Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,42

she…okay?” I asked in a tight voice. I generally avoided talking about her with him in any depth, but this question was one I asked often. It gave me some peace knowing Darius was looking out for her, that she was still safe. And I guessed that was the most peace I would ever have over her.

“No one’s okay right now, but she’s coping,” he said with a deep frown. “There’s some hope for Roxy. I’ll let you know if it pays off.”

I knew he couldn’t tell me more even with the cameras disrupted, just in case, but my heart lifted all the same. “That’s good. Just be careful.”

“Always,” he promised then he fell into telling me everything about Xavier’s Awakening and hinting at how him, Darcy and the other Heirs were all working together to figure out a way to take on Lionel. My heart swelled at the thought. I might have been broken, hurt, and ruined by destroying us. But the sacrifice had been worth it. She was becoming the queen she was always meant to be. It was just hard to accept that I was never going to be her king.

A ll hail the goddamn, asshole of a king. I’d been up half the night again at the Hollow, discussing everything that Lionel’s ascension to the throne meant with the Heirs while trying not to lose my mind with fear.

Now, I was lying on the couch after a few broken hours of sleep. My head was pressed to a warm arm and I drew in a breath as the scent of smoke, cedar and coffee reached me. Beyond the window, the dawn was red, the light seeping through the sky like blood. And I couldn’t help but feel that the world was wounded.

Everyone knew about the shadows now; it had been broadcasted to the whole world and Lionel had made it clear Tory had the gift of them too. No one would dare challenge him while he held that kind of power, they couldn’t. And now everyone in school would fear my sister almost as much as him too.

I sat upright, looking at Darius beside me who had smoke pluming from his nose as he slept, his brow creased with lines as nightmares plagued him.

Geraldine was curled up in an armchair across the room and Max was at her feet on the rug, his arm slung over his eyes. On my other side Seth was curled up like a dog, though he was in his Fae form. My eyes fell on Caleb last in the kitchenette across the room pouring coffee. Ah coffee. The shit that couldn’t solve anything but made everything seem better for five minutes.

Caleb shot around the room in a blur of motion, planting a cup in my hand with a smirk at the fact that he hadn’t spilled a drop. He placed the others down beside everyone else before lowering into an armchair, his ankle balanced on his knee and his hair freshly styled. He was in his uniform and I guessed he’d been up for a while, but you could never tell with a Vampire considering they could do things at ten times the speed of a normal Fae. If they were ever a second late to anything it was absolutely intentional. And a Vampire-who-would-not-be-named was the kind of asshole who used to like intentionally doing shit like that. Damn, why do I miss that?

“What time is it?” I asked as I sipped my coffee, the zing of caffeine helping to rouse me further.

“Half seven,” Caleb said. “Nova’s called an assembly at eight.” He waved his Atlas at me and I searched for mine, finding it wedged under Darius’s leg. He jerked awake as I grabbed it, breathing in sharply and looking at me through squinting eyes. “Pinching my ass, Gwen?”

I snorted. “Gross. And don’t call me Gwen.”

“Why’s that gross?” Seth asked as he woke, yawning broadly as he sat up and nuzzled into my neck in his Wolfish way. He did that shit so often these days, I didn’t even notice it half the time. “Darius has a lovely peachy ass.”

“Because he’s in love with my sister which makes him about as appealing to me as a three day old tuna sandwich – no offence,” I tossed at Darius and he smirked.

“You’re an old tuna sandwich to me too, Gwen,” he agreed and I punched him over the name, but couldn’t fight a smirk.

“Mmm, tantalising tuna,” Geraldine mumbled in her sleep.