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September 26 - October 3, 2025
“What’s going on with you, Darcy?” Tory asked like she really needed to know, and I wanted to tell her so badly it hurt.
Just tell her how is Seth going to know
Or more accurately, she didn’t look at me. Because I sure as hell looked at her enough. I woke early in the mornings and waited for her to appear in the common room just so that I could be sure the shadows hadn’t consumed her in the night. I noted the bags under her eyes and the way she always sought out Milton Hubert right after she grabbed a coffee with three sugars.
Holy yearner
I’d asked the students who were housed in the rooms closest to her dorm to keep an eye on her and report anything strange back to me. A few of them had told me she woke up in the night screaming pretty regularly. But when I’d tried to ask her about that, she’d taken it as some kind of attack and had just started placing a silencing bubble around her room every night so that no one would be able to hear her scream anymore. I knew because I often walked to her door in the middle of the night and pressed my hand to it, reaching out with my own magic until it brushed against hers and reassured me
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Aw Darius....
The door flew open just before I reached it, and Lance’s eyes were wide with excitement as he held his arms out to me. I crashed into him, and we wrapped our arms around each other and damn near fell over with the force of our collision.
Holy just makeout already
“I’m sorry,” I growled as I locked him in my arms and a part of me wished I’d never have to let go. “I’m sorry too,” he agreed, his beard scratching my cheek in the best way. We stumbled into his house without releasing each other and I kicked the door shut behind us. Fuck knew what anyone would think if they saw us like this. “Fuck, you smell so good,” I groaned as the scent of cinnamon enveloped me. “I’m really having to fight against the urge to kiss you right now,” he joked, though as he said it, I was half tempted to turn my mouth towards his.
I just know there are so many FILTHY fanfics about this moment
“I can’t…please can we not discuss the Vegas tonight?” I begged. “They haunt me too often as it is.” Lance drew back just enough to eye me with a slight frown.
Ugh no im gonna freak out if everyone just keeps being shady with their secrets
“That sounds like its own kind of heaven,” I admitted because I really needed to spend some time just doing nothing and forgetting about all the shit in our lives. Tonight, there would be no Nymphs or Councillors or politics or Vegas. Just two fully grown men watching action flicks and quite likely holding hands throughout. Which was pretty much the best kind of night I could imagine having right now. And as Orion reached out and took my hand, I felt myself grinning like a kid at Christmas and all of my problems seemed a little more bearable.
Okay so ik who's topping tn..
“Can I see your house?” I asked, glancing hopefully at the branches surrounding us. “Do you want to?” he asked, rolling onto his back with a frown. “It’s just a house.” “No…it’s a piece of you.” I reached over to trail my fingers across his jaw. “I’m collecting the set.”
I'm bored
He snorted a laugh. “I don’t think you understand quite how many guys I have asking me about how to get on your radar. They know we’re friends and seem to think that means I’m also your pimp, or maybe they want me to be their pimp for you… Either way, it drew my attention to the fact that there doesn’t ever seem to be anyone coming or going from your room and you don’t stay away from the House overnight anymore either…”
I love this friendship actually
“Fuck. I’ve been waiting to do this for so long,” he gasped as his mouth moved to my neck and his fangs brushed against my skin. I recoiled in shock, my heart hammering with fear as confusion almost drowned me. What did he mean he’d been waiting to bite me? Had I just stumbled into some weird Vampire blood claiming war that he was waging with Caleb? Orion’s grip on me tightened as his fangs brushed my neck again, but instead of biting me, he kissed me, his mouth moving on my skin as his weight pressed me down.
Oh this is just nasty
“She had a fucking hat on,” Orion gritted out before turning a glare my way. “I told you about wearing fucking hats before!”
I feel like you should be able to tell them apart with more than just their hair
Because my life was empty before I loved her. And parting us won’t change the way I feel for her.”
Good response good response
“You get one shot to do right by her,” I warned, pointing at him. “And if you fuck it up, if you hurt her or break her heart, then I won’t just kick you in the balls. I’ll castrate you.” Orion shifted his hands before his junk protectively, clearing his throat as he glanced at Darcy. “Fucking hell, I think she actually would,” he muttered, like I was insane. Darcy offered me the brightest smile in the world as she answered him. “Yeah, she totally would.”
Okay finally we're almost passed this
“Do you really think I could?” Diego asked hopefully.
Terrible idea
His smile fell away, replaced with a wide-eyed look. “The palace? I can’t, Blue.” “No one would see you. I’m sure there’s plenty of places to hide.”
Bitch you've never even been there are you stupid
“Cryptic as always. I guess we’ll have to hunt the walls for secrets,” she said dryly. “Or sit by the pool and wait for the secrets to unveil themselves to us. I’m easy.” She turned and dove back into the water, leaving the two silver rings and the card with me. I clutched them all close to my chest, my adrenaline spiking as the mysteries lurking in this place seemed to surround me. I for one, was going to keep an eye out for those secrets.
Can Tory be useful for once
I followed the pattern of the images up along the frame and paused as I spotted two new creatures dancing with them. The Phoenixes soared above them as the Hydra tilted all of his heads back to watch and the Harpy’s eyes glimmered with tears of pride. “That’s impossible,” I whispered, my breath fogging the glass of the mirror before me. How could someone have known what we’d be?
Waoh...
I could feel our mother’s emotions as they were attached to the visions. Their love would save her homeland from the wrath of The Savage King. Instead of conquering this beautiful land of sunshine and sand, he would marry its princess and bring her home to rule at his side. Their love would save countless lives, not only here but in Solaria too. She’d seen it all. Like their destiny was unavoidable and the power of it greater than all the magic in the world.
Damn that sucks
“She thought that we were Solaria’s only chance of standing against the shadows,” I replied in a hollow voice. “That’s why she made us Changelings…” I didn’t know what to make of everything we’d just seen but a small, pathetic, aching part of me which I never liked to admit existed was tearing open. Our parents had loved us. Wanted us. They’d died wishing for a life with us. And that knowledge meant more to me than I’d ever imagined it could. “She loved us, Darcy,” I murmured. “Our father did too…no matter what else he was or what he did. Our parents wanted us.”
Maybe now you can be a more than decent person and not hate everyone?
We’d never asked for this destiny, never wanted this power or a throne or to be pitted against the Heirs. But it was ours all the same. We’d been born to rule over this kingdom and the strength of our father and love of our mother ran through our veins. We were the most powerful Order of Fae that had been seen in a thousand years. We were the first Fae to possess all four Elements in living memory. So maybe it was time we stopped denying our birthright. Because the Vegas had been born to rule. And I was sick of being forced to bow.
Okay yes so now the real shit can get started?? I've been waitinggg
“This way. Don’t panic dear boy,” Astrum soothed him.
THEY HAVE BROTHER THEY SAID THERE WOULD BE FIVE GRAVES
“Who was that?” Tory breathed and I shook my head, having no answer. The door swung shut and the magic around it faded as it locked once more.
Your blood meaning your family omg!!!
“For the afternoon and…the evening and then…the night also.” Geraldine cleared her throat. “They leave tomorrow at dusk.”
Oh shit's abt to go down
“You just look so magnanimous,” she said, holding a hand to each of our cheeks. “I’m the luckiest lady in the whole of Solaria. I feel like I’m floating upside down on a cloud covered in Faeflies.” “We wouldn’t get anywhere without you, Geraldine,” I said seriously, and we all clutched each other in a tight embrace.
Omg i love her so much actually
We were owning our power, our names. Besides, this was our home, which made them our guests.
Clock it
“Swap with me.” Seth turned around sharply. “You’ll go through with me, won’t you Aunt Catalina?” he asked sweetly.
Omg seth what happened to you
“Dinner is served!” Hamish called and I looked up, finding a host of waiters spilling into the room holding silver platters filled with a feast for kings – and queens.
Yupp don't forget it girl
Lionel smiled but it didn’t touch his eyes. “Well, that’s an interesting question,” he replied. “Because there are some who say that the Palace of Souls should belong to the most powerful Fae in the Kingdom, not just be blindly handed down within a bloodline.” I nodded like he’d made a fair point and he pushed his appetiser into his mouth. “Of course, we are the most powerful Fae in the Kingdom,” I mused. “So, I guess it would be ours whichever way you looked at it.”
Queen PLS be smarter abt this
“You were sent away from them?” Darius asked in a low growl. “Actually, you could call that our Christmas tradition,” I said lightly. “It’s tradition for us to feel unwanted on Christmas Day. And thanks to you guys, we get to feel like that this year too. Even though it’s the first time we’ve actually got our own house to celebrate in, you all still made the effort to make sure we didn’t miss out on the feeling of being an unwelcome addition to the festivities. So, thanks for that.”
No yeah girl clock it
Caleb shifted his hand higher, and my heart leapt as his knuckles knocked against Darius’s.
Help
looking up at the portrait and seeming lost in memory for a moment. “She was a truly beautiful woman,” he said slowly, his gaze sliding from the picture to me. “That’s one thing you and your sister have inherited.”
Please no SA
“If for one moment it seems to you as though I’m not in full control of your destiny, then check again. You and your sister only draw breath because I desire it to be so. You only study at your academy and screw your way through half the men you meet because I allow it. You only sit there and challenge me and speak out the way you do because I have chosen for it to be the case. And if at any moment you push me too far, then it would be oh so simple for another tragedy to occur in the Vega household.” Lionel’s grip on me tightened bruisingly and Phoenix fire flared hot beneath my skin, only
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He did this i just can't prove it
“Forget this conversation,” Lionel growled, his voice thick with Dark Coercion as shadows danced before his eyes and spilled between his fingers. “And start showing me a bit more respect among company.” Phoenix fire ran hot beneath my skin as it burned through the pull of his commands, and I scowled at him as he walked away from me with a swagger to his step like he thought he was the king of the fucking world. Just as Lionel reached the door, he turned back to look at me with a cruel smile twisting his handsome face. “Oh, and feel free to break my son’s heart the next time he comes looking to
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IF YOU DONT TELL HIM ABOUT THIS IM GOING TO BE SOO FUCKING PISSED OFF
Whatever way, it had only solidified one thing in my mind: Lionel Acrux was our enemy, and he was working against us just as surely as we needed to work against him.
Darius is in the exact same fucking boat pls get over yourself and do something proactive
“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 thought you hated me?” I asked. “I do,” he agreed. “Because you represent everything I want and everything I can’t have.”
Yay finally
“Because we’re the same. Every time my father hits me or hurts me or chains me, a little piece of me relishes the pain. Because I know I deserve it. For not getting Xavier away from him. For not stopping him from claiming the shadows. For letting him hurt you and your sister.” Darius frowned like he didn’t like thinking those things about himself, but I could feel the honesty in his words too. And for some strange reason, I did understand what he meant.
Ugh omg
“I was the reason no one ever kept us,” I said in a low voice, like admitting this out loud might make it even more true. “I was the loud one. The rude one. The one that no one liked, let alone loved. I actually overheard one of our foster carers asking social services to find me a new placement while they offered to adopt Darcy alone. I could have told our social worker that I’d agree to that. I could have let her be happy instead of dragging her down with me. But that’s what I do. I’m the one who stopped her from having Christmas traditions or friends who lasted more than a semester. I’m the
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Okay i am a tory sympthizer
“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.”
Tory if you mess up this moment i stg
I would never bow to him, but he could have me on my knees. As I made it to the second step, Darius sat up, looking at me like he was hoping I had some answer for him when in reality, I was more fucked up than he even knew. I could see that ache in him, that need, that hunger which drove him to do all the things he did to me. And I wanted to claim it and cover it up with something else. I’d take his pain and burn it down with lust and maybe both of us would feel better. Just for a little while.
You are missing the ENTIRE point of his confession omg im gonna crashout
This man who sat before me on a throne with a will of iron and the temper of his Dragon was fast falling prey to my movements. I may have been the one on my knees, but he was the one who was submitting. I was in control of this, of him, of the lust in his gaze and the need in his flesh. I could offer up pleasure or pain to him or a mixture of both in whatever quantities I desired. And knowing I had him at my mercy set every inch of my flesh alive with a need of its own.
Dude you're literally doing exactly what Lionel told you to do
We looked at each other for a moment like there might be something else we should say, but what was there really? We hated each other and that frustration had overflowed into sex. Again.
Did you listen to ANYTHING he said????????
“Come on, pick someone Tory,” Max encouraged, bouncing on his heels excitedly. “Caleb,” she said lightly,
Omfg bro
“Let’s win this thing,” I said determinedly, and Xavier neighed in excitement, rearing up and making me cling on for dear life before he shot into the trees.
How do you even win a snowball fight
A horrible scream ripped through the air and panic seized my heart as I recognised Geraldine’s voice. I turned, hunting for her in desperation and spotting her on her back beneath a Nymph. Her father lay beside her unmoving and pure terror filled me as Tory and I raced to help.
NAUR.
I gazed around the devastation, and I could see the strength in everyone as we fought united. Together, we were unstoppable. Together, we could win.
Please let this be some kind of wake up call
“How did they get in?” Hamish asked, throwing an arm around Geraldine’s shoulders. “The wards have fallen around the palace. They must have wielded some truly powerful magic to manage it,” Lionel answered, taking control of the room as all eyes fell on him. “But as we know, they have managed it before…”
Hm quite a coincidence
“I’m on the side that stands against Lionel Acrux,” he said, his jaw tightening and my heart thumped unevenly at the strength in his gaze. “It’s the only side that matters.”
Bc he knows undivided you're stronger duh just like DJT
For a little while I’d begun to let myself think of the palace as my home, but I was beginning to wonder if I’d been deluded to feel such a connection to a building. I didn’t know why I’d felt such a bond to it, but it had almost seemed like the walls themselves had hummed with a familiar kind of energy.
It's momma
“Save me…” Clara’s voice brushed against my ears.
i do NOT trust this bitch
What if this doesn’t work? Or what if it does but Clara’s been lost to the shadows too long to make the journey back?
what if she's EVIL
