Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne

by Caroline Peckham

  I pushed confidence and bravery into my friends as they fought, but they didn't even need it, each of them fighting with the pure fury of justice as we battled for our lives and those of the ones we loved.

  But as I took aim with my bow once more, an all too familiar, pained howl called to me and set my heart racing with panic. I whipped around to hunt for Seth amongst the fighting bodies, my heart dipping as I failed to find him.

  I cast an amplifying spell as I heard him again and I dropped to the ground as I started running in the direction his howls were coming from. I just hoped I wasn’t going to be too late.

  T wo Nymphs cornered me against a wall, pinning me down beneath them as I fought furiously to try and get free. The one with curving horns was throwing fire at me, burning my side with a sadistic, raking laugh as I howled in agony.

  I clawed at them with my paws, but the bastard didn’t stop even as I sliced into its side with Phoenix fire.

  I heard Darcy yelling my name and red and blue fire billowed up into the sky from somewhere across the pit, telling me she wasn’t going to get here in time. A gap opened up between them and I dove forward to try and get free with a bark of determination, but another Nymph blocked my path, its large probed hand cracking against my face and knocking me back down.

  They rattled deep and hungrily as the three of them fought to pin me in place, each of them desperate to be the one to steal my power as they killed me. Fear hit me as they forced me onto my back in the sand and the huge one with the horns reached down to rip my magic from my heart. Fuck, no, I’ve got too much life to live. I never told Cal how I feel.

  An arrow slammed into the skull of the one holding my paws and it exploded into shadows as a second arrow narrowly missed the horned Nymph above me. The large beast roared a challenge, leaping over me and running toward Max as he descended from the sky, casting a huge blast of fire from its hands.

  Max shielded with air as I scrambled onto my paws, yelping from the aching burns on my side, the scent of singed flesh and burnt hair reaching me from my injuries.

  I lunged at the final Nymph with a fierce savagery, tearing into its throat and shaking it ferociously as it screamed and shrieked in my jaws.

  My muscles trembled as the pain of my injuries began to overwhelm me, and my grip on the Nymph slackened for a moment as I almost passed out but with a determined growl, I managed to fight the feeling off and cling on.

  With a vicious jerk of my head, the Nymph’s neck snapped and it burst into shadow as I staggered, my front legs giving out. I tried to push myself up, but darkness curtained my vision and I stumbled instead, crashing into the sand with a whimper of pain.

  A blur of motion ran toward me and my heart lifted as I raised my snout, readying to greet Caleb. But it was Orion who slowed in front of me, dropping down and pressing his hands to the burns covering my body. The pain ebbed away as he worked and I let out a low whine as I wheeled my head around to lick his face, making him grunt in annoyance. Lance Orion came for me. He loves me like a pack mate.

  “This is only because Blue would hate me if I let you die,” he growled and I gave him a Wolf’s grin, my tail pounding against the sand. Sure it is.

  When he finished healing me, I jumped to my feet and jerked my head toward my back in a clear offering for him to get on.

  “Not in your lifetime, mutt.” He shot away from me, cutting down a Nymph with a furious blow of his sword and I sighed internally. There goes my future best friend.

  I took off across the sand as a few of the Nymphs retreated towards a wide doorway that led beneath the amphitheatre and Max worked to break down the shield stopping him from following.

  Darcy fought with the horned Nymph with the savagery of her father and I howled my joy before turning and leaping out of the pit into the stands.

  I snapped at the heels of the crowd as they fled, knocking them down with my huge paws and spotting Rosalie’s beautiful silver form ahead of me, leading a pack of Oscura Wolves. I howled to her in greeting and she turned her head, barking in reply.

  I sprinted through her pack until I reached her at the front and we ran side by side, trampling any unlucky piece of shit who got in our way.

  I hunted for Caleb in the madness, but there were too many Fae running all over the place. It was impossible to find him. I just hoped he had made it to Tory already, because we had to get her away from Lionel. Then maybe one of us would be lucky enough to get a shot at killing him.

  I stood by Clara's side, locked in place by the shadows she wielded to stop anyone from making it close to attack us. Lionel paced before us, glaring down at the fight taking place in the pit while the sound of the rebels and Dragons clashing outside called to us where we stood in the royal box.

  My muscles were rigid with tension as she forced me to remain utterly still, even my jaw locked tight against any words I might speak while Xavier received the same treatment on her other side.

  “How long until my Nymph army arrives to crush these traitors?” Lionel demanded.

  “They’re coming, Daddy,” Clara assured him, the shadows coiling around her wildly. “Some will be here soon. Some are very, very, very, very, very far away-”

  “You’re the one who told me they needed fresh victims. I only sent them north because you insisted they be given the chance to claim magic for themselves and now they aren’t here when I need them,” he snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “If they fail me now, you’ll be the one I blame.”

  Clara whimpered pathetically, turning to me and slapping me across the face as hard as she could, making my head wheel sideways and my lip split as the shadows stopped me from fighting back.

  “Your sister is making Daddy sad!” she shouted, pointing in my face and I just smiled at her to let her see how I felt about that while she still refused to let me speak.

  Clara shrieked as she lunged at me but Lionel caught hold of the back of her dress to stop her before she could reach me.

  "This is unacceptable," Lionel snarled. "I won't stand for it anymore. If the Nymphs don't finish the job down there, then I'll do it myself. Every single Fae who has shown up here to fight in defence of that Vega girl has proven themselves to be disloyal to the crown. They're traitors and this is an act of treason, the penalty for which can only be death."

  My skin prickled at his words but I refused to let them fill me with fear. The Heirs were here, the rebels too. Darcy could make it out of this, I believed in her.

  Clara parted the shadows so we could see down to the battle below and Orion shot across the sandy pit below us, swinging his sword with a cry of fury. My lips twitched in triumph as the Nymph he struck split apart into shadows with a shriek of agony as it died.

  "Enough!" Lionel roared, his voice echoing off of the stands as the Dragon in him showed through. "Clara, get down there and end this now. I won't stand by and watch it play out any longer."

  "Yes, my King," she purred excitedly, moving straight towards the wall that lined the balcony and hopping up onto it before leaping over the edge.

  Shadows rose up all around her as she used them to float down into the middle of the battle which was raging below us and I was left alone with Lionel and Xavier.

  My eyes locked on my sister as she fought furiously and that shadow whore moved straight towards her with a terrifying grin on her face as her darkness built and writhed around her.

  The shadows released their hold on me as Clara focused on the fight and I gasped as I took several steps away from Lionel, catching Xavier’s arm and tugging him towards the door to the side of the balcony.

  "You can't leave me, Roxanya," Lionel scoffed, not doing a damn thing to even attempt to stop me. "We are in the middle of a battle. My life is in danger. The bond will keep you by my side and ready to die in my defence whether you want it to or not."

  "Then I hope I die," I spat at him. "And the last thing I see is my sister cutting your fucking head off."

  Lionel scoffed as the taste of thos
e words on my tongue made me feel physically sick. I cursed the bond as it thrummed with life between us, urging me closer to him even though I knew in my heart I didn't truly want that at all.

  I tried to take another step, but found I couldn’t, the need to protect him building up in me until there were no other thoughts left in my head.

  “Tory, come on,” Xavier urged, tugging on my arm but I shook my head as I threw a protective shield up over Lionel, easing some of the bond’s demands as I gave in.

  “You go,” I choked out, the pressure in my skull lessening a little as I stumbled back to Lionel’s side and he smirked at me triumphantly.

  “I’m not leaving you here,” Xavier growled but before I could try and insist, a blur of motion in the corner of my eye made me whirl around.

  Caleb vaulted over the balcony and shot towards Lionel so fast I could barely even make out the movement. He bounced off of my air shield at the last moment and stumbled back with a furious snarl as my heart lurched with panic for my king.

  "Hey, sweetheart," Caleb said, holding one of his flaming daggers in his hand as he looked between me and Lionel for a moment. "Wanna step aside for me?"

  "I can't," I grunted, moving to block his view of Lionel as the bastard laughed behind me.

  "Your mother will be so disappointed when I send her your head, Caleb," he sneered. "Whatever will she think to find out you're a traitor to the kingdom you were raised to rule?"

  Caleb didn't waste time engaging in bullshit with him, shooting around me instead. He ripped a chunk of stone from the seats above us using his earth magic, raining the heavy lumps of masonry down over Lionel's air shield.

  My hands snapped out and I threw a fireball at Caleb before I could even consider holding back, the blast of magic exploding against the wall where he'd been standing and making my heart leap with fear for him.

  "Nice try, sweetheart," Caleb teased as he shot behind me and I sucked in a sharp breath as I whipped around to face him again.

  "I can't let you hurt him, Caleb," I warned, holding my hands up again and coating them in air with the hope that at least I wouldn't set him alight if he wouldn't back off.

  A blast of air magic shot past me as Lionel took aim over my shoulder and Caleb sped away again, throwing fire in a wild arc that crashed against Lionel's shield.

  "Fight like a Fae!" Xavier roared at his father, making the stone around us shudder as he wielded earth magic. "Stop hiding behind her and face your enemies yourself!"

  "As if a herd creature such as you would even understand the meaning of true power," Lionel spat as I was forced to shoot a blast of air at Caleb to stop his attack once more. "Using Roxanya is me being Fae. If you can't even see that then I can see that there isn’t any hope for you. You're nothing but a mistake I should have dealt with a long time ago."

  Xavier roared a challenge as he ran forward with his hands raised and I screamed a warning at him as he released a blast of pure fire magic which was so hot it seemed to set the air alight all around us. It crashed into my shield hard enough to make it rattle but it held and I swore, wishing I could have just forced myself to drop it.

  There was nothing I could do to stop myself as I blasted him with a bolt of air and his lack of training meant Xavier hadn't even shielded against me.

  I cried out as the blast hit him with the force of a meteor, lifting him from his feet and slamming him against the wall with a sickening crack. Blood spilled and he fell to the ground unmoving as a sob lodged in my chest.

  I caught a blur of movement shooting towards us again and fought with everything I had against the bond, trying to stop myself from shielding Lionel as I clung onto every reason I had to hate him.

  A blast of fire shot from Caleb's hands and I leapt in front of it, not even shielding myself as I threw all of my magic into protecting Lionel and my skin burned without my Phoenix to protect me.

  I fell to the floor with a cry of pain and the flash of Lionel's fire magic blasting over my head was all I could see as I quickly smothered the flames burning into my white dress.

  I grunted as I healed myself, pushing to my feet again before I'd even finished, creating a whirlpool of water magic all around myself and Lionel to keep Caleb away from us.

  "That's it, Roxanya," Lionel encouraged as he brushed my hair back over my shoulder and stepped so close that his breath made a shiver run down my spine. "Now prove to them where you true loyalties lie and kill him for me."

  The command was like an arrow piercing my heart and a fire lighting in my soul at once.

  The bond wanted to please him more than anything, urging me to destroy Caleb for daring to stand against my Ward while my heart ached and shattered at the thought of hurting him.

  "I won't," I breathed defiantly as the whirlpool fell away beneath my command.

  But as I stood ready to face Caleb again, I held a dagger forged from ice in my hand and I was filled with the desire to plunge it into his heart.

  Caleb eyed me warily as I positioned myself between him and my king, a tear slipping down my cheek as the need to kill him burned brightly within me and I silently begged my friend to just turn and run.

  But of course he didn’t. He was an Heir. And they’d been bred to be cocky and self-assured until the very end. I just prayed I wouldn’t end up becoming that end.

  “Oh, I think you will,” Lionel purred and I had the horrifying feeling that he might be right.

  T he chamber I was in was dark and cold but somewhere ahead of me, golden light spilled into the shadows, guiding me closer.

  My skin was tingling with the power in this place and my pulse thumped to a sultry beat that seemed to be lulling me deeper into the cave.

  As I took a step forward, a golden rune illuminated beneath my foot, the symbol twisted and beautiful and seeming to whisper its meaning into my ear.

  “Truth.”

  I took another step and another rune lit up beneath me, this one breathing, 'fortune' on the air. As I continued on, more runes illuminated and more of their meanings were whispered to me.

  “Honesty. Virtue. Life. Growth. Strength. Sacrifice. Power. Death. Destiny. Fate.”

  As the echoes of the last word fell from the air and I was plunged into silence once more, I found myself standing before a huge stone which glowed ever so faintly in the dark.

  It hummed with a power so visceral that the hairs along the back of my neck stood on end.

  I reached out for it hesitantly, my fingertips brushing against the rough stone before a jolt of power slammed into my chest and I was drawn undeniably closer.

  I sucked in a deep breath as the entire thing began to glow with a deep, golden light which reminded me of my Dragon's scales when the setting sun hit them just right. It was rich and vibrant and so full of power that it stole my breath away.

  The entire thing seemed to hum with a power so ancient that I felt utterly insignificant standing before it as it scrutinised every dark corner of my soul.

  "Acrux," it breathed, its voice deeper now that I was touching it and my pulse galloping as I felt like it truly knew me.

  In the centre of the stone was a perfectly smooth hole and I slid my hand down to touch it, finding coins, jewels and other small tokens that had been left there in offering so long ago that even the earth beneath my feet could hardly remember the Fae who had left them. But it was clear to me that this had been a place of worship once and this relic was crafted with the deep and ancient magic our kind had long since forgotten.

  The space surrounding us was pregnant with expectation but as the voice failed to speak again, I was struck with the need to offer up something of my own in payment for its words, the way that others had clearly done before me.

  I ran my hands over my pockets uselessly, cursing as I found nothing at all in my possession that I could offer up aside from the clothes on my back. And a suit made for a wedding I hadn't even wanted to attend didn't seem like much of a sacrifice to me.

  I frowned as I tried
to think of something I could offer it, going over all the tales Orion had told me about ancient magic when teaching me how to wield my draining dagger and cast blood magic. The things he knew were relics of the magic from long ago according to his father. So much knowledge had been lost to time and with dark magic being outlawed, even more of it had fallen from memory.

  But some knowledge had remained. Like the power of blood.

  I twisted my fingers in a subtle pattern, creating a blade with my ice magic before lifting my other hand and placing it inside the hole in the centre of the stone.

  I closed my eyes for a moment, holding the dagger ready and hoping that I wasn't losing my damn mind before scoring it straight across my palm and slicing deep.

  Blood welled in the wound, splashing down inside the hole and I gasped as the entire cavern was lit up by the bright golden light and my arm was dragged deeper within the stone by some unworldly magic.

  "The price of knowledge is power. The price of power is great. Every bargain has a cost. What will you trade for a different fate?"

  The voice rebounded off of the walls, driving into my skull until I was crying out from the force of it, desperately trying to tear my hand back out of the hole as the stone drew more and more of my blood from my body and I could feel it feeding on my power too.

  I cursed as I fought to free myself, beating at the stone with my free hand and finding myself unable to cast any magic, as if it were a Vampire using venom to immobilise it.

  Strength began to leave my limbs and I scrunched my eyes closed as I hit the stone until my knuckles were busted open and my mind was filled with an image of the girl I loved.

  Of her in my arms, wrapped up tight in my bed with me, her eyes filled with laughter and her hands on my flesh. She stroked her fingers down my jaw and looked into my eyes, consuming me with the warmth in her expression and making me feel content in a way I never had before. Roxy tugged the white sheet up over our heads and we were lost in a cocoon of white.

  "I love you, Darius," she breathed, her words so pure and real that they made my chest ache with the most desperate desire to truly hear her say them. "I love you, Roxy," I growled in reply, my words echoing in the cavern as I spoke them aloud and not just in the vision. She leaned forward, pressing the sweetest kiss to my lips as my hand moved down over the swollen curve of her stomach as an ache unlike anything I'd ever felt before consumed me.