Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,148

being alone. "Please, Darius, don't do anything that will get you hurt."

"I'm not letting you go to him," he snarled and I shook my head as every piece of me ached with the desire to be able to stay here instead, even though the prospect of that still terrified me too.

"I have to," I replied simply, reaching for the door handle behind me as thunder boomed beyond the windows. If I lingered here, the stars would make sure everyone in the palace knew about it. Not to mention the fact that he was too close, his flesh too warm against mine, his presence too overwhelming and my scars too tender to figure out if I wanted that or not. Especially right now after I'd had to watch his father stab him. It was too much. He was too much. And I couldn't cope with it right now while Lionel was waiting for me.

"Stay," Darius demanded, his voice a growl that ripped a hole right through me even though we both knew his request was impossible.

"I can't," I whispered, twisting the handle at my back and swallowing the lump in my throat as I stepped out into the corridor, leaving him inside alone while my heart thundered in my chest.

He didn't do anything to stop me from leaving but the look in his eyes cut into me as I closed the door between us again and sealed it up with shadows like Lionel had told me to.

As the darkness writhed and twisted beneath my skin, I let the shadows delve deeper than I had all week, needing to coat myself in an armour made of them if I was going to have any hope of making it through the next part of this evening without giving myself away.

I took a moment to try and compose myself, willing my pulse to settle, my tears not to fall. I couldn’t feel this right now. None of it. So I sank deeper into the shadows with a sigh of relief and let them consume every emotion burning through my blood until I couldn’t feel any of it anymore.

I strode up the winding staircase of the King's tower, climbing higher and higher until I finally reached the top where the predictable sounds of Clara screaming out in ecstasy reached me from beyond the door.

I released a shaky breath and pulled the shadows even closer, letting them lick their way along my limbs and sending shivers of pleasure through my flesh. I was treading a thin line, needing to stay lucid enough to be sure I’d stick to our plan for tonight while using the shadows to deaden me to everything else. But if I was going to be certain Lionel wouldn’t discover me, I had to be as emotionless as possible around him.

I just needed to make it back to Darcy. That was what I had to focus on.

“Give it to me, Daddy!” Clara screamed and I shuddered, trying not to think of the times over the summer when I’d been sitting in the room while he fucked her.

Luckily for me, Clara wouldn’t hear any suggestion of me joining them during those activities which I hadn’t had much feeling on one way or any other at the time, but I was endlessly grateful for now. Lionel seemed to want to keep her happy and she had made it clear that as his favourite she was the only one who would be screwing him, which he seemed to go along with to appease her temper tantrums over other issues. Considering she was the one with the real control over the Nymph army, I could only imagine he was treading a fine line keeping her in check.

I waited until I heard Lionel grunting his release, giving them a few more moments to pull their clothes on and pushed the door open before stepping inside.

Lionel was laying in the centre of the bed with a pair of black boxer briefs in place and Clara's weird shadow dress had transformed into some semblance of a nightdress too. I hadn’t really given any consideration to that while I'd been under Lionel's control, but now that I thought about it, she never seemed to wear any real clothes. Even her hair seemed to be made of shadows. What was with that? Come to think of it, she never showered either. And only seemed to eat if she was joining in with our king, like tonight. What the fuck is she?

I headed