“You’re making it sound so boring,” Caleb muttered. “But you are right about one thing. You can’t stop me.”
“Yet,” I replied icily and the word hung between the three of us in the silence of the cave for a moment.
“Confident little thing aren’t you?” Seth murmured as he took a step towards me.
I held my ground despite the fact that every fibre of my being was urging me to run. The green glow of the central cavern was still visible beyond them and I couldn’t help but glance that way, wondering if I could make it back.
“I think this little Vega needs reminding who she’s up against,” Seth purred, running his hand down Caleb’s back.
Caleb’s deep blue eyes sparkled with excitement and I half considered yelling for help. Geraldine and the others were still out there with Darcy and the Heirs had waited for me to isolate myself from them before they’d pounced. Perhaps The A.S.S would be able to help me escape this situation but I hesitated before I could form the word. Screaming for help like a damsel in distress was just so not me. I wanted to face off against these assholes and come out on top, I just couldn’t figure out how.
Before I could decide on how much my pride meant to me, Caleb shot forward and wrenched me off of my feet. He tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and raced further into the tunnel as if I didn’t weigh a thing.
I cursed and hit him, trying to make him put me down as he shot along with the unnatural speed of his Order.
We made it into a wide space that glowed with blue and silver light and Caleb came to a halt. I could hear Seth howling with excitement back in the tunnel we’d left behind but Caleb’s speed had separated us from him.
Caleb set me on my feet with a boyish grin that almost could have made me believe he wasn’t a total bastard. Ignore the dimples, Tory, he’s an award winning dickasaurus.
“You’re stupidly strong,” I grumbled as I pushed myself out of his grip and glanced at the cave he’d brought me to. We were standing on a ledge high above a sea of sparkling stalagmites which looked sharp enough to impale anyone unlucky enough to fall the ten meters down onto them. I shifted away from the edge uneasily.
“I am,” Caleb agreed, smirking like that was meant to be a compliment. “And that’s only my second best attribute.”
“What’s your best?” I asked automatically, wondering why I was even bothering to get into a conversation with him.
“That would involve us ditching our clothes,” he said, his voice dipping in pitch suggestively and making my traitorous blood flare with heat for a moment.
I glanced at his broad shoulders and mischievous eyes for all of half a second before I turned away, refusing to be blinded to his asshole nature by the pretty shell which housed it. Why do I have such terrible taste in men?
“Well I won’t be putting that claim to the test,” I assured him dismissively. “Why have you brought me here?”
“I thought you might like a look at the view,” he said, prowling towards me with purpose in his gaze.
I glanced at the dizzying drop of doom beside me and shifted further from it again. “Er, yeah. It’s great, thanks. But I really should be getting back to my lesson.”
“Don’t you want a closer look?” Caleb pressed, closing the distance between us once more.
“I can see it just fine from here,” I insisted, trying to keep my tone level.
Running footsteps approached and Seth burst from the tunnel behind us with a howl which echoed off of the cave walls so loudly that I glanced up at the stalactites which hung from the roof with concern.
“Like the view, little Vega?” he asked, shaking his long hair around his head like a dog driving water from its fur.
I looked between the two Heirs for any hint that they might be about to back off but the excitement which danced between them gave me my answer.
“I think she needs a closer look,” Seth said, stepping forward.
“Yeah, you can’t really appreciate it from way back here,” Caleb agreed.
Holy shit on a starfish.
My mind whirled with some way out of this but before I could think of a single thing, Caleb shot towards me, shoving my chest so that I was thrown towards the edge.
I fell backwards, a scream escaping me as the sea of razor sharp rocks winked at me with promises of my death.
Two hands caught mine before I could tumble to my doom and my heart leapt as my sneakers scrambled for purchase on the crumbling lip of the ledge. They didn’t pull me up but laughed as I hung at their mercy, my back to the terrifying drop below.
“Pull me up,” I demanded but my voice came out like more of a plea as fear sped through me.
They grinned at me with twin smiles of beautiful devils and I clung to their hands with all of my strength as they held me in limbo.
“Solaria has been much better off since the Vegas left the throne to the Celestial Families,” Seth growled. “Since our parents took up the throne that yours left cold, our world has been a better place. We don’t need you to come back here and claim it for yourselves. We don’t want you to.”
“We didn’t ask for this,” I breathed, my heart pounding at the thought of the drop beneath me. “We don’t want it. You can keep your stupid throne and your power!”
“That’s a beautiful offer, sweetheart, but it doesn’t change the facts,” Caleb said, his tone suggesting we were having a casual chat and no one was in imminent danger of death. “Your blood-right means the throne belongs to you so long as you prove yourself capable of taking it. And there are enough people who would support your claim to cause a civil war over it.”
“But we don’t want it!” I spluttered, trying and failing to keep my cool. “How can anyone seriously expect us to rule over a nation we know nothing about? It’s insane!”
It could have been the dim light in the chamber but for a moment I could have sworn that Caleb’s features softened a little. I hurried to continue while there was a glimmer of hope that he was listening to me.
“Look, all we want is to learn how to control this magic inside us and get our inheritance. That’s it. We grew up with no one and nothing. Before we came here we weren’t even sure if we were going to be able to keep a roof over our heads for the winter! I swear we have zero interest in claiming any throne or taking your places.”
Seth and Caleb exchanged a look but I couldn’t read what they meant by it in their expressions.
“I say we drop her,” Seth said with a shrug of his powerful shoulder which made me lurch beneath him.
My grip on them tightened with panic and my magic swirled like a tempest within me. But if I wanted to attempt to use it, I was going to have to release my grip to free my hands and there was no way in hell I was taking that risk.
Caleb’s lips twitched with amusement and panic engulfed me as I began to wonder if they might truly let me fall. No one had seen them take me down here. They could leave and pretend they’d never seen me, let someone else discover my body dashed to pieces on the rocks below.
But I wasn’t going to let them rule my fate like that. I was born a fighter and if there was even the slightest chance that I could get myself out of this then I was going to do it.
I drew on everything I’d learned about Coercion during my practice sessions with Darcy and Sofia. Sure, I’d only managed to execute a handful of simple commands and I’d never even attempted to batter my way past mental defences as strong as the Heirs were sure to have but it was my only shot. And hopefully they wouldn’t even be expecting me to try. I took my fear and helplessness and coiled it into a desperate little ball which I imbued with my utter need to escape this situation. The words pressed against my throat, brimming with power just aching to be set free as I opened my mouth.
“Pull me up,” I demanded, my tone fierce and imbued with power.
To my complete and utter shock, Caleb and Seth heaved me up over the edge to safety.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I scr
ambled away from them as their faces fell in shock at what I’d just done.
“Shit,” Seth muttered, eyeing me like he didn’t know whether to attack or retreat.
“I told you how strong they were,” Caleb growled, his navy eyes glowing with the new challenge I presented.
“Stay away from me,” I said, my tone dark.
They both hesitated, exchanging a loaded look before Caleb’s mouth hooked up to one side.
“Nice try sweetheart, but you aren’t going to slip past our defences so easily a second time.” He shot towards me before I had the chance to respond and his teeth slid into my neck as he drew me against his body.
I tried to pull my magic to me again so that I could fight him off but as soon as he started feeding, I couldn’t lay claim to it. I was at his mercy once more but at least I’d managed one act of defiance against them.
Seth moved closer and brushed his fingers against my arm for a moment. As soon as his fingers touched my flesh, a deep growl sounded from the back of Caleb’s throat and his grip on me tightened.
My heart leapt and Caleb’s fingers knotted in my hair as his other hand gripped my waist, dragging me against the hard lines of his body. My own hands had made it to his arms, the tight press of his biceps unyielding beneath my fingers. It was almost like we were locked in an embrace, if I could just ignore the teeth which were lodged in my throat. Which I really couldn’t.
“Sorry,” Seth said with a smirk, taking a step back.
Caleb relaxed marginally as he finished feeding on me and finally stepped away.
“Don’t touch my Source while I’m feeding,” Caleb muttered irritably, shooting a dark glance at Seth.
Seth grinned at the challenge in his tone and I felt like a bone being fought over by a pair of dogs. The idea of it made me grit my teeth in anger.
“I’m still here, assholes,” I snapped, though I instantly wondered why I’d thought that drawing their attention back to me was a good idea.
“You know I’m not going to bite her, what’s the big deal?” Seth asked innocently, ignoring me.
Caleb flexed his muscles for a moment and I felt like I was looking at the raw essence of their differences. They may have been bonded like family but rubbing along together despite the differences in their Orders was obviously an issue now and then. I wondered if there was any way that I could use that against them but before I could give it any real consideration, Caleb cracked a smile.
“I just don’t want your paws all over my food while I eat,” he teased, bumping his shoulder against Seth’s in a way that was mostly playful but still knocked him back a step.
“Wanna go finish this lesson with a contest?” Seth asked excitedly, his eyes flashing with a challenge.
“Only if you don’t mind getting your ass whipped,” Caleb countered.
The two of them ran off through the tunnels without even sparing me another glance and I stared after them in surprise as Seth’s howls echoed off of the walls around me.
Somehow I’d managed to escape that interaction fairly unscathed and I could only hope that I could say the same next time.
IT WAS OUR first Friday night at Zodiac and it felt like the entire school had plans. I watched from my floor-length vertical window in Aer Tower as students wound along the paths, laughing and talking as they headed who-knew-where for the evening. Probably somewhere better than here.
Sofia was sat at my desk re-reading her lesson notes from the day while Diego sat against a wall playing some depressing music on his Atlas. Tory was slumped on the bed, looking as bored as me.
“I wish we could go out,” I complained. “I feel like all we ever do is avoid the Heirs.”
“Agreed.” Tory sat upright with a sigh. “Plus they've probably got better things to be doing on a Friday night than hunting us down so it's not like we have to hide tonight.”
“So where can we go?” I pleaded, bouncing on my heels at the idea.
“The Orb?” Sofia suggested, looking up from her Atlas.
Tory threw herself back down on the bed with a dramatic groan in answer.
“We could go off campus?” Diego suggested, killing the morose tune which had made me wanna jump out of the window since he’d started it.
“Off campus?” I asked, my stomach fluttering at the idea.
“How?” Tory demanded, her eyes bright.
“I have a car.” Diego shrugged and I jumped up and down.
“Yes! Let's go.” I ran forward, grabbing his hand and leaning back as far as I could to make him get up.
He grinned, adjusting his beanie hat as I released his hand. His unusually blue eyes glinted with excitement. “I'll go get the keys.”
“Give us like....half an hour?” Tory said, springing to her feet and hounding toward Sofia. She pulled her dark blonde hair away from her shoulders and grinned conspiratorially. “Make-over time.”
“What?” Sofia squeaked.
I beamed, moving to the wardrobe where the beautiful clothes Tory had ordered me were hanging.
I tossed out some jeans and tops as Diego shook his head at us and opened the door. “You’d better mean half an hour and not two hours.”
We were so excited to go, we were knocking on Diego's door twenty minutes later. Tory and I both wore jeans and heels – hers were way higher than mine. I was as clumsy as a brick but the occasion called for the slingbacks and besides, it felt like summer had returned for one last evening before fall and I wanted to go all out for it. The floaty black cami I wore and lacy bralette felt so good after a week in uniform.
Tory's deep blue cami was low cut and she had a grin on her face that said she was in party mode. Sofia was smiling from ear to ear, her slim figure looking incredible in a navy maxi dress I'd leant her. She'd kept her school pumps on as I hadn't had shoes in her size and she'd let us style her hair. It was flicked edgily about her shoulders and her wide eyes looked even bigger now they were painted with eyeliner.
Diego opened the door dressed in a blue flannel shirt and jeans, his beanie hat still in place. His fair eyes bypassed Tory and I, landing on Sofia instead. His mouth hooked up at the corner and she turned bright pink.
I shared a look with Tory and we started grinning as Diego cleared his throat and stepped into the corridor. “Let's go then, chicas,” he said, leading the way.
We headed across campus and I soaked in the last of the sun as it sank toward the horizon, casting amber tones across the entire sky.
Someone whistled at us and I glanced over my shoulder, spotting a group of guys grinning at our asses. “Hey Vegas, wanna come sit on my throne?” one of them called.
Tory put her middle finger up and I snorted a laugh, turning away from them.
“This school is full of assholes,” Diego muttered, shooting a glare at them over his shoulder.
“What does that make us?” I teased.
“Losers?” he suggested and a laugh escaped me.
“Well I’d rather be a loser than an asshole.” I shrugged.
I’d never had many friends in my old schools anyway. We’d moved around too much when we were younger and I’d learned not to get close to anyone after a while. It was always a doubly whammy. Our foster parents would give us up and we’d get hauled out of school and dumped in the next town over. Tory had always dealt with it better than me. But my heart had been on lock-down for years. I didn’t want to get too comfortable in one place, knowing I’d be ripped away from it soon enough.
We wound down the path toward The Orb and a squeal announced Geraldine's arrival before I saw her.
“Oh no,” I breathed.
“Don't tell her we're going out,” Tory hissed.
“Jiminy Christmas!” She pounced on us and her hair flew about her in a fan – wait, is that blue dye in the end of it???
“Are you going out?” she asked excitedly. “I was just about to catch the shuttle, we can all go together!”
“Er...actually we were just going to The Orb,” I said, fee
ling a bit shitty about lying.
Her eyes cast down our clothes to our high heels. “Oh, well you look amazing. Maybe I'll catch you tomorrow? Breakfast at seven thirty?”
“Well-” Tory started but Geraldine waved a hand.
“It's no bother, see you then your majesties!” She jogged away along the path and I sighed.
“Seven thirty on a Saturday?” Tory huffed. “No chance.”
“Come on, let's go before she realises we lied.” Diego turned left, swerving past Jupiter Hall and into Earth Territory.
We headed through The Wailing Wood, following a paved path all the way out to the edge of campus. A glint of light caught my eye between the trees and we followed Diego toward it into a clearing.
The parking lot rose up several levels inside a glass dome that reflected the tones of the colourful sunset. I caught glimpses of the gleaming cars peeking out beyond the glass walls and anticipation inched into me.
Diego gained entry to the building by tapping something on his Atlas and the glass door slid open.
Inside, the air smelled like new leather and car fumes. The lot circled up in a perfect spiral and we soon arrived in front of a massive black jeep with tinted windows.
“Woah is this your car?” I asked.
“Um no,” Diego said awkwardly, stepping past the huge vehicle and pointing.
We moved around the jeep and I bit down on my lip as I spotted the beat-up, rusted red hatchback before us. “Oh, well this is great too,” I said, trying to save face.
Well done, idiot.
“At least you don't have to worry about anyone stealing it.” Tory tried not to laugh and I poked her in the ribs, a giggle escaping me.
“It will get us from A to B.” Diego shrugged, but the crease on his forehead said how embarrassed he was.
“That's all we want,” I said brightly and Sofia nodded keenly, brushing his arm.
He muttered something inaudible as he dropped into the driver's seat and I took the passenger one beside him.
Sofia and Tory sat in the back and we waited as it took Diego a couple of painful tries to get the car going.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening: An Academy Bullymance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts Book 1) Page 23
