Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,41

with the cameras, casting ice into them to give us a chance to speak properly. “Lance you have to get out of here. My father…he’s taken the throne. He-”

“What?” I gasped, my lungs constricting, horror threading itself into my chest. I knew that we’d been running out of time, but I’d thought there was still some left. How could this have happened? How were we going to stop him now?

Darius started recounting how Lionel had made the Councillors bow to him and moved into the Palace of Souls and I just listened in silent dismay, losing hope by the second. And I’d barely had much to start with.

I cursed, the walls seeming to close in on me. I was so fucking useless in here. How the hell was I supposed to do anything to help?

“I’m sorry,” I rasped. “I’m sorry I’m no use, I’m sorry for fucking everything up.”

He sighed, his brows tugging together. “Just take the appeal.”

“That would only make things worse now,” I said quietly. “You know that’s true.”

“There must be some way,” he insisted. “I’ll speak to Nova, I’ll ensure Darcy’s place at Zodiac is secure.”

“Elaine Nova’s in Lionel’s pocket. Any excuse to get rid of Darcy and she’ll take it,” I spat and silence stretched for a moment as Darius tried to come up with another idea.

“Fuck.” Darius slammed his hand down on the table. “Well at least break that star vow with Darcy. You’re never going to find out what your father’s diary says if you can’t catch a damn break.”

I drew in a long breath, unable to deny it. But that would mean him bringing Darcy here again. Seeing her, getting her to break the last thing that tied us together. For all the bad luck in the world, a twisted part of me wanted the punishment. I’d broken her. I’d given her no choice. Betrayed her in a way I’d sworn never to. She wouldn’t ever trust me again. But I’d known all of that when I’d taken the stand in court, because regardless of the consequences, it was still better than the alternative. She would have lost her claim on the throne if she couldn’t be trained. As soon as our secret had been exposed, I had been the one thing standing in her way, the one thing that could cost her everything. And now with Lionel sitting on the throne, it was more important than ever that she would be able to fight him.

“We need this. If your father knew something, then we have to find out what it is. Astrum’s last Tarot card said to seek the fallen hunter. And that just has to be your dad,” Darius insisted.

“Yeah, maybe,” I grunted, scratching at my beard. “Or maybe not.”

“The diary has got to be important,” Darius insisted.

“But what if it’s just a diary?” I croaked, knowing that all the efforts I’d made to crack the password could be pointless, that all the hopes we were pinning on it could be in vain.

“Well we have to find out either way. We don’t have anything else to go on,” Darius said, sounding tired and I realised he looked it too. He was going through his own kind of hell out in the real world and it pained me to see him that way.

“Alright,” I gave in, my chest growing tight at the thought of what I had to do, but there was no choice. Darius was right; so long as the stars were cursing me with bad luck, I’d never figure out how to unlock the diary. “Bring her here.” Oh fuck why do I feel like I’m about to bust a lung at the thought of that?

I wanted to see Darcy again more than anything in the world. And yet I knew it would crush me all over again.

Darius smiled sadly as he nodded.

“She misses you, you know?” he said darkly. “She won’t say it, but-”

“Don’t,” I growled, my heart crumbling to dust in my chest. “I don’t wanna hear it. She should be moving on.”

“I think she has,” he said earnestly and I wasn’t prepared for how much that hurt me. I wanted it, I’d pushed for this, I knew it was what needed to happen. But the thought of her forgetting me, finding someone else, fuck, it was intolerable.

“But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss you,” Darius said sadly.

I miss her too. I miss her in every moment of every minute of every day. I will always miss her.

“Is