The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy, #3)

by Caroline Peckham

“You’re not right but getting you to admit that is probably an impossible task so what do you want instead?” Darius pushed his tongue into his cheek as he considered it, his gaze trailing over me in a way that made me shift my weight onto the other foot. “I’ll think of something,” he assured me.

“You could just take it off,” he suggested

I started making the bike weave between the students while it did a circuit of the arena and Darius leaned close to my ear as he maintained his grip on me. “Congratulations, Roxy. Looks like we’ve got a date Wednesday night then.” I ignored the flutter in my chest as he called it a date because it absolutely didn’t take place. “Maybe I’ve already got plans Wednesday,” I said. “Yeah, you do. With me.”

“Um actually, I was thinking maybe it might be a better idea if I just get a new Liaison,”

Orion settled into his chair and didn't reach for his bourbon for once. “No, that won't be necessary. Come in. Close the door.”

My eyes shifted to his mouth and heat surged up my spine as the memory of that kiss made me want to just-

“Dragons.” Orion looked up. “I think you and your sister might be Dragons. Though a kind thought to be extinct.”

I tried to pull the book toward me, and Orion pointed out the passage at the same time, causing our skin to graze. White hot energy raced under my flesh, and I immediately yanked my hand away.

“Dragons,” he echoed, clearing his throat. “Potentially this one.” He pushed the book toward me, tapping on the passage before withdrawing entirely.

The long extinct Ismenian Dragon was once a powerful Order. As the largest of the Dragon Orders, its fire was three times the strength of its smaller cousins. Often darkest blue in colour, it had a forked tongue and poisonous breath which could kill a Fae up to fifty feet away.

Orion gave me a taut frown. “Miss Vega-” I rolled my eyes and he stopped short, a low noise leaving his throat. “What?” I huffed. “It's really stupid that you keep talking to me like we didn't-” “Don't,” he growled, and I sighed, my eyes falling to the book on the desk.

Orion followed my line of sight and a deep v formed between his eyes. He sighed heavily. “Fuck this. Come on, let's go for a walk.” He got up and I looked up at him in surprise.

“That almost sounds like fun,” I teased. “Yes, well I can be fun sometimes. Especially when I'm not wearing this suit.”

“I meant when I'm not working,” he said quickly. “Right yeah.” And when you’re diving into swimming pools. And pressed against me with your tongue in my mouth.

The breeze grew stronger as I stopped in front of Orion, dragging my dark hair out in a wild tangle of tendrils. His tense jaw relaxed a little and his eyes skimmed over me in a way that unravelled me from the inside out. I took a breath, angling my face away so I didn't drown in memories of his mouth and hands on me.

“Order powers are different to your Elemental powers. You should feel those channels in two different parts of your body.”

I'm feeling a hell of a lot of fire in my body right now but none of it is Dragon Fire. “I can sense my magic and it feels like there's another part of me, but it's not awake,”

“Did that wake it up?” Orion asked casually. I looked up at him with a scowl and he started laughing his head off. A feral noise escaped me, and I launched myself at him. I shoved him in the chest before I could even think about the consequences and his eyes lit up with the challenge as he stumbled back a step. “Oh, you wanna fight? Come on then, no more physical contact though, Miss Vega.”

“So you keep reminding me,” I said tauntingly.

“Darcy?” Orion demanded anxiously, the sound of his footsteps pounding this way. My heart jolted at the sound of my name, and I wondered if he was genuinely worried he'd killed one of the Vega Twins.

“Here, give it to me,” Orion commanded as he kneeled before me in the dirt, reaching for my wrist and gently curling his fingers around it. I winced as pain daggered down my arm, but a warmth built beneath his fingers which sank into my skin, soothing it away.

I didn’t even really try to fight him off as he threw his weight down, pinning me to the ground with his entire body. “You’re supposed to use magic,” I said breathlessly, and his throat bobbed as his mouth hovered an inch from mine. The scent of cinnamon rolled over me and fire reached deep inside me, making me consider leaning in for a kiss. We’d made a solid decision to stay away from each other and look where we’d ended up already?

“Maybe brute force is just as efficient sometimes,” he said in a rumbling tone which delved into my chest and sent a hungry shudder through me. “You said no physical contact,” I whispered as his muscles hardened, keeping me caged beneath him.

I should have tried to fight him off, but I didn’t want him to go anywhere. And from the intense look he was giving me, I could tell how close he was to crossing this line again himself...

“You’re fickle,” I pointed out. “And confusing.” “I don’t mean to be.” He dipped his head, so his mouth was by my ear and goosebumps rose to meet the heat of his breath. “I can't think straight around you,” he said heavily, his hand clawing into the earth beside my head. “I could have lost you in that ba...

“I owe you my life,” he breathed and my heart nearly detonated as he pressed his lips to my cheek. “Thank you.”

“Fuck what he said,” Orion growled then he frowned as he realised he shouldn’t have said it.

“I need a new Liaison,” I said through the gnawing lump in my throat. He nodded stiffly, looking boyish and broken for a moment as he hung his head. A magnetic energy hung in the air, trying to force me toward him. It was so powerful I had to consciously take another step back to try and shake it away.

My Atlas pinged and I took it out of my bag, my soul fraying as I found a private message waiting for me from Orion. Lance: What if I don't want it to stop?

Now that I was down a member of my pack, my instincts were burning even more fiercely, telling me to initiate her. She wasn't even a Werewolf. It was ridiculous. But I didn't know any other way to stop these wild emotions apart from ensuring she was made an official member of my pack.

If there was a way to break this bond I had to Darcy Vega, I had to know what it was. Since I’d made her my Omega, the thought of hurting her was unbearable. I hadn't even thought I meant it. I'd just gone to her room that day to remind of her place. But I was hardwired to protect my own. And now I'd claimed her for my pack, the longer I put off initiating her, the more I’d be driven to insanity.

She wasn't a Wolf, and everyone knew it. Hell, it was all the school could talk about. And initiating some other Order into the pack was an insult to our way of life.

“We love you, Alpha. But you need to get rid of her. We won't follow you again until you do.”

It wasn't that simple to get rid of Darcy. I'd already claimed her as one of my own. That meant I had to protect her. And banishment only happened when an Alpha was challenged. If she fought me and I won, I could dismiss her from the pack. But the challenge had to come from her; I couldn't control that part. And a quiet, resilient piece of my heart didn’t want her to either. I liked the idea of being her Alpha a little too much.

A fire was burning to one side of the room and Darius was stretched out on the sheepskin rug beside it, shirtless as he toyed with the fire in his palms. My eyes lingered on his abs for a moment, and I blinked sharply, turning away.

“Well, you do have sensitive skin,” Darius said with a frown, sitting upright so the firelight danced over the broad muscles of his shoulders. He looked like a demi-god, his skin so inked and- I bit down on my tongue. Man, I needed to get laid.

“Tory Vega just shut me down. I asked her to come to my room tonight, but she just messaged me saying she's not coming and that I should use this time to 'work on my personality'.” He sighed, furiously thumbing through FaeBook posts absentmindedly and kicking out against the railing, making us swing backwards.

Caleb threw me a curious look. “You're not judging me then? Because every time I mention her name in front of Darius, he looks like he's about to burst into flames.”

“You what?” Caleb blurted and I nodded, frowning at him. My eyes lingered on his mouth a moment too long and I cleared my throat. Grr. Damn Wolf needs.

I moved into his touch, invading his personal space, and nuzzling against his chin. He knew I couldn't help myself and though his Order was almost the exact opposite of mine in terms of our tactile behaviour, he let me do it because he knew I had to, or I'd go mad. But tonight, it felt like more than that. My senses came alive with the musk of his flesh and the heat of his body. “Seth,” Caleb warned as I moved my mouth to his ear. “Remember that time in The Shimmering Springs last year?”

“That was one time. And there was a girl there too,” he pointed out. “Not the whole time,” I said with a smirk, brushing my mouth across the line of his jaw.

We'd both had fun and I'd maybe once or twice told her she was my girlfriend because well, it had felt that way at the time. But now...the only girl I craved was Darcy Vega. Which was an impossible dream. She'd never touch me after what I did to her. Unless I made things up to her somehow...

My eyes lingered on his muscles, and I let my gaze wander appreciatively. I didn’t normally perv on my friends. But tonight felt anything but normal.

“And to think I almost got desperate enough to try and kiss you,” I muttered as we walked up to the door. “Only in your dreams,” Caleb whispered. “And memories.” I cocked a brow, and he pursed his lips. “I have no recollection of that,” he lied.

Darius was standing up, his hands resting against the mantelpiece as he stared at the fire. I'd been so caught up in my own worries I'd totally missed how fucking stressed he clearly was. I walked straight up to him, wrapping my arms around him from behind and nuzzling his shoulder.

“Let's address the elephant in the room here,” Max said in a dark tone as he gazed at Darius unblinkingly. “It looks like they're gonna emerge as Dragons.” A line of smoke left Darius's nostrils as he exhaled. His shoulders trembled and I had the feeling he was holding back the urge to explode into his Order form and take his fiery rage out on the sky.

“Look at the bright side,” I said. “You could marry one of them and avoid marrying your buck-toothed cousin?” Darius's eyes whipped to me, his anger seeming to dissolve for a second. “That's not a terrible idea. Roxy Vega has dry humped me on more than one occasion so I could probably win her round.”

“I do hope you're fucking joking right now,” Caleb said in a deadly low voice, and I turned to him with a grin. “Someone's jealous,” I taunted, shoving his thigh with mine and he pressed his lips together into a tight line.

“That would be one way to keep her in line, huh Caleb? Surely you don't mind if I claim your plaything. You're only passing time with her anyway, right?” “Right,” Caleb ground out, his shoulders becoming rigid, and I glanced at him, knowing that wasn't true.

Caleb didn't do exclusive very often, but it seemed like he was trying to do it with Tory. Which meant he actually gave a shit about her. And with my emotions all knotted up over Darcy, I sensed we were both about to cause a real issue when it came to keeping them both under heel.