Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,87

on Seth’s hair and my ass hit the ground, making me huff out a breath.

Seth laughed at me and Gabriel slapped him with his wing as he swept past him and pulled me to my feet.

“How very princessly of you,” Seth taunted as I brushed the dirt off my ass.

“I’m the Savage Princess remember?” I lunged at him, but Gabriel looped an arm around my waist and pushed me back with a serious look that made me fall still with worry.

“What is it?” I asked, taking in the group of trees surrounding us, but I didn’t recognise this place. “Is it Tory, is she okay? Has something happened?”

“Tory’s fine,” he said firmly. “Well, if you can call being shadow possessed and Guardian bonded to Lionel Acrux fine, but you know what I mean.”

I released a breath of relief. “Can we try to give her the antidote again yet, is it time?”

“No, but soon,” he promised and my heart pounded wildly as I clutched his arm. “I’ve seen that we need to trap her to be able to make this work so I’m working on getting us a Nymph cage from some of my friends in Alestria.”

“Will that hold her?” I asked.

“Those cages are rare as shit,” Seth said. “Who the hell are your friends?”

“Yeah, they’re rare, but I can get one. And it’ll hold her,” Gabriel said, not answering his question. But he’d told me all about the people he knew back home who were gang members and criminals. I was pretty sure he could get his hands on anything if he wanted to.

“So if this isn’t about Tory, what is it, Gabriel?” I asked as Seth moved closer with a frown.

“It’s Lance,” he said and my heart beat even faster, the world seeming to darken around me.

“What’s happened?” I demanded, panic flashing through me.

“He’s out of prison,” he said evenly and my lips parted, no words coming to me as that statement sucker punched me in the gut.

“What do you mean he’s out?” I gasped.

“He’s not free,” he said grimly. “Lionel Acrux has him on house arrest.”

I took a steadying breath as I tried to wrap my mind around that. “Why? How? When?”

“Yesterday, and I don’t know why yet but I’m sure it isn’t good. Darius is with him now. And Lionel has headed into Celestia for a couple of days, so we have some time to go to him. I need to speak with Lance, but I can’t do that without your help.”

“What do you mean see him? Where?” My mind whirled and Seth whimpered, pressing close against me as he sensed my anxiety over all of this.

“Lance is being held at the palace,” Gabriel explained, running a hand through his ebony hair. “I’ve seen a way to get to him, but I need you to come with me. Will you help me?”

I hesitated, still unsure of what this all meant, but I had to help him if he needed me. “Of course. What do I need to do?”

“Follow me,” Gabriel said, his wings tumbling away and leaving a single black feather floating down in the breeze behind him. He took his shirt from where it was stuffed in the back of his jeans and pulled it on, covering the artwork of tattoos on his body.

Me and Seth headed after him through the trees, walking down a hill and heading across the gold and orange leaves beneath our feet. Fall was well underway and it wouldn’t be long before the lasting kiss of warmth in the air was gone.

The trees grew tighter together until the morning light was blocked out and the shadows between the trunks thickened. We stepped into a hollow where an ancient tree stood at the heart of it, the bark knotted and gnarled, huge roots spreading out beneath it.

There was a symbol etched into the bark of a Hydra and Gabriel took my hand, guiding me toward it. “Place your palm on the mark.”

I glanced at him in confusion then reached out and did as he asked, spreading my hand over the rough bark. A tingle of magical energy licked my flesh and the mark suddenly lit up in a white glow.

“There are passages running all beneath the Palace of Souls,” Gabriel explained at last. “Only those of royal blood can access them.”

“Why can’t you open them then?” I asked, stepping back.

“Because your royal blood comes from your father,” he said and I nodded, biting my lip as the mark suddenly split apart and