Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,332

blow of his sword and I sighed internally. There goes my future best friend.

I took off across the sand as a few of the Nymphs retreated towards a wide doorway that led beneath the amphitheatre and Max worked to break down the shield stopping him from following.

Darcy fought with the horned Nymph with the savagery of her father and I howled my joy before turning and leaping out of the pit into the stands.

I snapped at the heels of the crowd as they fled, knocking them down with my huge paws and spotting Rosalie’s beautiful silver form ahead of me, leading a pack of Oscura Wolves. I howled to her in greeting and she turned her head, barking in reply.

I sprinted through her pack until I reached her at the front and we ran side by side, trampling any unlucky piece of shit who got in our way.

I hunted for Caleb in the madness, but there were too many Fae running all over the place. It was impossible to find him. I just hoped he had made it to Tory already, because we had to get her away from Lionel. Then maybe one of us would be lucky enough to get a shot at killing him.

I stood by Clara's side, locked in place by the shadows she wielded to stop anyone from making it close to attack us. Lionel paced before us, glaring down at the fight taking place in the pit while the sound of the rebels and Dragons clashing outside called to us where we stood in the royal box.

My muscles were rigid with tension as she forced me to remain utterly still, even my jaw locked tight against any words I might speak while Xavier received the same treatment on her other side.

“How long until my Nymph army arrives to crush these traitors?” Lionel demanded.

“They’re coming, Daddy,” Clara assured him, the shadows coiling around her wildly. “Some will be here soon. Some are very, very, very, very, very far away-”

“You’re the one who told me they needed fresh victims. I only sent them north because you insisted they be given the chance to claim magic for themselves and now they aren’t here when I need them,” he snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “If they fail me now, you’ll be the one I blame.”

Clara whimpered pathetically, turning to me and slapping me across the face as hard as she could, making my head wheel sideways and my lip split as the shadows stopped me from fighting back.

“Your sister is making Daddy sad!” she shouted, pointing in my face and I just smiled at her to let her see how I felt about that while she still refused to let me speak.

Clara shrieked as she lunged at me but Lionel caught hold of the back of her dress to stop her before she could reach me.

"This is unacceptable," Lionel snarled. "I won't stand for it anymore. If the Nymphs don't finish the job down there, then I'll do it myself. Every single Fae who has shown up here to fight in defence of that Vega girl has proven themselves to be disloyal to the crown. They're traitors and this is an act of treason, the penalty for which can only be death."

My skin prickled at his words but I refused to let them fill me with fear. The Heirs were here, the rebels too. Darcy could make it out of this, I believed in her.

Clara parted the shadows so we could see down to the battle below and Orion shot across the sandy pit below us, swinging his sword with a cry of fury. My lips twitched in triumph as the Nymph he struck split apart into shadows with a shriek of agony as it died.

"Enough!" Lionel roared, his voice echoing off of the stands as the Dragon in him showed through. "Clara, get down there and end this now. I won't stand by and watch it play out any longer."

"Yes, my King," she purred excitedly, moving straight towards the wall that lined the balcony and hopping up onto it before leaping over the edge.

Shadows rose up all around her as she used them to float down into the middle of the battle which was raging below us and I was left alone with Lionel and Xavier.

My eyes locked on my sister as she fought furiously and that shadow whore moved straight towards her with a terrifying grin on her face as her darkness built and writhed