Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,25

a frown and Sofia cast a silencing bubble before the two of them started having a tense discussion.

I shared a look with Geraldine who cleared her throat loudly, waving her hand and casting a fog of water that surrounded them too, cutting them off from sight. Subtle.

My gaze drifted to where Diego used to sit, his spot now filled by some new A.S.S. member. My heart rose into my throat and I quietly cursed the stars over his death. I didn’t have his hat which he’d told me to take; it was almost certainly somewhere in the woods at Stella Orion’s house, but getting in there would be all but impossible now with the Nymphs guarding it. And whatever secrets lay with it were lost unless we could figure out how to reach it.

It had been hard to focus on anything else but Tory over the summer and how Orion was rotting in a jail cell. It was like the stars had cast all of our fates to ruin in one fell swoop and laughed as they watched the shattered pieces fall. Now all the Heirs and I could do was try to pick up the pieces and find a way to fix what had been broken. But sometimes that seemed like an insurmountable task. And it weighed on my heart like a tonne of lead.

As always, when my mind drifted, I started spiralling into the pit of despair that lived inside me. So I cut myself off from it once more and forced the pain away. If there was one thing this whole shit storm had taught me, it was that tears saved nobody and dwelling on regrets was as useful as cutting my own hands off. Darius was the only one who understood fully, and together we’d found a way to keep moving, because giving up wasn’t an option and talking over and over our woes did nothing but bring us down. One small mercy I’d been gifted was that I’d found a bond with him I’d never expected to have. And though trust was something I doubted I’d ever feel again for anyone besides family, Darius Acrux came surprisingly close. And so did the other Heirs sometimes.

Geraldine suddenly dropped a bagel that was halfway to her mouth, her eyes stretched wide. She released a noise like a strangled peacock then flew out of her seat. Another bagel shot out of her grip as she brought a hand to her forehead and it smacked Justin in the face, the cream cheese making it stick. “Grapefruits in a snowstorm, it cannot be!”

I twisted around, my gaze falling on the girl who’d just walked in the door, my heart lurching, my breath catching, a ringing filling my ears. Her face was pale and everything about her seemed endlessly dark, but it was her. Tory was here.

I sprang out of my seat, rushing toward her as my heart pounded right up into my skull. I couldn’t think or breathe, no rational thought entered my head as I collided with her, crushing her against me in a fierce hug while she just stood there.

I half noticed Mildred and Marguerite trailing behind her among more of the H.O.R.E.S and grimaced as I dragged her away from them.

I leaned back to look at her, tears burning the backs of my eyes as I tried to form a question, absorbing the fact that she was really in my arms.

The door opened again behind her and Darius appeared, halting dead in his tracks, his lips parting and suddenly he was upon us, wrenching Tory from my arms and twisting her around to face him.

“You’re back,” he rasped.

“How did you escape?” I managed to get out, pushing one of Darius’s hands off her so I could get close again. I realised The Orb was utterly silent and one look to my left told me Max, Caleb and Geraldine were closing in on us and the rest of the students in The Orb were watching intently.

“Come on, let’s go somewhere private.” Darius tugged Tory’s arm but she yanked her hand free, straightening her sleeve where he’d ruffled it with a pinched look of disgust.

“No thanks,” she said, brushing past us and leaving us there in her wake.

I ran after her, pulling her around to face me again, holding onto her when she tried to continue walking. “Tory, it’s me, it’s Darcy. Look at me,” I demanded, desperation clawing at my insides.

Muttering broke out but I didn’t care, my