Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,242

drown-off with the hopes that I could hold my breath for longer.

Darius held me down and the two of us glared at each other through the blurry water dividing us, daring the other to flinch first.

My lungs began to burn and bubbles slid from my lips as the seconds ticked past and neither of us let up on our positions for a single second.

Just as I was sure one of us was going to have to crack, a whip of water slapped down across my thighs so hard that the pain broke my concentration and my hold on the water surrounding Darius fell apart. He released me in the same moment and I lurched upright, sucking in a breath as I found Geraldine standing over us with a water whip held in her hand poised to crack again.

"You pair of wet Wallys will get yourselves killed with this machismo lollygagging one of these days, mark my words," she announced, raising the whip threateningly.

"I should put you on your ass for that," Darius growled as he stood, offering me a hand and as he pulled me up I noticed a pink whip mark crossing his back where she'd hit him too.

"I'd like to see you try," she scoffed, lifting her chin. "Some of us actually pay attention in class, so I'm sure that I'll be above you in the pecking order soon if I'm not already."

"You wanna put your money where your mouth is, Gerry?" I teased, casting some water over myself to remove the sand from my skin.

"Why are you always trying to tangle your tentacles around me, Maxy boy?" she demanded.

"I'd have thought that was pretty obvious by now," I said in a low voice.

"Oh hell no," Darius growled drawing my attention to what he was glaring at on the far side of the lagoon.

Tory and Darcy were working on lifting whirling water up above the surface into mini cyclones, and Tory was lost in the movements of the work, trailing her fingertips so that the water swirled all around her legs while she moved in circles to draw it up around her. As she worked, Washer was closing in on her, whirling his hips around and around in circles like he was using a hula hoop and shouting, "Rotate! Rotate! Gyrate!"

Darius took an angry step towards them but Tory beat him to it, sinking her fingers into the water and pushing more magic into it before the cyclone took off, leaving her behind and crashing into Washer. It scooped him up and spun him around while he wailed something about the powerful thrust she'd created then he was launched away from her towards the centre of the lagoon.

She did a pretty good job of keeping her bitchy shadow girl mask in place, but as she turned and looked at Darcy, a smirk escaped her hold and the tension ran out of Darius's limbs.

While I'd been distracted, Geraldine had taken the opportunity to stride away from me and I sighed as I watched her go, my gaze finding her ass in the tight swimsuit she was wearing as I sagged in defeat.

"Dammit, why is she always walking away from me?" I grumbled but Darius had ditched me too, heading over to Tory with water magic swirling around his arms before he cast a field of liquid flowers to bloom all around her.

Tory's lips twitched as she stole control of the water and created a miniature city instead, the Empire State Building rising up in the centre of it. Enough lust was pouring from the two of them to make my skin tingle and I decided to leave them to it.

I made the decision to hound after Geraldine, but before I could, my little sister stepped in front of me, arms folded and chin raised in a challenge, causing me to sigh as I felt the lecture coming even without using my gifts. She really was her mother’s daughter.

"What do you want, Ellis?" I asked her in a tired tone.

"Mom said you had to help me master my water magic, Max," she said haughtily. "And you haven't even helped me once. Am I going to have to call her and tell her all you do is hang out with the other Heirs and laze about all the time?"

"Do what you want, Ellis. I don't have to teach you shit, especially when you're being a little snot bag. Go cry to Mom about being a single Elemental who needs extra tuition,