Restless Stars (Zodiac Academy, #9)

by Caroline Peckham

They may not have sat upon their rightful throne yet, but there was no denying the power of the sons and daughters of the most powerful Fae in Solaria bowing at their feet.

My brother kneeling there, his back to me now but there had been no refuting his existence when he had stepped through the crowd. It had to be a gift of the stars, allowing him a moment back here on earth, but his time could already be waning.

In the next second, his resolve broke and he slammed into them full force, nearly knocking them all off their feet. Seth clashed with them again, and Orion’s arm nearly sent him flying as he slung it around Darius, but Orion caught the Wolf, dragging him back into the embrace.

Caleb squeezed Orion’s arm and even Max drew him tighter, the five of them locked together with Darius in the middle. For a moment, I saw how it could have been if politics and my father hadn’t fucked with everything, forcing Orion to keep his distance, making the Heirs bond as brothers and hardening them to everyone but each other.

I shook my head, a sob wracking through my chest. “You’re not real.” “I’m real, Xavier. And I’m staying,” he promised. My breaths seized up in my chest, not an ounce of oxygen making it into my lungs. “It’s not a trick?” I hissed, the burning pain of my enduring grief nearly tearing me apart. I would not survive losing him twice, and this scrap of hope, this view of him before me would be too much to bear if it was nothing but an illusion. “No trick. No lie.” Darius placed a hand on his chest. “Heart beating. I’m right here. Against all the motherfucking odds. Now get the fuck up and let me hug you.”

“Secure the academy!” Tory called to the crowd, amplifying her voice with magic to a chorus of barks, howls and roars. “This is our home, and we’re staying right here,” Darcy added fiercely,

I spotted Gabriel running through the crowd, colliding with a giant Nemean Lion who let out a deafening roar, nuzzling Gabriel’s head and purring loudly. Dante Oscura jumped from the Lion’s back, slamming into Gabriel and the two of them held each other close before the Lion shifted back into his Fae form, revealing he was Leon Night. Butt naked and smiling from ear to ear, he dragged Gabriel out of Dante’s arms and held him in a bone-crushing embrace.

“Tell me, brother, how many stars did you have to fuck to be given another chance at life?” Orion asked. Darius turned to him with a smirk creeping across his face. “No stars, Lance. But your dad took it like a pro.” “You motherfucker,” Orion said through a wide smile, eyes burning bright with relief, confusion, and love for this man before him. “Fatherfucker,” Darius corrected

“I missed you every damn day, Darius Acrux,” Orion growled, gripping the back of Darius’s head. “It’s been hell,” Darius sighed, holding his friend tighter. “There’s no asshole quite like you beyond The Veil – though Hail Vega made a decent effort. But I’ll tell you more about that once I get a cold beer in my hand.”

“This is Tory’s doing,” Caleb said knowingly, and Darius nodded. “Who else?” he said. “My wife has a way of getting what she wants.”

“Maxy boy, take me to him. Lay me upon his mighty form - nay! Toss me to my knees before him and strike me with a whip of the wandig,” she choked out, and Max gently led her towards Darius who was laughing low in his throat. “Come here, you nonsensical stepsister,” he said, and Geraldine shrieked at that, stumbling into his arms and completely falling apart, her legs going slack so Darius had to hold her up entirely. “Oh dear, dear, hapless brother,” she croaked.

There was nothing else in this world like it, no replacement at all, and all the pining I’d done for him in his absence washed away like water spiralling down a drain. We made up parts of each other that were integral to our beings, and without him, I’d known I would never be quite whole again. But now, Darius was back, and by the stars, the moon, and the ever-watching sun, it looked like I was too.

The Shadow Beast had been a prisoner to the shadows just as she had, so I wasn’t going to hold a grudge against it.

Darius would know. Even before our hearts had become one, he would have known, but now, I had no doubt at all about it. Whatever Clydinius’s plan was by impersonating us, Darius would see through the deception and come looking for us. So, I guessed that made me his motherfucking damsel.

I’d missed Zodiac Academy; it was where I’d ruled as a king of Pitball, where I’d discovered the immensity of my power, and most of all, where I’d fallen so hopelessly in love with the girl who had pulled me from the dark.

Blue was my purpose in so many ways, but not only her. I had found purpose for myself in fighting on the good side of a war, in seeking to restore the Guild and taking up the baton left behind by my father. I knew who I was and where I wanted to be, and that was a gift like no other after walking the path of suffering for so long. I was finally taking steps towards a new life, one I was proud to be a part of and which was built atop a foundation of bonds I had forged with a group of Fae who, frankly, had become like family to me.

“First rule of Cardinal Magic,” I murmured. “Do not be a fucking idiot.”

“If the stars weighed your soul in the scales of Libra, would they find it heavy with sin? Would they see the tarnish of prejudice and cruelty upon the essence of all you are? Because I was born within the stars of justice, and I can see it plain and clear. Beneath the false face of beauty you wear, is nothing but a monster.”

The fact that Highspell was bald with a bumpy, wart-bound head was the least of her ugliness, because right there in the centre of her face, instead of a nose, was a huge, veiny, flaccid cock. Balls and all, perched neatly beneath her eyes.

“Don’t look at me!” she cried, making the tip of the thing flap against her chin. Seth ran forward to get a better look, his expression saying he was having the time of his life. “Oh my stars, is it functional?” “Shut up!” Highspell screeched, and we all laughed. “What?” Seth balked. “I’m just asking what everyone’s thinking. Like, do you pee through it, can you smell with it? Wait, does it get hard?” “No one is thinking that!” she shrieked, the cock bouncing against her lips with the force she used.

“It was an old friend. I slept with her husband,” she cleared her throat. “And her father – not at the same time, of course, but… anyway, when it all came out, she tracked me down and cursed me with some twisted dark magic she’d learned from who even knows where. She said if…if I was so addicted to cock then I could have one of my own to look at forevermore.” Highspell hiccupped a sob before continuing.

“Relaaaax.” Seth moved forward and squeezed my shoulder, but I shrugged him off. “He’s out playing hero with Xavier. They said they’d meet us at the lake in a bit.” “So, he’s really back?” I asked, at a loss for how this was possible.

“You saw him yourself, man,” Caleb said with a sideways grin, and excitement crested in my chest. “I need to see him again.” I stepped forward, and Seth caught my arm. “At the lake,” he said keenly. “Alright,” I conceded, though I’d have preferred to have spent some time with him alone. I knew I couldn’t exactly keep him from everyone; they had missed him as much as I had. “Will the twins be there?”

“I can just walk,” he said, running a hand down the back of his neck. “It’s fine,” I muttered. “Alright.” He moved closer, taking hold of my arm while I ducked down to get his legs, but my head bumped into his chest as we moved at the same time. “Oh, er, hang on.” He lifted one leg up. “Does this help?” “No, just, stay still.” We bumped into each other again and I stood upright, pressing my lips together in frustration while he gave me a sideways look. “Just get on my back,” I said. “Riiiight, that makes so much more sense,” he agreed with a nod.

“Er, I got it. I can use air to just-” He leapt smoothly onto my back with the use of his Element. I caught the backs of his knees while he rested his hands on my shoulders, then wrapped his arms around my neck and put his hands back on my shoulders. Fuck, this was awkward. “Yah!” he cried with a laugh. “Don’t do that,” I said, not moving. “Oh, right. Cool…cool.” “Hold on tight, asshole,” I said with a smirk, and his grip tightened on my shoulders. “Let’s go, motherfucker,” he replied brightly,

“Everything,” Max growled. “From start to end, no pieces missing.” “It’s a long story,” he said with a dark look. “I don’t care if it takes all day, dickweed,” Xavier said. “Get on with it.”

Against all odds, the twins had been crowned, the four Heirs were reunited, and the fate of this war felt like it was spinning on a coin once again. I just hoped when it landed, it did so in our favour.

He’d told us of his passing, how he had been greeted by the Savage King himself in the realm of death alongside his queen. He had spent time with his mother and Hamish, and even his uncle Radcliff, the brother Lionel murdered, and with my father too. He described a great palace filled with endless rooms and a golden mist that hung in the air like stardust, and how he could furnish a room for him to live in and make it look however he liked with nothing but a thought. He had watched us too, pushed against the very fabric of The Veil to stand at our sides during moments when we had thought of or needed him, like our grieving had called him to us. It was terrifying and wonderful in equal measures, knowing how close the dead really were at all times.

I scanned the sky, looking for any sign of flaming wings or blue hair, and tried not to let myself grow concerned, though I knew I’d feel easier when she was back with me again.

Caleb had informed me that Geraldine and her little Ass society had placed a bag of my things at Asteroid Place, and I itched to look through it and seek out my father’s diary. I wanted to pore over his words, drink in the tenor of his voice from his notes and feel…closer to him, I supposed. I may have read through it a thousand times but something about having Darius back, about knowing that my father really was watching over me made me feel like I might just discover something more in the words he had left for me.

I rested my fingers on the doorhandle, thinking of the night Darcy had come to me in a raging storm, her hair dyed blue and a look of purest passion in her eyes.

“Great observation skills, Professor,” he said mockingly, and I shook my head at him, a grin tugging at my mouth. “I’m not a professor anymore.” “None of us are what we were the last time we were here,” Darius said, and I nodded in agreement of that. “Everything’s changed,” I said,

“The stars told me we’re Nebula Allies,” Darius said. “I’m your number one Nebula Ally, apparently. There was someone called Gabe who came in at like number three or something.” I barked a laugh. “You’re going to fuck with him constantly, aren’t you?” “Fuck with the Seer who’s all-knowing?” he pretended to be shocked, then smiled like a heathen. “Oh yes, I’m going to pretend I have far more insight than he’ll ever comprehend.” “Same old asshole, aren’t you?” I mused.

“Azriel asked me to tell you that he is forever with you. That he loves you and wants you to know you are worthy of the position you’re yet to rise to. He said he’ll be watching you through every moment and that he couldn’t hold more pride in his heart for you if he tried.”

“Clara wanted you to know that she’s free now. Truly free. And Lance…” Darius’s hand landed on my shoulder, his grip tightening. “She is happy there. Really. She even met a guy who-” A ragged laugh broke from me, and I looked up at him in surprise. “You’re telling me that I’ve been suffering over her death, agonising over the choice I was forced to make to release her from that bitch Lavinia, and she’s hooking up with some ghost asshole?” “Yeah,” Darius laughed too. “His name was Rash or something like that.”

“Like a ball rash?” I pressed, my grief falling into amusement as Darius laughed fully. “Okay, so maybe it was Ranch or Reg or-”

“Stella.” Darius frowned. “I never saw her. But I think she will have plenty of time in death to sit with her sins.” “She saved me and Darcy in the end,” I told him, and his brows raised in surprise. “She died so that we could be free of the Death Bond, of the shadow curse. She did that, despite everything.” “And how do you feel about that?” I exhaled heavily. “I’m unsure of how to feel about any of it. But somewhere among it all, I feel a sense of closure I suppose. And perhaps that’s enough.”

“Let’s slip away into the night like we used to,” he suggested, and a buzz of adrenaline rippled through me as I stared at the impossibility of my best friend, back from the dead and carrying the secrets I’d been hunting for as if they were nothing at all. But they were everything, and I could hear destiny whispering my name once again as I stood too. “I thought you’d never ask.”

The True Queens had ascended at last, and I knew without doubt that my dearest papa was watching me now, trailing my footsteps as I stole along the path to the door of my ladies on this most momentous of occasions.

“Are we ready?” he grunted, eyes scanning the legion who continued to beat their swords against their shields, the cacophony of war rallying a zap to my begonias. “As ready as a dandelion seed in a foul breeze,” I confirmed,

Don’t wander into the dark, my dear, for tricksome Nymphs do linger near.

Geraldine Gundellifus Gabolia Gundestria Grus,

The Nymph shrieked as it lunged for me, probes outstretched, eyes wild with lust for my swelling wells of power. “Not today,” I snarled, calling on my Cerberus to steady the plinth of my soul against the haunting power of the beasts which worked to sap the strength from my limbs.

Not today, foul beasts. For I am the light of my ladies, the song on the wind, the harbinger of your doom.

We had our targets, and they were clear. Gus Vulpecula: the asshole who was responsible for filling the media with bullshit accounts of Lionel’s rule and smearing the name of the rebellion. Irvine McReedy: the enforcer and general who Lionel had put in charge of the Nebula Inquisition Centres. And last of all, my so-called mother, Linda, who had been heading up his government and buying into his bullshit in her quest for power which she wasn’t capable of claiming for herself the way a true Fae would.

There was ice fusing their hands together, keeping them locked as one while Linda lived up to the parasitic title of our kind and sucked the magic clean out of Ellis to use for her own. That was precisely what she was. A leech.

But it wasn’t her I saw as my power built around us like an oncoming storm; it was my sister. Ellis’s eyes were wide with fear, her lips parted on some word she hadn’t yet uttered and her arm tense where she was trying to pull free of Linda’s hold. She saw me then, the darkest, foulest parts of me, the unforgiving, ruthless creature which I had been trained to become whenever the need arose, and I didn’t like the reflection I found painted in her eyes.

“You will live with this cost,” I hissed at her. “And you will be forced to face the truth of what you are at your core without a drop of magic to hide your true self from the world and no more power than a worm writhing in the dirt.”

“It’s time for you to decide who you want to be, little sister,” I rumbled. “This is war, and there is no place for anyone to sit on the fence. Choose which side of the battlefield you wish to stand on before I see you again, and know that if you stand across from me once more, I won’t hesitate.” Ellis’s eyes widened in fear,

“If I was a cunning, shady little Fox shifter trying to make sure I made a decent buck from this war…I know exactly where I’d go,” I said darkly,