Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5)

by Caroline Peckham

She was too sweet, too pure to be tainted by the darkness living in my life. No, I wanted to keep that behind firmly locked and sealed doors. She was my light, shining as brightly as all the stars put together. And I was never going to let that light dim.

because the only thing I’d ever dreamed of was running from this life.

“How dare you insult my mother like that,” I snapped. “She’s your wife.”

Father reached down to grab me, but I wasn’t going to bow down that easily. Not today. I’d had it with his bullshit.

I’d been kept in check for so long that I hungered to fight back with the force of a starving beast. I wanted to tear him apart for everything he’d done. To Darius, to Mother, to me. He was a plague on this world, and I despised every drop of his blood that ran in my veins.

“No. So take a deep breath and suck it up, sweetheart. Because the girl who came back swinging at us after she nearly drowned in that pool doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do. Not even destiny.”

I’d never been the kind of girl to let anyone tell me my own mind. I’d never been the kind to bow down to destiny or any shit like that. I made my own fate.

He was the kind of friend who would stand up to my bullshit, bristle in response to my resting bitch face, call me out on my own crap, push me off a roof when I cheated him and have my back to the brutal, bitter end. Ride or die.

“He was falling in love with you, and you ripped his heart out,” Gabriel said quietly. “There is no greater pain in this world than that. Believe me. I know. I’ve lived it.”

Darius Acrux: @Margurite Helebor, I wouldn’t fuck you again if you were the last Fae in Solaria and my dick would fall off if I didn’t. Don’t talk shit about my Mate. One more word and I’ll destroy you #trymebitch

I didn’t know what it was about this girl, whether it was the challenge she presented or the fact that I knew what a scandal it would cause if anyone found out about us, but I couldn’t stop myself from wanting her.

Apparently, I had a fetish for all of the insane shit this girl said and there wasn’t one part of me that wasn’t into it.

“Are you seriously going to leave me here with my dick out again?”

“What do you think, baby, am I gonna rule the herd one day?”

“Hm, well I think I’m doing such a good job on my own right now that maybe our herd doesn’t need a Dom,” she teased. “You might make a good sidekick though.”

“I kinda like being y...

Were me and Orion destined to ever be mated somehow? I certainly couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. But I didn’t need the sun, the moon, or the stars to tell me that.

“You can be mated by both. It is what we term a Soluna Bond. Both celestial beings lend power to bind the mates together, but it is no more powerful than a regular Mate Bond.”

Well, it’s difficult not to get distracted. I’ve got my eye on a beautiful Cardinal Magic hardback with a leather bookmark pushed between its supple pages. Is it cheating if I stick the tip in?

“Are you crazy? What if Tory thinks I just got kidnapped? Or what if someone saw?”

“I left a post-it note on her arm and no one saw, I’m too fucking fast,” he said with a dark chuckle. “Now stop talking.”

“You set off that alarm, didn’t you?”

“Do you know what a Delicia Crystal is, Blue?”

“You’re one dirty, book talking Vampire, you know that?”

“I know that.” He kissed me again. “And you’re one sweet, bitey little Countess.”

“One day, Blue, I’m gonna wear your teeth marks wherever I go.”

“I’ll wear yours too, Lance.” I grinned. “Just three and a half more years to go.”

Orion glanced at me with a sharp expression, and I guessed he was pissed at me for staring. But if he’d actually seen inside my brain, he would have found a completely innocent scene where he stripped off and got down and dirty with the Heirs. Totally above board. I didn’t want anyone but my Vampire. But if he happened to tussle with a few muscular assholes, then far be it from me not to settle in for the show.

His smug face had a date with the dirt, and I was more than happy to be the damn taxi driver.

“Patience little predator,”

Seth Capella has written his fate in the stars. She’s coming for him like a monster in the night. And her name is Darcy Vega.”

The fact that Tory had given him that little friendship bracelet – which he religiously wore every day without comment – was the cutest damn thing ever.

“Do you want it?” I whispered, the air seeming to stir strangely like the stars were leaning in to listen. “Because I do. It feels so right.”

“Yeah,” she said, her lips parting in realisation. “I want it too. I really do, Darcy.”

“So let’s ta...

“So we intend to claim our rightful place in the kingdom!” I announced. “Bring on the press, the photoshoots, the interviews, we’re ready to step out and be the real princesses that we are.” Tory caught my hand, and I lifted her arm into the air on instinct. “We’re going to fight for our throne!” she cried. “And we’re going to win it!” I finished.

“Yeah but imagine us this time next year. We’ll be kicking ass. I’ll be eating breakfast off of Caleb’s washboard abs after I’ve knocked him out cold. Just because I can.”

Our fight wasn’t with the Heirs right now. And it might not ever be. Not unless we stopped Lionel Acrux from taking the throne.

Every day, without fail, Darius had been waiting to run with me when I stepped outside. It had been six weeks now and he’d shown up every single day.

We never spoke to each other in the mornings. Not once. He waited for me, we exchanged a look, I ran, he followed, he got my coffee for me in The Orb then he left.

Fuck, I didn’t realise I had a Prince Charming fantasy until right now. Although that wasn’t right, Darius was no Prince Charming, more like a prince of darkness and he’d already corrupted me beyond recognition.

As insane as it was, we knew that the world was in the process of being taken over by a psycho lizard king and his shadow whore - Catalina’s words, not mine – but there was nothing we could do about it. I had to admit that I kinda loved Darius’s mom. Weird, I know. But we were kinda becoming…text buddies.

As much as I hated to admit it, cheerleading was actually fun.

“Roxy said no to me,” he said in a low voice which cut Marguerite short. “Not the other way around. And I’m pretty sure I told you not to talk shit about her once already.”

“Well, at least I have her beaten in that department,” I teased. “You definitely finished with me.”

“Yeah. I could come just thinking about you,” he agreed. “And I do pretty frequently.”

I felt like I was so pre-programmed to go on the defensive all the time that I almost couldn’t stop the shit that poured from my lips sometimes.

But if she was going to go around calling me a whore all the time, I didn’t want to disappoint.

Screw the stars. Screw fate. Screw every fucked-up thing that led me here, chewed me up and spat me out. Screw the throne and the Council and this academy. Screw being a fucking Vega.

Every night since I’d seen the soul vision of Clara standing at Lionel’s side, commanding an army of Nymphs, I’d been tempted to drink myself into a stupor. But there was one unmistakable thing stopping me from opening that bottle. Blue.