“No!” I gasped in horror, grabbing his arms and hauling him backwards toward the boundary.
We were so close. I could get him out. I could make it.
“Run,” he gritted out, but there was no way I was leaving him behind.
I flicked my fingers, focusing hard and casting a levitation spell to get him off the ground, my pulse thrashing against the inside of my skull. I started running, guiding him behind me, tugging on my magic to keep him close as I raced for the gap in the wards.
Something slammed into me with the force of a battering ram and I was thrown to the dirt on my back, a body pinning me down as adrenaline tumbled through my body. My magic was severed with Orion so he hit the ground somewhere beyond me and I knew I had no time to waste.
I twisted my hands up to fight as my heart thundered madly and Phoenix fire flared under my flesh like an inferno.
“One spark of magic and my brother dies,” Clara warned, leaning back so I could see her pale face in the moonlight and the shadows crawling beneath her skin. She smelled like ash and death, the power of the shadows radiating from every inch of her. “Don’t test me, little princess,” she hissed and a demon peered from behind her eyes that sent terror daggering into my heart.
Orion cried out in agony and it took everything I had not to try and destroy the girl sitting on top of me. My breaths came heavily and I balled my hands into fists as I held back the fire in my blood.
I looked over at Orion in desperation as he jerked on the ground under Clara’s power. What do I do? How do I get us out of this?
“Maybe you shouldn’t have been so cocky by coming here,” Clara spat at me then her face split into a grin. “But never mind, let’s have some fun before Mommy arrives. She’ll be quite surprised when she realises who triggered the shadow alarm I cast up by our house.”
I growled at that. No wonder we hadn’t been able to detect it with our magic. Shit, we had to get out of here. I had to find a way to save us.
Clara got up, pulling me to my feet and brushing a leaf off of my shoulder, smiling at me like we were best friends. “Don’t look so sad, it’s playtime. We’re going to have fun! Come on little brother, up you get.”
Orion stopped jerking, rising to his feet with his face twisted in raw anger. But he didn’t say a word and maybe he couldn’t because he just stared at me with anguish in his eyes. I wanted to tell him it would be okay, but fear was winding through me and I couldn’t think of a way out of this. If I attacked Clara, she’d kill him. And I couldn’t risk that. Not for anything.
Clara lunged toward me, picking me up and throwing me over her shoulder. I gasped as she shot off into the forest and I heard Orion tearing after us.
When I was placed down again, we were inside Stella’s kitchen, the space large with beams running across the ceiling and wooden worktops beneath large cream cabinets. Clara jumped up to sit on the edge of the huge table at the centre of the room, flicking her fingers so Orion came up behind me, wrapping a hand around my throat. I stilled in his hold, my breaths coming heavier. I couldn’t panic. I had to think straight. Find a way to escape.
Do not fucking panic.
Clara swung her legs as she observed us and I glared back at her with venom in my eyes.
“If you fight him off, he dies. If you fight me, he dies. If you make me angry, he dies,” she sang. “Do you understand the game?”
“Yes,” I hissed poisonously. “What do you want?”
“Hmmm, no one has asked me that in a long, long, long, long time,” she said in delight, her hair floating around her like it was caught in some ethereal wind. “I suppose I want what every princess wants. What you want too, Vega girl.”
“What’s that?” I demanded, figuring it was best to keep her talking until I could work out how to get us out of this. But unless I could kill her before she could kill Orion, I didn’t know what to do. And one failed attempt would equal his death. She was so powerful, I had no idea what it would take to destroy her.
“To be a queen,” she sighed longingly. “Daddy’s going to marry me.”
I wrinkled my nose and she shrieked at my expression. Orion yanked me back against his body, his grip on my throat tightening painfully. I clutched his arm, fighting my instincts not to use magic and force my way free.
“Don’t look at me like that!” she yelled, her voice taking on a deep, demonic quality that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. “I’m destined for greatness. Daddy says it himself. He loves me. Just like my brother loves you.”
Orion twisted me around in his arms, closing two hands over my throat and the fear in his eyes nearly broke me.
Clara shot over to us, watching my face with a bright smile. My lungs burned for air and my nails dug into his hand as magic tingled my fingertips, begging me to use it against him. But I wouldn’t. There was no force in this world which could make me risk his life.
Orion suddenly released me and she grabbed his hand, making him dance her around the room like a puppet on strings. I held my sore throat, gasping down a lungful of air as I buckled over. My Phoenix roared beneath my flesh, desperate to try and destroy her and it took everything I had to hold it in check. One spark and she’ll kill him.
“How did you get out of your prison, I wonder?” Clara mused, cupping Orion’s face between her hands. “How very curious. Daddy won’t be pleased. But he’s having a party and I mustn’t disturb him during his parties. Mommy will know what to do though. It’ll be a family reunion!”
She wheeled away from Orion suddenly, directing him toward me and he shot forward in a blur, grabbing me from behind.
“I wonder how she tastes,” Clara breathed and Orion grabbed my arm, forcing it out towards his sister. My muscles tensed as hatred snaked through my flesh. But I couldn’t fight.
“Get away from me,” I snarled as Clara moved toward me like a wraith, licking her lips. “Don’t move, little princess. Or he’ll be deader than dead.”
I bit down on my tongue as she grabbed my arm, bringing my wrist to her mouth, my stomach twisting from her touch. Her fangs snapped out and I shuddered as her cold mouth pressed to my flesh. Her teeth sliced into me with force and I gasped in pain as she bit down, tearing into my veins like a savage and drinking greedily.
I felt my magic being sucked away into this void before me as she drank and drank, gulping more and more of my lifeforce into her. My Phoenix was warring inside me, my skin growing hotter and hotter as I could barely contain it. How fast could I kill her? What if I failed?
I can’t risk it.
She ripped her fangs free only to tear them into my flesh further up my arm, making me cry out as she broke the skin again and again, blood pouring out from the deep wounds. The ruby necklace she’d stolen from Tory dragged against my skin, the warmth of it calling to me like it was begging for me to rip it from her neck and I wished I could.
Clara’s nails scraped down my throat and over my collar bone. She was so close to the Imperial Star, but she had no idea. I just prayed she didn’t look closer at the amulet around my neck, that she didn’t sense anything from it.
Another cry escaped me as she split my skin open once more and she leaned up to lap away the blood from my chest with hungry moans. I clenched my jaw through the torture. I could bear the pain so long as she didn’t hurt Orion, but I needed to get us out of here before she decided to kill us both regardless.
My head was starting to spin as Clara drove her fangs into my throat and continued to drink and drink. It was too much, she was taking far too fucking much and my magic reserves were ebbing away along with my own strength.
I have to hold on.
I pressed back into Orion’s arms, his body surrounding mine as my breaths became shallower. I couldn’t die like this. I had to protect us. I have to do something. Anything!
The door whipped open and Stella came striding in with Diego parents, Drusilla and Miguel, at her heels. They weren’t in their Nymph forms but their eyes glinted red as they s
aw me bleeding out, their hunger for my magic clear.
“Clara what on earth is going on?” Stella gasped, looking from me to Orion in shock.
She was dressed in a fitted purple dress, her short dark hair styled and the scent of rose perfume carrying from her. The Nymphs were dressed up in fine clothes too, Drusilla in a black gown and Miguel in a formal suit and I guessed they’d been at Lionel’s party too.
“Is that a Vega?” Stella balked, throwing out a hand that made the front door slam.
Clara yanked her teeth free from my throat, wiping away the blood dribbling from her mouth, her face looking monstrous and contorted. “Hello Mommy.”
Stella’s throat bobbed, approaching her with caution and glancing at her son with a flicker of concern in her eyes. “This is quite the surprise, Clara.”
“They were trespassing on your property, I felt them break my alarm, aren’t I good girl for coming here to catch them?” Clara cried, rushing over to hug Stella and smearing blood across her cheek. She grimaced, patting her daughter’s back as she played along, but it was clear even she was uncomfortable with Clara’s behaviour.
While they were distracted, I subtly pressed my fingers to my palms, casting healing magic through my veins and fighting back the wooziness in my head. My magic was down to the final dregs so I would have to rely on my Phoenix to protect us. I just needed an opportunity to use it without risking Orion’s life.
“I’ve seen you in my son’s memories,” Drusilla spoke, her eyes narrowing on me as she approached. “You’re the one who turned him against us.”
“No, Diego decided that all on his own,” I growled, my heart pinching at the memory of him. Of everything he’d shown me of his beastly mother and his Uncle Alejandro.
Miguel’s expression was vacant as he looked around, not seeming particularly interested in anything that was going on.
“What do we do with her?” Clara asked Stella excitedly. “Bake her in a pie and feed her to our army of Nymphs?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Stella scolded. “We’ll take them to Lionel, he’ll know what to do.”
“Daddy is busy!” Clara shrieked. “We can’t disturb him or he’ll be angry.”
“He will want to know about this,” Stella threw back, stepping past her and taking me in with an arctic expression. “Why are you here in my home with my son? How did he get out?” she demanded.
I came up with a lie on the spot, needing to cover for what we’d really been doing here. They couldn’t find Diego’s hat no matter what.
“Lance said there could be something of his father’s here that could free him from the shadows. Something that could help him run away for good,” I said, feigning being beaten down so they thought I was telling the truth. I even faked a lip tremor pretty convincingly.
Stella’s eyebrows arched with intrigue. “What exactly?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “I just wanted to help free him.”
“Clara, let my son speak,” Stella demanded and her daughter huffed dramatically.
“She’s lying, can’t you tell Mommy?” Clara spat. “Nothing can free him from my shadows.” Clara moved closer again, glaring at me with my blood still wetting her lips. “You fought them off with your dirty little Phoenix powers, but you can’t do it for him, can you? Or you already would have,” she taunted, flicking a finger and using a tendril of shadow to grab a sharp kitchen knife from a block across the room. She placed it in Orion’s hand and he immediately pressed the tip against my heart, making my body go rigid. “The shadows can’t be beaten,” she whispered excitedly. “I could have him cut out your heart and lay it in my palm if I wanted. And maybe I do...”
I winced as Orion applied pressure and the tip of it pierced my flesh.
“All that pretty blood,” Clara purred, licking her lips. “Your heart would taste sweeter than all the others that have filled my belly. And I’m owed vengeance against the Vegas, so maybe this would be fitting.”
Eat my fucking heart??
Stella gripped my chin and pulled my head around to face her as panic flashed through me. “You will tell me what you came here for or I will let my daughter do whatever she wants to you. Be honest, and I will have mercy.”
“Mercy,” Drusilla scoffed. “She’s a Vega. Let me drain her power just like my brother Alejandro drained her father’s. I want the power of the royals in my veins.”
“Quiet,” Stella snapped, her nails digging into my chin. “Tell me the truth.” Her voice was laced with Dark Coercion, but the Phoenix fire in my veins flared in my mind and quickly burned it away.
“Okay,” I panted, pretending her power had affected me and preparing to act for our lives. “It’s…the Imperial Star. Orion and I believe it’s being kept among his father’s things. We thought maybe it was here, in the basement…”
Stella’s eyes widened in glee. “Where?” she demanded, getting close to my face as a rampant hunger filled her expression.
“It’s disguised as a sceptre,” I lied, keeping to the bullshit story Orion had been feeding Lionel. “I don’t know more than that.”
Stella grinned like a kid on Christmas day, twisting around and running out of the room. I’d hoped Clara might be tempted away with her, but she remained there, twirling a lock of shadowy hair around her finger.
“This is foolish, we have the rogue Vega standing before us. Let me have her, Princess. Please,” Drusilla asked, stepping toward me hopefully.
“You could have a little I suppose, but I don’t think there’s much magic left,” Clara mused and I shuddered as Drusilla’s right hand shifted into long, Nymph probes as she approached, a rattle sounding from her that made my blood chill.
“Get away from me,” I snarled as Orion slid the blade up to my throat. A deep rattle in Drusilla’s body washed over me and my magic started to shut down as she drew nearer.
Clara started singing up on the kitchen table, her song tuneless and twisted. Orion’s muscles bunched and I could feel his hand shaking as he fought against the power holding him in place. But I’d been under its influence myself before and I knew the absolute control Clara could take of your body. Once she had you, there was no way out.
Only, there had been for me. My Phoenix had forced the shadows from my body. I’d found a way to escape, and maybe I could offer him that. I’d failed countless times with Darius, but I had to try.
I reached up, clutching Orion’s arm and willing my Phoenix to the edges of my skin, trying to hide what I was doing as I pushed the fire into his flesh. Drusilla pressed her sharp probes to my chest and they drove into me, making me scream in blinding agony. I forced my fire deeper into Orion’s veins, trying to spread it everywhere and chase away the shadows. But just like with Darius, they kept pushing back.
“Wait,” Clara growled suddenly, spinning on her heel and staring at me.
Drusilla didn’t stop, licking her lips greedily as she drove her probes in deeper and an ice cold pain shuddered through my chest. My magic was fully asleep, waiting to be taken. And I couldn’t let that happen. This wasn’t going to be it. Regardless of the pain, the fear, I wasn’t giving up. I refused this fate.
I fought against the shadows in Orion once more, feeling them recede and the blade suddenly pulled away from my throat. His hand came down hard and I stiffened in fear, expecting the slice of its sharp point, but the knife slashed across Drusilla’s probes instead, severing them off with a clean slice.
She wailed in agony, stumbling back, clutching the bloody mess of her hand to her chest in horror. The monstrous probes were still sticking out my chest, the pain of them agonising, but her power was cut off. I hurriedly twisted around in Orion’s arms, pressing my hands to his chest and forcing my fire deeper into his body, making the shadows recoil from his heart, knowing this was the only chance we had now.
“He’s dead!” Clara yelled. “Dead, dead, dead!”
Orion was still mostly under her control and I felt the shadows fig
hting back against my fire in a rush of power as they tried to kill him. But I wouldn’t let them hurt him. I placed my fire between them and his heart, keeping it safe from their touch as she tried to destroy him.
“Kill her!” Clara demanded. “Stab her, cut and slash and spill her blood, little brother!”
His hand slammed into my side and it took two full seconds to feel the pain, the shock of the freezing blade hilt-deep in my flesh. I clutched his shirt with a gasp of agony, refusing to let go, needing to keep fighting back the shadows in him. But my knees were buckling and suddenly Orion was falling down on top of me, drawing the blade out and ramming into my side once more as he released a strangled noise of anguish.
I screamed so loud, my throat was rubbed raw but I didn’t let go. I held onto him with every ounce of strength I had left, refusing to let the shadows creep into his chest as they took control of his limbs and she wielded him against me. The knife slammed into my side once more and Phoenix fire twisted out from me in furious, billowing blaze, all of it rushing into his body at once. I felt my Phoenix connect to some deep source of power within him and the blade clattered from his hand as he groaned. My fire combined with that piece of him and rushed through his body, his eyes glinting with it as it spread like wildfire and drove out every shadow it found. Please be safe. Please be free.
He fell over me, holding me tight like he was trying to protect me from something and suddenly a twisting storm of fire exploded out from me and him, blasting through the room like a bomb going off.
Clara screamed as she shot away at full speed to escape it, but I couldn’t see anything else as flames framed my vision.
When they finally died down, Orion leaned back to look at me. His eyes cleared until they were just his again, deepest midnight blue and full of terror. But not for himself. For me.
I couldn’t even feel the pain anymore, a numbness seeping into my body, but the growing pool of heat around me told me there was a lot of blood. And I suddenly found I had no strength at all.
Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne Page 64