Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6)

by Caroline Peckham

“Seth Capella, life is not guaranteed and with the shit we do most nights, you will regret it if anything happens to him and you don’t get the chance to tell him the truth.” “We won’t die,” he said with a shrug. “We’re the Heirs and the Savage Princess. Darcy and the dudebros. Wolfman, Bitey C, Fish Fury, Dragzilla, and the Phoen Dream.”

“We’re all at least a little fucked up, Tory,” he said roughly. “But the people who love us don’t give a shit about that. Better still – they love us even more for it.”

Having Orion’s new number was a treat in itself. I sent him daily photographs of me and Darcy together with captions like #sheaintblueoveryounomore and #teamDeth. He’d blocked my number after threatening to rip my intestines out and strangle me with them – amongst other murderous threats - but then I got a magical app which sent my texts from anonymous numbers so he couldn’t keep me away. It was hilarious. And very intentional. Because I was officially kickstarting Mission: Get Darion Back Together.

Firstly, Cal was not into that shit as far as I was aware (but I’d be the first to paint my body in glitter and strap a dildo horn to my head if he was). And secondly, no bitch. Just no. I made her do a lap of the school while some of my pack chased her with pokey sticks.

"You'd love being dominated by me, Roxy," he promised. "I'd pin you down and make you scream so good you'd forget all about trying to stop me as I marked you as mine so thoroughly that you'd never doubt that it was true ever again."

Oh shit. I looked like a deranged yeti with a glittering horn poking out the centre of my face and

"Come for me you ghastly cads!" she roared. "For I am true of heart and forged in steel! I wield a weapon created by the true queens of Solaria and none who stand against them shall ever succeed! They are the light of the rising sun and I am the shadow at their backs - you will never pass me!"

I saw memories scrolling through my mind of this girl. Her standing before me for the first time, her hair dipped in blue, her eyes wide and curious. Then her sitting in my class, me stealing looks at her I had no right to steal. The taste of her lips against mine for the first time, hidden at the bottom of a pool, then the way she’d looked dripping wet outside my front door with a single word on her lips. A word that meant everything to me. Because it meant her. My girl. My queen. “Blue,” I groaned,

"I'm the girl no one ever loved, Darius," she said. "No one but Darcy, my whole life. And though I never let it show, I used to dream of finding someone who would love me like a prince in a fairy tale so I could be their princess. But I don't love you like a princess. There isn't anything soft or sweet or easy about us. It's wild and unpredictable. It hurts more than any pain I've ever felt and consumes me more completely than anything I ever could have predicted. You make my heart race with all the best kinds of fear and my gut clench with the angriest butterflies I've ever known. I have hated you more than I even knew I could hate a man and I think if I love you with as much fury then I'll burn up in it."

By the stars, what an asshole,” he growled mockingly and I pursed my lips. “No, you’re right, Darcy. I won’t stand for it. How dare he throw himself into the most dangerous place in Solaria and face months of hell in Darkmore because of how much he loves you? How fucking dare he.”

“Two phoenixes, born of fire, rising from the ashes of the past. The wheel of fate is turning and the Dragon is poised to strike. But blood of the deceiver may change the course of destiny. Beware the man with the painted smile who lingers close to your side. Turn the scorned. Free the enslaved. Fear the bonded men. Many will fall for one to ascend. Suffer the curse. The hunter will pay the price. Do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Keep the broken promise. Mend the rift. All that hides in the shadows is not dark. Blood will out. Seal your fate. Choose your destiny.”