Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6)

by Caroline Peckham

“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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

“Merely a ditty to appease the stars on this – the night of the great A.S.S. ramming.” “Are you certain you want to stick with that name?”

“Angelica, dear,” I began on a sigh. “Are we or are we not about to meet in a clandestine, Order mixing, law flouting, gathering of the biggest A.S.S.es you know?”

“And are we, or are we not about to ram our truth down the throats of those vile K.U.N.T.s?”

“So, are we A.S.S. ramming or are we ramming the K.U.N.T.s? Because so help me, Angelica, I can’t think of a simpler way to phrase our noble work.”

“Is there time for us to escape?” I demanded as Seth skidded to a halt before me and Maxy boy looked down at me from his back, shirtless and salacious and making my mind go all of a dither for a moment.

“Come on, Grussy,” Justin urged, snuffing out his little balls and peeling off his shirt as he prepared to shift into his Cerberus form and I knew in all good sense that I should go with him, but Maxy boy held out a hand to me and in a moment of madness, I wished to take it.

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.

He chuckled behind me as he held me close and despite the fact that he was an Heir and a scoundrel, I found myself smiling. 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. So perhaps there was more to him than met the eye. He had just aligned himself with the supporters of the royal line. And just maybe, that meant there was hope for him yet.

And I wished more than anything that I didn’t have so much of my father in me. If I hadn’t, if I’d been stronger and more willing to make up my own mind and stick to my convictions then maybe none of the things that had pushed Roxy away from me would have taken place. Maybe she never would have said no to me when we’d had our Divine Moment and I wouldn’t have deserved all of the shit the stars were sending my way now.

I couldn’t even count the number of times I’d dreamed of that night going differently. And of the man I would have been for her if she’d given me the chance to prove I could be. But there were some things that night had changed in me which I wouldn’t want to take back.

What he was doing to her now only made my hatred burn deeper and my thirst for his death more potent. When his time came it would be bloody and brutal and agonising and it still wouldn’t come close to payment for all he’d caused. But I’d relish every fucking minute of it no matter if it happened in the blink of an eye or if I was gifted months to slowly carve him apart.

“Prince Darius, can you tell us how it feels to be next in line for the throne?” That one pulled me up short and I cut my gaze to Gus Vulpecula, the sneaky little Fox shifter who always managed to get the story he wanted no matter how loosely his facts were based on the truth. “What did you just call me?” I snarled, unable to help myself even as Xavier snorted a low warning in his horsey way. I’d let it slide the last time someone had called me a prince, but I didn’t want it catching on. I was an Heir just like my brothers and I had no intention of rising above them.

Roxy was perched on the step sitting by his fucking feet like a dog while wearing a trailing black gown and the Dragon in me shifted angrily at the sight of her. She flinched a little as she saw me, and my teeth snapped together as I fought to contain my rage.

“Seriously?” I snarled as Jenkins left the room and the door closed behind him. “Claiming the throne wasn’t enough? You have to sit a Vega at your feet too?” “Well, I could have her sucking my cock if you don’t think it’s enough,” Father replied with a cruel twist to his lips and it took everything in me not to lunge at him as my entire body flooded with rage.

Roxy lifted her head to look at him, blinking slowly and shrugging one shoulder. My girl would have punched him in the fucking balls for even thinking about that and I hated to see her so fucking vacant over the suggestion. At the very least I could be glad that she hadn’t been too enthusiastic, though my gut clenched at the thought of him making her do that.

It felt like my lungs fucking decompressed at those words as relief filled me in a wave. I’d been driving myself insane worrying about that, night after night wondering if he was forcing her to give her body to him and hating myself more than words could convey for not being able to rescue her. That had been my worst fear for her in all of the nights she’d spent locked up at his mercy and though I knew she had to have faced so many atrocities from him, the fact that he hadn’t been raping her sent relief through me in droves. I swallowed thickly against the surge of emotions in me as I looked at Roxy helplessly, aching to just grab hold of her and take her far away from this place. I’d give up everything to do that. To just pick her up and run and run until Solaria was no more than a distant memory of a nightmare we’d escaped, and I could know that she was safe at last.

“It has occurred to me that poor Roxanya is in a predicament with the new regime though. With crossbreeding outlawed, and no male Phoenixes currently in existence, she cannot procreate. I have been considering making an exception for near extinct Orders like hers. And of course, a Dragon with our fire gifts and ability to fly, not to mention our immense power would be the closest thing to a match for her. A child inheriting either Order would at least be powerful, even if their blood was mixed.” “You can’t seriously be thinking about making her have a baby?”

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.

“But in answer to your question about Roxanya’s fertility options, I am still undecided. Perhaps you would like to put the bastards in her belly, Darius? After all, your blood isn’t tainted, and I have no particular objection to you fathering bastards so long as you’re producing fine Dragon Heirs with Mildred too. I’m sure Roxanya would be accommodating to you if I told her to be. Wouldn’t you?”

Roxy turned her dark eyes on me and there was no mistaking the shiver of fear that ran through her at the prospect of that. My heart bunched as I saw it. What had he done to make her fear me like that? Why did she flinch and recoil from me like she was expecting me to attack her at any moment?

The shadows struck me right in the chest as Roxy drove them into me and I grunted as I took the hit, refusing to even shield against them as I 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.

A soft hand caught hold of my chin and I looked up at Roxy in surprise as I found her there instead of Mom, tilting her head to one side curiously as healing magic slid from her fingers into my skin. “Do you truly remember nothing?” I asked her as the taste of my own blood lingered on my lips. I rocked back onto my knees before her as her touch awoke every aching piece of my heart, but as I looked closer, nothing in her expression said she knew me at all. “About what?” she asked, her gaze cold, expression void.

This felt like she wasn’t even her anymore. Like every stubborn, infuriating, obnoxious, addictive, delicious, beautiful piece of her was gone. Like she might as well have been dead. And I was the one who had killed her. Father clearly had her in the grip of Dark Coercion as well as the shadows and whatever the fuck he’d done to her to make her fear me, and I was lost without a way to combat any of it for her.

“Us,” I breathed, catching her hand as she moved to withdraw it and pressing her fingers to my cheek like if I just held her there, I could force her to feel it. She stiffened as I held onto her but didn’t do anything to stop me as she remained crouched in front of me with her gaze hunting mine. I didn’t try to hide anything from her, showing her every broken, bloody, hurting piece of my soul because it belonged to her anyway.

“Wait - are you telling me the palace has locked itself to him?” I asked, my mood lifting at the thought of that. “In part,” she replied. “For now.” A smirk lifted my lips at that little nugget of truth, and I filed it away as I wondered whether there might be some way for us to make use of that against him. The palace had clearly been spelled to keep it protected from usurpers and as I was certain that Darcy hadn’t had any issues like that while living here, I had to hope that there was something at work here specifically targeted against my father.

I looked down at the girl the stars had picked for me while her adoring gaze stayed fixed on Father, and I breathed out slowly as the ache in me became unbearable. Gabriel was supposed to be getting the Nymph cage to us within a matter of days and I was so hopeful that we would be able to bring her back to us once we could reawaken her Phoenix, but every second that this went on, I felt like my soul was being shredded and the stars were fucking laughing at us.

My stomach churned as Eugene screamed while he was dragged out of sight and my arm twitched where it hung beside Roxy’s. The back of her hand slid against mine, causing heat to prickle across my skin and for the briefest moment, her little finger hooked around mine, making my heart leap as I looked down at her. She didn’t look back, didn’t blink, or react in anyway as our hands stayed joined for just a few seconds before she released me again. But it had happened. I just didn’t know if that was proof that some part of the girl I loved was in there fighting to get out or if I was kidding myself because I needed to believe that so desperately.

“Oh ,magical muscles, look at the size of that six pack!” Geraldine gasped as she looked at me. “You truly are one beastly specimen of a man, Darius Acrux. No wonder my lady Tory is so enamoured with your swollen banana. I did sometimes wonder if she’d been drinking at the moose juice when she kept falling under your spell, but getting a close up look at your man-parcel really has me all of a dither-” “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. The beastly specimen comment probably helped.

“Well stop staring at Darius’s dick then,” he growled. “Excuse you, sir, but I am doing no such thing! For one, the delicious Dragon has not revealed his man ham for the room to peruse at leisure, so I was only appreciating the powerful physique which he uses to please my lady! And for two, I would never lay so much as a chin whisker upon the flesh of the man my lady is destined to love by all the stars in the sky! I am merely expressing my approval for his ability to pleasure her physically, even if his personality has left a lot to be desired-”

“Well if you don’t want him, then don’t fucking look,” Max demanded. “I don’t like it.” “And why should I care what a villainous cad such as yourself thinks? You don’t even believe I am capable of making decisions about my own life correctly.” “That’s because you’re prone to making terrible fucking decisions!” he yelled and my brows went up as I realised this fight was clearly about something way bigger than her checking me out, but I had no fucking idea what.

“I am not the one who got my tail in a knot over a little arranged marriage!” Geraldine cried. “You seem to be under the misguided impression that I belong to you just because I tangled with your tentacles once or twice, but you are very much mistaken in that belief! I made myself clear to you when I said that I had made my choice and you are the one who refuses to listen. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a princess to rescue!”

“She told me about it a while back, but they’ve been keeping it secret so that they can fool around with other people for a while. I was hoping to get her to pick me instead. And the other night after I saved her from Highspell, we went back to mine, and she kissed me. I guess I stupidly thought that meant she was changing her mind.”

“Who is she marrying?” I asked, hating seeing him in pain like that. I swear it seemed like none of us could catch a fucking break at the moment. “Justin Masters,” he spat, his lip curling back in disgust. “He’s a great big Royal ass licker and I guess that’s all she gives a shit about.” “You want me to accidentally barbecue him the next time I see him in my Dragon form?”

“I heard he’s got a hot sister who graduated before we came here,” Caleb added. “I could bang her and make a sex tape. His family wouldn’t seem like such amazing Royalists if everyone knew she’d been sucking Heir cock.” “Let’s not do anything too hasty,” Seth laughed kinda aggressively as he slapped Cal on the shoulder harder than necessary. “No need to go whoring yourself out, Cal, let’s just fuck the guy up and threaten his balls until he agrees to break it off. No cock sucking required.” “Sure,” Caleb agreed, blowing out a laugh as he glanced at Seth then looked to me quickly. “Not by the Masters chick anyway.” Seth smirked at him, and Max groaned loudly. “Stop flirting, you two, you’re just making me feel worse about my shit.”

“I can’t help it if all of my friends are stupidly hot and I like to suck the odd dick from time to time,” he said innocently. “But if you guys ever wanna ditch the girl drama and build a sausage heavy harem then I wouldn’t take a whole lot of convincing,” he said, his gaze falling to my bare chest for a moment before he looked at Cal again and winked. “Right. Well, as much as I like brunettes, I’m currently hooked on one who needs us to chase her into a cage and drug her, so shall we get on with that?”

“I am more concerned about practicality than flamboyance,” Mildred scoffed at some comment Marguerite had made. “The main thing that matters is that it comes off easily for our wedding night so that I can produce a fine Dragon Heir for the next generation of Acruxes-” My fist snapped out so suddenly that I wasn’t even certain when I’d decided to strike her, but as my knuckles collided with her bristly jaw, a dark smile pulled at my lips and the shadows in me stirred with hunger.

An enormous roar broke through the air, drawing my gaze skyward as a golden Dragon five times the size of Mildred dove from the sky and collided with her. I sucked in a breath of fright as my gaze fell on Darius and the echoes of a thousand tortures bit into my flesh. Memories of pain and suffering surfaced in me at the sight of him and the fight went out of me as I pulled the shadows close defensively.

“Well shit, babe, if I’d realised what a turn on the shadows clearly are to you, maybe I would have understood why you love them so fucking much,” Seth’s voice broke through the heady fog of the dark power within me and my lip curled back as I looked to the right of the path where he was standing between the trees butt naked and holding a leaf over his cock which didn’t even come close to hiding it. “Made you look,”

He grabbed a pair of black sweatpants from a chest at the side of the room then turned to face me, his face pinched in pain like he wasn’t happy to find me here. But that made no damn sense.

“Will you let me heal you?” he asked, his voice tight and rough. “No,” I growled because if there was one thing that could make my situation worse right now, I knew that it would be allowing him to lay his hands on me. All Darius Acrux ever caused me was pain and even just looking at him now made my chest ache with the memory of lightning slamming into my body and burning me alive from the inside out.

“Caleb,” I breathed, looking up at him through the bars as he turned to look at me in surprise. “I don’t want him near me,” I said, glancing at Darius whose posture stiffened at my words. “That’s just the shadows talking,” Caleb growled firmly, giving Darius a look I couldn’t read, but the Dragon clearly could because he clenched his jaw then stalked towards me.

“Roxy,” Darius growled, dropping down into a crouch and looking in at me with his brow creasing. “Please stop looking at me like that.”

“Like you think I’m about to attack you. I fucking love you, Roxy,” he growled. “Why the hell would you think I’m going to try and do something to cause you pain?”

Memories of that stone room echoed around my mind. Of the jars of lightning and the metal tools that had carved into my flesh over and over. Darius had done that to me. It was all Darius. Every time I thought of him or woke calling for him in the night or screamed his name while begging for his help, that was what I’d gotten in return. He’d never come for me. He’d abandoned me to that fate. I couldn’t let him take me. I wouldn’t.

“Back up,” Max growled, his hand landing on Geraldine’s arm and tugging her back a step as she sobbed. “She’s freaking out and she’s about to lose control of her Order form.” “Shit,” Seth cursed and he caught Caleb’s wrist as he pulled him back too.