Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,316

me when we’d wrestled in the snow exactly a year ago in the grounds of this very place.

I should have told her then how much I wanted her. I should have been a true Fae and owned up to all the shit I’d put her through and just told her how much I admired her, hungered for her, needed her.

But I’d known I wasn’t good enough for her. Even then I’d known it, so rather than just tell her how I felt I’d hidden it. And look where that had gotten us.

I’m so fucking sorry, baby.

My heart was thumping to this horribly final rhythm that felt like a fucking death march as I walked towards my fate and all I could do was keep walking.

The chapel was set on the edge of the river which wound through this part of the grounds. There was a huge oak tree beside the beautiful stone building which was decked in fresh snow like everything else. It would have been stunning if I wasn't here for such a fucked up reason.

Someone pulled the doors wide for me as I arrived and Xavier snorted in distress as we stepped into the pretty little building.

There were six stained glass windows running along either side of the chapel, each with a different zodiac sign represented and my gaze snagged on the Gemini twins for a moment as my heart twisted sharply at the thought of what I was about to do.

The minister was already waiting for me before the altar and I took in his watery eyed face and white hair before dismissing him. He was just another tool my father was wielding against me.

Father rose from a seat in the front pew and my heart leapt as he tugged Roxy up beside him, yanking her to his side as he gave me a look that said he knew he'd won.

It was only us in here, and I wasn't sure if that was because he hadn't invited anyone else or if he just wanted a moment to twist the knife in my gut before letting them in.

Roxy’s face was pale and I found fear and pain in her big eyes, the echoes of what he'd done to her last night still lingering even though he'd healed her now. He'd put her in a white dress just to fucking mock me and the way the lace clung to her body made me ache for this to be some other reality. For it to be me and her standing here alone while I promised her everything I had to give.

She was breath taking to the point of pain and looking at her felt like there was a knife carving right through my heart because she would always be mine and could never be mine.

"Roxy," I breathed, looking into her eyes and trying to convey everything I was feeling to her without words.

I wanted to rip her from his arms, drag her away with me and just run and run until we were so lost that no one could ever find us again.

“Darius, I’m sorry,” she began and I was relieved to see he hadn’t managed to crush her with the shadows this time, but that just meant she was feeling every bit of pain he doled out to her.

"Drink this, Roxanya," Father commanded, holding out a vile of red liquid and making her take it into her hand.

"What is that?" I growled, wanting to snatch it away from her and throw it as far as I could.

"Drink it or I'll kill Xavier," Father added casually and I growled loudly as I stepped between him and my brother who whinnied in fright but still stood firm with me.

“It’s okay, Darius,” she insisted even though we both knew it wasn’t.

I reached out to snatch it, but I wasn’t fast enough to stop Roxy from unstoppering the bottle and drinking the contents down.

"What was that?" I yelled, not caring if the fucking minister was watching or not.

"Just a little essence of autumn bloom. So long as she drinks the spring shine elixir I have prepared within half an hour it won't be fatal. I wanted to be sure you didn't get any theatrical ideas about making some grand gesture during the ceremony,” Father said casually like he hadn’t just forced her to drink a deadly potion.

I shook my head, trying to deny that this was seriously fucking happening. Spring shine elixir took four days to brew and I didn't know of anywhere