Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne

by Caroline Peckham

  L avinia’s laughter rang out everywhere as I pushed through the sea of shadows, feeling it drag at me like I was wading through the thickest of bogs. No magic could hold it back except the power of the sword, so I cut and fought my way forward with it to find Darcy even as my muscles burned and my strength was pushed to its limits.

  “Blue!” I shouted, my voice getting hoarse from calling for her.

  The shadows suddenly opened up, releasing me and a path ran through them all the way to where Darcy was lying on the ground, looking terrifyingly still as her dark blue hair spilled out around her in a fan. Panic split through me and I sprinted toward her with a yell of desperation, but before I made it there, the shadows closed up once more and she was lost in the dark.

  “Lavinia!” I bellowed. “What have you done to her?!”

  Laughter rang around me, mocking me and chills spread everywhere through my body. I heaved in breaths, cutting through the shadows as I forcibly tried to get to my girl. She’s not dead. She’s not fucking dead.

  “Calm down, it’s just a little curse,” she said with a laugh that made my blood chill.

  “What kind of curse?” I roared, whipping around as I hunted for her and finding nothing but shadow yet again. What has she done to her?

  “My army is here,” Lavinia whispered close by and I swung toward the voice with a snarl. “Your friends are dying.” The pressing silence of the shadows lifted for a moment and screams and shouts of terror called out all around me, making my heart stammer with concern.

  I heard Geraldine screaming in pain and fear crashed through me before the sound was stolen once more by the darkness closing in on me.

  Two cruel eyes appeared in the dark and I slashed my blade toward them in a warning to keep her back. Lavinia shrieked then released a breathy sob that pulled at my heartstrings.

  “Lance,” she spoke and I knew it was my sister this time. “She’s getting too strong. You have to end this. Please. Kill me. I’m already dead anyway. I can’t come back, deep down you must know that.”

  “No,” I growled in denial, reaching for her in the dark and her cold fingers found mine, though I still couldn’t see her.

  I tried to pull her towards me out of the fog, but she couldn’t be moved.

  “I’m so sorry,” she cried. “For everything. But you have to see the truth. You know it in your heart.”

  “Please don’t say that,” I begged, the thought of losing her all over again too much for me to bear as panic made my heart hurt and I fought to deny her words.

  The shadows closed in around me and flashes of images ran through my mind until I was dragged into memories racing through my head of the night I’d lost my sister.

  Clara stood in the desolate land of the Shadow Realm naked and frozen, her arm still bloody from the sacrifice Lionel had made her offer before the dark stardust had consumed her.

  “Hush,” Lavinia’s voice filled the air and shadows coiled around her, cloaking her body. “I am here.” They wound tighter and tighter and Clara gasped in fear as they sank beneath her flesh, taking root in her. “Go quietly, Fae girl, your body is mine.”

  Clara screamed and thrashed as the shadows possessed her until she was forced to her knees and blood dripped from her mouth as the shadow spirit of Lavinia ate its way into her body.

  Sickness ran through me and I was half aware of releasing a shout I couldn’t hear.

  Wounds opened up across her skin and blood poured out from her in wave after wave, washing across the ground and rushing back through a fissure which was torn into the air. A portal ripped open by Lionel Acrux as a part of the ritual he’d forced us to bear witness to all those years ago, sacrificing my sister just for this.

  Clara started crawling back toward it in desperation as a horrid scream left her which made my entire being seize up with grief.

  She fell still before she made it to the portal and the shadows settled inside her, claiming her body, her soul. Lavinia took control of Clara as the wounds across her body healed, her features twisting as they lost the gentleness of my sister and took on the ferociousness of a Nymph Princess.

  She scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the portal, but it closed up before she made it and Lavinia released an inhuman shriek that echoed through my skull. Then she fell to the ground, lapping at the blood that lay there like a monster until my stomach turned and my chest hollowed out.

  I was released from the vision and a noise of grief left me as the weight of the truth fell over me.

  “I was dead the moment she found me,” Clara whispered in my ear and I felt the brush of her thumb against my hand, her fingers still clutching mine. “My soul is trapped, unable to join the stars. And if you don’t destroy her, I’ll never be free. Please, Lance. Please do this for me.”

  Her hand was torn from mine and Lavinia snarled, sending the shadows crashing into me and I was thrown to the floor. I cast air beneath me to right myself and hit the ground running, cutting a path deeper into the dark as my mind whirled and a terrible decision was laid at my feet.

  “I’ve seen what she’ll do,” Clara gasped like she was in pain.

  “Shut up!” Lavinia screamed.

  “I’ve seen her plans,” Clara called in a tight voice. “You must destroy her before she completes the curse.”

  “There’s still time?” I gasped in hope.

  “Enough!” Lavinia roared and I felt her anger sparking through the atmosphere.

  My foot caught on a soft body and I hit the ground, scrambling back toward her, my heart thundering as I sliced the sword through the air to clear away the dark. Darcy lay there with her eyes closed, her expression peaceful, and her skin warm.

  “Thank the stars,” I said heavily, hearing her heartbeat pounding solidly in my ears.

  I was about to pull her into my arms when the shadows drew away and I found myself looking up at Lavinia, scowling down at us with her upper lip peeled back. The fire ruby necklace that belonged to Tory shone around her neck, looking starkly red against her near translucent skin.

  I pushed to my feet with fury in my heart, placing myself in front of Darcy as I held the sword higher and gritted my jaw.

  “Stay still,” Lavinia growled, wetting her lips. “You didn’t give me enough blood.” She rushed at me and I held the blade steady as my pulse thundered in my ears.

  I planted my feet, refusing to let her get close to Darcy, protectiveness driving my actions as she came for me. I was about to strike her with the blade, but then I thought of my sister, playing with me in the garden as a kid, laughing and joking. We’d loved each other with every piece of ourselves. We were inseparable. Lionel had ripped us apart, but even if just a part of her was left in this body, how could I hurt her?

  Lavinia collided with me, knocking me back a step and her hands clawed at me.

  I snarled, trying to shove her away as her fangs sliced into my arm as she bit me savagely, tearing open my flesh so hot blood ran across the skin.

  “Lance – now – do it now!” Clara screamed in a pained and desperate voice and my heart broke apart, cleaving down the middle.

  My hands trembled around the hilt of the sword and her eyes met mine as she managed to lurch away from me. I could see her fighting to hold onto herself as Lavinia battled to regain control. I had seconds to act. Seconds to strike her, seconds to free my sister, to save Blue.

  “I’m sorry.” I swung the blade up, making the decision with a suffocating pain in my chest as I drove it into her gut. I tore through flesh and bone and shadow as I impaled her on it and Lavinia and Clara screamed as one.

  The shadows wrapped around me, clutching my throat, my chest, my stomach and forcing the air out of me as they tried to kill me, crushing me like a rat in the grip of a python. But I didn’t let go of the sword, driving it deeper with a shout of utter fury and grief.

  Phoenix fire suddenly flared around me, burning back the shadows as Darcy’s power aided me from behind.

  The shadows r
eceded, rushing back into Clara’s body in a huge swirling cloud as the fire burned them away. A tornado of flames surrounded us, my girl’s power exploding from her in an endless wave of destruction, devouring every shadow it found.

  The cries of the battle fell in on me once more, daylight illuminating us and burning my retinas.

  I wrenched the sword free and my sister collapsed to the floor beneath me with shadows coating her flesh. I fell to my knees, tugging her against me and cupping her face as she peered at me with a blissful smile on her face. She reached up to run her fingers over my cheek, brushing my tears away as my heart broke and I faced a goodbye I’d never gotten the first time I’d lost her. A goodbye I’d never wanted to have to give.

  “Thank you,” she sighed, looking to the sky as if she could see the stars shining back at her. I hoped she could see our dad, that she was going to be reunited with him and the two of them would wait for me beyond the Veil until it was my time to join them. And I hoped Dad knew how sorry I was that I couldn’t save my sister.

  “I love you,” I rasped, holding her tighter and her lips moved, repeating the words to me, but no sound came out.

  Her eyes fell closed and I squeezed her in one final, heart breaking embrace before her body turned to dust, the shadows pluming out and away from it as she was parted from them at long last. Tory’s necklace lay on the ground where she’d been and I took it, pushing it into my pocket as grief made me buckle forward.

  “Lance?” Darcy’s voice sounded from behind me and I twisted around to see the girl who made my existence on earth worthwhile.

  But my heart lurched in terror as the shadows reared up behind her, gathering together and reforming until a girl stepped from them, the darkness within her making the air crackle with power. “Quendus novlia andrenis,” she spoke in a commanding tone and Darcy groaned, unable to get up as she fell under the dark power of those words.

  “No!” I shot toward her to get her out the way but tendrils of shadow burst from Lavinia, forcing me to the ground and binding my limbs.

  Lavinia looked down at her own arms, admiring her true form as she scraped her long, black fingernails over her pale skin. Her long hair danced around her, alive with shadows and her eyes were wicked and red as her gaze snapped up to lock onto me and the girl I loved. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck as I stared at the Shadow Princess, somehow still here. Still fucking alive. And I got the horrible feeling that now that she was free of Clara’s body, she was more powerful than ever.

  Lavinia lurched forward with unnatural speed, grasping Darcy’s arms and smearing them with blood. My blood.

  “Stop!” I roared, fighting with everything I had, but the power holding me was immense.

  “Nevellius combra asticious levellium mortus!” Lavinia cried as I twisted the sword in my grip and slicing it through the shadows binding me. The fire flared along its length, slicing through the shadows and suddenly I was free. I shoved to my feet, running forward frantically, my breaths falling furiously from my lungs as I powered toward them, my sword poised to kill.

  Darcy screamed as she was held in the grip of Lavinia’s dark curse, her Phoenix fire flickering weakly against her fingertips.

  “Watch me rule as Queen, little Vega princess,” Lavinia laughed as she shoved Darcy towards me. “I shall offer you death when you come begging me for it.”

  I launched the sword at Lavinia with a shout of effort, throwing all of my power behind it and it wheeled end over end towards the Shadow Princess. She evaporated into a cloud of shadow, tearing away from us into the battle and my sword thumped uselessly onto the sand beyond where she’d been. I dragged Darcy to her feet and she fell against me with a shuddering gasp.

  I held her close, pouring healing magic into her body while maintaining an air shield around us to keep us safe as the battle raged on and hope faded everywhere I looked. The Nymph army was pouring into the amphitheatre, crushing the rebels with sheer numbers.

  Darcy steadied herself and stepped back, strength starting to return to her eyes and that gave me something small to hold onto. My gaze fell to the black handprint on her arm and my heart turned to dust.

  “What has she done to you?” I dragged her closer, examining the mark, but Darcy reached for the wounds on my arms, sending healing magic out into my skin. Fear pressed in on me as I stared at her, not knowing what that vicious witch had done to her.

  I just had to focus on the fact that she was alive, and here. Whatever curse had been put on her, I would break it. I vowed it on every constellation, every galaxy, the entire universe.

  “I don’t know, but we have to get out of here.” She turned to look for her sister up in the stands, her eyes full of worry as a swarm of Nymphs raced towards us.

  I readied myself for one last fight, sending healing magic through my veins, keeping her close as I moved to grab my sword.

  I was exhausted and aching and running on fumes. But I would not give up. Clara may have been gone, but she was with the stars now. And I would grieve her later when this was done.

  For now, I had to ensure no more of my loved ones were lost to our enemies.

  M y mind was ablaze with visions of all the people I loved in this world falling prey to horrible twists of fate and my heartbeat thundered in my ears as the deep magic of this place seemed to drive its way right into my soul.

  "Tell me," I growled. "What will it take to save them?"

  "Sacrifice," the voice breathed, making the air around me tremble as countless runes illuminated on the walls surrounding me.

  The hole in the rock suddenly released its grip on my arm and I stumbled back a few steps as I withdrew my bleeding hand. My magic returned to me as I stood panting before the huge stone and I felt like I’d run a marathon from whatever it had just done to me.

  "Will you save them?" I demanded and a rustle moved through the room which almost sounded like distant laughter. My skin prickled as if a hundred eyes were on me but I couldn’t tear my gaze from the glowing stone before me.

  "The life of a Fae means little to the stars. Fate changes, destiny isn't always set in stone. The gift on offer isn't life. It's freedom. A chance. A possibility to change the stars again."

  I opened my mouth to ask what that meant as another vision filled my mind.

  Roxy was fighting for my father, compelled to give everything she had in his defence by the bond he'd forced on her. But as I watched, she fell still, the Aries brand on her arm fading to nothing and her mind clearing of the bonds' control.

  Her eyes flashed with power and vengeance, but the vision fell away before I could see that path play out. I was filled with one certainty though - if that happened then he wouldn't be able to stab her in the back, that possibility would be gone and her life would be saved. She would survive this day at least and right now I wasn’t sure how much more I could even hope for.

  "One year," the voice breathed. "To love her like you ache to. To be the best of yourself. One year and no more."

  "You want me to buy her life with my death?" I asked, my voice rough as I realised that was the price. That was what it would take to re-write the stars, save her life and release her from my Father's hold.

  My heart pounded desperately within my chest as if I was standing looking my death in the eyes right now and a shiver of fear ran through me at the thought. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live. With her.

  But if her fate was already decided and this was the only chance she had, then what other choice was there for me to make? If she died now, I may as well die anyway because I knew there was no joy in the world for me if she didn't exist anymore.

  Solaria needed strong rulers, but Xavier could take my place on the Council. And she would have her sister after I was gone.

  "All bonds?” I clarified as the visions of her dying pressed in on me again, warning me that time was running out for her, that I had to make this choice fast.

  "A fresh start," the voice confirmed. "Every bond placed upon the two of y
ou by the stars wiped away."

  "But all I get is a year?" My heart was thrashing desperately now, adrenaline begging me to do something to save myself, but this wasn’t an enemy I could fight. It was destiny in the making.

  "A year to live the life you yearn for. A year to find out if you really are the man you wish to be."

  My lips parted on an answer but the air before me shimmered and I saw myself in a vision of the future. I was standing with Roxy beneath a huge Christmas tree, my lips pressing to hers in one final, desperate kiss before my time ran out one year from now.

  Her arms curled around my neck, drawing me closer as I held her so tightly that I was certain not even the stars could tear us apart.

  But as the clock struck midday, my muscles locked, the magic within me stilling. And even as I fought with all I had to stay there with her, my fate was already sealed and it tore me away all the same.

  Roxy screamed as I fell to my knees before her, the power of the stars coming to collect the price I'd promised to pay. The sound of her grief cut into me and the idea of causing her so much pain made me ache with a desperate desire to shield her from it. But there was no alternative. She could have a life without me or no life at all. And I couldn’t bear the idea of her being taken from this world before her time no matter what price I had to pay.

  I fell back to the floor in the vision and Roxy refused to release me, falling on top of me as she pressed another kiss to my mouth and begged the stars to change their minds.

  Her tears washed over my cheeks as my final breath slid past my lips and I was forced to leave her behind. I fought to hold on to her as I was ripped away and my heart tore apart at the thought of leaving her all alone. If I got my way I knew I’d never leave her again.

  But as I fell into the dark embrace of death, my heart was light with the love I'd felt in that year. Of having that time with her as my own like I'd yearned for for so long.

  It wasn't enough time. But no amount of days, months or years with her would ever be enough. And I knew that all the time in the world would be empty to me without her in it if she died now.