Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4)

by Caroline Peckham

“Of course it isn’t, silly sausage.”

“But you’ll still protect them because you’re a good man, Darius. And there is more to the world than power, no matter what society teaches us.”

“I’m afraid to admit I did,” she groaned. “My Lady Petunia set her gaze on a rather virile Siren, and he fell prey to her amorous adventures.”

“In Solaria we have a tradition of giving rose quartz to someone we want to be exclusive with.”

“Look, I don’t know what this thing is between us or where it’s going, Blue, but after everything that’s happened, the one thing that’s clear to me is that I don’t want anyone else. So, this crystal is a promise from me that I’m yours. For now. Forever. Or till it all goes to shit, I don’t know which yet.” He smiled hopefully and my heart could have burst with how much this meant to me.

“I’m just so afraid that the second I tell you I’m all in on this, the sky will come crashing down around us,” I said. His fingers brushed the base of my jaw and he gave me a carnal look. “Well say it and let’s see,” he said with a challenging smile playing around his lips. I brushed my mouth over his in a feather light gesture as I gave in to my most desperate desire. Him. “I’m all in.” He winced, looking up at the ceiling as if expecting it to fall down. “Hm, nope the sky is still intact.”

“I think the stars picked you for me, Blue. I think you’re my Elysian Mate.”

“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.”

“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. I don’t care if you’re an Heir or if I end up in Darkmore Penitentiary for the rest of my fucking life. I’ll take any fate for her, so just remember that when you’re playing your little game, Capella.”

And it wasn’t just the way she looked. Every time she bit at me or fought back against me, the beast inside me raised its head. She was more than just some girl who posed us a threat. She was a real challenge, unafraid of me no matter what I threw at her and capable of matching or even besting me in every way. I’d never met a girl like her before. She was my equal. She had no interest in my power or my name so every piece of attention she threw my way was earned by me. She actually cared about who I was over what I was. And even though she hated what she found most of the time, she still saw me. And the idea of that was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.

“What are you waiting for then, Dragon boy?” she teased. “You’d better take your pants off.”

“For you, anything’s worth it,” he said and my heart broke because I knew he meant it and it was almost too much to bear.

“Good. Because I’m not a better man,” he said in a low growl, his eyes full of shadows. “I’m the devil and I want you. I want you like I’ve never wanted anything or anyone. And I will fight to make you mine, no matter what it takes. No force in Solaria will rip us apart.”

“I’ll fight for you too, Lance Orion. Whatever it takes.”

“Because you’re in my head all the time. You pulse through my blood with each beat of my heart. I live for every scrap of attention you offer me and suffer through every moment you spend ignoring me,” he said darkly, holding my eye the entire time.

“I’ll never bow to you,” I breathed as the cold stone at the foot of the throne bit into my skin. “But if you like me on my knees then there are better things that I can do down here than kiss your feet.”

Clock itttttttt

“I don’t want you on your knees. I want you fighting me and hating me and fucking me like you mean it. You’re Roxanya Vega and you weren’t built to bow to anyone,” he growled passionately. “You want me to hate you?” I asked in surprise. “I want you to feel for me. And I’ll take hate if that’s all you’re offering.”

I gave in and it didn’t just feel like lust anymore. It felt like the sky was falling in and the earth was splitting apart and the only two things left in the world were the two of us.

Or maybe it just had to do with the triple D she’d gotten last night (Darius’s Dragon Dick).

“You can deny it as much as you like, Roxy, but you and me are going to happen over and over,” he promised, the scent of him wrapping around me and the heat of his flesh blazing so fiercely I could feel it despite the inch of space dividing us. “So no matter how much you hate me or despise me or wish you didn’t want me in any way at all, there’s no stopping it. You don’t feel fire like that and just let it burn out.”

She was my mate.

Elysian mates. Unbreakable. True love.

“Please,” Darius asked again. “I’m giving you my heart. If you give me yours in return, I’ll spend every moment of our lives proving to you that I can be worthy of it.”

I would die for this man