Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,301

callously murdered a family hiding in a barn and my stomach turned as I wished I didn’t have to see it.

The bodies fell into the mud and a cold laugh left my throat as the Nymphs around me gazed on in fear and respect. I thrived on it, death and power feeding the darkest piece of my soul and making me hunger for more.

The vision changed once more and I sat on a throne made from the curving bow of a tree, placed at the top of a large hill with an ornate stone gazebo standing over it.

A man was escorted toward me, flanked by two Nymphs in their shifted forms while other guards stood watching closely. The man was tall and blonde, his eyes deepest green and I recognised him as the Dragon Master, Octavius Acrux. He was handsome. A man I respected and had quietly coveted from afar.

“Princess Lavinia.” He bowed lowed. “I bring a gift from my family. An offering of peace from the Dragon Guild.” He stepped aside and a large, rectangular object came floating forward on a gust of air he cast. He placed it upright in front of me and moved to tug the silk free from it.

A beautiful gilded mirror was revealed, the frame silver, twisting like vines around its edges, covered in delicate roses. I stood from my throne and gazed at my reflection.

The girl staring back at me was stunning, her hair long and raven, her eyes two purest marbles of blue. She was beautiful, her lips full and wide and her features strong. She looked like a warrior, her body clad in armour, scars marking her arms.

“We want to offer you an alliance,” Octavius said, moving to stand beside the mirror as I admired it. “I know you are seeking to claim the throne from the Vegas, but you haven’t got the numbers behind you to face them. Uniting with the Dragons would make us all strong enough to achieve it together.”

Hope stirred in my chest as I looked to him, but suspicion too. “And how am I to trust you?”

The man dropped down to one knee with a smile, taking out a wooden box and offering me a ring. “Marry me and make a promise on the stars. Our families will be bound by the powers of the heavens. Acrux and Umbra. Our Seer has had a great prophesy. Gaze into the mirror so you can see for yourself.” He gestured for me to step forward and I did so cautiously. I needed this, I wanted to be a queen more than anything else in the world. But I had never wanted to share my throne…

I stepped in front of the mirror and the image twisted, showing me sitting on a large throne in a room full of burning sconces. The throne was made of a deep, ruby red glass, glinting in the firelight. The place was beautiful, the high walls towering and seemingly built from the earth itself. Beside me in another throne of deepest sapphire was Octavius Acrux, his robes crimson and his eyes shifted into reptilian slits, gazing at me adoringly. Across my lap was a beautiful silver sword with a glittering stone in the hilt. I looked happy, in love. So maybe sharing my throne wasn’t unfathomable. If ever a man were to capture my heart, it wouldn’t be so bad if it were this one.

The vision in the mirror faded and I looked at Octavius in awe. “I’ll have the Imperial Star?”

“It will be ours,” he growled. “The Vegas will fall, we’ll claim the Palace of Flames and destroy the last of the Phoenixes.”

“But how will we defeat the Queen?” I asked.

“I know of a dark curse that even her power cannot overcome,” he said with a twisted smile. “Once her army is defeated, you can use the power of the shadows to ensure we can destroy her at last.”

Excitement swelled in my chest and I nodded keenly, accepting the ring from him and the vision changed once more.

I was on a bloody battlefield and Nymphs were falling all around me, Phoenix fire tearing through their bodies and casting them to ash. They raced through the sky on flaming wings, raining down hellfire on their enemies. I fought against Fae on the ground with everything I had. They weren’t just using their Elements to counter my attacks, they were using dark magic, fighting the shadows of my Nymphs with power wielded through bones to