Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts)

by Caroline Peckham

  At five to eight, I slipped out of my room and headed upstairs with my heart pounding and a determined set to my features. The Heirs may still have been able to push us around but I planned on doing everything in my power to undermine them at every turn. And stage one of that plan required a small break-in to occur.

  I made it to the top floor of Ignis House and hesitated as I listened for the sounds of anyone who might be running late for lessons. I had a vague cover story in place in case I was caught up here; I would claim to be looking for Darius to ask about our next Fire Elemental session. It wasn’t the best cover. Why would I be looking for him now when he wasn’t due to return to the House until tomorrow morning? Why would I have come three minutes before lessons were due to start? Why didn’t I just send him a message on my Atlas? But a cover story with holes was better than nothing at all and I was pretty confident I wouldn’t need it anyway.

  I headed for Darius’s room at the end of the hall first, knocking softly just in case he really was back already.

  There was no response so I quickly dropped to my knees, pulling the hairpins from my braid and working them into the lock. I was familiar with it from my last foray into his room so I disabled it quickly and a loud click signalled my victory.

  The door swung open silently and I was accosted by the smell of fresh paint. His refurbishment had come complete with a brand new TV, luxurious furnishings and plenty of gold adornments. His new bed had a gold headboard with the name Acrux emblazoned on it.

  I scowled in disappointment, it seemed that my revenge had ended in him getting upgrades. I really doubted he’d be losing much sleep over the things I’d destroyed in the super-king bed with the plump pillows and dark grey sheets which looked as soft as butter.

  His fireplace now had a black fireguard standing before it and I snorted in amusement at that addition.

  As much as I’d have liked to set his fancy new room alight for a second time, I imagined the investigation into that would be a hell of a lot more thorough and it wasn’t worth the risk.

  I tiptoed across his plush new carpet and slipped one of the fat, golden coins from my pocket. I spotted the melted dragon head on the face of the coin and smirked at the fact that I’d plucked this particular coin from the buried treasure.

  With a thrill of adrenaline which spilled through me, I placed the coin on his pillow where it glinted, ready to taunt him like the nice big ‘someone stole your treasure’ message I intended for it to be.

  I backed up quickly, tugging his door closed and re-locking it with well practiced moves. Stage one, complete.

  Next, I headed along the corridor to the last door on the left, my heart thundering a merry tune to a beat of anticipation. I made quick work of that lock too and slipped inside.

  I wrinkled my nose as I looked around at the devastation which Milton Hubert called home. There were heaps of dirty clothes, piled up books which lay open with their spines bent and the unholy stench of unwashed teenage male lingering in the air.

  His room wasn’t as big as Darius’s but it was still twice the size of mine. I guessed being part of Darius’s posse came with the perks of an upgrade. Shame their friendship was destined to fall on rocky times.

  I held my breath as I crept forward, careful not to disturb any of his piles of crap just in case this was actually an organised form of chaos and he noticed the difference. Though I doubted that very much. I reached the double bed and quickly pushed the handful of coins beneath his mattress, making sure they lay flat so he wouldn’t notice them.

  I backed up swiftly and locked the door again.

  Success for stage two.

  I pushed the hairpins back into my braid and headed for the stairwell, checking the time on my Atlas as I went. I was already five minutes late but our first class of the day was Cardinal Magic so there was a good chance Orion wasn’t there yet anyway.

  I sprinted out of the House and up the path toward Jupiter Hall.

  As I drew close to the long building, I spotted Orion approaching the doors. He pulled it open and I darted through in front of him.

  “Cutting it fine, Miss Vega,” he said, thankfully not sounding too angry for once.

  “Still made it before you though,” I said, offering an insolent smile over my shoulder as I dashed up the stairs.

  I ran all the way to class and dropped down into my chair beside Darcy five seconds before Orion strolled into the room, sipping from his mug of coffee like he didn’t have a care in the world and wasn’t fifteen minutes late for his own lesson. It occurred to me that he could easily use his Vampire speed to get here on time if he wanted to but he clearly chose to be late.

  “Did you do it?” Darcy breathed, hiding the words behind her hand.

  I smiled widely in response but I didn’t reply as I noticed Orion watching us.

  “Anything you want to share with the class, Miss Vega?” Orion asked mildly, in that tone which lulled you into believing he wasn’t half a second away from launching that boiling hot coffee all over us.

  I bit down on my smile, though I couldn’t banish it completely, and shook my head at him.

  His eyes narrowed with suspicion but he quickly dismissed it, turning to the board where he wrote the title of today’s lesson for all to see.

  YOU ARE NOT FRIENDS.

  I raised an eyebrow at Darcy and she stifled a laugh. It looked like we were in for yet another lesson on the art of becoming an asshole and I opened up my Atlas, ready to learn about what we were lacking today.

  ***

  Tarot class felt odd without Professor Astrum to teach it but it was even worse having Washer stand in. He was wearing a pair of leather pants today with a lace up fly which was so tight that it was bulging. He’d coupled the pants with a white shirt which clung to his body in a way that made me wonder if it was part Lycra. I could see his nipples through it and he seemed to have forgotten to fasten half the buttons.

  A million times ewww.

  “Anyone feeling like they want to offload today?” Washer asked as the class walked in. “I’m a little light on power so feel free to come dump on me if you need to. I promise not to bite... unless you ask really nicely.”

  The wink which followed his offer sent a shudder down my spine and I gave my attention to unpacking my Atlas and Tarot deck from my satchel so that I didn’t have to look at him.

  He set us to work reading the cards then started moving around the class, peering over people’s shoulders to check their work while brushing against them to siphon their magic as he went. Thankfully he started on the far side of the room so we were spared from his attention for the moment.

  Darcy shuffled the deck, her eyes alight with intrigue as she held the cards out in a fan for me to pick one.

  I waved my hand above them and felt an intense desire to grasp one. I’d never been so sure of my choice when picking from the cards before and I drew the card out with interest, flipping it over to see what it was.

  My lips parted as I spotted the card that Astrum had left for us before his death.

  “Did you mean to put that in your deck?” I asked Darcy with a frown.

  “No,” she replied in confusion. “I mean, it wasn’t in there earlier, I’m sure of it. I haven’t even had the deck out!”

  I placed it on the table between us, looking at the mysterious words on the back for the millionth time.

  I made a mistake and now my time is up.

  The Shadow has discovered me and there is no hope for me to escape their wrath.

  The answers you seek are hidden between Leo and Libra.

  Don’t trust the flames.

  Claim your throne.

  - Falling Star

  As I read the words about Leo and Libra, my head snapped up automatically like a hand had been placed under my chin and lifted it. My eyes fell on the swirling design of the constellations on the wall behind the desk where Leo and Libra sat directly beside each other. As I looked at the wall more closely, I realised that it w
as in fact lined with tiny drawers which I guessed Astrum had used to store things.

  I glanced to my right and found Darcy looking at the exact same thing.

  “So I’m getting the feeling that the card wasn’t talking about Darius and Orion,” she breathed.

  I nodded, casting a look at Washer as he leaned right over Tyler’s desk with his ass in the air as he inspected the card he’d drawn.

  “Knock on the table if he’s gonna spot me,” I breathed, pushing myself up out of my seat.

  Diego and Sofia looked around as I got up too and I pressed a finger to my lips as they watched me move away.

  Most of the class were too distracted with their work to notice me slipping around the desk towards the wall. My fingertips were tingling and I could feel the same little tug on my magic that I’d felt the night Astrum had died, right before we’d discovered the Death card. I tried to pull on it but it was like the thing I was yanking on was stuck.

  I glanced at Washer again before moving to the wall and brushing my fingers along it. The little drawer between Leo and Libra resisted my first attempt to open it but as I exerted a little magic, the lock clicked open like it had recognised me.

  My heart leapt and I quickly grabbed the contents from the drawer just as Darcy knocked her fist against the desk.

  I spun around, bumping the drawer closed behind me and concealing the two cards behind my back just as Washer turned his blue eyes on me.

  “Why are you out of your seat, Miss Vega?” he asked curiously, taking a few steps towards me which were punctuated by the creak, creak, creak of his leather pants.

  “I err, just wanted to...” My mind whirled and in the moment I could only come up with one possible thing to say which would cover my ass, but the thought of it made me want to heave. I really couldn’t risk him realising that I’d just taken something from Astrum’s drawer so I had to go with it. “To take you up on your offer to... offload some emotional baggage.” I cringed internally and Darcy wrinkled her nose in disgust behind his back.

  “Really?” Washer purred, his tongue darting out between his lips like he could taste my emotions on the air already.

  “Yeah,” I agreed, my voice sounding about as unenthusiastic as I felt.

  “You do look troubled, poor lamb. Why don’t we take this somewhere more private? Come on through to the store cupboard.” He flicked his hazel hair and creaked across the room to a small door in the far corner, clearly expecting me to follow.

  I scampered back to Darcy, passing over the cards I’d grabbed from the drawer with a grimace. “He’d better have left us more than just obscure nonsense this time,” I groaned.

  “Good luck,” she replied, failing to keep the horror from her face as her eyes slipped to the open cupboard door.

  “Come on, Miss Vega, I’ve just thought up a special treat for you!” Washer called from the cupboard and I shuddered as I moved to follow him inside.

  Washer smiled widely as I stepped into the meter square cube lined with shelves holding all sorts of fortune telling equipment.

  “Are you sure we really need to be in a cupboard for this?” I asked, glancing back at the classroom door.

  “It’s much nicer to have some privacy for these things,” Washer said, either ignoring my discomfort or just not noticing it.

  I was about to tell him I’d changed my mind when the call of his Siren gift pulled at me. The sense of unease slid away from me and I found myself walking towards Washer like he was an old friend.

  “If you’re feeling low, I always find it’s nice to relive some tantalising, exciting memories,” Washer said, reaching for my hand.

  He took it and his power increased as I gazed up at his floppy hair, suddenly wanting to brush it away from his eyes so that I could see them better.

  He groaned a little as my fingers did just that, sweeping across his brow.

  “Let’s have a look at some of those fun memories then, it’ll cheer you right up,” Washer urged and lust crept along my limbs, guiding me towards exactly what he wanted.

  My breathing hitched as he sorted through my memories like they were snacks for the taking.

  After a thankfully brief look, he released me and the lust withdrew as I folded my arms over my chest defensively.

  “Tut tut tut,” Washer said with a knowing smile. “Mr Altair should know better than to get handsy with his Source in a classroom.”

  My lips parted, words caught in my throat. I hadn’t told anyone about hooking up with Caleb and I’d meant for it to stay that way.

  “Our little secret,” Washer assured me with a wink.

  He showed me out of the cupboard and I scurried away feeling violated. I dropped down next to Darcy and her eyes widened as she looked at me.

  “What did he do?” she hissed.

  “I… he….” I was so disgusted by what he’d just done that I didn’t even have words for it.

  Darcy, Sofia and Diego were all looking at me worriedly, waiting for an explanation and I dropped my gaze to the desk as I gave it to them.

  “He looked at my memories of me doing stuff with guys,” I explained, unable to say any more without shuddering.

  “What?” Darcy demanded in outrage.

  “Pervertido!” Diego exclaimed and Sofia clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.

  Washer glanced our way and I hunched in on myself, not wanting him to come over here again.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said dismissively though half of me wanted to curl up in a ball and die. “What was in the drawer?”

  Darcy’s mouth fell into a thin line but she obviously realised we were drawing Washer’s attention too and let it go. She surreptitiously held out two things to show me. One was a photograph of a man in his fifties. He had a handlebar moustache, bald head and looked absolutely ripped despite his age and smart grey suit. The second was yet another card from Astrum’s deck; the deck he’d told us used to belong to our birth mother.

  I studied the picture on the card. It showed a man who looked kind of like the pope wearing a red robe and a golden headdress while sitting on a chair and holding a golden staff in his hand. The Hierophant was printed at the base of the card.

  “What does that one mean again?” Darcy asked, pulling up the meaning for the card on her Atlas

  Before she could find it, Sofia supplied the answer. “The Hierophant stands for convention and tradition. It can be a sign of marriage or arrangement but can also mean a teacher or councillor who will give advice, assistance or aid in learning,” she said.

  “That last bit would certainly be helpful,” Darcy added.

  “We could do with someone to give us some answers,” I agreed. I flipped the card over and found words written in Astrum’s swirling silver script yet again.

  Ask him what happened to Clara Orion four years ago...

  “I guess he means this dude,” I said, tapping my finger against the photograph.

  Darcy lifted it to inspect it but there were no further words, no name, no way at all for us to figure out who this guy was and I’d certainly never seen him before. She showed it to the others but they both shrugged, clearly having no idea who he was either.

  “Do you think Clara Orion has something to do with Professor Orion?” Sofia asked curiously.

  “We could ask, I guess...” I frowned, wondering if that would result in any answers.

  “Urgh, he probably wouldn’t tell us anything,” Darcy muttered. “He never gives me straight answers.”

  I frowned at her, wondering what that was supposed to mean but she went on quickly without elaborating.

  “How are we supposed to track down some random guy from a picture alone?” Darcy asked in exasperation, tucking the card and photograph away.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t,” Diego said warily. “The things Astrum knew got him killed. Perhaps it’s best you don’t go chasing after his secrets.”

  “He has a point,” Sofia agreed, her eyes alight with concern.

 
; “Well it doesn’t matter anyway,” I said with a shrug. “We’ve got nothing else to go on, so unless this guy comes wandering in the room at any moment, we haven’t got a hope of finding him.”

  Darcy opened her mouth to reply just as the door swung open.

  My heart lurched in surprise and we all looked up, half expecting the mystery man to be looking back at us. Instead Kylie Major was just returning from a bathroom break.

  We all released a collective laugh as the tension leaked from us.

  I turned to face Darcy again. “Well unless fate decides to deliver him to us, I guess that’s the end of that.”

  ***

  During our last class of the day, I’d received a message to say that a very exciting delivery had arrived and we’d headed straight to Pluto Offices to retrieve it.

  We hurried through Earth Territory with the discreetly packaged black box and I had to fight the desire to laugh aloud at what we were about to do.

  Darcy was grinning like a Cheshire Cat beside me and I was sure I was too.

  As we drew closer to Terra House, we slipped off of the main path and into the trees. They weren’t as thick here as in The Wailing Wood but the huge pines and giant redwoods held a kind of majestic beauty to them which took my breath away. Everything in Earth Territory was green and lush and beautiful. The scent of wildflowers and pine hung in the air and everywhere I looked plants of every variety were springing to life.

  We’d come here a few days ago with Geraldine to scope out where we needed to go so the path was familiar as we circled around the huge hill which contained Terra House.

  Because the House was underground, each of the bedrooms held a window in their ceilings which were cut into the sides of the hill and looked up at the sky.

  Caleb’s room was at the very peak of the hill so we wound our way between the other windows carefully, making sure we couldn’t be seen by any of the students inside.