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March 24 - March 24, 2025
It was finally time for my powers to be Awakened. I was going to be turning fifteen in a few weeks which meant I was gaining my magic three years before my peers. But even so, this moment couldn’t come soon enough.
I was glad to be an Heir to the Celestial Council. As the eldest son of one of the four ruling families, I was afforded certain privileges that the rest of the Fae could only dream of and this was one of them.
Perhaps if I learned to wield it well enough, I’d feel a little like I was in control of my own life more too.
My path had been mapped out from the moment my parents had gotten married.
My parents were both of the Dragon Order from a long line of pure blood on either side. They’d done everything they could to ensure a strong Heir, right down to deciding that I should be born a Leo. A Dragon Shifter with the Element of fire was always going to be one of the most powerful creatures on campus. And anywhere else after that too.
The Acrux family were Dragons. If I’d ended up shifting into a Werewolf or a Griffin because of some wayward recessive gene or by the stars linking me to some random constellation like Centaurus, then I knew I’d never have lived it down.
My father’s eyes had shone with more pride than I think I’d ever realised he was capable of as he’d looked upon my transformed state.
But for several long seconds, I knew what it felt like to earn his approval instead of his ire.
Who needed to turn into the most powerful creature in existence and fly through the clouds when you could enjoy the feeling of a tightly coiled quaff of hair on the back of your head anyway? Safe to say, aside from my dark hair and eyes, I hadn’t inherited much from my mother.
His family were all Vampires and to replenish their magic, they had to feed on the blood and power of other Fae.
Max joined us last, his dark skin covered with navy blue scales which marked him as a Siren.
“Congratulations, Max and Darius,” Professor Zenith said encouragingly. “You both hold the power of water.”
“Congratulations Seth and Max, you have both harnessed the gift of air,”
“Congratulations, Caleb and Seth, you both hold the power of earth.”
I finally looked away from Max’s father to find my two friends entwined in the trailing embrace of vines and grass which hadn’t been there a moment ago. It dawned on me that I hadn’t managed to match my great grandfather’s ability of holding three powers as my Father sighed just loud enough to let me know he was disappointed.
I never pitied Darius Acrux, but I'd often gotten angry on his behalf. The guy could shoulder more shit from his parents than most kids in this academy combined. And he did so on a regular basis.
At least my father had treated me with respect and kindness up until he'd gotten himself killed. Dark magic was volatile.
The world was not black and white. It wasn't even a patchwork of greys. It was rainbows layered upon rainbows. The nicest Fae in the world could turn around and stab you in the back. The cruellest would occasionally offer a helping hand to a stranger.
That was why casting dark magic didn't unsettle me. Sure, I hid it. I knew by law it was a seriously punishable offence. But it was also in my blood. It was something my father had taught me and though it had brought about his demise in the end, I didn't want to let go of that part of myself. Even if it meant I would never entirely escape my family's ties.
The prospect also meant doing the unthinkable though: getting none other than Darius Acrux, son of the Dragon Commander of Solaria, one of the Celestial Heirs to the goddamn throne, to cast it with me.
I watched as his momentary reluctance gave way to the rebelliousness we always bonded over. The only thing that irritated me about the fact that we got along so well was the fact that that was exactly what my mother and his father wanted from us. But I wasn't going to avoid his company out of spite. And besides, they never would have suspected our relationship would give way to us conspiring against them and me teaching Darius the coveted secrets of my family.
It was just before eight o’clock and rising early for me was nothing short of a miracle.
I ignored them for the most part, offering stiff nods while my mind remained fixed on the bones in my pocket and the Celestial Heir walking next to me who I was about to introduce to a whole world of messed up shit. Gotta think of Clara. And besides, he has his own mind. He'd say no if he didn't want to do this.
To me, chaos was more beautiful than calm. The magnificent power of the sea was something no one could harness. Fae or otherwise.
“Do you often take fourteen year old boys to secluded places?” Darius joked and I snorted a laugh. “Only the hot ones.” “Lucky me,” he jibed.
He already had a stupid amount of control over a power he'd only just Awakened. But that was the Celestial families all over. Powerful and smart. A deadly combination.
I took a slow breath, drawing my power to the surface of my skin before placing the four bones in a line before me. Each were from a powerful Fae who'd possessed one of the Elements. Fire, water, air and earth. Their power still rippled in the remnants of their bodies. And that power could be harnessed in a way that was never, ever taught at Zodiac Academy.
The bones fell, two facing up with their Elemental symbol to the cave roof, the other two face down. “What does that mean?” Darius asked. “It means her fate is undecided. The answer is both yes and no.”
If he did this, he'd truly betray his family. If anyone ever discovered that he'd cast dark magic, he could lose his claim to the throne.
“Lance Orion, you will guard my son at the detriment of your own life. Nothing will ever be more important to you than that,”
“I can’t...seeing you in discomfort is making me feel like shit,”
I found myself wanting to reach out and pull him closer but I fought against the weird impulse, knowing it wasn’t really mine. Lance drew back once he’d taken enough and he released my arm as he looked at me. “Shit,” he breathed. “You taste like...” “That felt a little too good to be normal,”
“Yeah. Your blood is like my own goddamn brand of heroin,” Lance said, his dark eyes alight with the power I’d just given him. “I’m thinking we avoid doing that again,”
“The last thing I need is you trying to dry hump me while you’re feeding.”
That the Shadow Realm was home to the elusive Fifth Element: the Element of shadows.
Clara is dead. My sister is gone.
