Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,74

from the carnage as a guard shouted out and came running over to see what had happened.

I grabbed Poltergeist’s arm as he stood stock still staring at the chaos and I dragged him down the next aisle, putting as much distance between us and that bleeding Minotaur as possible.

We rounded into a dark aisle in the far right corner of the library and Poltergeist wheezed as he caught his breath. “Thank you,” he said heavily.

“It’s nothing,” I said, waving him off but he clutched my arm, tugging to make me look down at him.

“I wasn’t sure if I could trust you,” he whispered in a rush, his yellowy eyes flicking back and forth between mine. “I have so many enemies.”

I frowned at the guy, figuring he was paranoid or some shit but then he rolled up his sleeve and showed me the faded mark of the Virgo star sign on the crook of his elbow.

“You’re Guardian bonded?” I asked in surprise. “To who?”

“My Ward is dead,” he breathed, leaning closer, the small man having to tip toe to speak in my ear. “I once served Kraveen Dire, a friend of your father’s. I knew Azriel Orion well.”

My throat tightened as shock jarred through me.

“I met you once, when you were just a boy. That was long before I ended up in here for breaking my eternal vow,” he went on in a ramble.

“What vow?” I asked in confusion.

“I had to be here, it was my fate. I was a royal guard so I stole from the king, breaking my vow to the royals. My betrayal landed me here.” He moved closer, his eyes wild. “I wanted to trust you the first moment you stepped into the prison, but there are so many rumours circling, that you are Guardian bonded to an Acrux. And one must never trust an Acrux.”

“Darius is different to his father,” I said protectively and Poltergeist’s eyes widened. I went on before he could try and question me on that, “What’s your real name?”

His eyes flitted left and right. “Jasper Lumien. Listen,” he said urgently, his grip tightening on my arm. “Before Kraveen died, your father came to him with a very important message from the Queen to say the wheels of fate were in motion and there was nothing she could do to stop it.”

“What?” I blurted and he hushed me, drawing me further down the dark aisle. “Queen Vega?”

He nodded intently. “We were the last, you see?”

“The last of what?” I frowned.

He wet his lips, his voice dropping to nothing but a breath. “The Zodiac Guild.”

“You’re a member?” I asked in surprise and he nodded again, lifting his thumb to his mouth and biting down until blood was drawn. I frowned as he smeared the drop of blood along the inside of his forearm and my heart stuttered as a sword appeared along the length of it, seeming to shimmer up from beneath his skin, each constellation etched into its surface. I’d seen the symbol before and the breath was crushed out of me as I realised what this meant. My dad had been one of them. The elite society created to serve and protect the royals.

“One of the last tasks set to us by King Vega was to protect the Imperial Star,” Jasper whispered.

I grabbed onto him, pulling him closer as desperation filled me. “Where is it? Where is the Imperial Star?” I demanded.

He shook his head fiercely. “I don’t know. I wasn’t its keeper. Our Guild Master Ling Astrum was given it by the King. The Queen had instructed him to entrust it to our Guild brother, Kraveen Dire, if anything were to happen to them. Kraveen held the Imperial Star for some years, but when he died, it was sent to your father.”

“But he’s dead now too,” I said, shaking my head. “And all I have left of him is his diary. But I can’t read it, it’s locked by powerful magic and I don’t know the word which will open it.”

“I think I do,” he whispered and my heart thundered against my ribs.

“How?” I growled, my breathing growing frantic. The answer could be so close, if this guy knew how to give me that passcode then the Imperial Star could be in the hands of Darius and Darcy by nightfall. “Tell me.”

“When Astrum first came to us with the Imperial Star, we bound ourselves,” he rasped. “All four of us made a promise. Queen Vega foresaw a terrible fate, that the