The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy, #3)

by Caroline Peckham

Here, we were nothing but two Fae who craved each other with a force that rivalled mother nature. And I could no longer resist the call of its power.

“You might want to remember this if you come at me again. Because I get the feeling you just threw the extent of your power at me, but I barely even scratched the surface of my magic in retaliation.”

“I hope you meant the part about screwing me senseless.” Darius stood leaning against his doorframe at the end of the hall, and I mentally shrugged off the altercation with Marguerite as I stalked towards him. 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.

“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. “That’s what you want for a prize?” I scoffed. “While I’m racing for a shiny bike of my own?” “What I’d like for a prize probably isn’t on the table,” he replied with a shrug.

Darius gave me a smile that made my gut clench and opened the door into the manor, holding it for me like he had goddamn manners. I brushed past him, and he followed so close behind that I could feel his breath on the back of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

“We’ll be in my rooms,” he replied, hooking an arm around my waist as he drew me toward the stairs.

Darius stayed close to me as he urged me towards the stairs and his magic brushed up against mine like a question hanging between us.

“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?”

Blending my magic with his was bordering on indecent; the rush I got when his power poured into me was heady and addictive. It lit up every inch of my flesh and awoke desires in me which I refused to admit to around him. Which was precisely why I wasn’t going to be doing it again tonight.

“Did you ever feel like you missed Solaria, without really knowing what you were missing?”

“How could we miss something we never even knew existed?” “It’s just that I’ve visited the mortal world and the whole time I was there I had this ache in my chest like deep down I knew I was in the wrong place. The lack of magic all around me was stifling and their cities were so big they make it almost impossible to see the stars at night...”

Maybe he was right; I’d certainly never felt like I belonged anywhere growing up, but I’d put that down to our situation. In fact, the only time in my life when that feeling had gone awa...

Caleb’s golden curls made him look like a little angel as he laughed, knee deep in the water while Seth was grubby on the bank with smudges of dirt on his face and grass stains on his knees. Max smiled so widely I could practically feel the happiness pouring out of him and Darius looked so serious I had to laugh, his lips pouting as he pointed at something out of shot.

“If you’re a Dragon maybe you can marry Darius and save him from Mildred,” Xavier suggested casually.

“So...” he said, trailing away from me across the room. “You and Darius are friends now, eh? I thought you hated him?” “Ew,” I replied, scrunching my nose up. “I do hate him. I’m purely here to win one of his shiny bikes off of him and laugh when he cries about it.” “It just seemed like I walked in on...”

“Okay, there’s no you and Darius,” he agreed quickly. “But you might be doomed if that’s not what you want because I saw the way he was looking at you and Darius always gets what he wants once he sets his mind to it.”

Although as I said that, I couldn’t help but remember waking up in his arms and feeling like I actually belonged there for several long minutes. Of course I’d been hungover and confused so that didn’t mean anything and I’d been reminded of why that thought was insane quickly enough.

“You’re a bad influence.” “You have no idea,” I agreed. “I can see why Darius likes you.”

Caleb: My power is running low tonight, sweetheart. You wanna help me out? Caleb: I’ll make it worth your while... A picture followed that of him lying shirtless on his bed in Terra House and I smirked as I tapped out a reply.

Caleb: What better offer? And if you won’t let me put my fangs in you, how about something else? ;)

“That’s one of your friends actually. He’s very persistent.” Darius’s jaw tightened as he looked me over.

My Atlas started pinging in my pocket again and again and Darius released a low growl of irritation. He raised his own Atlas and started typing something, but my attention was fixed on the bikes.

“I’m going to really enjoy winning it from you.” “I’m going to really enjoy wiping that smile from your face when you lose,” he replied, his tone teasing.

“Are you going to tell me what you want if you win?” I asked. “Something I can’t buy,” he replied, leaning a little closer. “Which I don’t think you’d give me if I just asked.”

His gaze fell to my mouth for the briefest of moments and my heart leapt of its own accord. “You’ll have to wait and see when I win.”

There were several shirtless pictures of Caleb and promises of things he’d like to do with me then there was another message, demanding I confirm whether or not I was out with Darius. I raised an eyebrow in surprise and glanced at Darius, finding him looking back at me with a smirk on his face.

“Did you tell Caleb we were out together?” I asked. “Were you planning on keeping it a secret?” he asked.

But I get the feeling you might have annoyed him.”

Darius caught my hand and pulled me upright, before throwing his arm around my shoulders as he held his Atlas in front of us and took a picture while pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I couldn’t help but laugh as he took the picture which he instantly sent on to Caleb.

“Ready, Roxy?” Darius purred. “Prepare to lose, asshole,” I replied darkly,

“I can’t believe you almost beat me,” he replied, stepping a little closer to me. “Almost?” I scoffed. “We were at the finish line. I had you beat, and you know it.” “I was about to take back the lead but it’s cute you think you would have won.”

He stepped closer again and I stepped back. I looked up into his eyes and found a smile playing around his lips. He walked me back another step. And another. My thighs hit the edge of his golden bed.

Silence hung between us, and my heart started beating faster as I looked at the perfect angles of his face, the rough stubble lining his jaw and the endless depths of his dark eyes. For a moment I felt like I wanted to know all of his secrets and give him all of mine, but my hand was still on his chest, holding him back and I didn’t remove it.

“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.

Darius: But maybe we could call it a draw?

Darcy wriggled out of my arms, and I groaned as she stood up, watching as she tracked down her clothes. I traced the curves of her body, eyeing the deep bronze colour of her skin and the way her hair shone like starlight. This girl is made for me.

“I have my Air Trial tomorrow.” “Not until the afternoon,” I said, though I was definitely not winning any awards for teacher of the year right now.

But the truth was, I feared that if she left, she might not come back. And even if she wanted to, who knew how long it would be until we got an opportunity to be together again? I wasn’t exactly the most patient guy and every step I took with her would have to be carefully planned. It would be frustrating as hell, and I wasn’t ready to face it yet.

The knocking came again a little louder this time and I knew what was coming next. To get my attention he’d- “Motherfucker,” I hissed as he pinched himself hard enough to hurt me through the bond.

I released her and she was gone, darting into the darkness, and making my soul feel like it was being ripped in two.

“Right, but are you expecting me to call you Draggy D now because I don’t think you can pull it off.” I chuckled and he broke a grin.

“What took you so long to open the door?” Darius asked, casting a silencing bubble then realising I already had one in place. He frowned. “Why would you cast a silencing bubble if you’re here on your own?”

“What? Do you think I’ve got a girl here?”

“Apparently not. So, I guess you were just in the middle of jerking off over your Numerology book. Again.” “Numbers are hot,” I said with a smirk. “But I was actually busy jerking off over your mom. She sent me some dirty pictures. Again.”

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.

“Your father didn’t see you tonight, did he? About half an hour ago I felt like my whole body had been punched.” Darcy must have thought I was really fucking enjoying myself when I’d cried out mid-sex - which I seriously had been, I just didn’t tend to get that vocal about it.

“I fell off my motorbike.” I instinctively reached out to him, resting a hand on his knee. His hand brushed across mine, then I pulled away, clearing my throat. Damn Guardian bond.

“You took Tory Vega home?” I questioned, putting my Atlas down and doing up my shirt. “Are you fucking her?” Please say yes so I can tell you about Darcy. “Fuck no,” he said but not nearly as fiercely as he should have.

“Do you trust her?” “Yeah,” he said stiffly. “Dunno why, but…” He shrugged and stepped closer. I get it. A beat of silence passed between us and for a second it felt like the Vegas were in the room. Tonight had been unashamedly one of the best of my life and I wanted to tell my star damned best friend about it.