Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts)

by Caroline Peckham

  “What do you mean, dealt with?” I asked with a frown.

  Orion answered before she could. “Fae magic remains in its owner’s bones after they die. It can be wielded illegally by those who use dark magic.”

  My throat tightened at his words and I nodded, recalling how he’d told me him and his dad used to dig up graves to get hold of such things. And from the look on his face, I guessed Frannykins didn’t know about that little pastime or any other of his dark magic dealings. He turned to her as she ran her hand anxiously over her hair.

  “We’ll deal with it. Darius can destroy the bones,” Orion said firmly. “It’ll save you the bother.”

  “Are you sure?” Fran asked hopefully, looking at him like he was her knight in shining armour. And with the blade in his hand, I guessed he could pass. But he wasn’t her knight. He was mine.

  “Yeah, it’s not a problem,” Orion said, leading the way out the front door onto the overgrown lawn.

  Darius flew overhead and the air ruffled my hair as he shifted before diving through a window upstairs.

  “Thanks, Lance,” Fran said, moving forward to embrace him, her boobs firmly pressed against his chest. “See you soon, yeah? Maybe we can have a proper catch up at your place?” She grinned in a way that made my blood heat and a growl built at the base of my throat as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then she tossed a handful of stardust in the air and was gone before he could reply, disappearing into the ether.

  “Are you growling, Blue?” Orion taunted and I tossed my hair over my shoulder, schooling my expression.

  “Of course not.”

  He shot toward me in a blur, gripping my waist and grinning down at me. “Sounded like you were. In fact, I think you were about to go full Fae on Francesca.” His smile widened like that turned him on and I couldn’t help it when my own smile pulled at my mouth.

  “Sorry to break up the world’s most messed up parents’ evening, but we need to talk about those Nymphs,” Darius said as he appeared fully dressed in the entranceway, folding his arms as me and Orion broke apart.

  “They were acting weird alright,” Orion said in a dark tone.

  “What did they take?” I breathed.

  “Fuck knows,” Darius said. “But it can’t be good. This feels all kinds of wrong to me.”

  A beat of silence passed and Orion frowned as he released a breath then pointed at the house. “I told Francesca we’d deal with the body.”

  Darius raised a brow, a smirk pulling at his mouth. “Good thinking.”

  I followed them back into the house, glancing between the two of them with their cryptic expressions.

  I waited outside the stinking kitchen while they headed into the room with the dead body to burn it and pulled the Tarot card I’d found from my pocket with excitement fluttering through me. I created a Faelight, letting it hover above me so I could see it. The image was of The Tower, the grey walls rising up high from a dark forest below. From my studies, I knew the meaning of this could signify the end of a friendship or abandonment. I turned it over to read the curling silver lettering on the back of it, adrenaline sweeping through my veins.

  A fallen star, an empty grave, an eternal vow.

  Seek he who broke it.

  My heart juddered as I read it a couple more times, having no idea what it was referring to as I pushed it back into my pocket. I’d discuss it with Orion later. Maybe he’d have some clue of what it meant. Next, I took out the piece of paper I’d found with the body, my eyes scanning down the words.

  To whoever finds this note, these words are my last.

  There’s nothing left of my estate to give, the gold is gone, my bank account rests empty. May whatever I have return to dust, left to rot along with me.

  I have but a single piece of unfinished business left in my wake…

  Of all the dark possessions I ever owned, there was one which still binds me with the greatest of regrets. I hid it well, for as long as I could, but shadows surround it like they are called by its wicked power.

  And though I tried to destroy it to remove this artefact from the world which defies nature herself, its power was too great.

  In the end, I failed the only good deed I ever set my mind to.

  So that’s why I have sent it to a Fae who I know will keep it safe, bound in cloth, in a final act of hope before it fell into the wrong hands.

  Forgive me for my weakness, stars, but I could not stay in this world any longer. The darkness has claimed pieces of my soul for many years, it is time to put my demons to rest. And to whomever should find this, may the stars shine brightly on your fate. But heed this warning. If you have come here to sift through my worldly possessions in pursuit of this detestable object, I die in the hope that your quest will end here.

  No one should own this power.

  Not me.

  Not even you.

  Kraveen Dire

  I looked up with a tremor running through me as Orion and Darius returned to the hall, spotting a large pack slung over Darius’s shoulder. My brows pulled together as I pointed at it.

  “You’ve put that dead body in that bag, haven’t you?” I deadpanned.

  Darius and Orion exchanged a mirthful look then shrugged.

  “Waste not, want not,” Orion said lightly.

  “Don’t worry, Darcy, I was gentle about it,” Darius said with a dark smile. “I dried him out like beef jerky then folded him up like origami, didn’t I Lance?”

  “He did, it was very tasteful actually,” Orion mused and the two of them sniggered.

  I shook my head at them, trying to stop the smile that was fighting its way onto my lips. “Should I expect a lesson in bone magic soon then?”

  “I reckon Lance has been giving you plenty of bone lessons already, hasn’t he?” Darius quipped and a laugh tumbled from my throat. It was pretty weird to be standing here in this creepy ass house laughing, with him of all people.

  “Yes and this night has interrupted those lessons spectacularly so let’s get the fuck home,” Orion said, moving forward to take my hand.

  Home. That sounded like a real place at last. Not one that just lived in my dreams and fantasies. I really had a place I belonged. And he belonged right there with me.

  “Wait, look.” I handed Orion the note, figuring I could share this much with Darius. But I still didn’t trust him enough to share the card with him. “What do you think it means?” I asked as he finished reading and passed it to Darius.

  “I think it means…whatever the Nymphs came here to find, was already gone,” Orion said, a flicker of shadows in his eyes.

  “That’s good at least,” I breathed, a shudder winding its way into my flesh. “Because whatever Kraveen was hiding, it doesn’t sound good.”

  “No,” Orion agreed. “Not good at all.”

  “Who was he?” I asked. “You said he knew your father?”

  Orion nodded, a grave look pulling at his features. “I don’t know much about him. It was a long time ago, but he used to visit my home occasionally. He was a trader of magical objects, but his speciality was the black market. My father bought countless items from him.”

  “Do you think he’s the friend Kraveen mentions in his note?” Darius asked thoughtfully and I wondered if that was who Astrum was referring to in his card too.

  “Maybe.” Orion shrugged. “I don’t know how close they were on a personal level, but they often discussed business together whenever he visited.”

  “So whatever the Nymphs are looking for…maybe your dad had it,” I guessed, feeling like we were onto something important.

  “If my father had it, no doubt my wretched mother now has it. Either that or it’s still amongst his things in the basement.” Orion’s brows pulled together. “But until we know what it is, that’s not much use to us. I’m not exactly welcome at home these days. Although, I can get in if needs be.”

  “We can’t go searching for some mystery object blindly,” Darius commented. “What if we captur
e a Nymph and torture the information out of them?”

  My nose wrinkled as I looked to him. It wasn’t that I liked the Nymphs any more than the next Fae, but torturing one sounded pretty dark.

  “Not a bad idea,” Orion agreed, his gaze hooking on my neck for a moment. It took me a second longer to realise he was hungry and I casually shifted my hair over my shoulder in an offering.

  He licked his lips before darting forward, grabbing my waist and sinking his fangs into my throat. The pinch of pain was followed by the wave of his venom that immobilised my magic and I rested my hand on the back of his head as he took what he needed.

  When he stepped back, gently running his thumb across my neck to heal the wound, Darius looked between us with his jaw tight. We’d done it so many times by now, it was as normal as breathing. Orion kissed me gently in thanks and a smile lit my face that seemed to burn right through the dark surrounding us.

  “You two are…well, fuck the law for saying you can’t be together,” Darius said, folding his arms.

  My heart squeezed at his words and I saw so much pain in his eyes that I strode forward and wrapped my arms around him. It wasn’t that I’d forgiven him, or even that I was remotely convinced he was good enough for my sister. But maybe he could have been. Maybe if they’d made better choices, followed their hearts instead of their pride.

  “Fuck the stars too, Darius,” I breathed and his muscles tightened around me as he held me close. “Fuck every shining, gleaming one of them.”

  Lately, I found myself staring out of the window or at the walls, my mind working over everything that had happened recently. Playing video games to escape reality didn’t appeal so much anymore. Maybe it was because reality was too loud these days, screaming in my ears and forcing me to pay attention. Or maybe it was because I realised how much of my life I’d been checked out for. And that sucked ass.

  I always felt like I was waiting for something to happen. Like I was passing time until the inevitable moment where my cage door was opened and I found myself walking into freedom. But maybe that was just something I’d convinced myself of to make life more bearable. Because the reality was, Father was never going to let me go. Not now he knew my Order could bring shame on the entire family. And I didn’t know whether I was more frightened of being caged and hidden for the rest of my life or of the unexpected ‘accident’ I was going to one day have that led to my sudden, oh-so-fucking-tragic death.

  I’d turned eighteen in December and if Father didn’t enrol me in an academy this year then he was going to have some explaining to do. And once questions started being asked, it would be harder for him to keep my secret. So with each passing day, I grew more fearful. Because right now, I had no power in my veins, no press taking an interest in my life and was in the perfect position to disappear. So maybe it wasn’t a matter of if Father was gonna kill me anymore, but when.

  I skipped breakfast in favour of staying in my room, anxiously trying to come up with a plan. If I could only get Mother out of here. If we could run…find somewhere safe to go. But the one time she’d attempted to help me, Stella had caught her. And now Father would be expecting it. He’d have put more measures in place, more security on the grounds. This house was my prison and I didn’t want to die here. Not before I’d actually lived.

  My phone pinged and my heart beat harder as I fished it off of the nightstand and dropped onto my bed. My skin started to shimmer and glitter as I found a message waiting for me from Sofia. I didn’t even try to suppress my Order as it hummed through my veins and sang a lulling tune to my heart. I needed to bask in it for just a moment, to take comfort in it. The need to shift was like an itch that grew to a burn. Every day became harder and harder. Sometimes I locked myself in the bathroom after a shower and shifted into my Pegasus form for a few minutes, gazing at my lilac reflection in the mirror and wondering what it would be like to fly.

  I did it even more often since that day at the Palace of Souls with the Vegas, Lance and the Heirs. I coveted that day. I’d replayed it a thousand times in my head. Dreamed about it, relived each second. It made me feel defiant. And feeling defiant made it seem like I was taking action even if I wasn’t. But every extra minute I spent after my shower, staring at the shining silver horn that adorned my head, my chin lifted a little higher. And my soul burned a little brighter. I was a Pegasus. A big ass stallion of a Pegasus. And I was proud to be one.

  Sofia:

  I once flew through a thunderstorm and got hit by lightning.

  I once got bitten by a Nemean Lion and nearly bled to death.

  I have never gotten a grade lower than an A since I’ve been at Zodiac.

  We’d been playing two truths and a lie for a couple of days and I was starting to run out of fun truths to give her. My life wasn’t exactly colourful. I’d done a sum total of zero adventurous things. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I’d never had the opportunity. I would totally fly through a thunderstorm given the opportunity. I’d try and ride a Nemean Lion shifter too for a laugh. But for that, I’d have to know people. And I didn’t need a calculator to count how many people I knew outside of my family these days.

  After my Order had Emerged, Father had pulled me out of high school and given me a new phone, cutting me off from all my old friends. Not that I’d had a whole load of genuine people in my life back then. Half my class had sucked up to me because I was an Acrux and the other half had resented me for the same reason. Finding a real connection in this world was hard enough as it was when everyone was power hungry and looking for a way to ascend. When you were born into it, other Fae could smell it on you like freshly drawn blood. And it didn’t take long for the hyenas to circle.

  I smirked as I picked out her lie. I’d gathered that she was smart and I dug that. But I had a feeling I knew the answer. And I reckoned she was badass enough to have lived through the other two.

  Philip:

  I bet Lance Orion doesn’t give straight As to anyone.

  Sofia:

  Very true! But he also doesn’t give grades full stop. It’s pass or fail with him. How do you know he’s a hardass anyway?

  Philip:

  He’s a family friend.

  I hit send before I realised what I’d done. Shit. I wasn’t supposed to give out information like that. I was supposed to be Philip, not fucking Xavier. I tapped out another quick reply, my heart pounding out of rhythm. If I let this secret out and Sofia told other Fae, I was going to be in serious trouble. And I didn’t think a beating from my father would suffice this time.

  Philip:

  And when I say friend, I mean my cousin dated him for like a month once.

  I rubbed my eyes, knowing that lie just didn’t cut it. Hopefully Sofia wouldn’t put two and two together. Darius had been the one to ask for help after all. And she wasn’t an idiot.

  I despised lying to her. And I didn’t think she’d ever tell a soul about who I was, but I couldn’t risk it.

  Sofia:

  Cool. Well, you were right…I don’t get straight As. And that Nemean Lion bite hurt like a bitch – possibly more than the lightning ;)

  I grinned stupidly at the screen, reading her message a couple of times before wondering how to continue with the game. There was only one truth on my mind at that moment. I’m so into you and the thing I hate most about my life right now is that I’ll never get to meet you.

  I tossed my phone down onto the bed with a sigh, figuring I’d come up with something more light-hearted to reply later. Right then, it felt like I was going to bleed into my next message and I didn’t want my misery to touch Sofia. She was too sweet, too pure to be tainted by the darkness living in my life. No, I wanted to keep that behind firmly locked and sealed doors. She was my light, shining as brightly as all the stars put together. And I was never going to let that light dim.

  A wild shriek caught my ear downstairs and I frowned at the far-off sound of Clara as she started shouting.

  Curiosity got the better of
me and I slipped off of my bed, heading out of my room and hurrying downstairs. Her voice carried from the dining hall and I moved toward it with my heart pounding like mad. Whenever Clara got worked up, I always worried how far off the handle she was gonna fly. Knowing she’d almost killed her own brother set me on edge around her, even more so than the fact that she was a freaking shadow bitch. If she was capable of hurting Lance, that made her capable of anything.

  “No! No! No!” Clara cried and I peered through the crack in the door where it stood ajar. I didn’t wanna get involved in whatever the hell was going on in there. Especially because Clara gave me the creeps. But I’d promised Darius I’d give him any information I could if it seemed important. And something about this screamed important.

  Clara was moving around the long wooden table, eyeing an array of objects laid across it. Daggers, gauntlets, chalices, even a huge, gleaming sword with gems inlaid into the hilt. Every time she picked one up, she tossed it across the room, shouting, “No!”

  I caught sight of Father at the head of the table, his lips pressed into a thin line as he surveyed her.

  Movement caught my eye and the Polarises stepped into view. Drusilla, Miguel and Alejandro.

  Drusilla was a thin woman with short, tightly curling black hair and pale features; her husband was equally slim, his eyes gaunt and he had the air of someone with little to no backbone, always jumping into line at his wife’s every word. Drusilla’s brother Alejandro was the tallest of them all, his eyes cruel and his lips pinched beneath his thin moustache.

  They’d been attending dinners with us for months and something about them set me on edge. Maybe it had to do with the weird ass knitwear they never took off. Drusilla always had on a pair of yellow woollen gloves, Miguel wore that ugly effing orange sweater like it was his favourite thing in the world and Alejandro’s red woollen scarf was a total contradiction to his bland appearance.