Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,147

around it and meeting his dark eyes as I psyched myself up to do this.

Darius gave me a sharp nod and I held his gaze as I pulled it free. He cursed loudly and I pressed my fingers to the stab wound as I pushed healing magic beneath his skin, seeking out the connection to his magic so that I could fix it as fast as possible.

Xavier whinnied in anguish, stomping his foot and I worked to block him out as healing magic spread from my fingertips.

It took less than a second for my magic to latch onto Darius’s, that thunderous familiarity of his power calling to me like my name in the dark as I found it and I poured my power into him as fast as I could.

My eyes fell closed as I concentrated and after a few seconds, I flinched at the touch of his hand on my cheek as he sat up.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed, blinking back tears as the sight of him lying there, bleeding out on the floor consumed me for an eternal moment.

“I’m fine,” he promised, grasping my chin and tilting it up so that when I opened my eyes again I was forced to look at him and see the truth of those words. “I’ve been living with that monster for a long time. This doesn’t come close to the worst he’s done to me.”

A distressed whinny drew my attention from Darius and I glanced around to find Xavier still hovering right behind me with Catalina standing on the far side of the table. She hadn’t uttered a word though and the restrained way she held herself had me certain that she was suffering under Lionel’s thumb once more too.

I pushed myself to my feet and moved around the table, taking her hand and driving Phoenix fire beneath her skin, seeking out the Dark Coercion the way I had all those months ago and finding new commands binding her mind to Lionel’s will. I destroyed each and every one of them and she gasped as she was released, winding her arms around me and pulling me close as a choked sob escaped her.

“I’m so sorry, sweet girl,” she breathed. “For everything he’s done to you while I was forced to stand by.”

I fell still in her arms, unsure what to do with a mother’s embrace and feeling the weight of it right down to the base of my soul. I’d never had this. Never even come close to it. And something about it awakened a part of me I always liked to pretend wasn’t even there. The part who longed for a mother who had loved her, a family me and Darcy could have called our own but would never know.

“We don’t have time for this,” Darius said gravely and I turned to find him on his feet, his torn and bloody shirt sticking to his freshly healed skin as he looked at me and his mother with regret in his eyes. “He told you to put me back in my suite and he’ll notice if you take too long.”

“Okay,” I agreed, having no other choice though my mind was still reeling at what had just happened.

Darius cast a concerned look between his mother and Xavier then strode out ahead of me, leaving the others in the dining room with the half eaten meal.

We stayed silent as we moved through the busy palace towards the suites that had been allocated for Darius and Xavier on the second floor of the King's tower. There were servants everywhere, scurrying from one place to the next and ensuring we weren't really alone until the moment we reached his room.

When we stepped into the lavish suite that Darius had been given to call his own, he threw a silencing bubble up around us and slammed the door shut before pressing me back against the door and growling darkly. But I wasn't afraid. Even after all the reasons I'd been given to fear him, right then there wasn't a single piece of me that believed his fury was aimed my way.

"Say the word and I'll take my chances against him now," he growled, his voice rough and pained as his grip on my waist tightened and he pressed his forehead to mine, overwhelming me with his presence and making my breath catch in my throat.

"You can't," I breathed as the lights in the room began to flicker ominously, no doubt a warning from the stars about us