Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4)

by Caroline Peckham

“It was our Order,” Roxy said grimly. “Apparently our fire can burn right through bullshit.”

She had to know that it had broken me to watch my father push her into that pit. It had felt like carving into my own heart with a rusty knife and offering up a piece of my soul for him. But the alternative had been Xavier’s

“Over a thousand years,” Lance murmured, still staring at Gwen like the world began and ended with her.

“Because if the things I’ve read about Phoenixes are true - even half true - then the two of you could be more powerful than any Fae who has walked the earth in the last millennia. You’re like the Fae of old, legendary… I don’t even know what your limits would be, but I do know that you pose an even greater threat to Lionel now. If he finds out about this before you’ve learned to harness these powers-”

“Well at least I got an extra hour of sleep while you were gone,” Orion said with a yawn. “Dude you totally starfished the second I got out of bed,” Darius said with a low laugh. “Wait, did you two share a bed?” I balked and the two of them turned to me like they’d just remembered I was there.

“Let’s hope it fights off shadows.” She nodded seriously. “Shadows and big fat iguanas.”

She’d been there last night, I’d given her the time of her life. That was more than just sex, it was like riding a high. Why wasn’t she still in my bed begging for more? And how the hell was I losing out to buttery bagels?

Hurricane Geraldine had torn through my bedroom and I was left reeling in the wake of her departure.

Because now I’d had a taste of Grus, I wasn’t going back. That girl was going to be mine.

“Drink,” he demanded, rising to his feet and tilting his head to one side. “You look like you’re about to lose control and do it anyway.” I stood, my throat tight and the well of my power so hollow that I was on the verge of desperation. I lunged forward, digging my fangs into his throat and his arm wrapped around me immediately. The bond between us flared and as his blood spilled onto my tongue, a low groan of need escaped me. His grip became firmer and his hand slid into my hair as I took what I needed, devouring every drop as my heart pounded and I clutched his shoulders in an iron hold.

I broke away at last and we lingered too close to each other, his forehead knocking against mine. He pushed me back with a grunt of determination and I regained control of my emotions,

I’d barely had any sleep, but I was anxious to read up on Phoenixes as soon as possible. I needed to offer something useful to Blue. I felt like I’d failed her so completely last night that I didn’t know how I was going to ever make it up to her.

“So what you’re saying is, our power is endless?” Tory asked, grinning in a way that was only going to piss Darius off. “As in, so long as I can cast fire, I’ll never run out of magic. Unlike big fat lizard shifters who have to pop off for a snooze on a heap of gold whenever they’re running low?”

“So you’re saying that this big ass lizard can’t burn me at all, but I can totally cook his ass if I want to?” Tory asked with a smirk as she pointed at Darius.

Because Darius Acrux might not ever rescind his claim to the throne and I didn’t want him to. But maybe I could convince him to share it with two more candidates. I just had to ride out the fucking hurricane it would take to persuade him.

breath. “I imagine so, yeah. I don’t know what it is with me and him, but we just keep ending up in these situations where it’s like the tension between us is unbearable. So yeah I’m drawn to him but I can only think I’m insane for feeling that way because all he ever does is piss me off or hurt me.”

“Well, lucky for me I went poof at midnight and turned into a pumpkin like Cinderella before I could make that lapse in judgment,” I agreed because it was damn lucky. Moon Tory absolutely wouldn’t have said no to Darius if we’d spent even another moment alone down on the beach.

China. “I damn well can help you. And I will when I get over the shock of this. But here’s a quick pop quiz first: are you two conspiring to give me a fucking heart attack?” A small smile pulled at my lips and his expression softened a fraction. He sighed heavily and sank back down into his seat. “So long as there’s nothing else-”

the stolen moment of bliss. A deep pit of fiery power seemed to open up in my chest, blazing through my veins and rushing to meet the magic in him. I suddenly felt like I was standing on a precipice, about to tumble into its embrace as ecstasy rippled on the edges of my mind. I moaned and Orion growled, dragging me closer as our power blended and the flow of his energy twisted through me like a tornado. “Shit,” he breathed as he pulled away. “You taste like fire.”

The wall in his eyes said he didn’t want to talk about it right then, and I would respect that. But I hoped one day he’d tell me. Because then maybe I could try to find a way to reignite the fire that no longer burned in his heart.

There was a lightness in my chest and a huge smile on my face as I beat them again, soaring, higher, faster, further. I’d never felt a rush like it, every inch of my skin was alight with power and energy, exhilaration and fire. I whooped with joy as I spun through the sky, my wings beating hard as I moved faster and faster with my sister beside me. I was flying, really, truly flying. And I’d never felt so alive or so free in all my life.

I laughed before I could stop myself. That girl had bigger balls than half the guys I knew. Max practically started crying if we made him take a shot of Sourache and Seth howled the whole time its effects were in place. Roxy barely broke a sweat and came out swinging on the other end of it.

“Yeah.” Darius nodded, bolstering himself up. “Yeah I’m just gonna walk over there and – and- for the love of the moon this is soft.” He raked his hand down my shirt. “What’s it made of?” “I dunno, man. Cotton?” I plucked at the shirt and Darius leaned into me, bringing the seductive scent of his blood with him. “You smell like freshly baked bed... I mean bread.” “Do you wanna bite me, Lance?” Darius laughed darkly, catching my face between his hands and squeezing until my lips pursed. Then he angled my head toward the Vegas. “Your Source is over there.” My eyes hooked on Darcy’s tight waist and the way her body moved in time with the music. I started to get hard for her and shoved Darius back. He does not need to feel my boner. Not again.

Darius stood up, pulling me into a tight embrace, his muscles locking around me. The bond between us grew sharper and I clutched onto him. “I’m gonna miss you,” I said out loud even though I’d meant to say it in my head. “As much as Gabriel?” Darius asked, his forehead knocking against mine. “You guys need to get a room,” Tory interrupted and we stepped away from each other. Darius bumped into the table as he moved toward her. “After party at King’s Hollow?” he asked her and I looked to Tory hopefully on his behalf.

She traced her fingers down my backbone, her lips brushing mine and sending a shiver scattering through my body. It had been so long since I’d felt content. But with her, I was starting to see glimpses of my old self, the guy who’d loved life, who’d had a future. And I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed him. “Happy birthday, Lance,” she whispered and for the first time in fucking years, it really was a happy one.

back of his head smashed into Washer’s nose. The professor stumbled back into the water and a laugh tore from my throat as his legs went over his head. Tory grinned and for a moment she shared a smile with Darius before they quickly turned away from each other. “You like him,” I teased, poking her in the arm. She tutted. “I despise him.”

“Ooh I’m shaking right down to my leopard print pantyhose,” she said with an eye roll. “You will be.” He stalked away and Geraldine waved goodbye to him just with her little finger. “Is that supposed to be a reference to my dick?” he snapped. “I didn’t make any kind of reference,” she said innocently. “Though maybe you think it looks like your floppy frankfurter as you mentioned it?” “It was not floppy!” Max shouted so the whole class could hear.

Max took pity on Seth as he slumped into his seat, drawing the blood off of his face and out of his shirt using water magic so that it hung in a red orb above him.

I smiled at his suggestion. Illusions were brilliant magic. I’d managed to make Seth see a flea crawling over his arm a few days after his flea dip and practically given him a heart attack. I was more than happy to work on getting better at them.

Geraldine looked back at Max impassively, seeming close to bored and he growled as he upped the power again. For a few seconds I was gripped with the urge to go to him, drop to my knees and offer him a blowjob, right before I slammed my mental walls into place more firmly and dismissed the idea.

“That’s enough, thank you very much, Mr Rigel!” Orion called. “I don’t want to fill out the paperwork that would be required to explain why half of my class descended into a sex party.”

“Is that the end of that nonsense then?” Seth asked as Max slumped down in his chair. “No chance,” he replied, his gaze still locked on Geraldine. “It’s just the goddamn beginning.”

“Let me know how that pans out for you though. Because thinking a girl feels something and knowing it are two different things. They’re a fucking enigma wrapped up in a secret, cloaked in a goddamn layer of confusing as fuck. So if you figure out the key to them then feel free to share with the group.”

“Nice job, Seth. Sometimes I think you’ve got the emotional compassion of a teaspoon,” he said. “I happen to like teaspoons,” Seth replied with a shrug.

“Yeah, I don’t think he’d tell me jack shit,” Seth said. “He just broke my nose with a pineapple.”

I dispersed the silencing bubble and we headed for the door without another word. If something was wrong with Darius, we’d help him fix it. That was what we did. We looked out for each other. No matter what.

The scent of him enveloped me, cedar and smoke mixing with something entirely him. 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.” “Why?” I forced out, reaching up to brush the tears from my cheeks. “You don’t care about me. All you’ve ever done is hurt me, so why would you promise me something like that?”

Tory elbowed me and as if on cue, Max Rigel stalked his way past us toward the exit of The Orb with jam dripping from his hair and what looked like a bunch of

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

He stepped back and I stared at him with my heart pounding as I found a world full of faith gazing back at me. No one had ever looked at me like that. Like I was unstoppable.

Fuck a duck.

slot.” “No,” I gasped. “Yeah, it only took a new door and ten counselling sessions to stop the nightmares though.” Orion smirked and I broke a laugh as I followed him out into the lounge, unsure if that story was entirely a joke or not. I definitely don’t wanna know.

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

“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 think,” I breathed quietly, though I knew any Vampires in close proximity would hear us anyway. “That you made a mistake with me. You took me to your room when you saw me in pain. You looked after me when you should have left me to suffer. You brought me to your house to play on your bikes and let me find out your secrets. And then you realised that even showing me all of those parts of yourself weren’t enough.”

“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 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.”

I laughed, my power stirring beneath my skin as if it liked the sound of that. “I think it’s time for us to accept who we are. We’re the lost Vega Princesses, Heirs to our own throne and the most powerful assholes in the whole of Solaria. And I think it’s time we stop letting other people tell us what that means and deciding it for ourselves.”