then she is the key to undoing it,” Gabriel said solemnly. “I cannot see her or this curse.”

“What of Blue’s fate?” Orion growled, gripping his friend’s arm tight as he forced Gabriel to look at him. “You must be able to see if she lives through this. What do you see, brother?” he begged.

Gabriel swallowed, pain crossing his eyes. “Orio, you have to understand, we’re in a war. I see all of you die so regularly that I can hardly stand it. There are so many fates, I cannot predict any of your futures for certain.” His eyes trailed to Darius as he joined us again, looking at me with his jaw grinding.

“What if we kill Lavinia?” Darius suggested and I nodded, liking that idea. I’d head to her now and drive a spear of ice through her chest if I could.

“Curses are not often as simple as that,” Orion said thickly, his gaze never leaving mine like he was desperate for an answer to present itself in my eyes.

“True,” Gabriel agreed with a sigh then his eyes glazed for a moment and we all stared at him in silence, waiting for him to reveal something that could help. He reached for my hand when he came back to us, squeezing tight. “I can see that you and Lance will visit the Library of the Lost, I cannot see a lot of the books you will read or what you will find within them, but I am sure that means those books contain knowledge on the shadows.”

“I’m not going anywhere until my sister is safe,” I said stubbornly and Gabriel nodded slowly, his eyes glazing again then a relieved breath fell from his chest.

“She will be back very soon,” he said finally and a weight fell from me like the whole sky had been resting on my shoulders.

Gabriel’s posture loosened and I realised how awful it must be to see everyone you love dying around you in visions, seeing their end a thousand times and only being able to nudge them away from death where possible. It sounded like hell.

“You’re sure?” Darius asked, a crease of anxiety between his eyes.

“Yes,” Gabriel promised. “The fate is set.”

“Thank fuck for that.” Orion swiped a hand down his face then dropped onto the bed beside me with his jaw ticking. “Tell me everything you can about how you feel, Blue. I need to know as much as possible so I can help search for the right books in that library.”

I nodded, shame inching into to me at what I was about to say. Because suddenly I didn’t want the world to know what I feared was happening to me. It made me weak, and Fae were the exact opposite of that. But I couldn’t keep this from everyone, I had to fight it, had to find a way to stop it, and I couldn’t do it alone.

“It’s like there’s a chasm inside me,” I said tightly, placing a hand against my chest where I felt it. “And out of it spills rage and anger and hate. But it takes from me too. It sucks away my magic, feeding on it like some hungry animal, and…” I choked on my next words, the fear they caused me swallowing me into a void. “It wants to take my Phoenix too. When I power shared with Tory, it was like that rage took over and power exploded from me as I tried to fight back. But then as I was falling, I couldn’t sense any of my magic at all. I felt…” Tears burned my eyes, but I didn’t let them spill over as dread burst through my chest.

“What, Blue?” Orion asked, my own fear mirrored back to me in his eyes.

“Mortal,” I whispered and I swear everyone in the room flinched.

“That’s not possible,” Orion rejected the idea instantly, but Darius looked to Gabriel, seeking the answer from him as I did the same.

Gabriel shook his head, staring at me in disbelief. “I wouldn’t be able to see your fate at all if you lost your magic,” he rasped. “It wouldn’t be like the shadows, it simply wouldn’t occur to my mind at all.”

“But it’s not possible,” Orion insisted, rising to his feet as his fangs snapped out, looking to aim his anger somewhere, but there was no one to blame in this room. He grabbed Gabriel, dragging him closer to me. “Look at her fate more closely, you must see an answer. There must be one you can find.”

“I will look,” Gabriel swore to him, to me.

They all started discussing what to do and my breaths came heavier as the sound of their voices bounced off my ears and I brought my knees to my chest, hugging them tight. I couldn’t become mortal, I couldn’t go back to the life I’d come from. The fear crept up on me so fast, I could hardly stand it. A tide of memories drowned me as I recalled living in poverty in a world I’d never once felt I belonged in. Of nights wrapped around my sister, my twin the only comfort in a world so dark it had always been so hard to find the light. And it was worse than even that, because if I had to return there, I would have to go alone. And if I had no magic in my veins, I could never come back to Solaria. And the people I loved would rarely be able to visit or over time, they’d get sick. I’d have to be away from them all, my sister, Orion, Gabriel, all of my friends…

I knew I was getting ahead of myself, that right here and now that fate wasn’t yet set. But how long did I have? What if my magic was gone tomorrow for good and I started getting weak from being in the Fae world? What if the only option was for me to leave Solaria, to have to abandon my friends and family to a war I would never get the chance to fight in again? It was unthinkable. Unbearable.

I took a slow breath, forcing myself not to panic. I was Darcy Vega. I didn’t worry about the bad, I always focused on the good. And I had to do that now, because if I didn’t, I’d be engulfed by this terror and it would never let me go.

Nothing permanent had happened yet, and I was surrounded by people who could help me find the answer. I had the best Seer in Solaria for a brother and the smartest professor for a boyfriend.

“What’s going on?” Tory’s voice snapped me out of my own thoughts and I gasped, leaping up and running to her as she stepped into the room. I slammed into her, hugging her tight as tears welled in my eyes. “I’m so sorry. It was all my fault.”

“It’s alright.” She squeezed me against her and my heart slowed a little at being reunited with my twin.

Darius grabbed her from my arms, kissing her hair and growling protectively. She had to half fight her way free of his arms to get to me again. “What happened?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” she said firmly, looking to me in concern as Gabriel moved to hug her too. “What’s going on? Why is everyone looking so anxious?”

I took a breath and told her the truth, but raising my chin in defiance of it.

“I’m cursed,” I said, those words seeming to fill up the whole room and my sister started shaking her head in immediate refusal.

“No, you said you fought it off. You said your Phoenix dealt with it,” she said firmly like she was willing it to be true.

“I was wrong,” I said, my heart hurting more for her than myself because I could see fear taking hold of her and I hated to be the reason for it.

Orion moved to my side, his arm sliding around my shoulders. “We’ll leave immediately for the library.” He looked to my sister. “I’ll find an answer to this,” he swore and Tory’s throat bobbed as she tried to place her faith in him.

I looked up at Orion and a frown pinched my brow as I spotted two silvery pin prick marks on his neck. “What’s that?” I reached up, tracing my fingers over them.

“Caleb and I…” He cleared his throat, looking to Gabriel who gave him a knowing look. “We drank from each other back at the altar, and accidentally formed a sort of…Vampire Coven. It’s something which is against the Vampire Code because it drives our instinct to hunt. He’s my blood brother now, my sanguis frater. It’s a bond that has made us form an alliance and ended our rivalry.”

“Bond?” I growled the word, thinking of the Guardian bond which had caused him such suffering, but he shook his head.

“This bond requires nothing of me, it only provides me a sort of kinship with Caleb,” he explained.

“It’s more than that,” Darius said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “You’ll be worse with him than you are with your precious Noxy.”

“Fuck off, he’s not worse with anyone than me,” Gabriel growled, then pointed us to the door. “Come, let’s go. If you leave now, you’ll be back before nightfall…unless, oh shit, never mind.” He scrubbed at his eyes. “Just hurry up, alright?” he said a little sharply and we nodded quickly.

I hurried to the wardrobe and grabbed a black skirt and fitted white sweater out of it with some underwear, changing behind the door and pushing my feet into some knee high flat boots, then I followed Gabriel out the room with the others.

Tory kept to my side, throwing me anxious glances and I shrugged out of Orion’s hold as I took her hand instead. “Please don’t look at me like that. I can’t bear it.”

She nodded, glancing away and I squeezed her fingers to get her attention again. “What happened to you back there? Were you in danger?”

“A little,” she admitted. “But actually, I…saw our mother.” She took a little charm from her pocket, showing it to me and I admired the tiny Hydra in surprise.

“You did?” I asked, an ache in my chest over missing out on that.

Tory started explaining everything she’d seen and the others gathered closer too as we listened. When she told us about what Vard had done and the vile ritual he’d gone through to get his shadow eye, a shudder of disgust ran through me.

“Why do you think she showed you that?” Gabriel asked her as Tory examined the Hydra charm.

“I don’t know, but I think it’s important.”

We fell in to thoughtful silence as we headed outside The Burrows and before we exited, Darius moved forward and hugged me, making my eyebrows shoot up.

“I’m gonna go tell the others about all this, little shrew. I want you to know you have a weight of Dragon gold to buy any cure in this world that you need, and the full wrath of my Order to help you find an answer to this curse.”

He released me and I looked up at him with my heart bunching up in my throat. “Thank you, Darius.”

He nodded, looking to Orion and clapping his shoulder as a look passed between them and Gabriel that promised they’d tear the world apart for an answer to this curse. Then Darius kissed my sister goodbye and he jogged off down the passages.

“At least I don’t have to be there when Geraldine finds out,” I said to Tory, releasing a little laugh but Tory didn’t smile.

“You always smile even when it’s raining,” she said, her eyes glittering with tears.

“I like the rain,” I pointed out, but when she looked at me like her heart was breaking, I hugged her tight. “I swear this will pass, just like every other rainstorm, we’ll find a way through it together.”

She nodded against my shoulder. “I’ll fight every single rain drop if I have to. One by one, I’ll cut them out of the air.”

“I know you will,” I said, loving how much my sister loved me.

We all headed outside together and Orion kept his arm locked around my shoulders, his expression fitting for a witch hunt as he led me after Gabriel while Tory walked on my other side.

My brother turned to me as we made it beyond the boundary, tugging me out of Orion’s hold to give me a bone-crushing hug. “A friend of mine will meet you there. She’ll help you find what you need.”

I nodded against his shoulder, gripping him tight and he stepped back with a frown, looking to Orion over my shoulder. “Look after her, Orio,” he warned.

“Always, Noxy,” Orion growled.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Tory asked anxiously as she dragged me into her own fierce hug.

“I’ll look after her,” Orion answered for me.

“You need to rest,” I told her, giving her a tight smile. “We’ll be back soon.”

“We’ll be back when we have a way to break the curse,” Orion corrected me and Tory swung a finger towards his face.

“You find an answer, Lance Orion, or I’ll make you regret it. Do your nerd thing and find a way to fix this,” she commanded and Orion held out his hand to her.

“I swear I’ll do everything within my power to break the curse,” he promised and Tory slapped her palm into his before I could stop her, a flare of magic igniting between them as the deal was struck.

“You don’t need to make deals on the stars,” I said anxiously.

“Don’t worry, he’s not at risk of breaking the deal, Darcy. Look at him. He’d find a way to lasso the sun out of the sky and bring ruin on us all if it saved you from Lavinia’s curse,” Tory said, smiling darkly at him.

“That’s the problem,” I muttered, but no one listened to me as Orion grabbed my hand and Gabriel took a pouch of stardust from his pocket. I knew we couldn’t spare it, but the look on his face said we were going to use it whether I liked it or not. And I looked between these three powerful members of my family, my heart warming at having them around me, the bond between us so strong I knew nothing would ever break it.

“She’s waiting for you,” Gabriel said then took a pinch of stardust from a pouch and passed the half empty bag to Orion.

Gabriel blew the stardust over us, guiding us to our destination as we tumbled away into a sparkling sea of light.

We landed under a dark, cloudy sky, standing before a wide black lake with a small island in the middle of it. The ground was green and lush and as I gazed around, I realised we were on the rolling moors of a place that reminded me of photographs I’d once seen of Ireland. A heavy mist swept across the land, the chill in the air cutting right down to my bones, and I willed fire magic into my veins, offering it to Orion too through the point where our palms connected.

A series of rocky steps were cut into the ground beneath our feet, leading down to the lake’s edge and disappearing into the perfectly still water.

“Princess Darcy?” a soft female voice came from behind us and we both turned, finding a pretty woman there with short cropped hair and dark skin. She wore a denim dress with a book tucked into a pocket on the front of it, a Skylarks Pitball team pin on her chest.

“Hi,” I said, still struggling to get used to being addressed like that.

“I’m Laini,” she said, dropping into a curtsy, her eyes falling to the ground before darting back up to look at me. “You’re very beautiful.”

“Oh…thanks,” I said awkwardly, tucking a lock of blue hair behind my ear.

“We need access to the Library of the Lost,” Orion said abruptly and Laini’s eyes shifted to the brooding guardian at my side.

“You’re Lance Orion,” she whispered and Orion sighed.

“Let’s skip the retching and the disgust at my Power Shaming,” he growled. “We need to get into the library.”

“Oh, I’m not disgusted by you. I mean, the shaming does make my stomach turn a bit, but I can push through it,” she said brightly. “A few of us are quite in awe of you here actually.”

“What? Why?” he balked and I smiled in surprise.

“Me and my friends figured it out,” she said with a hint of pride in her voice. “For starters, I don’t believe a single word of the drivel printed in The Celestial Times. So I did my own digging, I read every article about the court case and have spoken with Gabriel and his wife too. I know what you did for one of the Vega Princesses.” She pointed to me. “She wouldn’t be standing beside you now if what everyone else believes is true.”

Relief washed through me and I immediately liked this girl as she looked to Orion with the admiration he deserved.

“Thank you. I wish more people would realise that,” I said heavily and she nodded sadly.

“I mean, most people here don’t get it. But I’ll introduce you to the ones who do,” she said brightly.

“How many are there who feel the same as you?” I asked hopefully.

“Um, four. Including me,” she said.

“Well stars be damned, my fate will surely turn by midnight with that kind of backing,” Orion said dryly and I jabbed him in the side.

“Would you like to go inside now?” she asked, ignoring his tone and I looked around, unsure what she meant by that.

“Yes,” Orion growled in frustration at being kept waiting, his manners apparently left behind with his smiles.

She stepped past us, heading down the steps towards the dark lake and I frowned in confusion.

As she reached the bottom of the steps, I gasped as she walked straight onto the water and a narrow stone bridge rose from beneath the lake. I walked after her and Orion stayed at my back as we crossed over the water, ripples spreading out across the surface from the emergence of the bridge.

We made it to the island at the centre of the lake and as Laini led us onto the mossy ground, I realised we were standing inside an ancient zodiac wheel. The star signs were all carved into the ground around us and as Laini dropped down to a crouch and brushed some moss aside from something at the centre of the circle, I saw a sun symbol etched there. She placed her hand against it and golden light shone under her palm a second before a heavy thunk sounded beneath our feet.

The zodiac wheel dropped a few inches and my stomach swooped before the wheel beneath us started sailing down into the ground with us standing on top of it.

The moment we made it beneath the ground, another stone wheel slid into place above us, sealing the entrance and we were plunged into total darkness.

We continued to descend, a rumbling sound carrying around us and vibrating through my bones. Suddenly the darkness evaporated and all words abandoned me as I took in the crystal clear bubble we were inside, giving us a view out into the lake. But down here it wasn’t dark at all, it was full of dancing light and as a cluster of lights rushed past us, I realised they were fish. Silver, glowing fish that left gleaming trails in their wake.

I pressed my hand to the wall of the bubble, the surface like softened plastic, moulding to my hand as I pushed against it, but it didn’t give.

“It gets better,” Laini said excitedly. “Just you wait.”

We finally descended beneath the bottom of the lake, leaving the sandy bed behind along with the stunning fish which danced above our heads, and blackness surrounded us once more as we continued to plummet through the earth.

The darkness lifted and light spilled over us once more, a breath becoming trapped in my throat as we descended into a cavernous place the size of two cathedrals combined.

The beauty of this library seemed otherworldly, the walls were darkest grey and arching overhead in magnificent struts. On the four walls of the gigantic room were beautiful stone faces of women, each representing the Elements.

The one for earth was draped in moss and ivy, flowers blooming in her eyes and across her lips; the face for water had her mouth agape and a waterfall spilled from her lips all the way down to a glistening pool at the bottom of the library that sparked with light; the face carved into the rock for fire had eyes that were burning in brightest blue and streams of lava swirled within the cracks of the stone; lastly, the one for air was coated in white fluffy clouds and though her hair was carved of stone it somehow seemed to move and shift in a magical wind. Around each of them were stairways leading to bookcases built into the walls and tunnels led into the deeper passages of the library beyond them.

Below us, endless bookcases spiralled together, made of wood and stone and glass. There were bridges passing over the pool beneath the face of the water Elemental, each of them holding smaller bookcases which Fae were perusing.

The zodiac wheel beneath our feet landed at the heart of the cavern and I stared around in amazement at the place. Laini strode away into some of the stacks, guiding us along as I took in the incredible surroundings, not wanting to blink in case I missed something.

Butterflies danced in the air ahead of us, their wings tipped gold and leaving trails of light behind them like the fish had up in the lake. I looked around for Orion’s reaction, knowing how much he adored books and expecting to find a look of glee in his eyes, but there was only darkness there as we walked, and I was sure that had everything to do with the curse.

I took hold of his hand to reassure him, but he didn’t look my way, intent on following Laini as we passed between the ancient looking books on either side of us.

“We need to see any texts you have on the shadows, or dark magic,” Orion said, his eyes boring into the back of her head.

Laini glanced back at him with a nod. “Of course,” she agreed. “But come see my friends first, they’re dying to meet you.”

Orion looked ready to argue, but I tugged on his hand, giving him a look that told him to bite his tongue. They didn’t know I was cursed, and I sure as hell didn’t want to tell them either. We could spare a few minutes to say hello.

We rounded the stacks, arriving in a section where tables were laid out and Fae were sitting around reading. A girl with dark hair jumped up from her seat with a honk. My eyes widened in surprise at the noise and she quickly flattened herself to the floor to bow to me.

“That’s Brittny,” Laini announced just as another girl came running towards us with blue streaked hair. “This is Kandice.” The girl bowed low to me, her eyes darting towards Orion.

“This is so exciting,” Kandice squealed. Can I get you a beverage? Perhaps a snack? Or a foot rub? Brittny is great at them, aren’t you Brittny?”

Brittny opened her mouth to speak but a loud honk came out instead and she clapped a hand to her mouth, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

“She’s a moose shifter. She has a nervous honk,” Laini explained. “This is Eugene.”

“Hello.” A slim man rose from his seat, a shock of white hair on his head and a look of admiration in his eyes.

“I know you,” I said in realisation. “You’ve been staying at The Burrows. You’re the High Buck, erm, thingy, right?”

“That’s right. High Buck of the Solarian Mischief of Tiberian Rats. It’s a pleasure to meet you properly, Princess.”

“And you. What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’ve been staying at the library for a few weeks now to help find new ways of travel to replace stardust. Some of the old legends speak of something called vaporgation where you could turn yourself into gas form and have an air Elemental blast you away across the land at high speed,” Eugene squeaked.

“We love trying to prove old legends true,” Brittny said excitedly.

“Unfortunately, we think vaporgation might have had serious side effects like peeling a few layers of your skin off and making your fingernails rot,” Kandice said with a frown.

“Oh,” I said with a grimace.

“Are we quite done with the introductions?” Orion drawled.

“The princess saviour is looking at us,” Kandice breathed and Brittny honked nervously as the two of them blushed.

“Wait, if you like proving legends, there’s actually one we need some information on,” I said in realisation and Eugene squeaked, an exhilarated look in his eyes.

“What legend? We would be honoured to assist you,” he said, practically brimming with pride at the idea and I flicked up a silencing bubble around us.

“We’re looking for The Gems of Lariom,” I revealed, deciding to trust these people, though Orion glanced at me like he wasn’t sure if we should. I was pretty damn good at reading people though, and Gabriel would have said something if he’d seen anything shady about them.

“Oooh, that’s my favourite legend!” Brittny cried and Eugene scurried over to a bookshelf, grabbing a book from it which was twice the size of his head and wheezing as he carried it over, laying it down on a table with a heavy thud.

“We’ll get right on it, my lady,” Eugene squeaked. “This is a record of all the books on legends in the library.” He flicked fast through the worn pages then stopped on one and pointed to the title at the top above a seemingly endless list of books. Texts on The Gems of Lariom. “We’ll get looking through all of these, your highness, and if we get even a whiff of their locations, we’ll let you know immediately.”

“Not all of them,” Orion cut in, giving in to my desire to set them this task. “We need information on the gems for Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.”

“Okie cokie karaoke.” Eugene beamed and Orion nodded stiffly, turning to Laini.

 “We’re here for an urgent matter. Take us to the section on dark magic, we can’t waste anymore time,” he said brusquely, his patience clearly at its limit.

“Please,” I added.

Laini nodded quickly, muttering an apology before jerking her head in an offer for us to follow. Kandice waved goodbye to us and I thanked her and her friends for their help as Orion caught my hand and towed me along after Laini.

“The dark magic section is in the labyrinths,” Laini said, leading us through a stone archway and into another section of the library.

This place was massive. Everywhere I looked there were more books, more shelves, more beauty. We passed over a small bridge above a trickling stream then approached a large door which was as black as iron and bolted shut. Laini pressed her hand to the centre of it and magic sparked out from beneath her palm, shimmering across the door and making the bolt slide back with a loud clunk.

The doors parted before us and a huge man stepped forward from the darkness. His head was transformed into that of a bull with huge horns curling up from it and his humanoid body was huge, towering over me with dark brown fur covering his skin. The Minotaur bowed to me and Laini gestured for us to join him.

“Arnold will take you to the dark magic section. Don’t ever leave his side or you’ll get lost down in here and we’ll never find you. Only the Minotaurs know the way around this section. It’s how we protect the most dangerous knowledge in this library.”

We moved forward to join Arnold and he released a deep moo before turning and leading us away into the dark. We hurried to keep pace with him as the sound of the door shutting behind us sent an echoing boom out around into the tunnels ahead of us.

My pulse flickered and I immediately cast a Faelight to guide away the shadows. Arnold apparently had no trouble seeing down here, but he made no objections to the Faelight I’d cast as he quickened his pace and turned down a narrow passage that pressed in on us on both sides.

The air chilled the further we walked, and the ground slipped away beneath my feet as we descended deeper into the Earth, and as my fingers brushed the wall, I felt the damp against its surface.

The passages turn left and right sharply as we walked through the labyrinth, my sense of direction lost already. Arnold never slowed his pace and sometimes he turned so fast that Orion would shoot us forward with his Vampire speed to ensure we didn’t fall behind. Eventually, one of the passages opened up into a dark cavern that made my heart beat faster.

The roof domed above us and below us the entire floor fell away into an abyss that was terrifying to behold. We stood so close to the edge that I knew if someone turned too sharply out of that tunnel, they’d plummet straight to their death into the shadowy chasm below.

A narrow platform extended across it and a lectern made of some dark metal stood at its centre. Upon it was a white book, its pages open and blank. Arnold turned and gestured for me to approach the book out on that deadly looking platform and my eyebrows arched.

“What is this?” Orion asked.

Arnold’s eyes flashed to him then back to me before falling to the ground. “I cannot address him, my lady.”

A growl rolled up my throat, but we didn’t have time to waste trying to exonerate Orion‘s name to some random Minotaur. And one look at Arnold told me it wasn’t even worth trying.

“Then tell me,” I asked.

Arnold nodded, an apology in his eyes as he turned his massive body towards me, shifting so that his back was to Orion as if even looking at him caused physical pain. “The book is a gateway to all the dark books we keep here. You need only ask it what it is you’re looking for, and the book will present you with everything you might need.”

“What if we don’t know what we’re looking for?” Orion growled.

Arnold’s eyes shot to him then back to me again, a sweat breaking out on his cow brow.

“Tell me,” I said in frustration and Arnold nodded.

“You must try to be as accurate as you can when thinking of what it is you need, my lady. If there is something you require but cannot find, then I will try to help you as best I can. When you are finished here ring the bell and I will come to collect you – or you may ring it if you need my assistance.” He pointed above my head and I turned, finding a bronze bell hanging above the entranceway with a long rope dangling from it.

A bell sounded off in the distance and Arnold mooed loudly in answer before charging off into the tunnels, the sound of his hooves clopping across the stone floor carrying back to us as he went.

“Well thank fuck he’s gone,” Orion muttered, striding straight out onto the platform towards the ominous looking book.

I followed him, glancing down at the terrifying drop below, even the knowledge that I had air magic somehow not comforting me. I wondered how deep that hole was, if it fell away into the pit of the Earth, and my stomach twisted at the thought.

I joined Orion out on the platform, gazing down at the white book. Up close, it was clear the book’s cover was made of some white glass, and as Orion tracked his thumb along it, one look at his expression told me how valuable the substance was.

Orion scrolled through the blank pages before looking to me. “You’d better ask it, Blue,” he prompted, stepping aside so that I could stand even closer to the book. “Think of all the symptoms you can.”

I took in a slow breath, focusing on the blank page before me and conjuring up every dark feeling that had clung to my soul when I’d fallen from the sky back at the temple. As I held onto those awful feelings, I formed a question in my mind, grasping it tight before speaking it aloud. “Which shadow curses could steal away Fae magic?”

Dark ink blossomed across the pages like rain spilling from the sky and staining the book with words. A list of curses gathered on the page with a single paragraph written beneath each one.

Orion shifted closer to read them, glancing at me in the corner of his eye.

“Does any of this seem familiar?” he asked anxiously.

I read through each of them, from a curse which caused your skin to decay, to another that ate at your bones from the inside until you were unable to walk. But the loss of magic seemed like a by-product to these curses, something that happened in the final stages before the Fae inevitably died.

“No,” I said. “It’s none of these.” It was a damn relief too, because some of this shit sounded like a gory ass horror movie.

“Then ask it again,” Orion pressed. “Be more specific.”

I nodded, trying to think of a new question that would help me gain my answer. “What kind of shadow curse could fill me with rage and make me unable to use my magic?”

The page became blank once more until new ink started spreading across it, but there was less this time. I shook my head at what appeared, the text detailing the anatomy of some shadow beast, a dark plant which could grow roots within you and turn you inside out, and a shadow worm which could burrow into your skull and drive you insane.

“We’re missing something,” I said to Orion, looking up at him as a crease formed on my brow. He reached out to cup my cheek, a burning intensity in his eyes.

“You can do this, Blue. We’ll stay here until you do this.”

A shiver ran through me as I nodded, turning my gaze back to the book and starting to ask it question after question, hunting for the answer we so desperately sought.

“Let’s be more general,” I said after an hour of trying and failing to find what we needed. Orion nodded his agreement, his hair dishevelled from how many times he’d run his fingers through it.

“How can the shadows affect Fae magic?” I asked.

A whole page appeared before us and I frowned in intrigue, leaning closer to read the text.

The scholar Hanson Edgelight hypothesised that the Nymphs once lived in harmony with the Fae. Although he was widely mocked for the opinions he held, and many of his theories were disapproved, this one held a ring of truth to it.

It has long been known that there was a time when Nymphs and Fae did not collide in the way they do now. However, many of the texts from these times have since been lost. Edgelight claimed that he had found evidence of a village of Nymphs hidden in the cloud forest of Serendipity who were living independent of Fae society. He claimed he had visited this village but would not give out its location for fear of the Celestial Council moving to attack the Nymphs who resided there.

This one photograph survived his accounts after he burned the evidence when a group of Nymph hunters came to his door, seeking the village. The charred remains of this photograph show Edgelight standing before a Nymph with their hands clasped together in what appears to be a peaceful interaction.

If a village like this really did exist, it would bring into question everything we know about their kind. Nymphs can only survive by feeding off of Fae magic once they have awakened their own shadow power. So if a Nymph village really does exist away from our kind, then we can only assume they are either hunting Fae and Edgelight was unaware of this, or they have found some way to survive without us.

Today, the FIB handle the Nymphs to keep society safe from their attacks, but if we are to believe Edgelight’s theory, and take this photograph as evidence of a peaceful Nymph population living somewhere in Solaria, then we would have to also question the morality behind killing their kind.

“It’s not possible, is it?” I asked Orion and he ran his tongue over his fangs thoughtfully.

“Anything is possible, though this seems unlikely.”

“Maybe it’s worth exploring though, right? If there are Nymphs out there who don’t need to steal magic to survive, then maybe they can teach other Nymphs how to live that way,” I said hopefully.

Orion nodded slowly, though he didn’t seem convinced by the idea. “Let’s keep looking for information on the curse, Blue.”

“Perhaps we’re coming at the curse from the wrong angle,” I sighed and he cocked his head.

“What angle do you think we should be coming at it from?”

“Maybe we should be looking at the power of my Phoenix. Maybe there’s a spell or gift I have that could help me, instead of trying to find the exact curse which I’m bound to.”

Orion’s eyes brightened at that idea and he turned from the platform, striding back towards the bell and ringing it hard. “Good idea,” he said.

Arnold’s moos sounded off in the tunnels as he answered the call and came charging our way, the sound of his hooves pounding along the passages towards us.

“I’m not just a pretty face,” I teased and Orion’s lips quirked up ever so slightly before falling flat again. Perhaps the worst part of this curse was seeing how it was affecting everyone around me already, and I knew in my heart that I would do anything and everything to ensure that I broke it for their sakes as much as my own.

Arnold arrived with a snort and a foot stamp, bowing to me once more. “My lady, how can I help you?”

“Do you have any books on Phoenixes?” I asked.

“My queen, we have books on everything.”

“Then take us to them, Arnold,” Orion said impatiently, no hint of friendliness in his voice.

Arnold pretended he wasn’t there, looking to me for direction and I huffed in frustration.

“Take us to them,” I said firmly and he snorted happily before turning and guiding us away into the dark caverns once more.

We followed at a fierce pace, jogging to keep up with him as Orion kept hold of my hand in case we had to speed forward to catch up.

We wound deeper into the labyrinth, and even as I tried to count the turns, something about this place had my mind completely in a haze, like it was designed not to let me remember the way.

A lurch of panic rose in me at the idea of being lost down here with no way out. And I trotted faster at Arnold’s heels.

He turned into another cavern and the flare of a fire brushed against my cheeks as I took in a huge stone goblet at the heart of the room burning with a bright red and blue fire.

Arnold turn to me with a bright smile pulling at his lips. “A thousand ago, the Phoenixes visited here. They set this fire burning in the Goblet of Eternal Flames and it has never died. Your ancestors, Princess Vega, they are the ones who set it alight.” He pointed to it grandly and I stepped closer to it, feeling my magic reserves swell under its immense power.

Orion remained behind me as I reached out, pushing my hands into the flame and feeling the kiss of the past against my skin, part of me wishing I could reach right through these flames and touch the ones who’d lit it. Some piece of me belonged within this fire, and I felt the most aching sense of belonging as I stood in its rays of heat.

I glanced back at Orion, finding him standing at the entrance to the cave, begging him to come closer with my eyes, but he didn’t move, as if he didn’t feel he should step further into this sacred place of my ancestors. But he belonged anywhere that I was, including right here.

Beyond the rising flames which licked the high ceiling were wooden bookcases, reaching up above me with ladders that climbed the stacks.

“These books belonged to the Phoenixes of old,” Arnold explained. They can only be touched by a Phoenix, so they have not been read in many centuries, my lady. The secrets found within them belong to you and your sister.”

My lips opened and awe fell over me as I strode towards the books, my head tipping back as I took in the endless knowledge sitting there before me, a gift from my ancestors. And I wished that Tory was here to share it with me.

“The answer is here,” I said to no one in particular. “It has to be.” I turned my head, looking to Arnold. “I wish for Orion to read these books too. Can I let him touch them somehow?”

“M-My lady,” he stammered in horror. “Allowing a Power Shamed Fae to do something such as that would be an abomination.”

“But can I do it, Arnold?” I asked angrily and he bowed his head once more, nodding quickly.

“Yes, it can be done. You must simply take a book from the shelves and hand it to him, then the spell will release it.”

“Thank you.” I nodded to him in dismissal and he trotted away out into the tunnel muttering something about Power Shamed scum touching ancient and priceless books, making my hackles rise.

If these books were for me and my sister, I’d put them in the hands of whoever I damn well liked.

And there was no one I wanted to read them more than Orion.

“Are you sure, beautiful?” he asked as I walked straight towards the shelves.

“Of course I’m sure.” I glanced back at him, arching an eyebrow. “Do you really think I’d keep them from you?”

“I am owed nothing from you and yet you have given me everything. I am always surprised at what you hand me so willingly.”

“You are the most valuable man in the world to me, Lance, I wish that you’d see it the same way. Now come here, I’m going to hand you a book. Please don’t get a hard on.”

He smirked as he approached, moving out of the shadows as the flames danced over him, casting him in gold and red light.

They seemed to twist and move, almost bending towards him as he stepped around them and approached me.

“I think your ancestors are judging me,” Orion said and I laughed lightly.

“Are you afraid they’ll come back from the dead and teach you a lesson?” I jibed.

“I’m not afraid of anything when it comes to you.”

I smiled, stepping onto a ladder at the base of the huge stacks and starting to climb, my eyes gliding over the old tomes all around me. I tried to read as many of the names on the spines as I could, not sure exactly what I was looking for but still climbing higher and higher as I searched, some strange stirring inside me guiding me onward.

There were all kinds of books on numerology, astrology, star signs, the constellations, and a whole range of magical spells and potions, and I was endlessly curious as to what secrets lay within them.

“What are you looking for?” Orion called up to me.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling that strange pull in my chest again as it drew me toward something.

“Higher.”

The ethereal whispered voice made me gasp and I cursed as I lost my grip on the ladder, slipping down several rungs and Orion cast air magic that pushed me back onto them.

“What the hell was that?” I hissed.

“A clumsy princess?” Orion offered.

“Asshole,” I tossed at him. “And I didn’t mean that, I heard a voice. Like the stars or…something. It told me to go higher.”

“So go higher,” Orion encouraged and I continue to climb until I made it right to the top.

There, alone on the shelf was just one book lying on its side. And I knew in the depths of my being I was meant to find this book. I reached for it, drawing it from the shelf, the binding made of some red woven silk that was so soft it almost slid from my grasp.

I could feel power humming within this book that resounded right down to my bones. And I trembled as I clutched it to my chest, feeling that same echo from my ancestors crying out through me.

“What is it?” Orion called up to me.

“A book,” I called back.

“Very funny,” Orion growled. “What’s it called?”

“You’re very grumpy today.” I turned it on its side to read the name, finding nothing but a single flame there carved into the binding itself. I flipped open the front cover to read the first page and found the title glimmering in bronze ink that almost seemed to flicker with flames.

Fire in the Blood by Petonius Vega

My breathing hitched as I stared at those words, sensing I held a gift from the past in my hands that had meant to find me.

“Come down here, Blue,” Orion urged.

“Alright,” I answered, tucking the book under my arm and starting to descend the rungs, before remembering I had magic.

I let go of the ladder, plummeting several feet as Orion swore before I caught myself on a gust of air, floating down towards him and landing on my feet in front of him. I noticed his hands were raised a little and I tilted my head to one said.

“I can catch myself,” I told him.

“You didn’t before. I’m your backup parachute,” he said seriously.

I reached out, pressing my thumb into the corner of his mouth and drawing it up.

“Don’t forget to smile, it’ll make me sad if you don’t smile.”

“It’s hard to smile when I know the fate we face.”

“Do you think I’m going to die?” I asked in a whisper, chewing on my lower lip.

“No. Because I won’t rest until you’re safe,” he said fiercely.

“I am safe. I’m with you.”

He smiled finally and I held out the book, offering it to him with my eyes alight. He hesitated, his hand lifting as if he were desperate to take hold of it, but he couldn’t let himself do it.

“Take it,” I insisted. “You’re clearly dying to take it.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t think you understand the magnitude of what you’re offering me here.”

“I do. And that’s why I want you to take it.”

Orion inhaled slowly then took the book from my hands, a hunger entering his eyes as they roamed over the ancient tome. “This is made from glendian silk,” he said. “The silk worm which used to make this material died out hundreds of years ago.”

“Is it expensive?” I asked curiously.

“You have no idea. The value of this book is immeasurable. And that’s just based on the cover. I imagine what lays inside makes it far more valuable even than that.”

“So let’s find out,” I said eagerly.

He chuckled and we moved across the room to an iron table, sitting at it side-by-side as Orion laid the book down delicately like it was made of fragile glass.

“I don’t think you have to be so gentle with it,” I said, reaching out to open it.

His fingers brushed mine and as we opened it at the same time, I swear a groan of pleasure left him from the combined contact of me and this book.

“Does it turn you on?” I murmured to him and he glanced at me with an intensity in his eyes that could have brought the entire world to its knees. But as I was the only one to witness it, it was just me who fell to ruin.

“Pay attention,” he said sternly, his professor tone coming out to play and I liked that a lot.

In ways, being back at Zodiac sneaking around the school grounds to steal moments in his arms had actually been a simpler time. Now I had him to myself, and yet he still wouldn’t declare me as his to the world because of his fall from grace, and that was something which pained me every day. At least back then, we’d had dreams of declaring our love to the world, now every time I tried to bring it up, Orion wouldn’t indulge in those dreams with me. He said it was to protect me, and I knew he meant that, but having to keep hiding our relationship after all we’d been through was opening a wound in me that I didn’t know how to heal.

His finger skimmed down the contents page like he was caressing the arch of my spine and I swear I could feel it, him touching me as he was touching that book. I pushed all thoughts of his Power Shaming from my mind, just enjoying his company as I remembered the agony of going so long without it.

“Should I be worried that you’re going to leave me for a book?” I asked, a grin pulling at my lips.

Orion turned to me, still looking deadly serious. “I’ll never leave you, Blue. Now stop misbehaving or I’ll have to punish you.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” I whispered and his hand clapped down on my thigh under the table, the sting sending a flash of excitement through me.

“What’s gotten into you?” he growled, not playing my game. “You find out you’re cursed and you sit here smiling.”

“I’m beside the love of my life in a magical library underground in a world I didn’t even know existed a couple of years ago. I’ve always been an optimist, but now I have a real reason to believe in miracles.”

“So you’re certain we’ll find an answer?” he asked like he wanted to feed on my positivity.

“No,” I admitted. “I’m still terrified that we won’t, but I’m equally hopeful that we will.” He stared at me with the weight of the world in his eyes and I pushed my fingers into his hair, stroking gently as I hoped to dissolve some of his worries. “Why do you look so scared, Lance?” I whispered.

He raised a hand, his fingers locking around the Imperial Star at my throat and his knuckles turning white as his grip hardened on it. “Because the stars have taken everything from me. My dream, my free will, my status, my family,” his voice thickened on that last word and pain sliced into my heart for him and all he’d lost. “And when there was almost nothing left to take, they gave me you.”

I lowered my hand from his hair, wrapping my fingers around his fist that held the star like he was trying to hurt it.

“I thought perhaps the tide was turning in my favour, but now I fear that they’ve given me you only to have something more to strip away from me. I don’t know what I did to offend them, but they have taken their pound of flesh from me regardless.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I swore and he nodded, his expression settling into something demonic.

“I know,” he said, his voice rough with grit. “Because I’m not going to let them take you from me, Blue, even if they come down from the heavens themselves to try and rip you from my arms. I am not named after the hunter constellation for no reason. I will make the stars my prey if they set you in their sights, and so help me, I will carve every one of them out of their seats in the sky and watch them fall.”

He released the Imperial Star, his head snapping back around as he looked down at the book again and I was left breathless and staring at him, heat blazing up my spine and burning between my thighs.

He flicked firmly through the pages as he searched for something that could help us and I tried to get myself in check as I watched his jaw tick. But then a line from Gabriel’s prophecy echoed in my mind and fear spilled into my soul.

“The hunter will pay the price,” I whispered, fearing what that line of the prophecy could mean as I gazed at Orion. “What if it’s you?”

His eyes flashed and he reached out to carve his thumb along my jaw. “That could mean so many things.”

“But it could mean you,” I pressed, fear making my breaths quicken.

“You’ll drive yourself mad assuming the will of the stars,” he said gently. “We can’t say anything for sure.”

“What’s the point of prophecies if their meaning is unclear until they’ve happened?” I said in frustration.

“To drive us mad?” he offered playfully, but I couldn’t summon a smile, too caught up in the idea that we were walking along a dark path toward a bitter fate we couldn’t escape.

He took my hand, placing it against his chest so I could feel the powerful thrum of his heart. “I’m right here, Blue. Don’t get lost in some imagined future that might never come to pass. Right now is all we have, so let that be all that concerns us.”

He leaned forward, kissing me deep and slow with the taste of a better future on his lips. One where we were happy, where we loved each other from the core of our beings to the very edges of the universe. And it filled me with so much joy, that I remained there, holding onto it and making a silent vow to myself that I would fight for that future with everything I had.

I breathed a sigh of relief, resting my forehead to his for a moment before we broke apart and he turned back to the book. We sat quietly for a while, reading through the pages and though I was fascinated by the descriptions of the Phoenixes of old, we found nothing of use and I was just on the verge of suggesting we look at another book when Orion turned the page and a spell was laid out in front of us.

The power of the Phoenix tribe.

It is fabled that the flames of the Phoenix live in all of its Order, meaning the same fire burns in one Phoenix to the next. The result of this is a powerful energy which can be made stronger by the addition of one or more Phoenix flames.

This power sharing is also power enhancing, meaning the gifts of their kind can be amplified together. This technique could be used to fight off deadly Fae diseases or even break curses.

“Fuck yes,” Orion whooped, smacking the table and a smile split across my face.

“Tory,” I breathed.

“The two of you can fight it off together.” Orion beamed so bright his dimple popped out on his right cheek. “Why didn’t we think of this before?”

“Because we’re idiots,” I laughed and threw myself at Orion, hugging him as his solid arms folded so tight around me, I almost couldn’t breathe.

When we’d read the page back to back and concluded Tory and I needed to try burning the curse away one day at a time until it eventually succumbed to our combined flames, Orion closed the book and got to his feet.

“Let’s get back to The Burrows,” he said. “You can start straight away.”

I got to my feet too, heading over to the exit to ring the bell for Arnold with a much better idea in mind. “We’re in the Library of the Lost, we can spare a little bit of time to explore.”

Orion shot over to me, a glimmer of his old self back in his eyes as he took in those words. “Are you sure?”

“The curse could take weeks to burn through,” I said. “It’s not gonna make any difference if we spend a couple of hours here.”

Orion’s face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and I grinned at him, bouncing on my toes as excitement poured through me too. “We deserve a bit of fun.”

At the word fun, a beast’s grin pulled at his mouth and his fangs glinted at me, making my stomach swirl with butterflies.

Arnold appeared with a loud moo, startling the hell out of me and I cursed him as he led us back into the tunnels and out of the labyrinth. We returned to the main library through the large doors and the two of us immediately darted off down a set of narrow bookcases where golden butterflies were dancing in the air and red flowers trailed above us on vines, blooming then closing again.

The magic in this place was surreal and I was soon lost in a maze of stacks, each turn making me gasp at the beauty of the place. There were water fountains that bubbled with tiny transparent dolphins leaping out of the water before swimming away into their depths, whole sections where grass grew up around our knees and we had to wade through it towards giant toadstools where we could climb up ladders and sit on their cushy surfaces. Another area had a treehouse with hidden doors in the trunk where books were nestled among nests of moss and twigs. Owls even hooted in the trees and an eagle came down to watch us as we lazed in a giant hammock hanging between two of the huge branches, both of us coiled together as we read a mortal book about a pair of twin girls, one of whom had been claimed by the royal Vampires who’d taken over New York City and the other had teamed up with the last slayer on earth who happened to be hot as hell.

A group of Sphinxes plucked books off of the shelves and lay down in the grass, looking enraptured while Orion murmured to me that their kind could step right into the pages of a story. They didn’t just see it in their head, they lived every word, the whole thing playing out in their minds as if they were the main character, and that sounded pretty awesome. It must have been incredible to experience your favourite books first hand, to fall so deeply between the pages that it seemed as if those worlds really existed.

“Which book would you go into?” I asked Orion, brushing my fingers over the thick stubble on his jaw.

“There is no story I would choose to live in but ours,” he answered simply, and damn this man to hell for his silver tongue. My heart all but packed up its bags and moved out of my chest to go and live in his instead. He already owned it that completely anyway.

Next, we headed upstairs to a place where clouds hovered everywhere and we could step right onto them, letting them carry us all around an area that had mirrored glass which reflected an azure sky back at us. The books were hidden between the mirrors, their covers transparent until they were within our grip, and I smiled at the incredible magic as we got lost in it, forgetting all about the problems that awaited us far above our heads.

When we came to a carved wooden door which was as large as a house, I glanced at Orion with a giddy look before taking hold of the bronze handle and turning it, finding the thing impossibly easy to move considering its size.

We stepped into a perfectly silent part of the library where books stretched out impossibly far in front of us on dark wooden bookshelves that rose up two floors above our heads. The floor was a rich red mahogany and we crept across it, glancing down the passages that led away into the cavernous room either side of us.

Orion tugged on my hand to get my attention and I glanced back at him, finding him pressing his finger to his lips with a smirk before lifting me up and shooting us away down one of the passages. He came to a halt, but his shoes slipped on the highly polished floor and we slammed into one of the bookshelves, sending the whole thing tipping sideways and spiling books all over the table and floor.

Orion caught hold of the shelf before the whole thing could go over, placing it back in its position with a resounding boom that echoed throughout the entire room.

“Woops,” he laughed, putting me down and I lifted a hand to cast a silencing bubble. He knocked my hand aside, a roguish glint in his eyes. “Looks like no one’s in here.”

He pressed a hand to my chest and shoved, knocking me backwards onto the table, my ass hitting a book and my hand slipping on another one as I fought to push myself upright.

But Orion shot in front of me, kicking my legs apart and rearing over me, pressing me back down onto the books as he sank his tongue between my lips.

My heart beat matched the rampant beat of his own and excitement tangled with my veins at the thought of doing this here.

“I wanna hear what your screams sound like filling up this whole room and echoing back to me,” Orion said against my mouth, nudging my knees apart as he stepped between them and slipped a hand up my skirt.

My back arched before he even touched me, his knuckles rubbing over the damp spot on my panties, my body always so ready for him. He growled carnally then pushed my panties aside and sank three fingers mercilessly inside me.

“Oh god,” I gasped.

“Good girl,” he growled, teasing me as he drew his fingers in and out of me so slowly I whimpered.

“More,” I commanded, reaching for his belt, but he caught my wrist, placing my hand against the swell of his cock through his jeans and making me feel every inch of him through the rough material.

“If you want more, you’re gonna ask for it nicely.” He smirked, driving his fingers into me deeper and holding them there as I panted for him.

“Please,” I said breathlessly and a heady look entered his eyes at me begging him.

He released my wrist and I kept my hand on his cock, squeezing and caressing him through his jeans while keeping one hand behind me to support myself, my body half upright as he stepped closer to spread my legs wider for him.

He pushed my skirt higher so he could watch his hand fuck me, a greedy look on his face as he wet his lips.

I held my lower lip between my teeth to stop myself from making too much noise, fearing the echo in this enormous part of the library, but Orion reached out, pressing his thumb down on my lip and yanking it free.

“Don’t hold out on me, how will I know if you’re enjoying yourself if I don’t hear you scream?” he taunted, curling his fingers deep inside me as I swallowed another moan and bucked my hips.

“You know, asshole,” I panted and he grinned, his face half cast in shadow as he leaned over me.

“Yeah, I know,” he admitted, his thumb circling over my clit, making my whole body arch. “I know exactly what you like.”

“Then give it to me,” I demanded and he laughed loudly, letting his voice carry through the stacks and making a blush rise in my cheeks.

“Keep your commands for when you’re ruling the kingdom, beautiful,” he said, his eyes running over my body slowly, taking in everything before him before his gaze met mine again. “But when we’re fucking, I’m in charge. And when you’re a queen and everyone in Solaria worships you, I will be the only one allowed to worship you like this. Do you understand?”

He circled his thumb faster against my clit and I rode his hand, crying out and losing complete control of my body as my climax built so fast, I couldn’t stop the noises leaving my throat, the sound echoing around the entire library. I could feel his eyes on me the whole time as I tumbled through a wave of pleasure, his fingers driving in and out of me until I was spent and collapsed on top of the books.

Orion pulled his hand free and took hold of my wrists, pinning them above my head and casting cuffs of ice around them, binding them in place with an ice chain and locking them against the table.

He squeezed my breasts through my top and took his time to drag his hands along the curves of my hips before spreading my thighs, tearing my panties clean off of me and stepping between them.

“I liked those ones,” I complained as he pocketed the pale pink material with a light shrug.

“I prefer them in pieces.” He freed his cock, watching me as he stroked the huge length of it and I shifted my hips in anticipation of him, my heart beating like crazy in my chest.

He lined himself up with my core, pushing the head of his thick cock inside me and making me gasp as he drove in so slow it made my head spin.

“Fuck,” he groaned as he filled me up, his hands sliding beneath me to grip my ass and draw me flush to him.

A loud moan left me as he hit some deeply sensitive spot inside me and he thrust his hips to do it again, reading me so freaking well. It was like he was in tune with my body, knowing what I liked better than I knew it myself as he started to fuck me towards another high that was promising to throw me into oblivion.

I watched his powerful body move as he stood above me, his eyes burning into mine as I gave up on trying to hold my cries back, letting them fall from my lungs and getting off on how that made him groan. He was so hard inside me and my body was gripping him with every thrust, wanting more and more of his beautiful cock as he filled me up.

I tugged against the restraints he’d bound my hands in as he wet his fingers with water magic and started to massage my clit, light bursting before my eyes as I fell at his mercy. He was relentless, tormenting me with his body as he drew me close to the edge then pulled me back again, not letting me dive into bliss.

He smiled wickedly at me like he knew exactly what he was doing, which of course he fucking did. But when he finally pushed me off the cliff, I had to be grateful, because my orgasm hit me harder than a bus, pleasure pounding through me and humming within my veins.

He fucked me through every second of it as my moans echoed all around us, my legs locked tight around his waist as he drove into me again and again, his pace picking up as he chased his own release.

I burned through the cuffs on my wrists, rearing up and dragging him down on top of me, my hips moving in time with his as he lost control and the heat of his body weighed against mine. He was an animal, my wild creature born to rule my flesh and devour me like a god dipped in sin.

His shoulders tensed then he stilled within me, coming with a deep groan that lit me up from the inside out. His heat seeped between my thighs as he pumped in and out of me in two final drives of his cock that made me shiver all over.

His mouth found mine and I held him as the world seemed to fall entirely silent and all that existed in this cavernous room was us.

“I’d burn every one of these books for you,” he said against my mouth and I pushed my fingers into his hair, sinking my tongue between his lips.

“When I’m queen, I’m going to buy you this library,” I decided and he lifted his head, his eyes sparkling with surprise. “Then you can do whatever you like with these books, because they’ll be all yours.”