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One day, I was destined to marry someone of my own kind who matched me in power as closely as possible. Rosalie was a pretty perfect pick for that role, but the idea of tying myself to her or anyone other than Cal just made me feel all kinds of anxious. But I was probably just kidding myself and Caleb would end up with some Vampire bitch I’d resent forever.
Denial was my best friend who liked to braid my hair and call me pretty.
"So it feels good to let me take charge?" he pushed and I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't go thinking you'll make a habit of it."
"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."
Wow, my life was so fucking painful. I felt trapped in this endless cycle of lying about who I was, faking a lack of emotions about everything that mattered to me then stealing moments to be myself while still having to lie about the part of me that just ached to be with Lionel every minute of every fucking day.
"You and I both know you'll be diving in for that spooning head first," he scoffed, leaning back against the railing. "At least allow me to pretend I've still got some dignity," I muttered.
"Yeah, well I would be if I had my girl in my bed, but the bond makes me want to please my Ward and seeing as Darius suffers from the superiority complex of a lifetime, let's just say the domineering asshole always wants to be the big one."
"I'm a heartbroken criminal who has now had two careers destroyed before I've even turned thirty," he growled. "So you really shouldn't be surprised by that. Besides, what do you want me to do about it?"
"What words?" I asked. "Handsome, enamouring, lovely, powerful. And sometimes she’d add unbelievable and sexy too." "So..." "The first letter of each of those words spells out the message she was trying to give me. ‘Help us.’"
But I guessed if what Jasper had said was right, I’d always been on the right path. I was meant to end up in prison to meet him. I just wished it hadn’t cost me Darcy.
I was seriously pissed that Honey Highspell was fucking up my Cardinal Magic classes. I’d never thought I’d miss teaching, but apparently it had grown on me, because the thought of that witch standing behind my desk and treating my students like shit was infuriating. Only I had the right to do that.
I’d been a total hypocrite anyway, worrying about what the Vega twins might become back then based off of their father. I’d always stood by Darius despite how awful Lionel was. Maybe bad people were born not bred.
“But Darius might when he realises I’m clearly your favourite.” “Uh huh. You can tell him I got down on one knee when I gave it to you too, give him something to really get worked up over.” “I think I prefer my head attached to my shoulders thanks all the same,”
“Don’t judge me,” I slurred at it. “It’s easy being you, all the way up there with your big, glowy head and your smug little crater face.”
She’d dropped a mirror in her wake and I hurried forward, picking it up and checking my reflection. Oh shit. I looked like a deranged yeti with a glittering horn poking out the centre of my face and huge fangs peeking out of my mouth.
“I told her to move on, but I can’t let go, Darius,” I gritted out, my eyes fixed on the wooden canopy over his four poster bed. “I made this happen. I pushed her away. I thought I could handle it, but I can’t. I didn’t think anything could be more painful than losing her, but now seeing her with him…” My heart was slashed open, oozing blood. I’m not going to survive losing her. It’s a long and agonising death, but the end is fucking nigh.
“I will take down my father and I will rule alongside the other Heirs. The Vegas will not sit on the throne.” I fell quiet, seeing the blazing determination in his eyes, the stubbornness that was never going to fade. “Rule with them,” I begged, but he shook his head. “No,” he hissed. “And the other Heirs will never stand for that either. We might be friends with the Vegas, Lance, but when it comes to the throne, we will fight them to claim it.”
“And what are you chuckling at, you overgrown sea cucumber?” she demanded.
“Someone’s got to look, might as well be the Power Shamed nobody,” he said under his breath and my nails dug into his flesh. “You’re not nobody,” I growled seriously. You’re one of the most important somebodies I know.
“I have nothing to say to you,” Orion hissed. “Oh yeah?” Seth growled. “Well apparently the only pussy around here is you then.”
He reached out to grip the front of my shirt and tugged me towards him forcefully and I smirked as I lunged for his neck. The groan that escaped his lips as I bit him had my hands locking around his waist. I pushed him back against the smoke stained wall of the mausoleum and the taste of his power on my lips sent a shiver of pleasure tracking down my spine.
"Cal," Seth rasped, his mouth so close to mine that I felt the movement of my name on his lips. "Yeah?" "I..." He still held my shirt tightly like he thought I might run if he let go and I hadn't released my grip on his waist, my thumbs shifting over the hard curves of his abs as I adjusted my hold on him. My heart was pounding to this deep and rhythmic beat that seemed to want me to stay right where I was and for a moment, I had the insane idea to just lean forward and-
But as I raced back into the battle, my gut plummeted with disappointment and I couldn't help but wonder, what would have happened if I'd spent a few more moments alone in my best friend's company?
But if I couldn’t find a way to stop this spell he was under; he was going to find me. And I was surely going to fall prey to his fangs, because I’d rather die than kill the man I loved.
Relief spilled through me in an overwhelming torrent that made me sag forward as I pressed my forehead to his for the briefest of moments before rearing back again. "You fucking idiot," I snapped, punching him in the chest as I realised he was okay. "Why the fuck were your eyes open?" "Because I wasn't going to risk them getting past me to you," he snarled like that was the most obvious thing in the world and I punched him again. "And what would I do without you?" I demanded, making his eyes widen with surprise before I even realised what I'd said, but fuck it.
"Good golly lobsters," Geraldine sighed and for once I knew exactly what she fucking meant.
“You’ve passed the test. A new Master of the Zodiac Guild is born,” an ethereal voice filled my head and Darcy stiffened as she heard it too. “Protector of the royal line, safe keeper of the heart.”
You’ve found the final card. The stars have aligned, my duty is done. When all hope fails, Vega Princesses, find courage in the light.
That was what I’d decided to do? What the fuck was I thinking? That I could just kiss away all our problems? Darcy deserved better. Hell, she deserved everything. And I was the exact opposite of everything.
“Oh, you loyal Master of the Guild, you’re a true royalist, you have always done what is right for my queens. I see that now,” she sobbed, earning me harsh glares from the Heirs. Ah shit.
“Right, I’m off to fuck your girl. Oh sorry, I meant my girl.”
Nope, I was distracted by how damn good your body feels against mine and wanting to lick your tattoos. Damn, it had been a long time since I’d gotten laid.
I wasn’t going to let myself overthink the fact that I slept better when I was wrapped up in his clothes than I did without them. They were just warmer than mine. And comfier. And smelled all kinds of nice.
"Fuck no. He doesn't just get to rip my heart out, stamp on it, leave it to rot for six months then dust it off and start it beating again. We're just...he’s just...I’m just...nothing."
"But?" she asked, looking at me like she was hoping I might have the answers she needed even though we both knew I sucked at this stuff more than anyone we knew. But I guessed I was an expert in what not to do, so I could give her my advice on that much.
Sofia whinnied and nuzzled her face against mine for a moment before charging ahead to run at Tyler’s side. Mixed messages was definitely her middle name. But apparently the sparkling shower of gemstones which had fallen from my junk didn’t mean it was game over for us just yet. So I had to take it as a win.
“I can keep up.” And not just with this dance, but with Tyler too. I’d be running our herd soon enough, and he’d be bowing to me with my girl by my side. And once I won her, I was never going to let her go.
“Yeah, Cindy Lou something,” he said with a dismissive shrug. “The FIB said they’ll inject her with a tracker if she tries to come near me again but I’m not all that worried about some deluded psycho.
"I had a snack earlier," he said with a smirk, pushing a hand into his blonde curls and I caught a taste of laughter, joy and lust on him as he thought about that which made me grin.
"They don't give a shit. We're loyal to each other." I'd gotten over the fear of losing my place amongst my brothers the moment they'd found out the truth about me being a bastard. They didn't care about my bloodline - they cared about me. We were family, unbreakable, united always. And knowing that took away some of the fear I held getting through this shit.
"Alright. Shit, man, I owe you for this," Max said. "No you don't. We're brothers and this is what we do for family. No question. No debts. We're just here for each other when we need to be."
"Well it's not," Caleb snapped, giving Seth a pained look which pissed me off because his focus should have been on me.
I’d forgotten all about them and whatever fucking insane jealousy the stars had so clearly wanted me to feel when they drove me into this room because it was her. And there was only her, just like she’d told me there was only me. So fuck the stars for always wanting to part us. Fuck them for thinking they could stop this, stop us. There was no stopping us. She was it for me and even if I could never truly have her, I wasn’t ever going to stop wanting her. I wasn’t ever going to stop belonging to her.
"Because, from the moment I arrived here I swore I wouldn't let anyone decide my fate for me. So despite the fact that you're literally the rudest, most pig-headed, infuriating asshole I have ever met, I still want you. So fuck the stars. Fuck the moon and the meteors and the fucking clouds. Let the sky watch me as I tell it to get fucked. Nothing up there or down here gets to tell me what to do. You told me I was yours and I think that you're mine too." "You think?" I asked. "I told you I love you. I tattooed it on my flesh, Roxy, I feel like I've made my feelings pretty clear. You're all I
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"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
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"I think I'm already burning, Darius," she breathed. "And it's time I stopped pretending I'm not."
And I didn't care if we really would have to tear the stars out of the sky to force them to give us our tomorrow. I'd do it. I'd pay any price they asked of me just to make this feeling last. Just to truly have her.
"I'm yours, Darius," she breathed, her voice barely audible over the storm. "And you're mine. No matter what."
Because to claim the throne they’d have to prove they were stronger than us and I had trouble believing that day would ever come to pass.
We’d been over every detail since the graveyard incident, of how Caleb had saved his life then leaned in, gazed at Seth’s mouth and almost seemed like he was gonna kiss him.
