Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,5

able to take real joy in anything since Roxy had been taken from us. My heart felt like it was locked in a cage of ice and if we didn’t manage to find her soon then I wasn’t sure what would become of me.

I looked towards the other Heirs just as Max disbanded the concealment spell around them and my eyes managed to focus on their smiling faces instead of only seeing darkness where they’d been.

We headed down into my rooms and I used water magic to clean the dirt from my flesh as Seth took to my bathroom and set the shower running.

I changed into the charcoal suit Mom had left out for me and styled my hair like a diligent little Heir as I prepared to face the charade which was my birthday party. I didn’t know many twenty-year-olds who chose to celebrate with a sit-down banquet and a formal dance, but I didn’t give enough of a shit to complain about it. If I had my way, we wouldn’t be celebrating at all. Hell, if I had my way, I’d have spent the day alone with Roxy doing literally anything and it would have been perfect.

Seth lingered in the shower until Caleb cursed him and shot in there to toss him out. Max had cleaned himself off with water magic too and he chuckled as he tightened his tie, a little knowing smile on his face as he glanced towards the bathroom where the sound of them arguing spilled from the doorway.

Seth fell out of the room a moment later, soaking wet and butt naked with his ass leaving a print on my carpet as he cursed Cal out.

Caleb’s laughter came from the bathroom and Seth stomped away, drying himself with air magic before dressing in his grey suit. Before he’d even managed to pull his jacket on, Cal shot back into the room and dressed himself in a flash of Vampire speed before coming to a rest leaning against the door and inspecting his fingernails as if he’d been waiting for us for ages.

A knock sounded at the door and I called out for Jenkins to enter a moment before the wizened old butler stepped into the room.

“Your guests are waiting for you, Master Darius,” he simpered, bowing low like he wasn’t a conniving asshole and I dismissed him with a flick of my hand.

I looked around to make sure the others were ready and Seth used air magic to style his long hair into perfect waves as he hurried to catch up with us.

The closer we got to the banquet hall, the heavier the weight in my chest felt. I didn’t want to put on this show. I didn’t want to play this part. I ached to make a public challenge against my father and expose his lies and treason to everyone in the kingdom. And instead I was being trotted out like a fucking show pony. It made me sick to my stomach to think of sitting through his bullshit all night, but we had a plan which might just make it worth it.

Tonight, the other Heirs were going to stay with me in my rooms and we were going to use our combined magic to try and locate where the fuck he was keeping Roxy. I knew the power of the Guardian bond would continue to bind her to him even if we got her away from him, but I just had to get her out of his clutches.

If we could just get her back to her sister, I was sure we could find a way to pull her out of the shadows and then the Guardian bond could be dealt with in its own way. Even if the only way to sever it was to kill my father, that was alright because I planned on doing that anyway. His tie to her only gave me more motive.

The sound of a string quartet reached me as I approached the banquet hall and Seth brushed his hand down my back in a comforting gesture as if he could sense how much I was dreading this farce. Max pushed calming emotions over me and I allowed them to slip beneath my skin, needing all the help I could get to hold it together tonight.

Jenkins hurried ahead, announcing our arrival as the huge double doors were swept open and the guests all turned to applaud me as I entered the room.

I smiled politely and let myself