felt like the heavens were going to swallow us up and peace caressed my heart.
I took the memento from my mouth and the memory evaporated around me so I was stood gazing at my closest friend once more.
“We’ll go there again one day,” he promised. “Somehow, we’ll figure out all this bullshit. I just wanted you to have a piece of something good. A time when things were better.”
I gave him a sad sort of smile and he moved forward to embrace me. I clapped him on the back knowing with absolute certainty that, Guardian bond or not, Darius Acrux was a friend made for me by the stars themselves. And nothing would ever change that.
“Shall we find out what my father knew?” I asked and he nodded as he pulled away, tension lining his brow.
I placed the memento in the drawer by my nightstand then headed to the sliding door, following Darius outside where we moved to sit at a table next to the pool. I laid the diary down as Darius started casting illusions to hide us and a silencing bubble too.
The full moon was hidden behind a small gathering of clouds above, but as I flipped open the first page of the diary, the clouds shifted and silvery light filtered over us like a fog. Letters lit up on it in silver, shimmering like stardust as they twisted around the paper then settled into place in dark ink, the light falling away. I held my breath as I tracked my eyes over the words and the hand drawn image of a fallen star at the bottom of the page. This is it. This is what we’ve been waiting for.
Your first and most urgent task.
Dearest Lancelot,
It’s time for you to learn the ways of the Zodiac Guild. The last of us lie dead, but I am the only one who found a grave. My death was planned meticulously for this purpose. And in my death, I can only hope you are the man Queen Vega foresaw you to be.
It is time for you to resurrect the Guild. You will take Ling Astrum’s position as Guild Master and initiate your most trusted, loyal friends to its cause.
The Imperial Star awaits you in my tomb at The Everhill Graveyard. Know this, it can only be wielded by a reigning sovereign, so it must stay out of Lionel Acrux’s hands if he has ascended to the throne.
If things have gone as hoped, you will have access to the rings of the Vega Princesses. Both are needed to open the tomb, but be warned, this ancient graveyard is heavily protected. Only those proficient in dark magic can enter.
Go now while the stars are in alignment.
You can do this, my boy.
Holy shit. My dad had a grave. I recalled my mom telling me he’d been cremated. She even had an urn on her mantlepiece. Had it all been a farce?
“Well this has been a waste of time,” Darius sighed and I looked up at him.
“What?” I balked.
“The moon isn’t doing shit,” Darius said, gesturing to the diary with a frown. “Maybe it needs to lay in the moonlight for a while?”
“You can’t see it?” I asked in surprise.
“Wait, you can?” he gasped, shifting closer.
I nodded, a laugh escaping me. “I guess it’s for my eyes only. Actually, my dad mentioned something about that in his letter to me-”
“What does it say, asshole?” he demanded.
“It says where the Imperial Star is,” I whispered, my heart pounding excitedly. “And we need to go get it right fucking now.”
I stood from my seat, pushing the diary into my pocket and Darius jumped up with a dark, unbridled wildness in his eyes. I’d continue reading tonight just as soon as we had the Imperial Star.
“Fuck yes.”
“The only thing is, it looks like we won’t be able to use it. It says only a reigning sovereign can wield it,” I sighed.
“Well let’s at least keep it the fuck away from my father,” Darius said firmly and I nodded.
“You’d better remember everything I taught you, because my dad says we’ll need dark magic to reach it. Have you kept all of my artefacts?” I asked.
“All of them,” he confirmed. “They’re at the academy.”
“We need the twins’ rings too, the ones their mother left for them,” I said and Darius nodded, his brows pulling together. “Alright. Do you know where we’re going?”
“Yes, my dad has a tomb at The Everhill Graveyard in western Lacrovia. The Imperial Star’s with him,” I