Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,9

with her spine straight as her gaze trailed over all of the people at the table who were staring at her, before she looked away again dismissively.

Xavier’s hand gripped my knee beneath the table and I could feel his own horror at this, but I couldn’t spare an inch of my attention for it.

The first course was served and I could only watch her as Father made conversation with people around the table and Clara kept me trapped within my own body.

Stella laughed loudly at everything he said, tossing her short hair and leaning forward so that her tits threatened to spill from her dress and Father hardly even seemed to notice.

He reached around Roxy’s back and toyed with the dark curls of her hair where they spilled down her spine and she just sat there, not reacting in any way. No horror or disgust, no pleasure or excitement either. She was like an empty vessel filled with shadow and everything from the coldness of her gaze to the emptiness of her expression made me seethe with rage and fear.

“I can see what had you so captivated, Darius,” Father murmured as the next course was served and everyone was distracted. “She really is a beautiful girl. And so…tenacious. I have to say I really enjoyed breaking her in and beating that wildness out of her.”

“If you’ve laid a fucking finger on her, I’ll cut you into a thousand pieces and burn you alive in Dragon fire,” I snarled, but Clara’s hold on my shadows stopped me from doing any more than tightening my grip on my goddamn spoon. If I could get close to him, I’d gladly find a way to make a spoon lethal though.

Father didn’t bother to respond, only offering a knowing smile as he rested his fucking hand on her hip. Rage unlike anything I’d ever felt before consumed me as I was locked in my fucking chair, forced to endure the show he was putting on for me, taunting me with the girl I loved like she was just some plaything.

I didn’t eat a bite of my food as the courses came and went. I had no appetite even when Clara allowed me to move enough to eat. I pushed the odd thing around my plate, but my gaze never wavered from Roxy. And I never stopped trying to fight Clara’s hold on me so that I could rip her right out of my father’s lap.

As the dessert was served, Father leaned close and whispered something in her ear. She nodded once and got to her feet, turning and sweeping from the room without a word.

Clara released me just as Roxy got to the doors and I shoved to my feet instantly, practically running out into the hallway after her and not giving a shit who saw or what they thought.

By the time I made it out into the hall, Roxy was already at the far end of it and I called out to her as I broke into a sprint to catch up.

She made it onto the stairwell in the centre of the house before I caught up to her and she turned back to look at me with an eyebrow raised like she had no idea what I might want.

“What did he do to you?” I choked, my heart racing as I reached for her, but she shifted so that I couldn’t catch her hand and I could have sworn fear flickered in her eyes for a moment before she hid it again. “Tell me and I’ll rip him apart for it. Tell me what I have to do to break you out of this.”

“Out of what?” she asked in a cold tone.

“The shadows, Roxy, you need to break free of them, you need-”

“Why would I do that?” she asked dismissively. “The shadows bring me more pleasure than you can even imagine. They feed my soul and steal my pain. Maybe you should consider joining me in them.”

“Joining you?” I sneered. “The girl I love would never-”

She stepped forward suddenly, her hand pressing to my chest right above my heart as we stood eye to eye with her on the steps.

“That pain you feel doesn’t have to rule you,” she said, moving so close that her lips almost brushed mine but the look in her eyes was hollow, bottomless, void. “You could join me in the dark. We could have it all.”

“What about love?” I murmured, my hands slipping around her waist as I