Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6)

by Caroline Peckham

“Morning, Roxy,” he said in that low, rough voice of his and I chewed on my bottom lip as I found myself caught between the urge to run from him and move closer. The strangest thing was, I was fairly certain that had always been the way I felt about him. It had nothing to do with anything Lionel had subjected me to.

gaze dipped to his inked torso for a moment, and I paused as I spotted a new tattoo which curved over his left hip bone and disappeared beneath his shorts.

“You’re gonna have to get my pants off if you wanna see that one, Roxy,” he teased, and I found myself replying before I could think it through. “Nice try, asshole.” We both paused for a moment, looking at each other like we’d somehow stepped back in time, and I offered him the briefest hint of a smile before moving inside, feeling his eyes on my back as I walked away.

All the memories of all the times he’d brought me coffee in the mornings came flooding back in on me at once and I was overwhelmed with the desire to reach out to him even while I fought off the desire to recoil from him.

But then the twisted fog of my thoughts lifted a little, reminding me that we used to message each other a lot before Lionel took me. And his strange question was actually our own little greeting to each other which didn’t require a direct answer. It was just an opener.

Genuine happiness washed through me, and I found myself relaxing in his company. “I’m so pleased for you,” I said honestly. “I never really got the chance to thank you for that,” he added. “All I did was push you out of a window,” I teased but he shook his head, stepping forward and yanking me into a tight hug. “No, Tory. You saved my life. You gave me…everything. I was too afraid to do what you pushed me to do alone but now I’m out of that house, away from those sessions he was making me have with Gravebone, I’m free to be the Pegasus I was born to be. And one day I’ll find a way to repay that debt to you.”

I could listen to his secrets and use them all against him. For every life I managed to save and every plan of his I helped to sabotage, I’d be striking back against him. Little by little.

For every vile, stomach-churning thing I had to listen to or witness, I would find a way to counter it with something good. I’d find a way to help. And then one day, we’d be ready to strike back at him and tear him from our throne.

I headed for the door, but Xavier called out to stop me before I could pull the door wide. “Darius never gave up on you, you know that right?” “What?” I breathed, the mixture of confusing emotions I felt towards his brother rising up in me again at the mere mention of his name. “I just thought you should know. All the time Father had you, he spent every single minute searching for you, fighting back against the Nymphs, letting Darcy burn him half to death with Phoenix fire just to try and remove the shadows from his body so that he could challenge Father without Clara being able to stop him. It broke him losing you… So, I guess what I’m saying is that I think you should give him the chance to make things right between you two. He’s been to hell and back losing you, Tory. Please don’t let Father win by keeping you away from him now.”

I just hoped it didn’t get that far. That Darius, the Heirs and the twins would find a way to bring him down, because we were all screwed if not.

but I’d heard her talking to one of her friends about her new vajazzle the other day and the little pink gemstones she had above her clit.

LMAO WHT

“Perks of being friends with the Vegas. Their study sessions are kinda intense and I swear I learn more with them sometimes than I do with Pyro.”

“Oh my stars, he’s so fucking cute,” Nina Starstruck whispered to her friend and the two of them giggled. “He’s like a clumsy little Darius who doesn’t even realise he’s hot.”

She was so small it was just another thing I fucking adored about her.

Ew

Whatever it took to win Sofia’s attention, I’d do it. I wasn’t going to hide away from Tyler when I wanted to rise up and steal his girl.

Darius seemed to be accepting my need to keep my distance from him, but sometimes I caught him looking at me with so much pain in his eyes that it hurt me too.

Orion looked up in surprise from the book he’d been studying at the desk in the corner of the room and the tightness in my chest loosened as I looked at him. Shit, I’d really missed the grumpy asshole since he’d been hauled off to Darkmore and I’d been hauled out of my own damn mind and turned into a psycho mannequin. “Tory?” he asked slowly, pushing himself to his feet as he hesitated.

The moment I was certain there was no one else around, I dropped my resting bitch mask, grinning at Orion in greeting and he shot towards me, a breath of laughter passing his lips as he swept me up into a fierce embrace. I smiled like an idiot as I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tight as he spun me in a circle.

Awwww

“I’m so glad their plan to bring you back worked,” he muttered. “Shit, dude, don’t start crying on me. I thought you were meant to be an asshole?” I teased and he laughed against my hair as he gave me an extra squeeze. “Give me a few minutes to just be glad to have you in your right mind again then I promise to go back to being a dick as soon as I can,” Orion joked.

I love themm

I relented, hugging him tight for a moment as we just took a second to appreciate the fact that we were both half free of our shackles, then I huffed out a frustrated breath and kneed him in the balls as hard as I could. Orion wheezed out a cough laced with a surprised curse, and I gave him a shove so he fell back onto the couch beside us as he cupped his junk. “That’s for breaking my sister’s heart, asshole,” I snarled, pointing a finger at him and glaring.

Thefact they did t l for darr

I relented, hugging him tight for a moment as we just took a second to appreciate the fact that we were both half free of our shackles, then I huffed out a frustrated breath and kneed him in the balls as hard as I could. Orion wheezed out a cough laced with a surprised curse, and I gave him a shove so he fell back onto the couch beside us as he cupped his junk. “That’s for breaking my sister’s heart, asshole,” I snarled, pointing a finger at him and glaring.

Damn get itt girk OMG GABEE DD FORSEE.THE DICK PUNCH

On the one hand, I was seriously pleased to have him back, but on the other, Darcy was my one and only priority in the world and as her big sister - by a few minutes, but whatever - it was my duty to give him a hard ti...

“Fuck, Tory, why do you always go for the balls?” he groaned, cupping his crotch with his eyes half closed against the pain. “You’re lucky I left them attached to your body,” I warned. “You’re on my shit list, douchebag, and don’t you forget it. I might be seriously happy to see your hairy face, but I’m also going to slap it every time I do until you fix this shit.” “Fix it?” he grunted. “There is no fixing it, Tory. It’s too late for-” I cuffed him around the ear ...

“You know, your sister is a lot nicer than you are,” he grumbled. “No shit, Sherlock. That’s why I’m kicking your ass on her behalf. She’s too good to go for the balls but I swear to you now, if you hurt her again then I’m coming for yours with a fist full of Phoenix fire. Got it?”

“Well, I have very little reason to abstain these days,” he muttered. “Cheers to that,” I agreed, clinking my glass against his before sinking the lot and relishing the burn of it running down my throat. “You wanna get drunk with me and talk shit about Lionel?” “No. That sounds fucking terrible.”

But I have to sleep in a bed with him and Clara tonight, so I figure drinking myself to oblivion before then is preferable.”

EW

“One time I got so mad at Darius that I tried to punch him, but I ended up hitting myself in the face instead,“ Orion said, squeezing my fingers in his and I groaned as I leaned back against the couch, realising I was in the company of the one person I knew who might actually understand the way I was feeling about this shit.

“His scowl?” Orion laughed and I smiled a little too even though I knew how fucking crazy it sounded. “Well...he doesn’t really smile very often,” I shrugged, closing my eyes against how goddamn mortifying it was

“Have you ever noticed how tall Darius is? And how strong he is?” Orion asked, a smirk playing around his lips. “Or how his eyes have little flecks of gold mixed in among the brown?”

“He’s pretty fucking nice to look at.” “And spoon with,” Orion added with a grin. “One time while I was in Darkmore, I drew all of his tattoos from memory alone just because I couldn’t stop thinking about them. And then I stuck the pictures to the wall beside my bed so I could kinda feel like he was there while I was sleeping.” We both laughed in a hopeless kind of way, and I sighed as I leaned my head back against the couch and turned to look at him. “I’m glad someone understands my fucked-up thoughts,”

“Who?” he asked, and I didn’t miss the hopeful tone to his voice. “Darcy,” I confirmed. “Gabriel said it’s important the two of us are in the palace tonight so after Lionel and Clara go to sleep, I’ll sneak back out to meet her here.” “So...she’s coming alone?” he asked, his throat bobbing as he glanced towards the kitchenette where Darcy had told me the tunnel emerged. “Yeah. And if I come back here and find she’s been crying, you’ll be enjoying that flaming balls feeling. Got it?” Orion shuddered, placing a protective cushion over his lap. “You’re a savage.” “Damn right I am. Don’t go thinking I don’t mean it. Also…maybe you should get changed. I mean, it might make her feel a little better to see how much you’ve let yourself go, but I’m guessing you don’t want to broadcast what you had for dinner to her.” I pointed at the spaghetti stains on his sweatpants, and he growled in frustration.

“I’ve had Darius in my bed every night this week talking about you non fucking stop,” he replied.

“Look after yourself, Tory,“ Orion said, pushing to his feet and walking with me towards the door with a look on his face that said he really didn‘t want to let me leave, though we both knew I had to.

Orion’s face paled and he looked down at his spaghetti stain with a frown which made me snort a laugh as I started moving towards the door. “Now you’ve just gotta decide, do you go with another sweatpants, t-shirt combo? Fancy it up to jeans? Or go all out with a suit and try to casually pretend you forgot she was coming and just happened to be wearing your fanciest shit,” I joked, and his face fell. “Fuck you. I wasn’t even thinking about that until you said it. Next time you’re meeting up with Darius I’m gonna get in your head over outfit choices too.” “Good luck with that. Unlike you, I don’t give a shit what I wear. We’re not all so vain, you know?” I teased and he growled irritably. “I’ll figure out some other weakness to exploit in you then,” he threatened. “Well, that’s easy enough. I’m all fucked up inside, so you can just play up to my insecurities about whether or not I’m even a fully functioning Fae anymore.” “That’s not funny,” Orion muttered, shaking his head at me.

“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.” My gaze snagged on the friendship bracelet I’d made for him all those months ago and my heart felt full as I smiled at him. “I missed you, asshole,” I said in a low voice. “Missed you too, savage.”

Oh i LOVE THIS

It was his only real option anyway seeing as the majority of the palace was still locked up tight and he couldn’t figure out how to break into any of the rooms. Which was fucking hilarious to me now that I could fully appreciate it.

I destroyed each and every one of them and she gasped as she was released, winding her arms around me and pulling me close as a choked sob escaped her. “I’m so sorry, sweet girl,” she breathed. “For everything he’s done to you while I was forced to stand by.”

Oh ij love eeer

“Say the word and I’ll take my chances against him now,” he growled,

emotionless as possible around him. I just needed to make it back to Darcy. That was what I had to focus on.

“I can get out if you move aside,” I said, and he frowned. “You can also get out if you give me your hand,” he countered, and my heart did somersaults as I gazed up at him with pursed lips.

bottle of bourbon was down to the dregs beside it and the scent of it hung in the air, reminding me so viscerally of him that my lungs seized up again. Whiskey and my ex were apparently a deadly combination. Get a grip, dammit.

I glanced at him, feeling the silence stretching already and his jaw ticked angrily as he gazed at me. Had I pissed him off? Probably. Did I give a shit? Absolutely not.

“One sugar, I know,” he growled, not looking at me as he grabbed two mugs out of the cupboard, slammed them down on the counter then set about brewing the coffee like the angriest man in the world.

Tory still hadn’t spoken to me about exactly what Lionel had done to her, I’d gleaned enough from the haunted look in her eyes to know it was something terrible. It awoke a monster in me that needed cold, hard vengeance. And I wouldn’t rest until I got

“Can I ask you something?” Orion asked and I ripped my eyes away from his butt. “You just did,” I pointed out. He glanced over his shoulder at me with one of his professor looks and I suddenly felt far hotter than the coffee in my mug. Not that he was going to have any idea of how much he was affecting me. I knew how to keep my emotions on lockdown these days. And it wasn’t just that, I could handle them better too. He might have destroyed me when he ruined us, but he’d made me stronger as well. I guessed sometimes you had to watch your walls crack and crumble so you could figure out how to build a better kingdom.

rolled my eyes and shrugged. “Go on then.” He turned back to face the window, taking a long sip of his coffee before he spoke. “Are you always going to hate me?” My chest cleaved apart, and I let the silence stretch as I bit my tongue on all the things I wanted to say in response to that. I wish I could hate you, but I feel something far worse than that. A love that won’t die for the man who broke me.

“And why not?” he asked, his tone deadly like I was angering him. Did he want me to hate him?

He rushed toward me at speed, and I cast a solid air shield around me before he could get close. He stopped just before it, his hand brushing the barrier and he released a furious breath through his nose. “An explanation?” He laughed a cold, mirthless laugh. “You have no fucking idea, do you?”

“About what? How you broke our promise? Or how you ripped out my heart and tore it into fifty pieces? Or was it the part where you gave me no choice in any of it?” I demanded, my temper rising as I shoved my coffee cup between the two couch cushions behind me to keep it there. He tsked. “You think I wanted it to be this way? I had no fucking choice.” “Bullshit,” I snarled, dropping my shield in favour of shoving him in the chest with a gust of air as my anger spilled over.

“There’s always a choice, and you chose to ruin us.” I’d suppressed all of this for so long, and why shouldn’t I say my piece? He bared his fangs, his muscles bunching. “You think I wanted to give you up? You think any of this has been easy for me?”