Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,187

under my hands. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to rid myself of images of them together. Hugging, kissing, fucking.

“No,” I spat, snatching up a wooden chair and launching it at the wall.

It shattered into fifty pieces, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to see Seth torn into fifty pieces, not a fucking chair. I needed to make him hurt, make him fucking scream.

The sliding door opened and I wheeled around with a growl, my gaze falling on the girl stepping in.

The air rushed out of my body and my heart free fell in my chest. I’d longed for her to come and see me since I’d arrived here, but she’d never appeared. Even when Lionel had come to visit, he’d only ever brought Tory. Not her. But now my sister was stepping into this house, looking curious yet nothing like herself. Her hair was a dark sea of shadow and her body was wrapped in the same substance, the dress coiling around her flesh. I finally had her alone. And I didn’t know how the fuck to act.

“Clara,” I rasped, rushing toward her, but before I could get close, she locked down the shadows in me, making me slam to a halt a few feet from her.

“Hello, baby brother,” she purred, cocking her head to one side as she moved further into the summerhouse. “I’m not supposed to be here.” She giggled, looking around mischievously. “Daddy doesn’t want me visiting you.”

“And why not?” I demanded, my blood heating as she drifted through the room like a wraith.

My stomach twisted as I examined her. She wasn’t herself. The shadows had consumed her. But I’d seen pieces of my sister in her eyes, so surely she could come back to me? Tory had. So why not her?

“Because you’re a bad, bad boy,” she said with a psychotic smile. She climbed up onto the back of the couch, tiptoeing along it as she gazed down at me with intrigue.

“Listen to me,” I gritted out. “Lionel’s your enemy, you’re trapped in the shadows.”

She flicked her hand and I yelled out as the shadows wrapped around my insides, squeezing until it felt like my organs were going to burst. I only managed to stay on my feet because she was keeping me upright with her power. “Don’t you dare say a nasty word against Daddy. He looks after me, he loves me.”

“He doesn’t love anything but himself,” I snarled and Clara shrieked like I’d struck her.

She leapt off of the couch, landing in front of me and grabbing my face between her hands, taking in the familiar freckles dotting her nose. Her touch was ice cold and her eyes were clouded with shadow. Beneath them was a glimmer of my sister though, just waiting there to come out. I know you’re in there.

“Clara,” I croaked. “Don’t you remember me?”

Her gaze moved over my face, the anger in her features slipping away until a longing filled them instead. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she drew in a small and hopeful breath.

“Lance,” she breathed, falling forward and holding onto me. The shadows stopped controlling my body and I gasped, wrapping my arms around her, her slight frame pressing to mine. Her shoulders shuddered and her nails dug into my back in desperation. “Help me,” she sobbed. “Don’t let me go. Let it end here. No more, no more, no more.”

Pain spilled through me at her words and I wished I knew what to do. I pressed her back, my heart thrashing as I caught her chin and tilted her head up to look at me. Her lower lip quivered and the fog cleared in her eyes, so her beautiful ebony irises shone back at me.

“Is it really you?” I asked in desperation and she nodded.

“I’m here. I’m always here,” she said with a choked noise. “But she’s here too.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded, holding onto her as I tried to figure out what to do. How the fuck could I help her??

She snarled suddenly, jerking away from me and whipping a hand out. The shadows forced me to the ground on my front and her bare foot dug into my spine. “Worthless little beast, don’t you touch me. Only my king can touch me!”

The shadows dug deeper, burrowing into my chest as agony splintered through my limbs. My jaw locked as I was held in their power and felt them winding around my heart, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing.

“It’s going to go pop,