Beyond the Veil (Zodiac Academy, #8.5)

by Caroline Peckham

But I met a girl who took one look at fate and said fuck you. She found her own path. She told me no when the stars gave us our one and only chance at being mated then told them no when they tried to keep us apart against her will. She stood before the wings of fate and told them to get fucked and she was right. Because why should the circumstances of our birth or upbringing define all we are and all we ever can be? Why shouldn’t we all get to pick precisely who and what we want to be and tell destiny, providence, or circumstance to step aside so that we can make our own fates? Roxanya Vega taught me to defy the stars in all things and I have never once regretted it when I followed her advice. So no, I won’t simply walk this path into my demise and stay put like a good boy. And no, I won’t be climbing that tower to beg for some deal or promise or desperate hope from them. There is power in this world which doesn’t simply belong to them. There is power in the truth of my heart and the knowledge of who and what I am and who I want to be. Death has come knocking for Roxy time and again and she has told it to fuck off. Now it’s my turn to do the same.”