Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4)

by Caroline Peckham

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.

“Blue.” I smiled dreamily, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She is so…everything. Does she know how everything she is?

Geraldine turned to walk away, and my lips parted as Max caught her arm to stop her. He moved into her personal space, lowering his tone as if he didn’t want us to hear. “Come on, you have to admit how good it was. Come to mine tonight so I can remind you.” “I have a date with a fine gentlefae tonight. I expect he’ll see to Lady Petunia’s needs just fine.” “Which Fae?” Max demanded. “And why would I tell you that?” “Because I’m gonna break his legs,” Max growled.

Darius’s eyes flipped to us, clinging to Tory for several long seconds. Did he realise how obviously he was checking her out? His eyes were practically stuck to her cleavage.

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.” “You think he’s hot though,” I said airily. “Well, who doesn’t?” she said then cursed herself for saying it.

My sister was too stubborn for her own good sometimes. She probably liked Darius just the way he was. Asshole personality and all. If he’d just apologise for all the shit he’d done to her and started trying to make up for it…maybe there was something salvageable between them. Or maybe I was just too optimistic for my own good sometimes.

“I can’t stop, Blue. I know it’s fucking insane. But I’ve stopped caring about the consequences. This thing between us gets stronger every day and I can’t fight it…can you?”

The answer was obvious. It would be almost impossible to let go. It was as if the stars themselves were pressing me into his arms, holding me there and refusing to release me.

Caleb: Hey, sweetheart. Do you wanna hang out tonight?

Tory: No. For fuck’s sake. Not even a fucking kiss. Darius snorted a laugh beside me and I glanced at him as he didn’t even bother to pretend that he wasn’t reading my messages over my shoulder. “She plays hard to get,” I muttered then instantly wondered why I was making excuses to him. He only smirked at me, shrugging his shoulders like he gave zero shits. We both knew he gave shits, but whatever.

We all shook our heads, and he tussled Darius’s hair before heading away, somehow locating the pineapple as he went and swinging it in his grip while it dripped blood to the floor.

Darius leaned back in his chair, folding his arms with a frown in place.

“Says the guy screwing the girl who might steal our throne,” he tossed back. Darius growled at that comment but didn’t say anything.

“So just choose another girl,” Seth said with a shrug.

“I don’t want another girl,” Max said simply, his gaze on Geraldine as Orion moved to talk to her.

“What the fuck is happening to us?” Seth groaned, swiping a hand over his face. “First you two are fighting over a Vega – a Vega who doesn’t seem to want either of you half the time might I add. And now you’re chasing the president of the fucking Ass Club, Max! I don’t even recognise you guys right now.”

“Tory does want me,” I protested irritably, my gaze falling on her damn refusal message again for a moment. Darius scowled at me then picked up his own Atlas, clearly not intending to respond to that.

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.

Geraldine slowly lifted her hand, and I watched in amusement, expecting her to start caressing Max’s thigh which was planted several inches in front of her on her desk. Instead, she curled her fingers, turning her hand back towards her as she inspected her nails, casual as fuck. “I think I just fell in love with Geraldine Grus,” I joked as Max’s forehead furrowed with concentration.

“A thousand auras says she ends up kicking his ass to make him leave her alone,” I said. “A thousand says she’ll change her mind and be dropping her panties within the week,” Seth said, shaking his head. “She won’t resist him for long.” “Pfft,” Darius shook his head. “A thousand says she’ll break his heart without even trying.”

“Just calling it how I see it. Look at her ignoring him, that’s just fucking cruel.”

He let out a long breath. “I thought that maybe you and Darius might-”

“Less of the ‘old’ I’m only eight years older than you.” “Yeah, so when you were my age, I was ten,” I pointed out. “So you’re like half my age again. Hence, old.” Orion frowned like he didn’t really like me pointing that out, but why would he give a shit?

Besides, I’ve seen what will happen if you ask him. He’ll give it to you.” “Why?” I asked. “Why would he do that for me?” “I don’t know,” Gabriel said in a way that sounded like he really did know.

“It’s alright,” he breathed. “I won’t ever let them have you.”

“I do care about you,” he said, the frown on his face telling me he wasn’t sure why and I sure as shit didn’t know either. “And I’m…I mean, I shouldn’t…I never should have…”

“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.” He dipped his head to my ear for half a second. “Thought you might be.” 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.

I sighed as I tried to concentrate on falling asleep and forget about Dragons who were way too attractive for it to be fair. Not that I cared what he looked like…

“Are you insane?” “It has been suggested before,” he agreed with a dark laugh.

Caleb grinned and Darius growled loud enough to make me look at him for a moment despite my great intentions to ignore his existence. His eyes were dark and his posture tense, his arms folded over his broad chest. My heart jolted but I refused to balk as his gaze travelled over me, lighting fire beneath my skin everywhere his eyes landed.

“Maybe…I mean I could find out. Darius would probably know…”

All of this pretending not to be together drove me insane. But I wondered if it was the thrill of this game we were playing that had me so hooked on him, or if it was something more than that. All I knew for sure was when I was with him, it felt like the stars were singing our names.

Yeah, a Solarian Princess fucking her Vampire teacher who is firmly team Heirs is totally normal.

“I trust you instinctively, Blue. Since the first day we met, the stars have reeled you towards me and me towards you. Don’t you feel it?”

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

“Lionel…he…” Orion cleared his throat, and I could see the rage swelling up in him toward the Dragon who ruled our lives. “He bonded with Clara, he made her his Guardian like I am to Darius. Then he let her drink exclusively from him as her Source.”

“He gave her the one thing Vampires can’t resist above all else. The taste of pure power. It’s a burden we have to bear, Blue. Vampires are a slave to it. It’s a primal need. It’s why we claim the most powerful blood Source we’re able to. It’s why your blood pushes me to the edge of insanity.”

“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.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Roxy,” Darius warned, reaching out to take my hair into his grasp. “If I pull on your hair, you’ll be screaming my name in response.” He tugged just a little and I snorted dismissively.

“Fuck off, you’re not suicidal,” he replied dismissively. “Nobody burns as hot and cold as you do if they don’t love life.”

“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.”

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.

“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.”

“Well, I decided to try out dating her,” Caleb admitted. “But it was a fucking disaster so I’m not sure we’ll do it again.” Darius let a little bit of amusement slip from him at that admission and I sighed as I picked up a kettlebell and started on some squats. That girl took up far too much of his attention. Caleb’s too.

Darius barked a laugh as he placed his weight back on the rack and sat up. His muscles bulged from the workout, the Phoenix and Dragon tattoos which danced with each other on his back gleaming with sweat.

phoenix tattoos?!?!?

Grus still wouldn’t even consent to sitting with me at breakfast let alone going out on a date with me. In fact, that whole situation was driving me crazy. I couldn’t get the night I’d spent with her out of my head, and she was acting like it didn’t mean a goddamn thing to her. It was bullshit.

“Well if you know her so fucking well then tell me where you’d have taken her, asshole,” Caleb shot at him, rolling his eyes like he didn’t think Darius would be able to do any better anyway.

“I’d take her over to Clearmont Park on the west side of town,”

“You think she’d want to go for a walk in the park?”

“No. I’d take her there because they’ve got the best burrito truck in town parked up by the main gates every Saturday night and she practically has an...