Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,14

top of his head. They tickled and shoved each other as they laughed and played, looking like the Wolves they were. I grinned at them and they grinned back, running over to snare me in a two sided hug.

“Xavier! You’d better take me flying soon,” Athena begged and Grayson grabbed my face to pull me around to look at him.

“Me first, dude,” he insisted and I laughed, shoving them off and throwing a glance at Father whose right eye was twitching. Dragons didn’t let anyone ride them, but there was no such law for Pegasuses. Would he expect me to refuse like a Dragon or would he just accept that my Order lived by different rules? Not that I was going to ask for his opinion. No doubt he’d make it perfectly clear if he wanted to.

Hadley was carefully positioning his hair as he walked over to join us, but Ellis held back with her family while her mother whispered something in her ear.

“We’ve been placing bets on our second Elements, you want in Xavier?” Hadley asked with a dark smirk, his eyes drifting to Athena and lingering on her cleavage peeking out of her fitted blue dress before he looked back at me.

“My bet’s on Hadley being a single Elemental,” Athena taunted him and Hadley scowled.

“You’re just jealous that I’m going to get the best Elements, Athena. Earth and fire.” He pushed his fingers into his hair in a way designed to draw attention to his bicep, but Athena’s gaze didn’t falter from his face.

“Well unlike you, I don’t want to have the same second Element as my older brother, because I’m not a little Heir clone. I’m going to have air and water then I’ll make a tornado that sweeps you into a lake of my own design so I can drown your vain ass in it.”

Grayson barked a laugh, bouncing on his heels. “Maybe I’ll get air and fire and firenado your ass too, Hadley.”

Hadley rolled his eyes as Grayson shoved his arm. “You wish, Gray.”

“What do you think you’ll get, Xavier?” Athena turned to me with a bright smile.

I shifted on the tarmac, shrugging. “Honestly, I just can’t wait to have one Element, let alone-”

“Nonsense,” Father boomed, laughing loudly in that fake way he did at his pretentious parties. He dropped an arm around my shoulders, steering me away from the others and planting me next to Tory. “Xavier will make us proud as a double Elemental.” His grip on my shoulders grew painful, like he was warning me to produce two Elements or I’d be gutted. But what did he expect me to do? I couldn’t pluck extra Elements out of my ass if I didn’t have them. It was up to the stars what I was gifted tonight.

“What do you think you’ll get, Ellis?” Grayson bounded over to her like a dog who’d just been let off its leash, apparently having no awareness of her standoffish stance as he slung an arm around her and nuzzled into her hair.

She growled, shoving him off. “I don’t know, Grayson.”

“She’ll have water and air, just like Max,” her mother said firmly, elbowing Tiberius who quickly chimed in to agree.

“Yes, yes, most likely,” he agreed, smiling proudly.

“Are you gonna pick Aer House then, because your big brother doesn’t like you stepping on his toes, does he?” Grayson taunted and she rolled her eyes at him as he tried to paw at her again.

“I’ll go wherever I fancy,” she said with a cool smile and Grayson barked another laugh.

The gates suddenly opened and my heart beat powerfully in my chest as a tall woman appeared with her dark hair pulled into a bun. I’d seen enough pictures of her to know this was Principal Nova. She’d been especially helpful to my Father lately. Mom had told me she’d sent a letter promising to keep an eye on me while I was here. I mean, it wasn’t exactly a surprise to me that Father had the staff under his control considering he pumped Zodiac full of gold whenever the school board asked, but I still didn’t like the idea of being watched. This was a big school though and there was no way she’d be able to keep an eye on me twenty-four seven. And just the idea of being able to go about my day without a Dragon Lord breathing down my neck was like fifty million times better than my previous circumstances, so I was calling it a