Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6)

by Caroline Peckham

Merissa gave me a glimpse of the life you have led and I’m sorry for what you have lost, but there is a chance yet for happiness. And that is all I have ever wanted for you and your sister.

When I later discovered that you had seen it, I was heartbroken. But I could not reveal myself to you. For my real death has been planned for years, my boy, and it will have come to pass long before this letter reaches you. My true body will play an important part in your fate, so please forgive me for the pain I caused you. My heart crushed as I thought of the fire I’d seen him consumed by, believing he was cast to ruin by dark magic.

But don’t pity me, Lance. You and Clara were the true loves of my life, and I regret nothing.

must destroy this note to keep this secret safe. I love you, son. And I know you can pass the tests that await you. Wherever I may be, know that I miss you and will be waiting for you beyond The Veil. A.O.

P.S. Give Lionel Acrux hell for what he has taken from you and what he is yet to take.

Im SOVBBIINV

A keen and eternal pain tugged at my chest over his loss. A loss that had never been a magical accident at all. He’d given his life to change fate. He’d offered the Vegas a chance to succeed against Lionel. And I had to make sure I didn’t let him down.

“It’s your lucky day, buddy,” he said brightly. “You’re getting out of here.” “What?” I gasped, nearly choking on my own damn tongue. “How’s that possible?”

OH MY G

I pulled on the suit I’d worn the day I’d been dragged away from Zodiac and tied on the friendship bracelet Tory had given me. I tucked my wallet into my pocket with my Atlas then hid my dad’s diary in the other, my heart drumming out a frantic beat in my chest.

Though my heart sank as I considered the girl who had given him that chance.

And now she was the one chained to that monster and I couldn’t even free her in return.

The scent of cinnamon filled my nose, and I almost swung a punch at the asshole on top of me before his deep laughter had a grin tearing across my face instead and I started laughing too as I wrapped Lance in my arms. “Holy shit. How?” I demanded, squeezing him tightly as the dull ache in my chest loosened at the feeling of his body against mine. Fuck, I’d missed him.

“So how are we going to get out of you helping my asshole father?” I asked, scooting forward until my forehead pressed to his and I was surprised when he started laughing. “What?” I demanded, smiling too because it was damn infectious. “The arrogant motherfucker got me to make an oath to find it,” he explained. “But he didn’t say a thing about me finding it for him.”

“Okay. Then you have to tell me about the assholes who hurt you in that place so that I can go in and kill them with my bare hands,” I replied. “Maybe we should focus on your father first?” he suggested with a dark chuckle. “Fine,” I agreed. “But then I’m going down there to kick some ass.” “You’re so protective of me, sweetheart,” he joked. “Always, baby,”

Orion shot out of bed and his eyes suddenly fell on me, his naked chest heaving. His abs were taut and gleaming, and his shoulders were even more built than they’d been before. Holy shit.

He darted towards me and Gabriel in a blur and I gasped as he grabbed my hand, tugging me into the arc of his body with his eyes blazing like he was gonna hug me or something crazy. I sent fire magic bursting through my veins, and he hissed as I burned his fingers, making him let go of me before I quickly backed up. His brows knitted together, and he mumbled something about instincts before he lunged at Gabriel instead, the two of them embracing hard.

“Oh, I see. Say no more.” Seth winked, strolling casually over to me and slinging his arm around my shoulders. He turned his head, whispering in my ear. “Butt sex.” “Seth,” I snorted a moment before a freight train collided with us as Orion shoved Seth away from me with a snarl, putting himself between us. “Woah, what the hell?” I gasped as Orion went full fucking animal, his fangs on show as he glared at Seth in a clear warning to stay away.

“He’s on our side now. Me and him are good,” I growled, planting my hands on my hips. “Hasn’t Darius explained that to you?” Orion’s pupils were fully dilated, his eyes moving from me to Seth as his jaw worked furiously. “He’s explained plenty, but I’m not so quick to forgive,” he hissed, and my heart galloped faster.

“Trust me, I’m not quick to forgive either,” I said icily. “But things have changed with me and Seth. There’s a lot that’s happened since you’ve been in prison.” “A lot,” Seth emphasised.

his arm tightly and leaning in close to speak in his ear. “Oh, and if you ever shove my sister like that again I’ll rip one of your arms off.” He said it so calmly, but the darkness in his eyes said he’d absolutely do it. Aw, I love my psycho big brother.

“No, you just bowled into me like a stampeding rhino,” I said lightly, and I swear Orion smirked before he flattened his lips and turned away again.

That’s gotta be better than Darkmore, right? I moved to sit in a chair, but Seth caught my hand and dragged me down beside him on the couch, nuzzling into my hair. I batted him off absentmindedly, working to focus on the diary and nothing else as my eyes kept skipping over to Orion and the taut muscles of his stomach. I mean seriously, could someone just put a shirt on that man?

“I don’t know,” he said, levelling me with a hopeless look. My heart clenched. I had the urge to smooth the frown on his brow and tell him we’d find a way to fix this, but it wasn’t my place anymore.

I shook my head at him with a half-smile and turned to find Orion standing right behind me, looming over me like a damn tower. “Come on, show me this shadow shit,” he demanded. “Did you have to come all the way over here to say that?” I muttered, side stepping him and feeling him follow a hair’s breadth behind me as I walked over to Darius.

Orion shared a look with Darius. “Lionel is having his Nymphs bring me all kinds of shit that could be concealing the Imperial Star.” Gabriel started laughing, cracking up and we all turned to him while he tried to pull himself together. “What’s so funny?” Seth asked with a grin. Gabriel reined it in, shaking his head then his face returned serious. “I can’t really say.” “Oh, come on,” Seth pushed. “You can’t do us like that.” Gabriel shook his head. “If I say, it’ll change everything.”

They didn’t call to me anymore. There was no way for them to get past my defences. I just wished I could offer the same to those I loved.

“Do it,” Darius commanded, and I knew he’d cast himself into my flames and be consumed by them if it would help bring Tory back. Because I’d do the very same.

Orion clutched me hard against his chest and I quickly extinguished the flames, my heart hammering at the scent of burning flesh. Seth rushed over to Darius, lending him magic to heal fast and I twisted around in Orion’s arms, inspecting the damage I’d done to him with frantic hands. My fingers brushed the burns on his chest and arms as I quickly cast healing magic, my breaths coming heavily, matching his. The scent of cinnamon hung around him and I wanted to lean in and drown in it. Oh god, oh god.

“Stop,” Orion grunted, catching my wrists and I looked up at him, finding his eyes were a sea of pain that I wasn’t sure had anything to do with the burns I’d laid on him.

It suddenly struck me that all the times I’d hurt Darius in an attempt to burn the shadows out of him, I’d been hurting Orion too. He felt all of Darius’s pain, cursed to feel it and know his Ward was in trouble. But he could never come and help. I couldn’t even understand the kind of agony that must have caused him. All this time I’d been torturing him, and I hadn’t even known. It made me feel sick.

OH MY GOD

I couldn’t. If I did right now, he’d see through me to the deep and bloody wound he’d left on my heart that still wasn’t healed.

Seth’s hand roamed down my back and fell onto my ass, squeezing as he pulled me and Darius closer. “Er-” I started, but he was suddenly ripped away from me by a whip of air and thrown across the room. He flew over a chair, his foot catching on a vase and sending it crashing into a wall before he hit a window face first. Gabriel lost his shit as he laughed, this clearly being the exact thing he’d seen before. “What is your problem?” I rounded on Orion with a growl as Seth leapt up and cast two spears of wood in his hands. “Come on then, asshole,” he snarled. “Bring it the fuck on.”

I love gabe's plan

I put myself between them and glared at Orion with my hands raised and shards of ice growing on my palms. “You want a fight? Then you can have one.” “I’m not fighting you,” Orion snarled, trying to sidestep me so he could aim at Seth, but I moved into his path again. “If you’ve got something you want to say, then spit it out,” I demanded, and Orion’s eyes flashed furiously as we just stared at each other.

He looked like a predator on the hunt, but I wasn’t going to be his prey. Never. Again.

I glanced back over my shoulder as Darius pressed a hand to Orion’s back and they shared a tense look which I didn’t understand.

Seth squeezed my hand. “Forget him, babe.” “He’s forgotten,” I said lightly like I wasn’t affected by seeing him again. But I was. And I knew I’d forget about Orion the same day the stars decided to give us all a break and blast Lionel to pieces with a flaming meteor. Well, a girl can dream.

“Long live the queens!” Sofia cried and more scallywags joined in, bringing a smile of greatest joy to my face.

“For the true queens!” I cried, throwing my hands in the air, and creating an enormous crater beneath her feet which she tumbled down into like a turd in a toilet. I was fully prepared to stand my ground and make her pay for ever choosing the Dragon imposter over my ladies, but I was suddenly whipped off of my feet in a whirlwind of air magic and the world went topsy turvy all about me. I landed in strong arms and my heart leapt as I found myself held against my Maxy Boy as Seth ran beneath us, the two of them having circled back for me and Seth howling in victory as we tore away through the trees. “I’ve got you, Gerry,” he purred in my ear.

For a man who claimed not to support the true queens, he had just put himself at great risk for the A.S.S. and that meant more to me than he could ever know.

But there were some things that night had changed in me which I wouldn’t want to take back.

shift.” Clara cackled loudly and Mother’s eyes glimmered with barely restrained emotion, but Xavier just held his head high and took the insult like the Fae he was. Anyone could see how fucking powerful he was in every way that counted, and Father’s Orderist bullshit couldn’t change that.

accepted the pain she was driving into my body. I didn’t care what happened to me now anyway. I only cared about doing anything and everything I could to save her from him.

It would be genocide. And I knew in my soul that the Rats would just be the beginning.

“You’re wrong,” Darcy growled angrily, getting to her feet. “I know my sister and I know she is still in there fighting for us. I’m not giving up on her

“Stop looking at his fucking man-parcel,” Max snarled, moving up behind her and slapping a hand over her eyes as I snorted a surprised laugh. That girl was seriously off her fucking bagels but there was something about her that was growing on me.

“Do not tell a goose where to gander, you overgrown seahorse!” Geraldine cried, scrambling to get out of Max’s arms as he glared at me like this was somehow my fault. “Put your fucking shirt back on, man,” he snapped at me.

“Hey,” I growled as Darcy muttered, “She’s got a point.”

“Let’s not do anything too hasty,” Seth laughed kinda aggressively as he slapped Cal on the shoulder harder than necessary.

A snort of laughter escaped me, and I frowned as I tried to figure out why,

I twisted to look over my shoulder, finding Darcy hovering a few feet above the path while fiery wings burned brightly at her back and her blue hair billowed around her.

I shrieked in fury, crawling forward and throwing my hands towards him as Geraldine stepped from the trees too, a triumphant look on her face even as tears streaked down her cheeks.