“Yeah, not perfect, but I’m okay,” she said. “And that’s better than I’ve been in a long time.”
After a while, a quiet kind of peace fell over us all and the wound in my heart started to heal. This would always leave a scar. But now I had Tory back, I was going to make sure nothing ever happened to her again. And that she got what she deserved. A fucking happily ever after.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I whispered to Tory as our heads lay on one pillow, facing each other while Gabriel wrapped his arms around her from behind.
She shook her head, her eyes wet, but no more tears were falling. And knowing Tor, she wouldn’t let any more fall for Lionel Acrux after this.
“Not yet,” she breathed and I nodded.
“If there’s anything you need, tell me,” I said and a smile hooked up the corner of her mouth.
Gabriel propped his head up on a pillow behind her and grinned mischievously like he knew exactly what Tory was going to ask for.
“I want to go flying,” she said. “I want to fly with you and Gabriel somewhere far away from here.”
“Tonight,” Gabriel promised. “We can sneak off campus after classes and go together.”
I clutched Tory’s hand as my heart ached. “Anything else?”
“Coffee,” she half sniffed, half laughed and I grinned. “And some of Geraldine’s buttery bagels.”
“I’ll get her to bring some,” I said, returning her smile but Tory caught my hand before I got out of bed.
“And I want things to go back to normal. Don’t act like I’m made of glass. Promise?” she asked, the fire in her eyes saying she needed that more than anything else.
I nodded firmly, my heart squeezing with love for her. “I promise.”
I took out my Atlas, shooting Geraldine a message and she replied in half a second flat.
Geraldine:
My lady will have the butteriest of bagels brought to her door this very instant!
Gabriel sat up and Tory moved to sit beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Darius is bringing coffee,” Gabriel said and Tory sucked in a breath, but he went on before she could say anything. “Max has told him to stay outside. He won’t see you until you’re ready.”
She nodded, her eyes swimming with some dark emotion, but there was love there too. The black rings in her eyes were always evidence of that these days. The way they were bound was imperfect and cruel, but it was still a mark of how absolutely meant for each other they were. And I swore on all I was, I’d help them find a way to fix it.
“Tell me the future is good, Gabriel,” Tory whispered and I looked to him, needing to know that too.
Gabriel frowned thoughtfully, taking her hand and squeezing it. “The future can be good.”
It wasn’t a promise, but it was hope. And for now that was enough.
It wasn’t long before Geraldine arrived and I hurried downstairs to fetch the bagels from her. She’d brought an entire basket, fit to bursting with bagels, butter and a whole range of jellies, toast, pastries and juice.
She burst into tears as she saw me, placing the basket at my feet and dropping to her knees in the mud. “Tell me she’s well! Oh Darcy, I must hear that her spritely heart is beating and that her tongue is sharp and her wit is keen. Oh my lady, please tell me Tory is whole and sound and that the stars have gifted her with a thousand hopes and joys. Has she awoken with a sparkle in her eye and a spring in her step?” She clutched onto my legs, tipping her head back and baying like a hound.
I dropped down before her, hugging her tight as I felt her pain begin to split me apart again. “She’s going to be okay. It’ll take time, but she’s back, Geraldine. And she’s not going anywhere ever again. I’ll make sure of that.”
She sobbed against my shoulder for a few long minutes before finally pulling herself together and getting to her feet. “Well, we must have a stiff upper lip, hmm? Mustn’t let her see us blabbering like bandicoots with our faces as wet as fishes.”
I nodded, smiling at her as I picked up the basket of food. “Thanks for this.”
“You are most welcome, and if you need anything more, summon me. As your most faithful friend, I shall always, always come.” She turned and headed off into the trees and my gaze caught on Darius standing there with his shoulder pressed to a trunk, his eyes fixed on the window of Max’s room above us.
He had a thermos in his grip and as he looked to me, he frowned. “This is for her.” He held it out then pulled a packet of Tory’s favourite chocolate wafers from his pocket.
I moved forward to take them and he caught the back of my neck, pulling me into a tight hug. I swear I’d never been hugged so much in my life as I had this morning, but I knew we all needed it. My gaze caught on Caleb and Seth standing further off in the trees, watching us with anxious expressions.
“Don’t ever let her go again, Darius Acrux,” I growled in his ear. “Don’t you hurt her or let her down or make her cry. I don’t know how we’ll fix everything, but we will. And when we do and you two can love each other like you’re meant to, I won’t take any shit from you.”
He chuckled in a low tone as he released me and tapped me on the nose. “It’s a deal, Gwen,” he said and I punched his arm playfully before turning away with a smirk.
I headed back inside and found Tory and Gabriel waiting in the lounge. I passed Tory her coffee and she eyed it for a long time when I told her who had brought it, but she didn’t say anything about him.
I set about laying the basket of food on the coffee table and we all sat around it on the floor, eating the incredible freshly baked food until we were stuffed.
Once Tory had been caught up on everything that had been going on without her around, we just talked and talked about some of the good in the world. Gabriel told us about how his baby boy was growing out of his clothes nearly every month and how his wife could feed him, clean the house and do a workout in some stupid amount of time because of the gifts of her Order.
For a while, the rest of the world just faded away and for the first time in a long time, I felt truly happy.
***
I stood up to my waist in the warm water of the lagoon in Water Elemental class in my last lesson of the day. Tory was feigning being ill with Fae flu so she could recover a bit more today and prepare to return to lessons tomorrow and Gabriel had insisted I go to classes for the day so we didn’t draw any attention to Tory.
The joy of getting her back was tainted by the fact she would now have to continue going to Lionel whenever he summoned her, pretending that she was still a slave to the shadows. I’d tried to fight it, coming up with any other option that I could think of, but in the end Gabriel had insisted it was the only option. And I really couldn’t argue with him considering he had The Sight.
“That’s it, Miss Vega,” Washer called, wading toward me. He parted the water around him with his magic so he was walking on dry land, giving me a full view of the bulge in his tight speedo before letting the water lap in all around him again. Was that really necessary??
“Let’s see it one more time,” he encouraged and I turned my attention to the water, placing my hand into it and causing a whirlpool to form around it, swirling faster and faster until it started to drag students in closer and they had to fight to get out of the current.
“Wonderful!” Washer cheered, slapping me on the back one inch away from my ass. “Now pair up with Miss Grus and let’s see you create a whirly wet hole together.”
“Er, sir?” Damian Evergile called over to him with pursed lips. He’d pinned his K.U.N.T. badge to his swimming trunks like a douche. “You shouldn’t be pairing people out of their Orders.”
Washer shot him a glare. “Well Miss Vega here has no other students of her Order in the class at this moment, so what do you expect me to do?” he snapped, and I swear I’d never seen him get so angry.
Max suddenly came surfing across the water on a wave, kicking Damian in the head and Geraldine
started cheering, jumping up and down as her breasts bounced in her tight swimming costume.
“Hey Gerry, watch this!” Max called, circling around the guy until he came to a halt standing right on top of his head, casually leaning on a pillar of water he cast beside him.
“Wonderful work, Mr Rigel. Take twenty points for House Aqua,” Washer said as Damian started flailing, his arms flying out of the water as he struggled to get Max off of him.
Darius walked across the water on the surface, just as Max hopped off of Damian’s head and dived under. He resurfaced with the boy locked in a choke hold and Darius smirked darkly.
“We’ll give him some private tuition over here, sir,” Darius called to Washer who smirked back.
“Ah yes, Mr Acrux, that sounds like a great idea. Make sure you keep yourselves nice and lubricated while you’re working, it makes wrangling the water Element so much easier.” He bent down, scooping up a handful of water and rubbing it over his tanned, waxed chest, spending extra time massaging it into his nipples. Ergh.
I walked over to work with Geraldine with a shudder and we started working to make a whirlpool together as the sound of Damian screaming came from behind the waterfall. I laughed darkly and Geraldine laughed like a sea witch too. Max and Darius hadn’t even bothered to cast a silencing bubble, but I guessed being the son of Lionel Acrux meant no one was going to question you on shit now. The other K.U.N.T.s in the class were silent and I doubted they wanted to meet the same fate.
“That’s it my dears,” Washer called to us encouragingly. “Put your hips into it like this.” He grabbed the hips of some unsuspecting freshman, pressing his crotch to his ass and swirling his hips in a circular motion, guiding them with his own. Ohmagod.
“Yep, we got it,” I said. “Demonstration not needed.”
Washer continued to swirl the freshman’s hips a few more times before stepping back and scruffing the boy’s hair, sending him on his way. The kid headed off, looking pale faced and violated, which was basically how most people looked after an incident with Washer. He was so gross.
Angelica came over to work near us, glancing our way with a tight smile. “I heard he broke up with Nova,” she whispered as she cast a whirlpool of her own.
“How come?” I asked in surprise.
“He’s totally anti-Acrux,” she breathed. “And Nova’s like an Acrux uber fan, so I guess it didn’t work out.”
I glanced over at Washer in surprise who was now standing up on a rock in the centre of the pool with his hands on his hips as he did lunges. I guessed that made me like him one percent more, shame he was such a creep though.
“Angelica here has started making a spectacular spreadsheet,” Geraldine said proudly. “She’s working out which teachers are pro Acrux and who are against him.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s spectacular,” Angelica laughed, waving her off. “But it might be handy for the you know what.” She gave Geraldine a wink and I frowned.
“What?” I whispered and Geraldine cast a silencing bubble over us quickly, her eyes darting left and right.
“We are starting an uprising, Darcy. In the name of the rightful queens. The A.S.S. will unite and cast an unstoppable wind through this academy that will drive out the turds.”
I snorted a laugh, but realised she was deadly serious and that analogy hadn’t been intentional. “Well obviously I’m up for any kind of Asscrux rebellion.”
“We are stockpiling weapons, my lady. I have many an A.S.S. collecting Griffin droppings in the early morn, and I have taken a chaos crystal or two from the potions lab.” She grinned widely. “Leave it all with me, I shall build an underground army ready to follow you and Tory into the depths of hell and back again. I have also sent as many of our dear Tiberian Rat friends as I could to my father before they could be taken for inquisition.”
“Is he helping them?” I whispered hopefully and she nodded.
“He is leading them to secret burrows in the north,” she whispered though the silencing bubble would stop anyone from hearing anyway. “As well as creating a network of friends and allies to our great and noble cause who will be at your back the moment you are ready to make your play for the crown.”
My heart lifted and my spirits soared. I loved hearing that people were fighting back, that the whole kingdom wasn’t just lying down and letting Lionel screw them.
“Alright, that’ll do for today!” Washer called. “Class dismissed.”
We headed back to the changing rooms and my heart pounded harder as I hurried to wash and change, excitement rushing through me at the thought of going flying with Tory and Gabriel.
“I have to go.” I waved goodbye to Geraldine and Angelica, running out of the lagoon in my sweatpants and crop top, parting the waterfall with a wave of my hand and letting my wings spread out from my back. I took off into the sky, fire rushing along my limbs as I swept through the cold air and took a winding route toward the outer fence where I could get past the wards. I was always careful to land far enough away from it and jog the last few hundred yards on foot though, just in case I was being watched.
I found Tory and Gabriel waiting for me on the other side of the fence and I crushed Tory in another hug as she laughed. She was thinner than she had been and sadder too, but I knew the girl I loved was still here and we’d soon figure out how to make Lionel pay for everything he’d done to her. I just hoped I could help to banish that haunted look in her eyes as soon as she was ready to open up to me. Gabriel tossed stardust over us and we were transported through the stars in a tunnel of twisting light.
We arrived out at the canyon where Gabriel had first taught us to fly in the incredible jungle of Baruvia. Tory took my hand and Gabriel’s on her other side, dragging us toward the edge of the canyon with a look of determination. My stomach lifted and adrenaline rushed through my veins as we all ran flat out and dove over the edge.
We free fell fast, our screams echoing around the canyon and making a flock of birds take off from the trees far below. My wings burst free the same time Tory’s did and Gabriel fell a few more seconds before shifting himself.
I laughed as Tory flew around me in circles, the smile on her face filling me up with purest sunlight. I had missed her so damn much, and I was never going to get tired of seeing her smiling.
Gabriel rushed up between us and sped towards the azure sky far above. Tory and I shared a grin before shooting after him, taking chase. We climbed higher and higher, the feel of the sun on my skin like a balm on my soul.
Through all the darkness, I’d finally found something good to hold onto. My brother, my sister, my friends. I would never take any of them for granted. And Lionel had better enjoy his time on the throne while it lasted, because the true queens would soon be coming to take it back.
S tepping out of King's Hollow for my first day back at school since I'd been brought back to myself felt like slipping from one reality to the next. I couldn't be myself anymore. But I wasn't Lionel's pet version of myself either. Even my memories of the time I'd spent serving Lionel's goals were thick with a fog of shadows over them and it was hard for me to fully recall the way I'd been behaving. Not to mention the idea of taking part in K.U.N.T. enforcement made my stomach turn. Fuck my life.
I adjusted my blazer as I walked, the material feeling claustrophobic as I drew in a long breath then released it again.
"Are you sure you're okay to do this?" Darcy murmured, taking my hand and giving my fingers a squeeze.
"I'm the asshole who went running right into Lionel's trap, remember?" I teased, though my gut knotted with anxiety. Not only that but Diego had died too and if I’d just done more to confirm that Darcy really had been missing then neither of us would have walked into that trap. I may never have ended up in Lionel’s clutches and Diego might still be alive. "I brought this on myself."
"Don't say that, Tor," Darcy breathed and I shrugged.
"At least I'm in the perfect position to spy on him now," I said, trying
to remind myself of all the reasons I had to give myself to this role completely. "Besides, shadow Tory was a total dick - it's not that much of a leap for me to embrace her nature."
"Stop that," Darcy laughed, slapping my arm as I smirked at her. It felt good to joke about it even if I was internally shitting myself.
"It's true. And maybe I can channel that dickish behaviour onto some people who deserve it while I'm working undercover."
"Just don't take any risks. And remember, we can meet back here tonight, so you're not really alone, even if it might feel like you are while you're playing this part."
"Don't worry about me," I said, giving her a smile that I knew was too bright before pulling her into a hug. "I'd better go on alone now though. Can't have anyone seeing us socialising."
"Imagine the scandal," she deadpanned as I released her and I gave her one last smile before turning and walking away into the trees.
I passed through the various wards and spells which were in place around King's Hollow to keep the weaker students away and tried not to let my nerves get the better of me as I headed for The Orb.
My stiletto heels clicked along the path and I lifted my chin as I walked, narrowing my eyes a little and letting my resting bitch face do the work of keeping the other students away from me.
I didn't give anyone my attention for any length of time, and I tugged on my connection to the shadows to help keep me calm as the golden building appeared through the trees ahead of me.
As I stepped out of the wood, I set my gaze on the doors to The Orb and almost didn't notice as Darius appeared, jogging up the path which led back towards Ignis House wearing a pair of black shorts and sneakers and nothing else.
My heart thumped in recognition of him and I stole a moment to run over all the reasons why I knew I shouldn’t fear him. Max had helped me reclaim my happy memories of him for the most part, but he’d said the knee jerk fear I felt at Darius’s presence wasn’t going to be so easy to fix. I’d been conditioned to associate the sight or even mention of him with pain and violence. The only real way for me to get over that was by exposing myself to him repeatedly until I just learned not to feel it anymore. Easier said than done. Especially when the mere sight of him had me wanting to call on every drop of magic in my body to protect myself and had all of my muscles locking up instantly.
Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne Page 28