Sorrow and Starlight (Zodiac Academy, #8)

by Caroline Peckham

All Phoenixes shall be my adversaries from this day forth, and I shall twist their fates so they fail in all endeavours, their lives will be full of sorrow, and there will be no way out until the promise is kept. Either that, or their Order shall fall, and no more will ever walk this earth.”

“Fear the Bonded men!” he blurted to me. “The night the Hydra bellows is coming, and fate has shifted! We must get word to the others, we must tell them that-”

Two Phoenixes, born of fire, rising from the ashes of the past. The wheel of fate is turning, and the Dragon is poised to strike. But blood of the deceiver may change the course of destiny. Beware the man with the painted smile who lingers close to your side. Turn the scorned. Free the enslaved. Fear the Bonded men. Many will fall for one to ascend. Suffer the curse. The hunter will pay the price. Do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Keep the broken promise. Mend the rift. All that hides in the shadows is not dark. Blood will out. Seal your fate. Choose your destiny.

My mind felt like it was being cleaved in two as I refused that all-powerful magic which bound me to Lavinia, and I was breathless from the small progress I’d made in moving away from her.

And it was time I stepped up and started playing my part in it.

With my eyes lined in kohl and my lips deepest red,

hot

I placed the glittering silver and blue tiara on my head and smirked in that obnoxious way which had never once failed to get a rise out of him as I felt a prickle of something stirring in the air, the ghost of a memory trailing down my spine like fingertips.

My gaze remained pinned to his back, watching as the four women who were his family stilled at his approach before breaking, the eldest of the daughters running for him with a choked sob, her arms wide. The others followed and within moments, all of them were clinging to him as he sank to his knees between them, murmuring praise to fate for finally shining on him and reuniting them at last. His wife fell on him with sobs, kissing him between prayers to the shadows and swearing she had known he would one day return to them.

Seth shifted beside me, and I looked to him, my eyes falling down his body instantly, tracing the defined curves of his abs before dropping to his cock. Flashes of memory spun through me of the two of us alone, mouths meeting, hands wandering, passion burning-

offering a peace sign which instantly froze my blood in my veins.

LOL

I considered shooting after him and showing him what a real predator looked like.

“No,” I snarled. “I won’t. He’s mine.”

Max rolled his eyes at the two of us and headed into the en suite, muttering something about a public shit being less uncomfortable than this as he went.

lmao

his eyes but falling still a mere breath from him instead, my hand snapping out to grip his throat.

The sound of the toilet flushing reached us, and Max returned to the room, a scowl passing over his face as he looked from me to Seth.

HE KNOWSSSS

Though as I thought of my own unrequited love for him, I knew I would take any pain and more for him.

“Sometimes feelings are only obvious to the people experiencing them.

seth and caleb’s problem

“We discussed it briefly,” Leon said with a shrug. “And we decided to bet on the savage horses. You guys just seem kinda flappy since the other one died. Didn’t seem like the right choice. No offence.”

ouch

and nothing is risked on account of my worthless existence.”

“Enough, we need to go,” he said firmly, and I fell under the spell of that deliciously dominant voice he kept using with me lately.

Caleb and jolting as our hands brushed. His little finger curled around mine for the briefest of eternities, and I forgot how to draw air into my lungs, but then our hands parted again and I wasn’t sure it had even happened.

stop

But I was a willing sacrifice, walking into the shrine of unrequited love and handing him a knife so he could cut out the pounding muscle in my chest and devour it whole. I could think of no better end for my heart than one delivered by him anyway.

but I had every intention of finishing that fight with him later.

please do

Caleb dropped down beside me, his hand found mine in the dark and warmth spread up my arm and deep into my heart.

“The so-called youngsters in this room have fought and bled for this war,” Max snarled. “We’ve seen death and mayhem unlike anything you’ve ever experienced in your cushy office jobs. We’ve fought alongside friend and foe alike and lost more than just those we loved along the way. We’ve sacrificed our souls to this cause, pieces of us fracturing and breaking off with every heinous act we are forced to commit in the name of fighting against Lionel’s tyranny and oppression. Meanwhile, the three of you spent years sitting across tables from him, turning a blind eye to any signs of what he was up to behind closed doors. He didn’t just seize this opportunity when the Shadow Princess crossed over into our realm – he’s been plotting this for years. He was Dark Coercing your fucking king, the man you were all sworn to serve and protect at all costs, and you didn’t even see it. So don’t try to talk down to Roxanya Vega now that she is standing there before you, bloodied and broken from everything that has been stolen from her thanks to all

of those failures. You should be on your knees begging her forgiveness.”

Caleb drummed his fingers on the table, looking from the shame-faced ex-Councillors to me, arching a brow as if asking ‘what now?’

My heart. To you.

we just vigilantly kept this treehouse secret and returned here late each night like we were hiding it from everyone.

and in a flash of speed that had my head spinning, he vanished inside and returned a beat later, placing my own coffee into my hands while not having spilled a drop from either mug.

He slid his arm over my shoulders, pulling me close and snapping a photo of us and I flashed a Wolfy smile at the last second, so I wasn’t pouting in the picture. He added it to the post and started typing something out, moving away from me so I couldn’t see.

Rosalie Oscura half threw Seth into the room.

captain of the ship

I neighed with the thrill of reuniting with them,

My wings flexed once more, fully responding to my will and I neighed wildly, happiness pouring through me like purest sunlight. I made it to the clouds, then tucked my wings and spun, letting myself plummet towards the earth where the crowd was hollering, and Tyler was recording my every move.

I began to glow, all of me, head to foot sparkling like I was made of freaking starlight,

🥹🥹

I could still feel Darius somewhere close, eyes bright and his smile set on me, and my mother’s presence joined him too, just for a moment, the touch of her hand grazing my

cheek.

She was his BFF BJ buddy.” He flashed me a peace sign, like that meant anything, then carried on.

i can’t do this😭 dudes still trying to save himself from that

I knew that Stella had taken it from me and bound it to herself instead,

i retract my anger for the moment

“I don’t need magic, I have fury and my mother’s sword.”

damn right you do darcy

my Queen.”

I may have been deep in the ashes now

“from the ashes, phoenixes rise”

There was a presence at my back, footsteps hounding my own. But I didn’t turn. Because I knew who was stalking me into the dark, and I had always enjoyed his brand of violence best.

My fingers slipped deeper into the light, and it poured out of the Shadow Beast in a flood, slamming into my chest with such force that I was thrown to the floor at the monster’s side. The light rushed all over my body like it was kissing me hello, then dove deep into my chest.

YES DARCY. GET YOUR MAGIC BACK!!!!!!!!!!

Then it swept towards me, and I opened my arms wide to embrace it, the bird diving into the furthest regions of my chest and reuniting with my soul.

oh wow. i wish i could actually see this in a movie

I was me again. Whole, and unbreakable. And no shadow would ever find its way into my body from this day until my last.

A phrase from the prophecy circled in my head and I wondered if this could be its meaning. Free the enslaved.

Wolfman: Okay FINE it was a lie. But would anyone be bothered by that if she DID shrink her tits??? Bitey C: Whatever makes her happy. Wolfman: Oh I get it. It alllllll makes sense now. Bitey C: What does? And is anyone actually going to get here because I could have run fifty laps of the island by now. Wolfman: **pancake emoji** **wolf emoji**

He threw a look at Caleb whose expression turned volcanic.

“I think he’s got the zoomies,” Caleb said with a smirk,

that’s so cute