Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,195

away tonight, milking Catalina’s funeral for all it was worth and giving Darius and I a clear opportunity to read my father’s diary.

As the last rays of sunlight dripped through the summerhouse windows, my pulse began to pound. Night slid into existence and a blanket of stars spread across the sky as I waited anxiously for the moon to rise.

After a while, one of Lionel’s henchmen showed up to cast a ward around the perimeter of the summerhouse and lock me in for the night. I casually flipped him the finger while he worked and he scowled at me before heading away.

The moon soon peeked out above the trees beyond the pool and I moved to fetch the diary from my nightstand with my heart rate elevating. The leather binding was etched with stars and I ran my thumb across it, feeling closer to my father for a second. I thought about him a lot lately. About all the secrets he’d hidden, about the sacrifice he’d made for the entire kingdom.

If I’d had any doubts at all about him being a good man in the past, they were thoroughly squashed now. I just wished I’d gotten the chance to know him beyond my childhood. That he could have been there when I needed him most. When Lionel had bound me to Darius, when I’d not known what paths to take.

I guessed this diary was proof that he’d had faith in me, and there was some comfort in that. But it wasn’t the same as having had a parent to rely on, someone who could have offered me guidance when I was lost.

I hope I’m not a fuck up in your eyes, Dad. Even if the rest of the world thinks so.

The sliding door sounded and I turned, finding Darius walking in wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, something gripped in his hand.

“Happy birthday, Lance,” he said with a slanted smile as he offered up the gift which looked like it had been wrapped by a kid. I smirked as I shot over to him and took it, ripping off the paper and finding a small box inside. I opened it, gazing down at the little glass ball inside which swirled with the colours of a sunset.

My brows arched in surprise. “Is this a memento?”

“Yeah.” Darius combed a hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t wanna fall out with you over the Vegas. My father forced you to be on my side no matter what by making you my Guardian and I’m not gonna make you feel shitty about making your own mind up about the throne. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.” His brow furrowed. “And even though my mom isn’t really dead, being at her funeral today made me think about how easily you can lose the people you love. I won’t lose you because I don’t like your opinions on something that hasn’t even come to pass yet.”

I twisted the orb between my fingers, gazing at him and noticing how much of a man he’d become recently. “I’m always in your corner, Darius,” I said seriously. “But I know what I’m asking of you is a lot.”

“You’re still asking it then?” he jibed and I grinned.

“No point denying it.” I shrugged and he folded his arms, jerking his chin at the memento.

“Aren’t you gonna put my ball in your mouth then?” he asked.

I laughed. “Alright, but only because you asked so nicely, sugar.” I reached for his zipper and he snorted, batting my hand away.

“Get on with it, asshole,” he pushed and I lifted the orb to my lips and pushed it into my mouth.

The world around me changed. I was suddenly on top of a mountain sitting on the back of a huge golden Dragon. My heart lifted at the sight of the incredible sunset beaming out toward us above a sea of cloud below. Pastel colours bled into the sky, all of it painfully temporary as the sun sank away beneath the horizon. Darius released a booming roar then took off, sending snow crumbling out beneath his talons as he carried me toward the sunset. I felt the wind on my face, the lasting heat of the sun’s ray against my flesh. The memory was perfectly captured, the magic of it astounding.

Darius circled away from the sun and I gazed at the seam in the sky where night divided from day, a pool of stars chasing away the light. Darius raced toward them until it