Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4)

by Caroline Peckham

I looked at him for a long moment, the shadows slipping further away as he gripped my fingers tightly between his. His dark eyes shone with what I could have sworn was concern and I was more than a little tempted to take a step closer to him despite all the reasons I had not

“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.

“I think she said. ‘I wish I could tell you.’”

I nodded, steeling myself as he pushed the door open. We waited for a tense second before stepping out into the hall. “-and how is your son getting along at the academy?” Stella’s voice carried to us. “Diego’s worthless, he won’t do anything I say,” Drusilla said coldly, and my mind reeled. “I wish I’d had a daughter. Much more compliant.”

“Depressingly…yeah I think it actually might be.” I pursed my lips as I considered that. I hadn’t been with anybody since that mental break I’d had at the Shimmering Springs with Darius. That absolutely unforgettable, I-might-just-dream-about-it-every-night-for-the-rest-of-my-life slip in sanity that I liked to pretend hadn’t happened. Even thinking about it now had me biting my lip and I wasn’t really sure what to do with the surge of heat tingling along my spine. Because Darius Acrux was absolutely not a mistake I was going to make twice. Certainly not while I was sober. I definitely wasn’t going back there…like fifty four percent. Dammit.

I took another step just as a door flew open beside me and a blur of motion announced the arrival of a Vampire. I shrieked in surprise as strong arms wrapped around my waist and I was hoisted off of my feet. We shot back inside the room and the sound of a door slamming came from behind me as the world spun and the scent of cinnamon assaulted me. My ass hit a desk and I blinked in surprise as Orion shoved me backwards, pushing my thighs apart and moving between my legs as he pressed me back on to the hard wood. “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?

she’s about to find out. omg

Inside were two ornate silver rings, one with a G engraved on it and the other with an R. Behind them, standing against the wall was a Tarot card. My heart beat harder as I leaned in and took the card while Tory scooped up the two rings.

“I think they’re for us,” she breathed. “Roxanya and Gwendalina…” I eyed the card from Astrum which was of The Sun, its meaning now memorised from my Tarot Classes: Goodness, truth, and beauty. I turned it over, Tory moving close beside me as adrenaline rushed into my blood. Welcome home dear Princesses. Seek well, search deep. This house hides a secret within its walls. Where wings meet justice, your blood was saved.

I trailed my fingers along some of the dresses and the faintest smell of rosewater stirred the air. I paused, my eyes falling shut as the strangest sense of warmth and safety slipped over me. Like I was being held tight

in someone’s arms and nothing in the world could touch me. My eyes fell open again and the almost-memory faded, though I was left with a sense of déjà vu as I stepped further into the space. Maybe the ghosts who linger here remember me…

fun. 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? A strange pulse seemed to hum through

the air around me and I bit down on my bottom lip as my gaze slid from the carvings to the glass of the mirror itself. It seemed perfectly ordinary, my reflection staring back at me with

wary eyes. But something deep in my gut told me it was ...

“Is that our mother?” Darcy breathed beside me. And as the woman in the image turned her face to look up at the sky, I realised she was right. There were some resemblances to us in her features. Her dark eyes were framed by thick lashes, almost like a mirror image of ours and something about the set of her full lips seemed familiar too. “Yeah,” I agreed. “But what is this?” Darcy shrugged as the image shimmered and changed. Our mother was walking along grand halls, carrying the fruits she’d bought in the market laid out on a wide platter. She approached a set of double doors and paused outside as she heard voices. “Are you sure about this, my liege? It could cause a mighty batch of pickle sauce if the stars aren’t in agreement.” I frowned as I recognised that voice. I could have sworn it was Hamish Grus. “Question me again and I’ll have your head along with the Emperor’s,” a dark voice growled in response.

Our mother’s lips parted in shock, and she took a step back but the door was flung open before she could escape. The man who towered over her was powerfully built and darkly attractive. His strong jaw was lined with stubble and his brown eyes fell into a scowl as he spotted her standing before him. “Do you know what we do with spies in Solaria?” our father growled, magic crackling between his fingers as he took a step towards her like he intended to flay the skin from her bones. “It’s you,” she breathed, not seeming the slightest bit afraid as she stepped closer to him. She kept walking, closing the distance between them until she was only inches from him. “Lady, step away from his majesty!” Hamish barked and I spared him a glance. He was at least thirty years younger than the man we now knew, his moustache darker and frame a little slimmer. Our mother didn’t look at him, but pressed the plate of fruit into his arms as if he wasn’t standing there threatening her.

“On the darkest day and longest night, I’ll guide you home with love so bright,” our mother whispered, her gaze locked on our father’s. She reached out a hand and pressed it to The Savage King’s chest. He stilled, the magic in his fists blazing, but he made no move to force her away. She slid her hand up over the fine silk shirt he wore, trailed her fingers over his neck and paused as she held his jaw in her hand. “I’ve seen the life we’re destined to share. Would you like to see it too?” Our father’s gaze darkened, and he parted his lips, seeming to be about to refuse her. A knowing smile lit our mother’s face. “The truth will change the world,” she insisted. Before the King could reply, magic flared beneath her fingertips and his lips fell slack as she showed him visions of the future she’d seen for the two of them. We were gifted the sight of them too and my hear...

Our father was a cold man but when he was alone with her, he smiled, laughed, loved. We saw glimpses of a lifetime of happiness between them. Of her calming his foul moods and tempering his rage time and again. 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. It didn’t matter that he was a madman who had ordered more blood and death than any king or queen in the history of this world, she would love all of the parts of him that no one else ever saw. She would find the good among the hate and bring him closer to the light. We saw the two of them being summoned beneath the stars and answering the call of destiny as they chose to be Elysian Mates, their souls bound together in love for all of time as their eyes were ringed with silver. And though she chose him for her own hea...

“I told you, I’ll never let that come to pass,” he growled, pushing out of bed, and striding towards her so that he could pull her into his arms. “I’m the most powerful Fae in all the world. No one can get to us. No one can hurt our children.” Our mother clung to him desperately, shaking her head like she just couldn’t believe him, and we were gifted another glimpse of her visions. There was a shadow hanging over our family and no matter what she or our father did, death was coming for them. Every time she tried to change it, the shadow only moved closer. She saw a row of five graves, tiny coffins, fire, fear and screaming. But she couldn’t see the threat itself. It was cloaked in darkness, fear embodied and no matter what choice she made, it still came true. Every choice but one…as she fought to wrangle her visions, she came up with a single option which didn’t end in...

Tears poured along her cheeks as she appeared in the house of a mortal family who’d had twins the same age as us. She woke the people who she had selected to raise us, and fear prickled along my spine as she Coerced them not to notice any difference in their babies. She told them to love and protect us and raise us to be strong in spirit and mind. She sobbed as she left us there, taking their children in our place as she returned to the Palace of Souls. I almost snatched my hand away from the glass. I couldn’t understand how she could be so callous as to trade our lives for those of two innocent mortal girls. But before I could draw back, a final vision came to us. It was me and Darcy sitting on the throne. Peace ruled in Solaria, the people were happy, and the balance of power was restored. A dark shadow stood against us in the distance, but together, we just might have a chance of beating it and saving the people of Solaria. But without us, all hope was lost. The vision faded and I staggered back as my heart pounded. “Were they…did she store her visions in there for us somehow?” Darcy asked, chewing on her lip as she tried to process everything we’d just witnessed. “She though...

that the woman he’d married had been making him into a better man, saving the world from the worst of his nature. “By the light of Uranus, Tory Vega, if you miss the luncheon, I shall be most disappointed!” Geraldine called from somewhere back out in the bedroom. I released Darcy and swiped the tears from my cheeks as I tried to compose myself again. “What’s all this hullabaloo?” Geraldine gasped as she appeared in the doorway, and I half laughed as she caught me out. “It’s just a lot being here, I guess. We’re feeling a bit overwhelmed,” I said. “Yeah,” Darcy agreed. “It’s…a lot.” “Of course it is!” Geraldine gasped. “And here I am like a badgering Brenda trying to make you slot into the roles of perfect princesses when I should have realised you needed time to adjust to being back home!” “Home?” I questioned in a small voice. How could I look at this place as my home? Th...

“Well, you do now,” Geraldine said firmly. “Our princesses were lost for far too long. But now you’re home and the Kingdom of Solaria is rejoicing as our most powerful line is restored. The Fae world is built on a foundation of strength and power. And now we have our most powerful family back. There may be those who wish to keep you down or see you fall, but the true Queens are rising. The line of Vega is intact once more. And when you seize full control of your destiny, even the stars won’t be prepared for the might you possess.” My lips parted on what should have been a protest but instead, I could only look at my sister as the strength of Geraldine’s words washed over me. 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 ...

born to rule. And I was sick of being ...

“Where wings meet justice, your blood was saved.”

Somewhere, a baby was crying, and a woman was screaming, the horrible sounds tangling in my skull. Another door flew open to my left and my heart halted at the sight of Professor Astrum. He was much younger, but his hair was already grey and falling around his shoulders. His hand was locked around a child’s who ran a step behind him. “This way. Don’t panic dear boy,” Astrum soothed him. The door broke open and the guards were thrown aside by a huge tree-like arm as three Nymphs spilled into the room. Terror clutched my heart as the guards battled to destroy them but that awful sucking, rasping filled the air as the monsters took hold of their magic. Fire flared behind the beasts, climbing the walls, and devouring everything in its path. Astrum darted toward the secret door in the wall, guiding the boy’s hand forward to press against it. I looked down at the child with his raven hair and familiar eyes. I wasn’t sure if I really knew him or if the memory was tugging at emotions inside me, making me feel what Astrum had felt that day. “This will lead us out of the palace,” Astrum promised. “Don’t look back!” The two of them disappeared into the tunnel and the second the door closed behind them, the vision evaporated. I gasped, leaning against Tory as the strength of the memory took a chunk of my power with it. “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. We tried pressing our han...

And that would one day be us.

Hamish cleared his throat, hurrying forward and I glanced over my shoulder, realising Geraldine had remained at the top of the stairs. “You look wonderful,” Seth’s mom, Antonia, broke the silence first, seeming like she was itching to reach out and touch us. Her gown was pale blue with intricate little white flowers all over it, the colour enhancing her soft features. “Beautiful,” Caleb’s mother, Melinda, agreed. “For a moment I thought I was seeing your mother twice.” She smiled kindly and the

knot in my chest eased a fraction. Her rose red dress hung off her shoulders and hugged her figure perfectly.

Max’s father, Tiberius, stepped forward, holding out his hand to us. “It’s a pleasure to see you both again.” He looked regal in a dark blue suit and a white cravat. We took his hand in turn, exchanging pleasantries before the air was cut with the sharpness of Lionel’s voice. “Well, I’m famished,” he said coldly, looking to Hamish. “Will we be made to stand here all day?” “No, High Lord. We can move this pumping party bus straight into the dining room, hm?” he offered, looking nervous as he dabbed at his brow. Lionel nodded curtly, barely sparing us a glance as he headed after Hamish, taking the lead despite the fact that I was sure we should have. The Heirs slowed befo...

“Swap with me.” Seth turned around sharply. “You’ll go through with me, won’t you Aunt Catalina?” he asked sweetly.

holy fuck. seriously what is his game?

“Cut him a break,” Darius said, leaning back in his chair while his eyes glimmered with mirth. “It’s hard when the girl you like won’t give you the time of day. One minute he thought they were all on then the next she’s

back to ignoring him and hating him and…” He trailed off as we all looked at him and his gaze slid over me. “And he doesn’t need us laughing at him too,” he finished slowly.

“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 staying contained in my flesh through pure force of will. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I hissed through the tightness in my throat as he continued to squeeze. “Your mother was the greatest Seer in generations,” Lionel breathed. “And yet she couldn’t escape her own death. Seers can’t see Nymphs because they hide in the shadows. But

then whoever could have predicted that they’d get into the palace?” I stared at him as I tried to figure out if that was supposed to be some kind of threat. “I tried to save them, you know. Your father was my friend…” “I didn’t know The Savage King had friends,” I said, curious despite myself. If he’d been there the night my parents were killed, then maybe he would know who that boy was that Astrum had saved. “Perhaps he didn’t by the end.” I stared at Lionel, willing him to share more of what he knew with me, but it seemed he was done with this conversation. He shoved me away from him so that my back collided with the glass chair behind me, and the air was driven from my lungs. “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 crawl between your thighs,” he added, shadows coating his words again as he tried to compel me to fall to his will. “I was going to command him to stop chasing you, but I think this might just be better. When...

“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.

thought you hated me?” I asked. “I do,” he agreed. “Because you represent everything I want and everything I can’t have.” “You want me?” I asked slowly, taking a step towards him despite the dark energy which coiled around him. “You know I do,” he replied simply as if anything about us was simple.

“No, I don’t. I know you like to hurt me and tear me down,” I said. “I know you want to control me and take from me and make me bow at your feet.” “I do,” he agreed, not even trying to deny any of it. “And I think a fucked-up part of you likes it when I do those things.” “Fuck you,” I hissed, but I still hadn’t left. “I think you like it when I hurt you because on some level you believe you deserve it.” “Why would I feel something that fucked up?” I snarled. “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...

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 one no one has ever wanted long term…” Darius was looking at me in a way that made my heart beat faster and I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. I didn’t know why I’d just told him that. I’d never even shared those feelings with Darcy much. She always just disagreed if I tried to point it out and I loved that she cared about me enough to ignore my flaws. But it didn’t make it any less true. “That’s why you push me even when you don’t have to,” he said. “You want me to punish you and you want to hurt me in return,” he pressed, not caring that my scowl was deepening, and my hands were curling into fists at my sides. “And I think you get off on seeing me in pain.” “How have I ever hurt you?” I snapped. “You hurt me every time you ignore me. You hurt me every time you spend time with Milton or that douchebag wi...

“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?” “I don’t know.” I stared at him for a long moment with heat building in my skin and an ache of longing warring through my body. I might still hate him, but I wanted him too. When my nights weren’t possessed by the shadows, they were haunted by dreams of him. Of the taste of his lips and the touch of his flesh. He watched me like he didn’t know what to expect from me and I placed my foot on the first step of the raised platform which held the throne. There were three in all. To make sure that whoever sat up there would look down on anyone who stood before them. And if that was what he nee...

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. I held Darius’s gaze as I slowly lowered myself to my knees in front of him. “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.” Darius sat up straighter as I placed my hands on his knees and slowly pushed them up the insides of his thighs. His gaze was fixed on my movements and my heart started pounding as I watched the reaction I was causing in his flesh. This man who sat before me on a throne with a will of iron and the ...

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. I slid my hand up over his crotch, smiling darkly as I felt the rock-hard ridge of his arousal waiting for me. “Is this what you want from me?” I taunted him as I slid his fly down and pushed my fingers into his boxers, stroking his dick. “I want everything from you,” he replied fiercely and in that moment, I was willing to let him have it. I released his cock from the confines of his pants and a breathy moan escaped me as I took in the full, hard length of him. I’d hardly even touched him yet and the desire in his gaze was enough to set my whole body alight. I pushed up further onto my knees and slowly took the length of him into my mouth. Darius groaned as I drove my lips down his shaft, my...

His hand fisted in my hair, and I released a noise of pleasure as he pulled me down harder, driving himself into me possessively as I moaned in excitement at the knowledge of how much he was enjoying this. I took him in and out of my mouth again and again, savouring the taste of his desire and the way his body was falling prey to mine. Every time a moan of excitement left me, his grip on me tightened like he wanted to own me with this action, but I was the one who was owning him. My fingers bit into his thighs as I upped my pace, working him towards a climax that I could feel building in the tightness of him in my mouth, the taste of him rolling over my tongue. “Stand up,” Darius commanded suddenly, pulling me back off of him by my hair and tipping my chin back so he could look at me. He reached for me, catching my arm with his free hand, and dragging me up into his lap so that I was straddling him with my dress hitched up over my thighs. ...

cock straining between my thighs and pulled him closer like I was trying to devour him. Darius yanked me back by my hair so that he could look me in the eye, and he swiped a thumb acros...

“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 ...

With one final, punishing thrust of his hips and stroke of his thumb, he sent me toppling over the edge and I clung to him as his name fell from my lips and my whole body writhed with the most intense pleasure I’d ever felt. He followed me into oblivion, his grip in my hair tightening to the point of ripping some out as he held me against him and spilled himself inside me with a growl of pleasure. I sagged against him, our heavy breathing filling the space as I pressed my forehead to his and tried to recover from the earthquake that had just taken place in my body. Just as I was starting to catch my breath, Darius dropped the shields on his magic, and I automatically lowered mine in response. The sensation of his power flooding through my flesh sent every sensitive nerve ending buzzing with pleasure again and I cursed as my body fell prey to his once more, another orgasm shattering through me, my pussy throbbing around his cock and a groan of pure bliss escaping him too. His arms wrapped around me, and he drew me into a kiss unlike the others we’d shared. His tongue pushed into my mouth almost slowly and his hands slid up my spine as 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. My fingers trailed up his chest until I was cupping his jaw between my hands, and I felt like this kiss might just consume me entirely. We finally broke apart, ...

He leaned forward like he might kiss me again, but I drew back, gripping one of the Hydra heads as I climbed off of his lap and moved to retrieve my clothes. I pulled my underwear back on then took his shirt from the floor and put it on over the top of it as he’d destroyed my dress. He pulled his pants back on and I watched while he refastened his fly. 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. No big deal. And I planned on reminding my thundering heart of that as many times as it took until it returned to a normal pace. I blew out a breath as his gaze hooked on my exposed thighs and I snatched my ruined dress from the floor. There really wasn’t anything else for us to say so I just turned and walked out of the room, heading up the staircase before hurrying back through the empty corridors of the palace towards the Queen’s wing. I was going to have to admit my latest indiscretion to Darcy as soon as I saw her, and she was going to have a fucking field day over it.

Laughter escaped me as Xavier weaved through the trees so smoothly it was like we were flying, his hooves barely touching the ground. A yelp somewhere to my left made me whip around and I spotted Darius on top of Tory, having jumped from his tree perch. My laughter rang higher as they wrestled on the ground, rubbing snow into each other’s hair and laughing like they didn’t hate each other’s guts.

gazed around the devastation, and I could see the strength in everyone as we fought united. Together, we were unstoppable. Together, we could win.

“You have a Dragon and a Phoenix fighting on your skin,” I pointed out like he might not already know. Fire danced across the space between the two beasts, licking against each other in a raging inferno. “Well don’t go thinking I got a tattoo for you, Princess,” he taunted. “You might be a fucking tom cat in the sack, but I had that tattoo long before I ever set eyes on your pretty face or got my hands on your body.”

“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.”