I shoved the pillow off and reached for my Atlas, squinting at the screen and frowning in confusion as I spotted Diego’s name on the caller ID.
“If you seriously think I’d be up for a midnight booty call with you, dude, you are abso-fucking-lutely mistaken,” I snarled as I answered.
“Tory! Thank fuck, I’ve been trying to get hold of you. My mother just added another memory to the soul web. And it’s bad. Really bad,” his panicked tone made my heart leap and dread raced through me as I wondered whether Lionel had found the star. Were we already fucked? Gabriel had said we had three weeks to fuck up his plans and I’d wanted to believe we had all of that time to beat him to the Imperial Star, but maybe I’d been fucking deluded to trust in that.
“Just spit it out,” I snapped as I pushed out of my bed and looked out of my window at the pitch black sky coated in a blanket of stars.
“Lionel took Darcy.”
I fell still, every inch of blood in my skin freezing over as a wave of cold so intense it blinded me as it raced through my body. My ears were ringing, my heart pounding and my grip on my Atlas tightening like it was a lifeline, the only thing stopping my bones from turning to jelly and me collapsing into a heap of nothing on the floor.
“Where are they?” I demanded.
“I’m not totally sure. But I think they’re at the Orions’ house. I’ve only been there once but I think I recognised the room they were in,” his shaky reply came and the fear in his voice was enough to banish mine.
True Fae didn’t let fear stop them. My sister needed me and that was all that mattered. Terror would consume me if I let it. But I wouldn’t let it. I hardened the walls around my emotions, locked down the paralysing fear deep inside my heart where Lionel Acrux couldn’t touch it and sprung into motion.
“Tell me everything,” I demanded as I ran to my closet and ripped it open, dragging on a pair of black yoga pants beneath Darius’s Pitball jersey before he’d even gotten a word out.
“They have her in a huge dining hall with a roaring fire in the grate. Lionel and Clara are there. Darcy’s tied to a chair and they’re torturing her for information about the item they’re looking for. They know you’ve been searching for it too-”
“Where are you?” I snapped as I kicked on my sneakers and pushed my door open.
“I’ve just left Aer Tower, I was going to come and break down your door if you didn’t answer and-”
“Go back in and go to her room,” I commanded. “See if there’s anything there to confirm where they’ve taken her.”
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Getting reinforcements. I’ll come to you when I’m done.” I cut the call and pounded my way up the stairs to Darius’s room on the top floor.
I hammered my fist against his door and when he didn’t answer right away, I tried the handle. The door was locked but magical locks had been on our Cardinal Magic exam and we’d gone above and beyond in our studies to master them.
I had to force myself to concentrate as my fear for Darcy distracted me, but on the third attempt, I managed to find the weak point in the lock he’d cast and forced my power into it, breaking the spell apart and shoving the door open in the same breath.
The scent of smoke and cedar washed over me as I stepped into the dark space, but one look at the freshly made bed let me know he wasn’t here.
Fuck!
I dialled his number as I kicked his door closed behind me, but he didn’t answer, his electronic voicemail bitch giving me the please leave a message bullshit. I did it because I needed his help and I didn’t have time to call again.
“Darius, I…need you.” Good thing that doesn’t sound utterly pathetic. But for Darcy, I’d happily swallow my pride. “Lionel has taken Darcy. He’s got her at the Orions’ house and they’re torturing her for information on our search for the Imperial Star. If you get this…” I huffed out a breath and forced my own insecurities and pride deep down into an icy pit of nothingness. “Please just come. I can’t lose her. I just, can’t.”
I cut the call, ran into his bathroom and destroyed the panel beneath the Jacuzzi bath with a blast of fire magic before grabbing a pouch of stardust from his hidden stash.
I ripped his Pitball jersey off and dropped it on the floor so that I was just wearing the crop top I had on beneath it and I could coax my wings from my flaming skin. I shoved Darius’s window open and spread my wings as I dove out into the night, racing across the sky towards Aer Tower.
I flew faster than I’d ever flown before, a sharp pain twisting my heart with the certainty that my other half was in trouble. Fuck knew how long they’d already had her. What they’d done to her. Or what they were doing right now. The panic I was fighting to contain was breaking free of the dam.
I could cope with anything in this world but this. Not her. If anything happened to Darcy then all the light in the world would be stolen from me.
She was the light to my dark, the joy to my pain. I loved her more than life itself and there was no life to be had at all if I didn’t have her by my side.
I made it to her window and ripped it open, causing Diego to shriek in fright as I leapt inside. Her room was a mess but it often was these days. She alternated between cleaning it like a woman possessed and living like some kind of wild bear with a hoard. I guessed sometimes she didn’t care about it enough to tidy it now that Orion was gone and others she cleaned frantically just to have something to achieve which didn’t involve him. My heart twisted to think of the pain she’d been in since his arrest. And now that motherfucking Dragon bastard had his claws in her too.
But I’d die before I’d let him take her from me.
“Is there anything here?” I asked as Diego recovered from his shock.
“Her Atlas,” he pointed out. “And her door was unlocked.”
“Show me the memory,” I demanded, holding my hand out to him and he took it instantly.
I gasped as he dragged me down into the shadows at his side and a white cloud appeared out of the darkness, his shared memories appearing before me from the haze.
I was looking through the eyes of a woman as she walked down a long corridor in a gothic looking house, her high heels clipping along the wooden floorboards.
She approached a door but before it could open, a piercing scream cut through the air and pain tore through my chest as I recognised Darcy’s voice.
The woman pushed the door open as the scream faded and the fear in me turned to agony which ripped me in two as I spotted Darcy tied to a chair in the centre of the room.
Lionel stood before her, his arms folded as he asked her a question and his voice filled with a vivid kind of excitement.
“Tell me where it’s hidden,” he growled.
“Fuck you,” Darcy hissed, spitting blood from her lips as Clara cackled with glee.
“Again, Daddy?” she asked eagerly.
Lionel nodded firmly and she reached out to place her hands on either side of Darcy’s temples as thick shadows poured from her palms.
Darcy screamed so loud it cut through me, tearing my soul to shreds and making my vision blur as I was filled with rage and the desperate need to help her.
I hardly even noticed as Diego dragged us back to reality and the shadow world faded.
“You’re sure that’s the Orions’ house?” I demanded as I blinked back tears and locked Diego in my gaze.
“Yes,” he breathed.
“I’ve never been there before. So you’re going to have to take me.”
“How?” he gasped, his eyes widening with fear.
“I’ve got stardust and I can get us off campus to use it.”
I didn’t wait for his reply before throwing a net of air magic around him and leaping back out of the window as I yanked him after me. I flew for the gap in the magical boundary surrounding campus as fast as I could, dragging Diego along with me as he screamed from within the bubble of air magic I was using to transport him. But I didn’t have
time to waste waiting for him to walk there, so I couldn’t bring myself to care.
I dropped out of the sky beside the barrier, placing Diego down on his feet beside me as he panted fearfully.
“Come on,” I commanded as I led the way through the gap in the defences to the outside world.
I dialled Darius again one last time, but my Atlas died before the second ring sounded. I cursed it and yanked the stardust from my pocket instead, handing it to Diego.
“I’ve never used stardust before,” he breathed and the terror in his eyes looked almost set to consume him.
“It’s easy. Just toss it over us and focus on the place we need to go,” I replied.
“Okay…” Diego took a pinch of stardust from the pouch, released a shaky breath and then tossed it over our heads.
The stars twisted and whirled all around us as we were swept up into their embrace and I could only hope that we’d get there before it was too late.
I was trapped in a net, writhing against my binds as my captor cast powerful magic to keep me in place. Fear sliced into my veins as I cast fire in my palms, trying to burn my way free.
“Let me go!” I screamed just as I was dumped on a hard floor and my back impacted with it.
The vines uncoiled suddenly and I gazed up at the Heirs in the centre of the lounge in King’s Hollow. Seth, Caleb and Max all waved their fingers at me which had been cast in an illusion to look like Nymph probes, laughing their asses of.
Relief flooded me, but anger quickly rose in its place.
“That’s not funny,” I growled, getting to my feet and extinguishing the fire in my palms, though I had a good mind to burn their asses in revenge.
Darius was in the corner of the room, shaking his head at them as he sipped on a beer.
“I told them it was stupid,” he said.
“It was fucking hilarious.” Seth fell down onto the couch, howling a laugh.
“You screamed like a Pegasus had rammed its horn up your ass.” Caleb fell down beside him, grinning from ear to ear.
“Well you’d know.” I planted my hands on my hips, raising my brows at him and the Vampire frowned for a second before falling apart again. Seth nuzzled in against him as they lost their shit and Max approached me, offering me a bottle of something called Rainbow Juice.
“Have a drink with us, little Vega,” he said, conjuring a glass out of ice and pouring the liquid into it. It somehow stayed multi-coloured, glimmering enticingly.
“What is that stuff?” I took the cup, sniffing it and a heavenly sweetness filled my nose.
“It makes you giddy,” Max said, his eyes brightening. “And you definitely look like you need a laugh.”
“Where’s Roxy?” Darius asked as he dropped into an armchair and hooked his Atlas off of a charging dock, switching it on.
“She’s not attached to my hip at all times,” I teased. “She went to bed.” I took a sip of the juice and realised I’d actually just willingly drunk something an Heir had given me. Holy shit, when did I start trusting Max Rigel?
Seth and Caleb’s laughter seemed to be wearing off just as a rush of energy poured into my limbs and a laugh exploded from my lips. Max immediately brushed his hand over my arm, trying to drink in the feeling and I didn’t bother to put my barriers up as he fed on my happiness.
“Well that makes a change,” Max said, a crease in his brow. “Any time I’ve gotten a reading on you these past few months, all I’ve felt is sad.”
“So sad,” I agreed with a wild laugh, placing the Rainbow Juice down on the coffee table as more laughter racked through me.
“Hey, let’s prank someone else, what about that hat boy?” Caleb suggested excitedly, bouncing in his seat and Seth started yipping like a puppy beside him. The two of them were weirdly cute sometimes.
“His name’s Diego,” I said, still laughing. “Ohmagod his hat is so weird.” I clutched my belly as another wave of mirth took hold of me and Max offered me the bottle again. I waved my hand to decline as tears rolled down my cheeks. “His – hat – is – knitted – to -his – abuela’s – soul,” I choked out and Seth howled with laughter, jumping up and grabbing the Rainbow Juice from Max before he could drink any.
Caleb shot forward, snatching it from him and downing a mouthful while Seth shoved him in the chest as he tried to get it back.
“Fuck,” Darius gasped and we all rounded on him, my mirth finally subsiding as the dark expression on his face drove a dagger into my heart. He held his Atlas to his ear, clearly listening to something and Caleb suddenly planted the bottle down, shooting forward as he heard it too.
“What’s going on?” I asked, worry burning a hole right through me.
“She’s in trouble,” Caleb burst out laughing then slammed a hand to his mouth as he tried to swallow back the effects of the juice.
“What do you mean she’s in trouble? Who is?”
Darius stood suddenly, heat emanating off of his skin. “Roxy thinks my father has kidnapped you.”
“What?” I gasped. “Why - how?”
“I don’t know. But she’s gone to the Orions’ house to find you. I tried calling back but the line is dead.”
Panic raced through my limbs and froze me solid for a full second.
“Fuck – no – have to help her.” Caleb clutched his stomach as he laughed, waving a hand at me in apology. “It’s not funny – can’t stop.”
Darius slammed a hand to his back and magic flared out from it in a wave of green. Caleb choked for a moment then drew in a breath as he was healed of the effects of the Rainbow Juice.
“Thanks,” he rasped, his expression turning deadly serious in an instant.
I turned towards the window, and unleashing my wings from my back as fear blinded me.
“Darius, I need stardust,” I begged, terror making Phoenix fire flood through my veins. I needed to get to her. Right now. “We have to go after her!” I yelled, but I realised I didn’t need to as Caleb rushed to my side in a blur and the other Heirs moved into action.
“Meet at the perimeter,” Darius barked, marching to a chest at the side of the room and grabbing a bulging backpack out of it before tossing it to Max as he and Seth ran for the door. Caleb shoved the window open and dove out of it without a word, his brow taut with worry.
“Everyone’s coming?” I breathed in surprise as I climbed onto the window ledge.
“Of course they are,” Darius growled firmly and my heart squeezed at that.
I leapt from the window, unleashing my wings and soaring over The Wailing Wood with my pulse drumming against my temples.
I’m coming, Tor. Hold on.
Seth’s howl came from below and I spotted him in his huge white Wolf form carrying Max on his back as they raced beneath the trees. I beat my wings and a roar overhead made me flinch as Darius’s golden Dragon form swept overhead. The wind rushed over me, dragging me on and I outpaced him once more, sailing over Earth Territory and landing close to the gap Orion had left in the fence.
Panic chewed me up from the inside, but I had to keep a level head.
What does Lionel want with her? Why would she think I’m there?
Caleb stood waiting for us, combing his fingers anxiously through his hair and Darius landed with a heavy thump beside him.
As I put my wings away, the thundering of heavy paws tore along the ground behind us and I turned as Seth and Max arrived. Seth shifted the same moment Darius did and Max tossed them clothes from the pack he was carrying like they’d done this routine a thousand times before. The moment they were dressed, Max took a pouch of stardust from the bag and we headed through the gap in the fence without a word needing to pass between us.
Seth’s hands brushed over my arms as he followed me through, a whine leaving his throat. “She’ll be okay. We’ll get her back.”
I nodded, steeling myself as Max moved through the fence and Darius grabbed the pouch from him.
“Stay together,” Darius ordered as he took a pinch
of the dust into his hand and we all crowded closer. “My father is not to be underestimated.”
“What if this is a trap?” I breathed, my chest compressing, the terror for my sister making it hard to draw in air.
“Then we’ll be as ready as we can be,” Caleb said grimly. “Together, we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
I nodded, taking comfort in the fact that they were all blindly charging into battle with me. At least, that’s what this felt like. As if a whole war was waiting beyond the stardust Darius was about to throw.
He tossed it into the air and I readied magic in my palms, unsure what to expect, but I’d face anything to get my sister back.
We crept across the grounds of the Orion Manor, tucked within a concealment spell which I’d managed to construct to help hide us in the shadows. It wasn’t good enough to hold up against direct scrutiny but on the balmy summer night, it was more than enough to conceal us in the dark garden.
Diego was keeping so close to me that he kept bumping against my back and I was half tempted to tell him to just wait outside. He’d been doing a lot better in class, but he was nowhere near the strongest group in our Elemental Combat lessons and anyone we came across here would easily outmatch him.
They’d outmatch me too technically if we were talking skill, but if it came to it, I wasn’t going to go for subtle. One of the first lessons I’d learned in our combat class was that might outweighed skill a lot of the time. Lionel and Clara were obviously powerful enough that that wouldn’t help me much, but if Diego’s family or any other Fae were here, I was willing to bet I could pack a strong enough punch to win out against them.
The building was mostly in darkness but to the east of the house, light shone through the curtains covering some of the lower windows.
My instincts told me that that was where they must be, but I wasn’t going to head straight into it.
“I need you to cause a distraction,” I hissed at Diego. I had a silencing bubble covering us but it didn’t feel right to speak at a normal level.
Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts) Page 74