Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4)

by Caroline Peckham

smiled sweetly and walked towards Orion like Darius hadn’t even spoken. Like he didn’t exist. It would be as if there was a Dragon shaped fart in the room and I just had to avoid getting too close to sniff it. Aside from that, I didn’t need to acknowledge his presence. If he didn’t exist, then I had nothing to get worked up about.

“Alright! I’ll tell you!” Seth gushed like we’d all been desperately waiting for him to finish his story. “I made Maurice sit outside. In the fucking naughty corner! All night!” We all started laughing just as a flash of movement caught the corner of my eye. A pineapple hit Seth square in the face and knocked him flying off of his seat with a curse. Darius got up and offered him a hand as laughter rang out around the room. “Detention, Capella!” Orion barked. “You were warned.” “What the thuck! You bwoke my nothe you thucking thycopaff!” Seth shouted as he got to his feet, blood running freely down his face.

“Because we’re the same you and me. Both fucked up, broken pieces on a game board that’s bigger than we can cope with. Both hoping to find some way of winning despite the odds being stacked against us all the damn time. Both addicted to things that push our boundaries and make us feel alive. Because at the end of the day, even feeling the worst of things is better than feeling nothing at all.”

“So what?” I snapped. “So I won’t let you ignore me, Roxy,” he snarled. “I’ll have your attention even if I have to take it without your permission.” “Why?” I demanded. “Why not just go after someone else?” “Because we don’t get to choose our obsessions. And you’re mine.”

“Fine,” Caleb said, dropping down to sit on the end of the bench beside Darius’s. “I took her to that sushi and karaoke place on the east side of town.” Darius barked a laugh as he placed his weight back on the rack and sat up. His muscles bulged from the workout, the Phoenix and Dragon tattoos which danced with each other on his back gleaming with sweat. “No wonder it went to shit then,” he taunted. Caleb narrowed his eyes on him in return. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” “Well for one thing, Roxy doesn’t eat fish, or meat, or anything pretentious that comes in tiny little squares. So I’m betting she thought sushi was fucking disgusting,” Darius replied with a snort of amusement.

“Oh give me a gander!” Geraldine exclaimed. “I do like an eyeful of man meat from time to time.” “Fuck, Geraldine,” I gasped. “Man meat?! Seriously, you can’t call a guy’s junk man meat. Or banana drama for that matter.” “Well what shall I call it then? His long Sherman?” “No!” I gasped. “Someone help me out here!” Sofia was pissing herself with laughter and Darcy looked like she was almost crying. “Dingle dongle?” Geraldine suggested and I cracked up.

“The next time you want to drown in them, tell me about it.” “Why?” “Because if you’re going to drown then I’m going to drown with you.”

Don’t be with him because we were together once. For one, too brief, earth shattering moment, you were mine. And I never should have let you go.

Diego had a sour expression on his face, picking at a piece of tinsel hanging from his Ass hat, looking about as merry as a Christmas elf who’d just gotten the sack.

“Neither do I,” he growled. “But when I see you, all I want is to lay claim to you. I want you to be mine and I know you never will be and it’s making me even more fucked up than I was to begin with. That’s why I hate you. Not because I’m supposed to or because my father wants me to, but because you represent every freedom I’ve never been given. It’s like you were designed entirely to taunt me and toy with me and crack me open and I won’t let it stand.” “So what do you want from me?” I demanded. “Do you want to sit up on that throne with me on my knees before you. Would that end this feud between us?”

Darius darted off between two thick boughs and I spotted him climbing up one of them with impossible ease. Monkey Dragon!

His eyes locked on Xavier and he grinned widely. “Look at you, little dude! Fucking ace. Now let’s see how fast you can run!”

Darius appeared behind Tory with a huge snow ball held above her head, but as he saw what my sister was doing, he lowered it and looked at Caleb frozen at the centre of the space. “A snowman,” he said brightly, walking forward, lifting his huge snowball up again. “Darius,” Caleb warned. “Don’t you d-” Darius planted the huge ball of snow over his head and I fell apart with laughter, dropping down to the ground as I clutched my side.