Sorrow and Starlight (Zodiac Academy, #8)

by Caroline Peckham

Two glittering, lilac Pegasus wings with a rainbow sheen were lying on the floor behind him and my stomach knotted in horror as I recognised them as Xavier’s.

I had the terrifying feeling that there was nothing on this earth that could ever fix her again.

my chest compressing with relief as I gazed into the eyes of my dearest friend.

knowing I couldn’t do this without him. This, life, anything.

“Darius knows where we are. He’ll come back.”

oh my baby

Seth dove on him, hugging him tight and licking Caleb’s cheek. I ran over to them, and Seth yanked me into the fold of their arms, all of us clinging to one another, the power of our unit missing just one vital piece. Seth whimpered anxiously, still pawing at Caleb’s golden curls and nuzzling my neck.

It wasn’t true. There was no world that I could conceive of without him in it. The four of us were blood-bound brothers, we would remain that way until the end of our days which would not come any time soon.

A body hit the bed beside me, Seth’s earthy scent offering the smallest measure of comfort as I rolled towards him, my hand finding his, our fingers winding together and our faces turning towards each other on the soft pillows. I pressed my forehead to his as Tiberius guided me into sleep, and even though the world had just fallen apart beneath me and cut me adrift into an endlessly dark sky, I found myself tethered by my grip on Seth’s hand, one tiny point of light amid a sea of misery.

i’m going to cry

My mouth was on his before I could think of anything else, my tongue breaching the barrier of his lips as I shoved him back against the wall,

I’d just found a rival to his blood for my favourite taste in the entire world.

OH?

“Too much,” he breathed. “I want you too fucking bad and I can’t help it. Can’t stop it. I’m yours to do whatever you want with. I’m your fucking Wolf, Cal, and the thought of making you mine is too much to bear.”

Seth tightened his jaw and gave me the most aggressive peace sign I had ever seen in my life.

bye

I housed in that safe, every heirloom and jewel, every single piece.

tory vega >>>

For you, my dearest friend and lifelong companion. Our blood was made to spill on each other’s battlefields.

something that could never mix with the Heirs.

glad he never listened

but that feeling was momentarily rekindled, and I wondered if I might have been a part of their group in some way if we’d just been normal kids living normal lives.

“Listen to me, Blue. I loved you when your soul shone with all the starlight in the night sky, and I’ll love you now when your soul is the blackest you’ve ever known. I will love you whole and I’ll love you in pieces. It doesn’t matter, light or dark, I am here. That is what mates are for. It’s what I’m made to be for you by the stars themselves, so stop trying to shut me out.”

That girl was one of a kind.

she *is*. i hate that they don’t know

“A gift, Libra, son of the hunter, for there must be a balance. A light to counter the dark. Your bond will be safeguarded with starlight from this day forward.”

“Then I will find a way to tear my own magic from my flesh and join you in the mortal world,” I said, the words falling easily from my tongue. “Where you go, I will follow. Have I not made that clear enough to you yet?”

it’s giving “to whatever end”

So this was it. Destiny had come calling for my soul. What a dastardly end to endure.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Geraldine, of course he saw you. You’re one of the most important people in this whole damn

aww🥹

Caleb hissed at them to leave it and surprisingly, they backed down.

But the year Hail brought your mother back from Voldrakia, Merissa used her magic to alter the throne

i appreciate him sm for using their names and not disrespecting them

knowing I would rewrite it later, with me in her place.

I glanced at Caleb who was looking at me with heat in his eyes,

Because he was her anchor now. Her rock in a stormy sea. And that didn’t hurt. Not even a little.

“Right now, I can’t even see a glimmer of happiness in my future.”

ugh they’re both so STUPID

I wasn’t a Pegasus anymore,

Perhaps I should have killed myself before Lionel took me, because if they could find a way to wield my visions against my family, I was the reason they might find themselves in early graves.

“I love you, Gabriel. You’re my little star, my guiding light.”

“Yeah, I hear what you’re saying loud and clear,” Orion said. “You’re Lavinia’s little bitch.”

The ruby pendant which hung from my neck seemed to heat beyond even the power of the flames,

Like he was there,

i bet he really is 🥲

And I had no right to feel better. I didn’t want to smile again,

poor baby

“I wanna destroy something,” I said, my hands fisting tightly and magic rising to the edges of my skin. “I want the world to look like it looks inside my head.”

Tyler and Sofia called out to me, and I cast a silencing bubble so I couldn’t hear them anymore, needing to fall into oblivion on my own. I didn’t want them to watch me crack, didn’t want their words of pity.

A breath seemed to brush against my neck,

Only ether commands the true power, and those who learn to master its call can learn to master the world itself and all those who exist within it.

“Good luck with all that. I’m out.”

“If you have to go, please be the last one. Please stay until the end. I can’t lose you. Not you.”

The war was still raging. And Geraldine and the A.S.S. hadn’t wasted a single moment despite facing their own losses and pain. They were gathering intelligence, rallying for the next strike.

I glanced down at Tory, taking in the sharpness of her cheekbones and the haunted expression in her ferocious gaze. I could tell why Geraldine was fussing.

Lionel threw an arm up to shield himself, but he was too late, the thick white glue splattering him from head to foot, the iridescent glitter sparkling in the lights as he bellowed a furious roar.

HAHAHAHH

unveiling the various croissants and pain au chocolat I had baked in the shape of all his favourite sea creatures.

awww🥹

I pushed his pants down and sank down upon his Long Sherman, silencing his complaints, his groans filling the air and mixing like a cocktail with my own, giving into the delights of my petunia. I wetted my hand with my water Element, then slapped him this way and that across his cheeks, making him growl like a gunderghoul.

did not expect this side of gerry

“True, I love thee in return, despite your Heirsome flaws, your roots grown from a mighty tree of anti-royalists, and your muckly lineage.”

“Or maybe a shrew,” I said with a frown. “Darius used to call me that.”

I tried to ignore how much those words hurt.

His frowny features lifted a little. “You know I get hard over you ordering me about.”