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I moved to release his hand but he held on for a second, a wicked glint in his eye. “Do you wanna screw Darius?” he asked quickly, catching me off guard. “What?” I snapped, snatching my hand back. “Of course I don’t.” “There was a lot of hate there, little Vega,” Max said. “But there was lust too. Maybe you should just do it to work through your frustration with him.” “I’ve warned you about messing with my head,” I snarled at him.
I know what it meant. Darius told me after the Fall Party. But I have my own (better) meaning and Solaria has one too. P.S I fully intend to break that guy’s legs once you give me his name by the way. Lance: I guess you’re about to go back to radio silence so for what it’s worth… In Solaria blue means royal. And to me, blue means you.
“Yeah keep telling yourself that.” I looked at the screen and found he was now holding a sign over his junk that said I renounce my claim to the throne of Solaria.
“In my family we have this tradition called Forging. Every cub has to go through it to prove they’re strong enough to be a part of the pack.” I turned to look at him, intrigued by that. “What does it involve?”
“I’d like to see that,” Lance laughed. “I’ll think on it some more. Did Xavier happen to mention anything about Lionel’s movements this week?” “He said he’s been away from the manor a lot but he had no idea where. He didn’t know anything which might help us figure out who he’s planning to use on the Lunar Eclipse for his shadow magic. I considered asking him to dig around but if Father caught him…”
“Anyone would think you were embarrassed about luring students out to sneak around after dark with you in your secret cave,” I teased. “I’m mostly embarrassed it’s you,” he replied scathingly. “You’re not even hot.” “Bite me,” I joked. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Oh, right. No, I’ll just catch her in the morning,” he replied, looking out into the trees. “If I bite you before I sleep I’ll end up fucking dreaming of you again.” “Oh come on, Professor, we both know you dream of me anyway.” I flexed my muscles at him as I began to back away and he rolled his eyes. “You wanna lose two hundred and fifty House Points for disrespecting a teacher while breaking curfew?” he asked. “You wanna tell me if that’s a dagger in your pocket or if you’re just excited to see me?” I taunted. He flipped me off before turning away and shooting off towards Asteroid Place.
I kept my leash on her magic intact as she slowly relaxed in my arms and released a juddering sob. She pressed her face to my chest and my heart leapt a little as she leaned into me like I was someone who could protect her.
Not that I’d lay a finger on her in her current state but even seeing her here, surrounded by gold and half undressed was sending zips of turbulent energy right through me.
She smiled at me and it wasn’t sarcastic or taunting, the difference that made taking my breath away for a moment.
“You’re unbelievable, you know that,” she mumbled. “In what way?” I asked, wondering if she just might be about to admit that she felt this heat between us too.
But instead of the soft embrace of parents I’d never known, my head lay on the chest of a man whose strong arms were wrapped around me like he never wanted to let me go. His heartbeat thumped beneath my ear. My arm and leg were coiled over him while he held me against him, his hand resting on the curve of my thigh. He was warm unlike anyone I’d ever known, his skin almost seeming to hold a fire within it which filled my soul with strength and peace. My eyes were closed so I couldn’t see him but I just felt oddly at home. Like this was where I was meant to be.
I’d never had an opportunity to really study the tattoos which marked his flesh before and I let myself look at the patterns which wove their way over his shoulders and chest in the dim light. A wing swept across his ribs from some design on his back, the feathers burning like they were made of fire themselves. The red Libra symbol on his forearm began a network of constellations and star signs which formed a sleeve over his bicep, though it stood out starkly as the only image with any colour in it.
make me walk through fire, jump from cliffs, lock me in tight spaces, beat me, drown me, whip me, pretty much anything and everything he could think of so that he could forge me into a man who showed no fear. It’s what we do. It’s who we are.” “Well congratulations,” I muttered as I backed up, my hand closing on the door handle. Yep, I was abandoning my clothes because there was no way in hell I was staying here for another second. “Now you’re just like him.”
“You need to perform it every thirty days to keep the spell working. Boys must face the direction of Mars and girls the direction of Venus which you can calculate on your Atlases. It is only one hundred percent effective if both parties – or more - are protected by the spell. I highly suggest you don't rely on your partner to maintain contraception as the spell will also protect you from STIs like Faemidia, Centyphilis, Grifforrhea and Manticrabs.”
“If you don't kiss me I'll go mad,” his voice rumbled through his chest and a magnetic heat tugged me toward him.
I'm the sister who makes sensible decisions. I don't play games with the devil. And yet here I am tempting him with my own two hands.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Caleb replied. “I promise to stop if I hear someone coming... aside from you of course.”
“How did Astrum set all of this up before he died?” I asked. “It seemed like he was caught out when he was killed by the Shadow, but every time one of these cards appears I have to think he planned on us finding them before he was murdered.” “Not necessarily,” Sofia piped up. “Objects of special significance can stay linked to spirits after they pass. There are plenty of examples of powerful Fae managing to send messages back to the living from beyond the veil.” I let out a long breath, absorbing that.
I rolled my eyes at him. “In your dreams.” “Every night,” he agreed and his tone was serious enough that it brought a blush to my cheeks. I fought it off and came to a halt before him. “Are we going then?” I asked, not responding to his last comment.
“Maybe I should make you wear a shirt with my name printed on it instead of Geraldine’s at the next match as my prize for beating you tonight,” he suggested.
I pushed it away as heat ran up the back of my neck and shifted out of his grip so he no longer held me in the cage of his arm. “Why are you doing that?” I asked, shooting him a suspicious look. “You let me in this morning,” he reminded me in a low voice. “Why did you trust me so easily then and not now?”
“When we were kids we spent a lot of time with nannies and private tutors, we mainly saw our parents for meals. It was pretty much the same as anyone’s childhood I’d imagine; we stayed in our wing of the house and had anything we could ever want.”
“Darcy always...” I frowned, wondering why I’d been going to tell him about our childhood but he only shifted closer to me, refusing to release me from the trap of his gaze. “Always what?” he breathed like anything I might say would be the most interesting thing in the world. My lips parted and some deep part of me wanted to tell him. A frown pinched my features and I shook my head a little, unsure why I’d even been talking to him about any of this. Darius reached out for me, his fingers brushing against mine and making my gut flip over as he hooked a finger around my thumb, grazing it up
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“So, Father said there’s a theory that you and your sister will emerge as Dragons any day now,” Xavier said, forcing a subject change. “Maybe,” I said with a shrug, lifting my drink to my lips. “If you’re a Dragon maybe you can marry Darius and save him from Mildred,” Xavier suggested casually. I half choked on my coke and set it down quickly as I coughed. “Fuck no,” I said once I could speak. “Mildred is welcome to him. I want a front row seat to their wedding so that I can laugh my ass off but that’s the only reason I’ll be attending.”
“Fuck yes. I’ve missed this feeling so much.” “What bike did you leave behind in the mortal world?” Darius asked and I opened my eyes to find him watching me like I was the most interesting goddamn thing he’d ever seen.
“I have my Air Trial tomorrow,” I said. “I really need to get some sleep and-” “So sleep here. Like last night. We don’t have to do anything else.”
“I have a perfectly good bed downstairs,” I replied, shaking my head just a little. “Why would you want me to stay?”
“Because it feels right,” he breathed.
This girl is made for me.
“Motherfucker,” I hissed as he pinched himself hard enough to hurt me through the bond.
“Are you screwing her?” Please say yes so I can tell you about Darcy.
He did as I said and we headed to the back door, slipping out into the persistent rain. I cast an air shield around us and the night kept us hidden well enough. I turned away from Darius and he jumped onto my back, locking his legs around my waist. “Giddy up pony.”
Geraldine wound her hands into her brown locks, eyeing my hair with delight. “Do you think my hair would agree with such an astounding colour?” “I prefer red.” Max appeared behind her, leaning forward and snatching a bagel from the mountain at the heart of the table. Geraldine smacked his hand so hard, he dropped it back into the pile and he turned to glare at her.
“I know we aren’t,” I replied, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “Because you still owe me a bike.” Darius let out a breath of laughter before drawing back and releasing me from the cage of his body.
“No. Clearly the title of the most drool inspiring hunk of handsome goes to Max Rigel even if he is a blackhearted fiend. But Darius isn’t a bad second,”
Heat was emanating from Orion in waves but that didn’t make any sense. He didn’t hold the Element of fire. His hands shot up and Darius threw out his palms at the same moment to cast an immense shield of water around himself. Fire exploded from Orion's palms and I stumbled back a step, completely shocked as the raging, twisting Element cascaded over Darius's shield. The flames battered it with a terrifying force then finally fizzled out, leaving plumes of steam in its wake.
Fuck, blood magic felt good. Every time I did it, I swear the high got better. It was focusing that was the problem. Using dark magic was deadly. I could bleed out here before I’d even realised what was happening.
Something was waiting for me in the shadows. Something which knew my name. Something which wanted to own me.
I was flirting with the shadows and some base part of me liked it, wanted it...needed it.
I fell still and the shadows writhed and wailed, desperate to have me. But the fire drew me back. I turned, wrenching my gaze from the dark until I saw the flames at my back burning bright and fierce in the shape of an enormous, golden Dragon.
“-would fucking break me. So don’t you dare give in to them. I’ll follow you into the shadows if I have to and drag you away from them kicking and screaming. Because they can’t have you. They fucking can’t.”
“You’re back?” he asked, his voice breaking as he ran his fingers over the lines of my face.
“You burned my clothes off of my body on my first day here. You encouraged every asshole in this school to make my life hell. You tortured and tormented me every second you got the chance and you laughed while you did it. You took my deepest fear and dragged me to that pool so that you could force me to relive it and you almost fucking killed me,” I hissed, all the venom of all the hatred I’d ever felt for him pouring out of me like it was an open wound. “So yes. I broke into your goddamn room and I stole your precious fucking treasure and that psycho dagger while I was there. And then I
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I didn’t understand half of what had just happened but one thing was completely and utterly clear to me and I was going to make sure I never forgot it again. Darius Acrux was not my friend. He was cruel and mean and ruthless and he wouldn’t bat an eye at hurting me a hundred times in a thousand different ways. I never should have tried to see him as anything other than what he was. And I wouldn’t be making that mistake ever again.
“Fuck.” I started pacing, scraping my hands through my hair again as I tried to force away the image of her glaring up at me as I pinned her to the ground. “I can’t...she drives me insane, you know that? She challenges me at every goddamn turn. No matter how thoroughly she’s beaten she still gets back up and looks me right in the eye again. Every. Damn. Time. And she hates me, it’s obvious, she says it right to my face but then every now and then she looks at me like...”
She hated me. And I hated her. Simple.
“What the hell?” I demanded. “Get out of my way, asshole.” Horrified inhales sounded around me and for some unknown reason Orion’s mouth curved up into a triumphant smile. “My office. Now, Miss Vega.”
“Well make it simple,” I said with a shrug. Before I could react, he wrapped me in his arms, nuzzling into my hair with a groan. “Maybe I don’t want to let you go.” His mouth grazed my temple, then he drew away and headed off down the path, my heart beating frantically as I watched him leave. I didn’t like to admit it but I was starting to accept that Seth had feelings for me. And for some
reason that terrified me far more than him hating me ever could.
