“Sorry!” Darcy gasped behind me and I turned, finding her scrambling out of Orion’s lap on the gravel at our feet.
“Predictably clumsy as always, Blue,” Orion said but his tone was more teasing than really annoyed. I guessed he wasn’t channelling his inner grump so hard tonight. He stood up, casting magic to remove the dust from his pants and I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.
Darcy’s cheeks flushed red and the Heirs failed to stifle their laughter in response.
I looked around to see where the stardust had taken us and found an enormous gothic building sprawling out before us. It looked more like a spa hotel or museum than a home; vaulted windows overlooked the sprawling grounds and pillars stood either side of the biggest door I’d ever seen. There were two towers at either end of the structure which loomed above the rest of it, stone balustrades lining their flat roofs.
Along the rooftop, silhouetted by the setting sun were countless stone dragons who glared down at us with unseeing eyes. A marble porch ringed the front of the building, the steps buffed to a polish which reflected the orange glow of the sky back at it.
“I thought we were going to your house?” I asked Darius with a frown.
He followed my gaze as I stared at the enormous building which spread away from us and seemed to really look at it for the first time since we’d arrived.
“This is my house,” he replied with a frown like he didn’t understand what I meant.
“Shut up,” I breathed automatically. I’d seen Buckingham Palace on the TV and this place looked like it could house three of them.
Darius’s lips twitched like my disbelief was hilarious but he didn’t want it to show.
“If you like this, you should come and see my house some time,” Caleb offered, moving to stand on my other side. “We’ve got a dungeon and everything.”
“This isn’t a house it’s a fortress; you could keep a small army in there with room to spare,” I countered, ignoring the dungeon comment because I had no way of knowing if he meant that.
Darius and Caleb exchanged a look that screamed of their entitled upbringing and I straightened my spine as I wiped the look of awe from my features. I wasn’t going to walk into this place looking like a goddamn tourist at the colosseum, overwhelmed and slack-jawed.
“Technically, your house is bigger than this anyway,” Caleb said as we started to walk towards the gigantic door.
“What?” I asked in confusion.
“Well, obviously the Palace is bigger than the Celestial Estates,” Caleb supplied. I’d never given much thought to the fact that we had more than just money waiting for us in our inheritance. The idea of us living in a place like this was beyond ridiculous though.
Max shot Caleb a dark look like he didn’t like him reminding us about our inheritance but I was glad that he had. I couldn’t walk into this place thinking of us as two broke girls from the shittiest part of town, we had to embody the parts of long lost Princesses even if we had zero desire to claim our crowns. If we didn’t, I had the distinct feeling that these people would eat us alive.
I stepped away from the two Heirs so that I could walk with Darcy instead. We were in this together, and whatever awaited us within these walls, we’d face it as a united front.
I exchanged a look with my sister which embodied the whole ‘holy shit these guys are disgustingly rich’ shock before we headed up the steps.
The gigantic door swung inwards as we approached and I looked into a huge entrance hall which I was sure could hold a fully grown Dragon. And as I glanced at the solid gold dragon-head door knocker, I guessed that that was the exact point.
The space inside was spacious and painted white with golden adornments on everything from the door handles to the light fittings to the bannister of the sweeping staircase before us. And I was absolutely sure that that was solid gold too.
The servants who had opened the door for us bowed low and stayed in that position as we stepped inside and my high heels clicked on the marble floor.
An elegantly dressed gentleman with grey hair and a neat moustache stepped out of the shadows, offering us a stiff bow as he came to stand at the foot of the stairs.
Is that a butler? Do real people actually have butlers??
“High Lord Lionel Acrux and Lady Catalina Acrux,” he announced with a flourish and my attention was captured by the couple who proceeded to descend the stairs like they were goddamn royalty. Which I guessed in this world they kinda were.
Daddy Acrux swept down the stairs with his wife on his arm and captured every inch of my attention in an immaculate blue suit complete with medals pinned to his chest. His blonde hair was styled perfectly and drew my eye to the strong lines of his face. He had a look of Darius about him but his angles looked sharper, more predatory. He was a huge man, at least as tall as Darius, his broad frame packed with muscle in much the same way. His gaze bored into mine as he assessed me and I kept my chin high as I stared right back.
Just when I thought my knees might start trembling from the intensity of his stare, he swept his attention on to scrutinise Darcy, releasing me.
I let out a slow breath, looking at Darius’s mother instead.
Holy fake tits!
Mommy Acrux was stunningly beautiful and perfectly put together, her pale pink dress was cut with a sweetheart neckline which revealed a lot of cleavage. It was really hard to look away from it. I thought I had a pretty decent rack but beside her curvaceous glory I was a pancake with a face. Real flowers bloomed along the side of her dress, opening and closing their petals in various shades of blue to compliment her husband’s attire and I guessed that meant she held the Element of Earth, though I’d never seen magic used in such a pretty, pointless way before. Her face was painted with the exact right amount of makeup to accentuate her beauty. She had Darius’s dark hair, bronzed skin and deep brown eyes and she hung on her husband’s arm like the definition of arm candy. The men in the room were not so subtly checking her out but I couldn’t blame them. Hell, I even fancied her.
The butler clearly had more work to do and he stepped forward to announce us to his High Lord and Lady.
“May I present the Celestial Heirs, Max Rigel, Seth Capella, Caleb Altair and Master Acrux,” he said.
The Heirs all moved forward to greet the Acruxes and I stifled my surprise as each of them bowed their heads to Daddy Acrux. Mommy Acrux offered out air kisses and embraces which pulled the Heirs against those breasts for a moment. Seth smirked as he moved aside and Darius approached last.
His father barely spared him a glance and his mother didn’t offer him one of the hugs but she brushed a hand against his cheek.
“How lovely to see you, Darius dear,” she murmured, her tone was sultry and she didn’t actually seem to be particularly pleased to see her son.
“I’ve missed you, Mother,” Darius replied, his voice sounding like it was on autopilot even to me.
“Lance Orion,” the butler announced next and I got the impression that addressing us last was intentional.
Orion bowed a little lower than the Heirs had as he approached the Acruxes.
“Good evening Uncle, Aunt,” he said formally and I frowned. As far as I knew he wasn’t related to Darius’s family.
He was rewarded with an extra five seconds against the plastic perfection of Mommy Acrux’s breasts and I was almost certain his smile took on a forced quality as she released him.
“Ladies Roxanya and Gwendalina Vega,” the butler announced last, motioning us forward.
“It’s Tory and Darcy actually,” I said without taking a step forward and I sure as shit wouldn’t be bowing either. This moment was a test of our mettle and I refused to be intimidated into submission.
Daddy Acrux raised a brow at my tone and I could feel Darius glaring at me but I simply held his eye.
“Those are the names we grew up with,” Darcy added when no one else took the option to speak. “And we’re rather fond of them.”
�
�Mortal names?” Lionel asked, his lips twisting like he found that amusing or disgusting, hard to say which. “Nonsense, the lost Vega twins can’t go by any names other than those given to them by the King.”
“Well I hear the King was a bit of a whack job,” I said mildly. “So perhaps it’s better not to live by the way he did things. But if you like the idea of addressing us by those names then why don’t I just call you Barry and we’ll see how you like it?”
Silence rang out deafeningly and I could feel every eye in the entrance hall pinned on me but I just smiled sweetly and waited to see what would happen. Darcy stood tall beside me, showing a united front against this room of monsters and I was eternally grateful to have been blessed with life at my sister’s side.
Mommy Acrux tittered a laugh, breaking the tension as she squeezed her husband’s arm.
Lionel flashed us a smile which was more like he was baring his teeth but a beat of laughter came from him too, like we were all just joking around and not actually getting into a pissing contest.
The Heirs instantly joined in with the laughter like they were all programmed to fall into line at the littlest push from their superior.
“Tory and Darcy it is then,” Lionel said graciously though he purposefully looked at me as he said Darcy and visa versa. I let it slide though, just glad to have made it through the first test. This was going to be a long night.
“Perhaps we should leave you to your meeting with the rest of the Council,” Catalina purred, claiming Orion’s arm in her perfectly manicured grasp.
“Yes, we shouldn’t keep them waiting,” Lionel agreed.
“Come Lance, you can keep me entertained while they talk business,” Catalina said, tightening her grip on Orion and pressing her body against his.
Orion dipped his head towards Lionel before leading her away and I glanced at Darcy to see what she made of our Cardinal Magic Professor curtsying to the Acruxes like a little pet. Her eyes widened marginally and my lips twitched in response. Yep, we were definitely in the thick of crazy town now. No way out but through it though.
“Come,” Lionel instructed, turning his back on all of us in a way that I knew was designed to show his dominance. I’d learned exactly how well turning your back on another Fae usually went down but none of the Heirs batted an eye to it this time, clearly accepting their places beneath him in the pecking order. He headed off up the grand staircase and left us to follow.
Darius moved towards me, taking my arm without giving me a choice in the matter.
Much to her disgust, Max claimed Darcy and led her after Lionel with Seth and Caleb trailing after them.
Darius held me back for a moment, leaning down to speak into my ear so that the butler and the other servants didn’t overhear what he was going to say.
“Watch yourself, Roxy,” he growled, his breath dancing across my skin.
I turned my face towards him, my cheek brushing against his for a brief moment as I looked into his dark eyes. I wasn’t sure what I found there but his grip on my arm tightened at the defiance in my gaze.
“Are you deaf, Darius?” I breathed. “That’s not my name.”
I tried to shrug him off as I moved towards the stairs but he refused to release me, walking at my side instead.
I gritted my teeth in acceptance. I wasn’t going to wrench my arm out of his grasp and make a scene but I wasn’t just going to roll over for his father or the rest of the Celestial Council either.
At the top of the sweeping staircase, Lionel led us to the left and we followed him along a huge corridor lined with a plush red carpet and huge paintings hanging in gold frames. It was all very grand and ostentatious, more like a museum than a home and I wondered what it would have been like to grow up in a place like this. I just couldn’t picture a diddy Darius toddling about the halls with a teddy clutched in his fist.
The butler had somehow made it up here ahead of us and he was waiting outside a set of double doors as we approached. He opened them for us with a flourish.
“High Lord Tiberius Rigel, High Lady Antonia Capella and High Lady Melinda Altair,” he said as he moved aside for us to head in.
The room we’d arrived in was a lavish sort of parlour. The kind of room that didn’t really seem to hold any purpose. The walls were lined with bookshelves holding thick tomes, deep green curtains hung beside floor length windows which looked out over sprawling manicured grounds with a lake twinkling in the distance.
A huge fireplace took up most of the wall to our right and a fire raged at its centre though the room didn’t feel hot with it. There were six plush, cream chairs placed in a wide circle before the fire but no one sat in them.
The other Celestial Councillors were standing to the left of the room, each nursing drinks though they set them down to greet their children as they arrived.
Darius kept hold of me as the other Heirs moved towards their parents and I watched them with interest.
Max’s father, Tiberius, was practically his doppelgänger, though his hair was trimmed short in place of the mohawk his son sported. They embraced to an enthusiastic, “Let me get a good look at my boy!” and I couldn’t help but remember what I’d seen in Max’s mind when I’d been Song-Spelled. This man shielded him from the wrath of his step mother. He’d fought to keep this position for Max despite the fact that he was a bastard and could have more easily been set aside. Despite my particular feelings for the Water Heir, I couldn’t help but appreciate the love he shared with his father.
Seth’s mother, Antonia, was all Werewolf, pouncing on her son and brushing her hands through his hair as he nuzzled against her with a wide smile. She even dragged a tongue up his cheek in a wolfy kiss and I almost laughed in response. Her hair was a russet brown flecked with copper which caught the firelight and her eyes were pale grey and shone with an intelligent kind of cunning.
Caleb’s mother, Melinda, smiled broadly at her son. She shared his golden curls and looked like a fifties pin up girl in a white dress which flared out around her legs. She pressed a kiss to Caleb’s cheek leaving a print of pink lipstick behind on his skin which she wiped away affectionately.
Apparently the dismissive indifference that Darius received from his father wasn’t a trait all of the Celestial Council shared. I hoped that might mean there was a chance for this meeting not to be a total disaster after all.
Lionel headed straight for a chair beside the fire, the butler placing a crystal tumbler filled with amber liquid into his hand the moment his ass hit the cushions.
Once the Councillors had greeted their sons, they turned their gaze on us. Darcy had moved to stand by my side and we stood firm as they approached.
“Which is Roxanya and which is Gwendalina?” Melinda Altair tittered. “You both look exactly alike.”
“That happens with twins,” I replied, smiling sweetly to counter the flat tone.
Melinda smiled like she didn’t mind the bite in my voice one bit and I found myself warming to her just a little.
“They go by their mortal names, Mom,” Caleb supplied so that we didn’t have to go through the whole rigmarole again. “Darcy is in red and Tory in blue.”
“A pleasure to be reunited with the lost Vegas,” Tiberius boomed, offering his hand to Darcy.
She smiled politely as she shook. “Nice to meet you too,” she replied.
He claimed my hand next and I was momentarily overwhelmed by the call of his Siren gifts. He wasn’t actually using them on me but his mere touch was enough to make me want to spill all of my secrets to him.
I withdrew my hand warily and he gave me a smile which said clever choice.
Unsurprisingly, Seth’s mother got overly tactile, brushing her hands over our arms, touching our hair, murmuring compliments about our soft skin and generally making me feel like a chew toy. Though her touches were gentle there was something about them that felt claiming, like she was asserting her dominance through them. I guessed that was a pretty accurate assessment of the Werewolf Al
pha and politely extracted myself from her grip.
“Shall we get on with it?” Lionel drawled from his chair by the fire. “The evening is drawing on and we have a party to attend.”
Melinda Altair chuckled like he’d been joking but his curt tone didn’t give me that impression.
Darius guided us over to the fire, directing the two of us towards the chairs to the right. The other Councillors took the remaining three seats and their sons all moved to stand behind them stoically.
“A drink, ladies?” the butler asked and I noticed he’d somehow managed to supply everyone else in the room with a beverage already.
“Sure. I’ll take a shot of tequila,” I said, not bothering to choose anything with more class to it. This was who I was and I wouldn’t apologise for it.
”I’ll have a rum and coke,” Darcy requested.
Lionel was assessing us like we were something he might just like to eat and I straightened my spine accordingly.
A crystal glass appeared in my hand a moment later and I knocked the drink back in one hit because why the hell not? I was pretty sure I could use the boost to my courage.
Eight sets of very powerful eyes were fixed on us and I was struck with the realisation that if the people in this room wanted to hurt us then we were well and truly screwed. Deader than dead. Beyond the grave. The thought was weirdly reassuring. Here we were, at their mercy, drinking their fancy tequila like it was no different to the piss water version I was used to at Joey’s bar and we were still breathing. They wanted something from us. I wasn’t sure what yet, but it was clear that they weren’t going to hurt us... for now.
“It’s such a pleasure to welcome you back into the fold,” Tiberius said heartily. “Max tells me you’ve been settling in well at the Academy, getting up to high-jinx together.”
“Is that how he put it?” Darcy asked stiffly and Max offered the barest hint of a smirk from behind his father’s back.
“I suppose everything here must seem very strange to you after living amongst the mortals,” Melinda said kindly.
“It has been a big adjustment,” I hedged. “But I think we’re getting the hang of it now.”
Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts) Page 31
