Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4)

by Caroline Peckham

“Maybe I like having every ounce of his attention on me,” I replied,

So tired of you

that. He wouldn’t want me toying with the shadows like I was. He wouldn’t want me learning to control them as well as I was starting to. Because he wanted Darius to have the advantage.

That is so not true at all

He sighed. “Look, if you’re struggling with them while you’re in your House then you should go to Darius. I know that the two of you aren’t seeing eye to eye right now, but I promise you, on this he won’t do anything other than help you.”

Exactly omg

“Roxy,” Darius breathed, his hand cupping my cheek as he captured my gaze with his. “Fight it.” I blinked at him, wondering what he meant and why he wasn’t trying to fight me off.

I fear i am a darius sympathizer 100%

Just as I was about to let the shadows have him, another memory surfaced. I woke up in his arms, the heat of him surrounding me and the feeling of complete and utter safety enveloping me. I gasped as I drew myself back from the shadows, throwing a cage up around the part of my heart where they resided and locking them away. I stumbled forward and Darius’s arms closed around me as he drew me against his chest. The scent of him enveloped me, cedar and smoke mixing with something entirely him.

Yayyyyyy

His fingers slid through my hair, his other hand stroking along my spine as I shuddered in his arms. My heart was thundering to a dangerous beat, and I had to wonder if I’d really been in more danger of hurting myself than Darius by giving in to the shadows. “It’s alright,” he breathed. “I won’t ever let them have you.”

YESSS

“You have to know I can’t…I didn’t…I never wanted to…” “To what?” I demanded, needing him to say it. To just fucking say it. He shook his head at me like the words burned too much to force past his lips. My temper rose again because even after everything, he wasn’t going to own any of it. He wasn’t going to apologise or say anything that might make even the littlest difference. “Just say it,” I begged.

Yeah lowk i get it

He reached for me, but I stepped back. I needed to hear it. No short cuts. Not after everything he’d done. If he wanted something from me then he had to fucking say it.

SAY IT HO

I made it to my door and shoved my key into the lock, tearing it open just as he caught up to me. I stepped inside and tried to throw the door closed in his face. His hand swung up to stop it at the last second. “So that’s it?” he demanded. “You’re just going to run away from me? Just going to go right back to ignoring me?” “And you’re going right back to tormenting me and making my life miserable, right?”

i LOVE what's happening right now

There was a long pause and in the silence that stretched I almost thought he’d gone until his voice came back to me again. “Fine. If that’s how you want it, then stay my enemy. But don’t forget you asked for it.”

And just like that we're back to square one

“Everyone relaaax.” Professor Faun released the top button of his shirt. “Get comfortable, shake out your limbs and enjoy the positive vibes of this space. We’re all just spirits dancing in an endless sea of stars.”

yessss i like this guy

My sister seriously needed to be less cynical.

Seriously

if ever there was a knight in shining armour awaiting me in the locker rooms, it was Geraldine Grus.

motherrrr

The ball bounced harmlessly off of my shield and a grin burrowed into my cheeks. This is actually kinda fun.

I rlly want her to be a pitball beast

Everything he’d done to me manifested into my magic, pouring out of me in wave after wave. I wouldn’t let him have this win. I refused to. Not after he’d defeated me in front of his whole pack, broken my ribs and nearly bitten my head off.

YESS

“You’ll have to work on your stamina,” he said with a suggestive smirk. “Apart from that, it’s clear you’re made for this, Blue.”

YAYAYAYA

Tory was not a team player. Fuck.

Can you please just try to be a good person

I eyed the hair ribbons for a long moment before taking one and tying it around my neck like a choker.

She just has to be different

“We won’t be doing that. You came here to cheer. So, let’s see what you’ve got.” “I bet she can’t even do a standing backflip,” Kylie scoffed, covering her mouth as she spoke to Jillian beside her like it might stop her nasally voice from carrying. I rolled my eyes at her before leaping straight into a backflip and landing it perfectly.

I've seen this movie before

“We won’t be doing that. You came here to cheer. So, let’s see what you’ve got.” “I bet she can’t even do a standing backflip,” Kylie scoffed, covering her mouth as she spoke to Jillian beside her like it might stop her nasally voice from carrying. I rolled my eyes at her before leaping straight into a backflip and landing it perfectly.

I've seen this movie before

“And like I said,” Bernice replied dismissively. “We don’t have anyone capable of the move yet.”

I fw bernice

I soon emerged and dressed myself in the high waisted jeans and red crop top I’d been wearing when Orion came and snatched me from my room.

Is this what millennials think young people wear

I gave up on trying to find something good to listen to, realising our tastes in music were a bit too far from each other’s for me to find a middle ground easily.

This is a clear giveaway queen

“Well get used to it. You’re Roxanya motherfucking Vega. You’ll never queue for anything in your life, ever again.” He took my hand and led me after the hostess as I frowned at his back. I wasn’t entirely sure I liked the sound of that. So just because it turned out I’d had royal parents now I was going to get special treatment my whole life?

Well there's one redeemable quality

“So, I have a weird kinda hate thing that it might be worth telling you about if a band is about to start playing,” I said, looking at Caleb. “Oh?” “Yeah. So, live music kinda weirds me out. I just find it so cringe when people sing at me and then there’s the whole awkward social pressure to applaud and jump about in appreciation for how great they are. Even if you don’t think they’re great. It just makes me feel kinda…sick.” I pulled a face as Caleb laughed.

Girl what r u talking about

“Fuck, Caleb, this is like…I don’t even have words for it. It’s like my worst nightmare come to life. Sorry to be a total fucking downer but can we just go somewhere else?” “Seriously?” he asked with a frown, glancing down at the stage with a smile. “It’s just a bit of fun, Tory.” I pulled a face. “Not my kind of fun.”

Omg worst person ever

Caleb laughed like this was all some big joke and not a total fucking disaster. I picked up my drink in desperation, ignoring the fact that there were goddamn flowers floating on the top of it and draining it in one. The achingly sweet taste of it sent my tastebuds haywire and I gagged a bit. Why the hell had he ordered for me instead of asking what I might actually like?

As much as tory irritates me sometimes i do get it with this one

The next singer got up and started blasting out the Spice Girls. I was all for girl power but not when it was being butchered by a huge guy who looked like he was half transformed into a Werewolf and was wearing a sombrero.

Okay well i get it with caleb but don't hate on these baddies

“Do you have any speedway tracks around here? Or motocross arenas?” I suggested. Caleb arched an eyebrow at me and shrugged. “Maybe…I mean I could find out. Darius would probably know…”

girl WAKE TF UP

“There must be room for a little one,” Washer implored. “Just a teeny weeny.”

literally why does this character even exist the authors are little freaks

“Yeah, ten shots of tequila to burn that moment from my memory please,” I said, and he broke a grin. “You got off lightly. One time, he stuck his teeny weeny through that mail slot.”

baby WHAT the fuck

I was pretty pissed at Washer for pouring a bucket of cold water on our moment alone, it wasn’t like we got that many of them.

Like why are we normalizing sexul assault???

I just had to try harder to make sure she was getting control of them, but sometimes it felt like there was space growing between us recently. It was full of unspoken words and the weight of this secret I was keeping from her.

Just don't then

I knew Orion must really have seen some good in him. He wouldn’t have placed the entire fate of Solaria on this plan if he didn’t. But could I place the same faith in a guy who’d hurt Tory, who made it his personal mission to force us out of this academy?

Except it's not personal at all girl did you not just hear what he said you fucknut

“When Lionel brought you down into that pit, I relived my worst nightmare. I don’t ever want to be in that position again. Powerless, unable to save you. But I realised you don’t need me to rescue you, Blue. You and your sister came back from the dark without anyone’s help. And Lionel should fear you both for that reason alone.”

“I want to help you stop him,” I said with fervour. I’d stand against Lionel in any way I could. I’d feed Orion power to keep him strong, and I’d even suck up my pride when it came to Darius Acrux if I had to. “We’ll destroy Lionel for what he’s done and make sure he never hurts anyone we love again.”

So does this mean we can finally all work together

I wasn’t suited to missing this much sleep. Since I’d been given the shadows, I wasn’t sure I’d gotten much more than three or four hours a night and with the alcohol I was consuming to try and drown the nightmares too, I was definitely suffering.

PLS get help queen

“It’s too dark in here for sunglasses, Roxy. Are you hungover again?” he asked. “Maybe you need to work on your drinking problem.”

Yes king pls help her

“But the bit I’ve been struggling to figure out, Darius, is why do you give a shit what I think about you? Shouldn’t you want me to hate you like I do? Why are you so damn obsessed with me?” “I’m not obsessed with you,” he snapped. “I just want to get rid of you. And I want to sit in this seat. So move.”

Darius bby what r u doing

I scowled at him as he drew closer. Why was he always hounding me? What made him think that he could just treat me like this whenever it suited him? Heat was building in my chest as my rage grew. I was so sick of his bullshit, so sick of being his victim.

Yk what hell yeah girl kick his ass

“Are you calling on the shadows again, Roxy?” he demanded. “Is that the real reason you were wearing those glasses?” “No,” I snapped.

I love when they just know

“Fuck off, you’re not suicidal,” he replied dismissively. “Nobody burns as hot and cold as you do if they don’t love life.” “You don’t know anything about me,” I snarled. “Yeah, I do. And that’s what you can’t stand,” he replied darkly. “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.”

Omg yes he's cooking right now

I glared at him, not wanting to admit for a moment the way his words resounded with something deep inside me. He was right though. I’d rather be sobbing with sorrow, screaming in fear, laughing until I was breathless or riding the very edge of a high than just keeping to the middle path. The thing I feared most in life was boredom. I didn’t want to live an easy life, I wanted to blaze through an adventurous one and I’d choose to burn out entirely before I’d let myself whither in emptiness.

Ugh yes I'm loving this

“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.”

RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Because fuck him and his asshole agenda against me.

Holy shit how thick headed are you

it. So Fae up and quit bitching

Hell yeah

“Heard it from who?” Caleb asked, rising himself up into what must have been his hundredth pull up, using a bar grown from the roots of the tree we were standing within. This room was in the trunk of the huge tree which supported our hideout, hidden behind the staircase which gave entry to the main structure above. The wide space was lit with fires which burned brightly in sconces around the edge of the room.

Ugh i want to go to there

A trickle of irritation was slipping from Darius at the change in conversation, his physical exertion making it harder for him to concentrate on keeping me out of his head.

This is why i like reading from max bc he can feel em out

the Phoenix and Dragon tattoos which danced with each other on his back gleaming with sweat.

Hmmmmm??

“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. “Yeah, she did,” Caleb admitted irritably.

YES HE KNOWSSS