Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,278

in the dark woodland. I listened for sounds of anyone close by, but all was quiet. Darius had messaged to say the Nymphs were at the palace as his father wanted to show off his control of them to his pious followers. For once, we were lucky he was such a vain, prideful bastard. Because his peacocking had opened up a window of opportunity for us. So Blue and I were climbing through it, about to piss all over him. Metaphorically speaking, obviously. But I wouldn’t have minded taking a piss on the Dragon King if I ever got the chance.

We were both dressed in black, but it was just an extra precaution. I’d make sure we were shrouded in concealment spells as we moved. It was going to be an in and out job. No time wasting. And as a Vampire, that was kind of my fucking forte.

“Do you remember where you last saw Diego?” I asked Darcy and she frowned thoughtfully. The moonlight highlighted her face in profile and my gaze slid over her small nose and full lips. Lips I wanted to score my thumb across before claiming, marking, biting – concentrate, asshole.

“I’ll recognise it when we get closer to the house. It’s somewhere over that way I think.” She pointed off into the trees to our right and I nodded.

I stepped toward the wards, feeling their energy humming close to my flesh as I reached out and angled my palms towards them. My mother’s magic was powerful, but her blood ran in me – much to my misfortune – so I could get onto the property if she hadn’t restricted my access. And as I’d been a prisoner for months, I was betting that she wouldn’t have bothered. As my hand slid through the invisible barrier, I grinned triumphantly, pressing my magic into it and creating a doorway for Darcy to pass through.

“Your carriage awaits, ma’am.” I beckoned her forward and she stepped through the gap.

“Are you my carriage?” she asked.

“Yeah, I forgot my saddle, but you can ride me bareback, right?” the joke slipped out as easily as if we were still a couple and I immediately regretted it.

She punched my arm, but a smile played around her lips and my regrets instantly went away.

“So that’s a yes?” I taunted and she rolled her eyes.

“Stop wasting time,” she muttered, walking ahead of me but she was definitely trying to hide her smile from me. And that made me feel all kinds of good.

I glanced between the dark trees. I needed to mark this area out so we could find it again. I didn’t want to leave anything too conspicuous, but I also wasn’t going to take any risks. If we had to run, or if we got split up, Darcy needed to find her way back to this place.

I used my water magic to cast glinting icicles on the nearest tree, the moonlight just highlighting them if she came looking.

“That’s your way out if things go to shit,” I told her and she gazed up at the icicles in concern. But her expression quickly hardened into resilience. “It won’t go to shit. We’ll find the hat and be gone before you know it.”

I started casting concealment spells and she helped, adding to my magic until the darkness clung to us.

“Okay, let’s go,” she breathed and I turned around.

“Hop on, beautiful,” I instructed and she jumped up onto my back, wrapping her legs around my waist. The warmth of her body against me felt so fucking good and I was seriously not complaining about being her steed for the night.

Her knee nudged the diary which I’d concealed in my pocket, shrinking it down and using an illusion to make it look like a silver coin. It was too important to ever let it out of my sight and I double checked that it was still in place before getting ready to run. I held onto Blue’s thighs as she wound her arms around my neck and leaned in close, her breath on my neck sending a line of heat straight to my dick. This is not the fucking time.

She cast a tight silencing bubble around us and I shot off through the trees, focusing on the task at hand.

It wasn’t long before we made it to the edge of the treeline and I slowed, letting Darcy get down as we hid in the shadows and gazed out across the yard toward my old home. The house