Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,129

a silencing bubble around us before I spoke.

“I don’t know about okay, but can we go with functioning and work from there?” I asked with a hesitant smile.

“That sounds a bit like me with my Elemental magic,” he joked. “Everyone expects me to be able to do magic the way Darius can even though he got four years of early training before he even came here – it’s a total nightmare.”

“I’m sure you’re not that bad,” I said and he shook his head, causing glitter to tumble from his dark hair.

“It’s fine. I’ll get there. And in the meantime I don’t have to be in that fucking house – or palace now I guess. Point is, I’m here, I have a herd, I’m free. Or at least as free as I ever dreamed of being.”

I smiled at him, realising I had to look up at him now. He wasn’t just tall either, he was muscular too and his face had lost most of its boyish qualities. Genuine happiness washed through me and I found myself relaxing in his company. “I’m so pleased for you,” I said honestly.

“I never really got the chance to thank you for that,” he added.

“All I did was push you out of a window,” I teased but he shook his head, stepping forward and yanking me into a tight hug.

“No, Tory. You saved my life. You gave me…everything. I was too afraid to do what you pushed me to do alone but now I’m out of that house, away from those sessions he was making me have with Gravebone, I’m free to be the Pegasus I was born to be. And one day I’ll find a way to repay that debt to you.”

I smiled into Xavier’s blazer as he squeezed me hard enough to crush bones and something inside me seemed to settle. He was right, I had managed to do something good for him by showing the world what he was and freeing him from Lionel’s clutches. And if I was right by that monster’s side then I might have the chance to help someone else. I could listen to his secrets and use them all against him. For every life I managed to save and every plan of his I helped to sabotage, I’d be striking back against him. Little by little.

This feeling right here was what I needed to rely on to get me through the days of K.U.N.T. company and time spent by Lionel’s side. For every vile, stomach churning thing I had to listen to or witness, I would find a way to counter it with something good. I’d find a way to help. And then one day, we’d be ready to strike back at him and tear him from our throne.

“Thank you, Xavier,” I said, pushing out of his arms and giving him a fierce smile. “That was exactly what I needed today.”

“No problem,” he replied, not seeming to know what I meant by that, but he didn’t need to understand. The point was that I could do this. I could go back out there and play this part and no one would suspect a damn thing about where my true loyalties laid until it was too damn late.

I headed for the door, but Xavier called out to stop me before I could pull the door wide.

“Darius never gave up on you, you know that right?”

“What?” I breathed, the mixture of confusing emotions I felt towards his brother rising up in me again at the mere mention of his name.

“I just thought you should know. All the time Father had you, he spent every single minute searching for you, fighting back against the Nymphs, letting Darcy burn him half to death with Phoenix fire just to try and remove the shadows from his body so that he could challenge Father without Clara being able to stop him. It broke him losing you… So I guess what I’m saying is that I think you should give him the chance to make things right between you two. He’s been to hell and back losing you, Tory. Please don’t let Father win by keeping you away from him now.”

My lips parted on an answer, but I wasn’t sure what to say to him so I just nodded before dispersing the magic I’d used to hide us away in here and heading back out into The Orb.

I was going to have to spend some time figuring out what Darius was to me now. And