Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,214

and I could feel the ripples of his movement rebounding through the air every time he moved.

The need to open my eyes was overwhelming and I had to fight it with every scrap of self control I had. But as Darius grunted in pain, I couldn't help but crack an eye open to see what had happened to him.

My breath stilled in my chest as he fell to his knees before a monstrous beast, his eyes wide and locked in the blood red gaze of the creature. His axe fell slack at his side and my heart fractured.

The Reaper Hound prowled forward, teeth bared and drool sliding from its jaws as its rotting flesh was stretched into a hellish snarl.

"No!" I roared, racing towards him as the beast's red eyes flared with power and I ripped the axe from Darius’s grip before swinging it with every scrap of strength I held in my body.

The axe fell on the hound's neck, bone snapping and a huge thump sounding as I severed its head with a furious scream as I refused to let that monster steal him from me.

Darius gasped as he rocked back onto his heels, suddenly freed from its monstrous power.

Max roared a challenge to the sky and a huge air shield was blasted into existence surrounding all of us as he fought to keep the creatures back.

Seth raised his hands too, strengthening the magic as the hounds dashed themselves against the shield, barking and snarling in wild fury as they tried to break through it.

I lunged at Darius, dropping the axe by my feet and slamming into him hard enough to knock him back onto his ass as I landed in his lap.

"Is it you?" I demanded, looking into his dark eyes and grabbing his face between my hands as I held him still, searching for the man the stars had chosen for my mate. "Are you still you?"

"It's me, Roxy," he said roughly, his hands moving to grasp my waist as he looked at me like I was the answer to every question he'd ever asked of the world.

Relief spilled through me in an overwhelming torrent that made me sag forward as I pressed my forehead to his for the briefest of moments before rearing back again.

"You fucking idiot," I snapped, punching him in the chest as I realised he was okay. "Why the fuck were your eyes open?"

"Because I wasn't going to risk them getting past me to you," he snarled like that was the most obvious thing in the world and I punched him again.

"And what would I do without you?" I demanded, making his eyes widen with surprise before I even realised what I'd said, but fuck it.

I didn't even want to think about the answer to that question or the implications of me asking it, so I just tipped my chin up and climbed off of him, closing my eyes tight as I raised my hands and added my air magic to the shield.

I cursed as the hounds crashed against it, trying to force their way in and the entire thing rattled with the strength of their power.

"How long can you hold it?" Caleb demanded from my left.

"Longer if we power share," Max grunted and Darius grasped my left arm instantly.

The moment I felt his magic pushing up against the barrier of mine, I opened myself to it, the feeling of his power merging with mine the most natural, exhilarating sensation in the world.

But if I'd thought that was a rush then it was nothing compared to what happened when he connected his magic to Caleb's then Seth's and the barrage of their magic flooding into my body almost knocked me from my feet.

I gasped aloud as I fought to contain so much power at once and when Geraldine grabbed my other arm and her and Max's power joined with ours too, my knees almost buckled from the weight of all of it.

"Ho-ly fuck," Caleb groaned.

"This might just be better than sex," Seth gasped and I made a sound of acknowledgement which came out as a breathy moan.

"Good golly lobsters," Geraldine sighed and for once I knew exactly what she fucking meant.

The Reaper Hounds continued to throw themselves against the shield and I grunted with the effort of holding them back as we all flooded our magic into keeping it in place.

"Come on, Darcy," I growled, hoping for some miraculous twin instincts to give her the message to hurry the fuck up, because even