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“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?” Darius frowned like he wasn’t sure what to say to that but he inched a little closer all the same. “Because it feels right,” he breathed.
I pulled it closer to read the message quickly and I bit my lip against the smile which wanted to break free in response to what I read. Darius: But maybe we could call it a draw?
This girl is made for me.
sigh
I pointed and she nodded seriously, moving toward the door, but I dragged her back, stamping my mouth to hers, trying to say all the things I’d planned to say before she left. But now we were out of time.
I released her and she was gone, darting into the darkness and making my soul feel like it was being ripped in two.
I dropped down beside him and instinctively drew him in for a hug. He pressed against me, sighing as the bond became keener for a moment and made me need him that close.
“You took Tory Vega home?” I questioned, putting my Atlas down and doing up my shirt. “Are you screwing her?” Please say yes so I can tell you about Darcy.
“She spoke to Xavier and he burst into a Pegasus in front of her. They seem to get on pretty well and she said she won’t tell anyone, but you should have seen her face. She was surprised and actually happy about it.” “Do you trust her?” “Yeah,” he said stiffly. “Dunno why but…” He shrugged and stepped closer. I get it.
“Xavier is pure blooded,” Lionel growled and my heart turned to stone.
“He’s going to use my brother,” Darius breathed, horror sprawling across his features. “No,” I growled, a promise in my voice. “We will do everything in our power to stop him. I swear on the stars, Darius, we won’t let Lionel hurt Xavier like he hurt my sister.”
“I was at Tory's.” “Liar liar panties on fire,” he purred. “Darius told Caleb that she was with him and Caleb came to me ready to combust.”
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.
“Vega Ass-licker!” he barked, using air to propel himself back to his feet. “Griffin turd bather!” she shouted back and laughter rang out through The Orb which I was definitely joining in with.
“I sent you a few messages and you don’t seem to have replied. And then I find out you’re off chasing around after one of my friends all night. So what am I supposed to make of that?”
“Fuck me...that body,” Tory whispered, watching him and a small laugh escaped me. Dammit, I wish I could tell her about last night.
She nodded firmly. “We'll get through this together.” “Together,” I echoed, pulling her into a quick hug before facing the sea again.
My door opened again and we both looked around as Darius stepped into the doorway. “What are you screaming about in here? I thought you were being murdered.” His eyes took in my wet hair and towel and the fact that I was trying to push Caleb out of the room and a low growl rumbled from his chest. My skin suddenly felt altogether too hot. “Well now you can see no one is here to murder her you can leave us to it,” Caleb replied, moving closer to me instead of further away.
jst fuck already
She wasn’t there when I arrived and my gaze lingered on Milton Hubert who was sitting in the back corner of the room by a window. No one was looking his way or talking to him. He was completely isolated just as he had been every time I’d seen him since I’d let him take the fall for stealing Darius’s treasure and he looked utterly miserable.
“So is that for Diego’s benefit or Tyler’s?” I asked. “If I say both does that make me a terrible person?” she asked and I laughed.
“Hi,” I said innocently as he pinned me in with his huge body. He frowned as that threw him off and I slowly unscrewed the top of my drink and took a swig. “What are you doing coming in here with Milton?” he asked in a low voice as he recovered from his surprise. “Are you jealous?” I teased.
“Are you going to punish me?” Darius growled at me and I smiled despite the shiver that ran down my spine in warning. “Do you growl at everyone like that or do I get under your skin more than most people?” I asked. “I find you particularly frustrating,” he replied evenly. “And I think you sometimes forget what lies beneath my skin.”
“Your smart mouth is going to get you into trouble with me one of these days,” he warned. “Is that a promise?”
“Do you hate me then, Roxy? Or do you still not care about me enough for that?”
I glanced at it and was surprised at how much we looked like a happy couple in the snapshot. I was looking straight into the camera, a laughing smile on my face while Darius pressed a kiss to my head, the corner of his mouth hooked into a grin and his arm wrapped around me.
“I didn’t know you’d become so friendly with the sexy Dragon Heir!” “Did you just call Darius Acrux sexy?” Sofia asked in surprise and I snorted a laugh as Geraldine blushed. “Well I have eyes!” she said defensively. “That’s not to say he’s the most attractive of the Heirs.” “Obviously,” Caleb said cockily.
Caleb leaned closer to me, smiling knowingly. “If I hadn’t heard you scream my name with such vigour multiple times, I’d be thinking you’re not into me at all.” Diego started choking on his spaghetti beside us and Sofia patted his back as Caleb raised an eyebrow at him.
“Chiedo al buio di disturbare questo corpo dalla pace e di mettere la sua magia nel mio sangue.”
I felt Darius follow me through as I broke the barrier and a strange tickling feeling made me think for a moment that there was some other presence with us too.
I looked to Darius and my heart hit top speed as I spotted Tory goddamn Vega standing behind him. Her eyes locked with mine, her face as pale as a ghost’s. She stared at me, then looked to Darius and the men beyond, looking totally baffled as to why she was here. That makes two of us!
My mouth parted in complete horror as I saw it on the ground. The dagger. Darius’s dagger. And beside it was Tory, her arm wrapped in Darcy’s jacket surrounded by a huge puddle of blood. “Help her!” Darcy begged, scrambling off of me and dragging me over to her sister. I threw a glance at Darius, the Leo mark on my arm pulsing strangely as he awoke from the vision. His eyes snapped to Tory and he swore, diving forward and pulling her into his arms. “Lance!” he demanded.
A royal Vega Heir is not going to die in my hands. Not here. Not in this fucking place. And not with a wound that can only be explained by one goddamn thing.
“Focus!” Darius shouted at me and I looked up to find sheer panic in his eyes, his mind clearly not on anything but the girl in his arms.
Darius hugged her to his chest, his eyes shut as he concentrated on pulling her consciousness back to her body, clearly unaware of what we were saying.
But almost all of my attention fell upon the man holding me in his arms. Darius was looking down at me, his eyes wild with panic as he brushed my hair away from my face.
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.”
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.
“For a moment there I felt like I was looking at Lionel instead of a man who swore never to be like him.” This time I didn’t give him a chance to escape me as I swung towards him. I slammed my palms against his chest and forced him back a step, glaring right in his eyes in a clear challenge. “Say that again,” I snarled.
“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...”
“I dunno. Like she’s trying to work me out. Or maybe she wants to. But then she goes right back to calling me names or standing in opposition to every little thing I do or screwing Caleb...”
“Enough about the fucking Vegas,” I muttered. “You were really only talking about one of them,” Lance pointed out. “Well Roxy is always in my face. She lives in my House, I have to help her with her fire magic, she’s screwing my friend, so-” “That’s the second time you’ve brought that up.” “What are you, my fucking critic or my friend?”
“Okay, if you think it’ll make you feel better,” Lance agreed. “Tory Vega is such a bitch. You went way too easy on her and I really hope she’s off somewhere crying right now because she knows how wrong she is.” A faint smile tugged at my lips and Lance leaned back on his elbows as he went on. “I also heard that she’s fucking awful in bed and Caleb is only screwing her because he feels sorry for her. Besides, everyone knows she really wishes she could fuck the Fire Heir but he’s way out of her league so she just cries herself to sleep over it every night instead.” “Fucking Vegas,” I muttered,
...more
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.” “No!” I gasped, realising what he’d managed to do. Give himself a damn excuse to haul me away like a misbehaving student.
“I’m your teacher.” “Handy that,” I laughed dryly. “You didn’t act like one the other night, sir.”
“Blue,” he whispered, but I didn’t know what he was asking of me. To drop the bottle or to not drop it. I gasped as he ran at me, my heart sinking, knowing that this alcohol meant so much to him. He grabbed hold of my hand and prised the bottle from my fingers, dropping it himself. The smash hit my ears, but I didn’t see it because he dragged me against him, his mouth crashing into mine with the heat of a volcano.
“Did you just shove her in the mud?” Caleb asked incredulously. “What does it matter to you?” Darius snapped. “It’s just a bit...” “What?” he snarled. “Weak,” Caleb snapped back and I paused, glancing over my shoulder as I looked between the two of them. Darius moved to square his chest against Caleb’s, rising up to his full height and making the most of the few inches he had on him. “You wanna say that again?” “Any asshole can push a girl in the mud, it’s got nothing to do with your power or hers,” Caleb snarled. “And it’s a petty fucking thing to do to her.”
“What’s going on?” Seth asked, a whimper escaping him as he took in the spiralling tension in the air. “Caleb’s crying because I pushed his little whore about,” Darius taunted and for some reason those words stung more than him shoving me had.
“Darius is just pouting because she won’t look twice at him,” Caleb retorted.
“We did it,” Darcy said, partly in relief, part shock, part pure goddamn joy. “Hell yeah we did!” I threw my arms around her and we squealed like little kids who’d just turned up at Disney Land. After the horrors of the night before, a win was exactly what I’d needed and holy crap did it feel good.
