Sorrow and Starlight (Zodiac Academy, #8)

by Caroline Peckham

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 was a brother chosen for me by fate. He was one of the only good things in this forsaken world the stars had offered me, and now they’d taken him away without even offering me a chance to say goodbye.

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

“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.”

I would love him here and now, tomorrow and always. Wherever I went, wherever the stars took me, that love would never die. Even if I did.

“You are the most precious thing in this world to me. Stop tempting fate to come and steal you away.

“Not a possession, no. But you are mine. You were mine before we met, and mine the minute we locked eyes. You are mine in this life, and every life we may experience from this point forward. You are mine in every reality you exist, and mine in every reality you don’t. And I am yours in kind, in every way you can imagine. I will gladly be your possession, but I will also be your guardian, your keeper, your protector. And I will do whatever I can to turn you away from danger, because it is impossible for me not to.”

I made sure to toss a peace sign at the first guy I spotted just in case he was watching me go. The guy in question turned out to be a Nemean Lion Shifter who was in the middle of demonstrating the way he was able to lick his own ass, so that was just great.

Lucy Burfoot: I’m a #mareforAltair and I don’t care! #whipmeandwatchmeneighneigh #getyourspangledangleinmywangle #hotforthetrot Hannah Maye: I’d let you gobble me up if you found me wandering in the woods Seth #bigbadwolf #littleredridingwhore

You always did say Professor Orion was – oh what was the word – dashing?” “I didn’t call him dashing,” I balked. “Who the fuck uses that word?”

“This really isn’t the time for marital bickering,” he warned. “It’s not marital if we’re not married,” I pointed out. “We will be married,” Orion said in a growl. “Says who?” I balked. “Says me,” he snapped. “I will wed you the moment this war is over.”

“You will marry me.” “You know, people usually ask someone if they want to marry them, not just command it,” I whispered. “You’re already mated to me by the stars, what’s there to ask?” “Just because we’re mated doesn’t mean you get to skip a proposal.”

And don’t act like you’re not dying for a Seth snuggle,” I said with a hint of a smirk around my lips. “Actually, I think I’ll go back to the cage,” he deadpanned.

“Let’s get into the sky so we can see better.” I moved behind him, hooking my arms beneath his and drawing him tight against my chest. “Is this our Titanic moment?”

When all hope hinges on a promise forged of lies, Beware the threaded minds of blood and chaos. Unlikely friends and broken bonds may shift the tide, Cleave open the walls of the lost in the depths of the unholy night. Unleash the souls tethered in the tainted dark, Unite the rising twelve and toll the bells of fate.