Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,138

my pathetic need to see the man who had tortured and abused me. Gabriel had had a vision which showed me and Darcy finding something important in the palace grounds, so we’d made a last minute plan to sneak her in through the King’s tunnels so that what he saw could come to pass. All I had to do was make sure that Lionel was distracted while she snuck into the summerhouse where Orion was being held. Then as soon as I was certain we had a window of opportunity, I was going to meet her. Gabriel said that we’d know what to do from there. It sounded batshit to me, but I was also past the point of questioning Gabriel's visions, so I was just going to go with it.

The moment I finished my lessons for the day, I couldn't help but race back to my dorm, ditch my uniform and change into one of the dresses Lionel had given me for whenever I returned to his company. It was a blood red floor length gown with slits up the legs and though it was beautiful, it was definitely overkill. But Lionel insisted and it would be a pretty obvious giveaway if I turned up in jeans and a tank, so I wasn't going to waste energy being pissy about it.

I hurried out of my room again and quickly strode through campus as I headed for the main gates with the pouch of stardust I'd been given for these journeys in my pocket.

The moment I was beyond the border, I threw the stardust over my head and before I knew it, I was standing in front of the palace gates.

The flash of cameras started up around me instantly, but I just ignored the journalists who were always camped out here as I strode forward and got into the carriage that had been sent to collect me.

Jenkins greeted me as I stepped through the palace doors and I cast my eyes over his scrunched up face and pursed lips with barely concealed dislike. I christened that look his cat’s ass face – because his mouth looked just like a cat’s butthole when he did that, and the guy was an ass so it suited him well.

"The King isn't back yet," he informed me with a bit of a sneer. "He has requested that you amuse yourself while you await his return at eight o'clock."

My gut dipped with disappointment and I mentally slapped myself for feeling upset over the idea of not seeing Lionel sooner, reminding myself that this was what I'd been hoping for. He’s a big scaley dickweed who you hate more than anything in the world, so stop thinking about cuddling with him for fuck’s sake.

I nodded, not bothering to even do Jenkins the courtesy of words as I strode away from him, heading straight into the depths of the palace.

I knew where I wanted to go and I wasn't going to waste time with that old bastard making small talk.

I headed down several long corridors, through a huge glass conservatory and pulled open a door at the rear of the enormous building before stepping out onto the lawn.

No one questioned me. I was Lionel's little Vega pet after all, and he'd made it clear that I was allowed to do whatever I pleased. Mostly because up until very recently, the only thing that pleased me was serving him, so he had no reason to doubt my motivations for anything.

More fool him.

The summerhouse was set to the east of the palace, the cute little cottage partially hidden by an array of blooming flowers that were still as bright and colourful as if it were midsummer even though winter was setting in. The pool sat in front of it, forever steaming and whenever leaves floated down to lay on its surface, a magical wind guided them away.

I moved to the door, glancing over my shoulder, trying to be casual about it so no one thought I was up to anything before pulling the door wide and stepping inside.

Orion looked up in surprise from the book he'd been studying at the desk in the corner of the room and the tightness in my chest loosened as I looked at him. Shit, I'd really missed the grumpy asshole since he'd been hauled off to Darkmore and I'd been hauled out of my own damn mind and turned into a psycho mannequin.

"Tory?" he asked slowly, pushing himself to his feet as he