Sorrow and Starlight (Zodiac Academy, #8)

by Caroline Peckham

I thought of the falling star which had torn through the sky during the battle, the one I had chased to this lonely corner of the world.

“Remember to own your actions. When wielding a weapon greater than any should call their own, only the strength of your heart can guide it, only the power of your will can contain it. Know yourself and own every piece of who you are. I am sure you won’t ever fail the way I have,” my father called to me.

“Your soul is bound to mine,” I breathed against his mouth, even though I knew he was no longer there to hear my words, but a dark and unknown energy seemed to stir the air itself at that vow. “And I won’t rest until I make every star in the heavens fall for trying to cleave us apart.”

I had never wanted to be a queen. But now a crown of flames would ignite like a funeral pyre upon my brow, and my one and only decree would be to seek out the end to all who had crossed me, and make them scream as they were forced to bow at my feet.

“Darius Vega is the greatest Dragon who ever lived,” I spoke loud and clear, making Lionel fall deathly still.

“Maybe there’s more adventures waiting for us beyond the stars,” he murmured

I cursed them and I swore to rip my fate from their clutches no matter the cost to me or my soul. I’ll see them burn, Caleb. And I’ll find him again in this life or the next before I’m done.”

“It is time for my release,” the star whispered

“All stars fall. My time has come

“You are shadow cursed, a mortal you shall soon be.” I winced from those words, the pure certainty of them cutting me deep.

“Cruelty is a construct of Fae, not us. When we are perched within the sky, we are neither good nor bad. We see all, we offer answers, we guide and gift, but we may take and destroy if the choices made below us invoke it.”

“Clydinius wants you to keep the broken promise, warrior of the Vega line.”

“It is time for my end. My death is the gift of Fae, a gift all stars offer in their demise. It is why magic lives in your world, for my magic is your magic.”

He might have been younger than me by a few years, but our friendship had always been encouraged since we were kids. I’d seen him take his first steps, had caught him when he’d fallen, and he’d always been one of the best friends I’d ever had. I couldn’t explain it, but it was like we were meant to be friends, and it made me think of something Aunt Catalina had told me once – back when she’d seemed a bit nicer.

“Is that a Blood Tome?”

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

“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.”

“My surname isn’t Columba anymore. I’m not a dove, I’m a hunter. An Orion. I am your family whether you want me or not.”

“Why is there a whistling ass in that pile of rocks?!”

When the meteor shower is at its fullest, magic awakes and sets the throne roaring with the voice of the creature itself

But there was no denying the truth that if the moon and stars offered me one, unconditional wish, it would always be him.

“R.U.M.P.?” Seth demanded furiously. “So now we’re all just asses on the rump? I told you she’d do this.

“Little Red Riding Hood was an Orderist piece of shit murderer who killed her grandma when she found out she was a Werewolf and not a Medusa like she’d believed,” Caleb said, looking disgusted.

but Darius’s little brother slowly stopped kicking his legs, hanging there like a limp dick instead as he sailed overhead.

“He looks like he’s about to be fed to a T-rex,” I said to Max who burst out laughing

“Take me to Davy Jones’ Locker, and plunder my treasure chest with your sea cucumber.”

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-”

Dogs are cute, like your little lap dog, Seth, but I’m-” “Ohmagod,” I gasped, cutting over him. “You just said Seth is cute.” His eyes widened in horror. “No,”

A spell to bind the shadows within the subject to prevent further summoning.

“Wait a second… I know this cast; Queen Avalon taught it to me and Tory. It’s a way to wield Phoenix fire to create an impenetrable barrier.

“You also swore you’d never see me as your queen,” I murmured to the man who wasn’t here. “So I’m willing to bet that this will make you all kinds of pissed.”

“You promised you’d stay,” I hissed at him, swiping at my cheeks in an effort to banish the tears which were ruining my view of him. “You promised you’d find me,” he replied, a dark and taunting grin on his lips which looked nothing like the smiles I remembered. “Tick tock, Roxy.”

“Ruiner of Destiny,”

“Then we will give you a path to take. One wicked and steeped in sin. One which might lead you to the answers you seek or which may end in your own departure from this world. Hope. Though only the briefest flicker of it, at that. Do we have a deal?” Their

I looked at Darius, the edges of his skin shining with a faint, golden light, proving him to be nothing more than a memory, and I did remember this.

There is only her. I should have known I was his that first moment I saw him, lounging on that red couch, draped in arrogance while he stole the air from every inch of the room. I should have known it when he was taunting and tormenting me, should have known when his eyes trailed me everywhere I went, and when I dreamt of him despite myself night after night. I’d been so fucking blind and so fucking stubborn, but I had been his throughout it all. “By the stars, I love you,” Darius groaned,

“But I think I’ve always been waiting for you, so maybe you’re right.”

In the heart of the Damned Forest, beyond the Waters of Depth and Purity, lies the Ever-Changing Winds of Sky and Spirit. The Endless Drop will take you through the Fires of the Abyss and beyond them, where the ether lies thickest, your answers await.

But it was Darius. I would go to the ends of the earth with her to bring him back if that was what it took, no price would be too steep.

“Are you all quite done posturing like a bunch of peacocks at a tea party?” Geraldine snapped, looking between us Heirs with narrowed eyes. Xavier and Tory shared a smirk at our expense, and I scoffed. “It’s not our fault we’re naturally radiant,” I said.

She was the only one of us who’d decided to wear full armour for this mission, and the sharp points of the metal encasing her tits nearly took out Xavier’s eye as she continued to spin and prance away.

“That’s the spirit, Twinkle Stud.” “What did you just call me?” I just smiled, knowing he’d heard and that he definitely loved it. You’re welcome, Twinkle Stud.

I moved to open the door, but Geraldine karate chopped my hand away from the handle with a ‘yah!’.

“Your unworthy paws cannot handle the intricacies of opening such a door.” Geraldine moved forward, raising a hand in a theatrical movement then slamming it down on the handle and opening the door like a normal fucking door.

“Hey, how come I have to ride in your arms like a baby? I’ll go on your back. Get down Geraldine.” I moved forward, grabbing her leg, but she kicked out like a new-born foal, her boot slamming into my dick.

I wasn’t being held like a baby at all – I was a motherfucking purse hanging limp beneath a grandma’s arm.

“Even almonds don’t like almonds. They’re the eggplant of the nut world,” I muttered. “Actually, I don’t think they’re even a true nut. I’m pretty sure they’re a seed posing as a nut. Fucking undercover little seedling bastards.”

I didn’t think a day would ever pass now when I wouldn’t think of it. I was changed, altered forevermore. Stars save me from the unholy demon vag.

To Raise the Trees of the Damned.