Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  He might have been powerful but that didn’t give him free rein to be a nosey asshole in my opinion. I was the one doing the snooping around here and I wouldn’t take kindly to him taking an interest in me.

  I dropped the note onto his sheet, the words winking up at me tauntingly. Define yours. I smirked to myself and placed the duvet back down over it. Let’s see how he liked having his personal space invaded while he wasn’t here.

  I scooted back to my own bed once my mission was complete. That should have been enough to make my point without being an out and out threat. Because as much as it angered me to admit it, Laini had a point. Gabriel was much more powerful than me. And although my fantasies about strangling him for going through my stuff were nice, I knew it wasn’t going to happen in reality. So I just needed to establish some firm boundaries with him. At least until I figured out if he was a murderer or not. If he was I’d figure out a way to kill him somehow.

  I lay back on my bed and sighed. This place would probably be the death of me. But not before I ripped it apart first.

  Someone planted a plastic cup in my hand and I tossed the contents into my mouth.

  “Argh!” I spat it out and threw the cup so it bounced off the back of her head. Her. The girl who’d dared bring me that piss water from the tap. The actual motherfucking tap. “Mineral water, Mindy!” I roared at her and she flinched around, grabbing the cup from the floor.

  Girl was new. Freshmen. Cute ass. I liked her smile too. But right then I was about as mad as I could get. Alright, maybe not quite as mad as I could get. But still.

  I frowned, sauntering over and slinging an arm around her shoulders. “You know I hate to shout, Mindy.”

  “It’s Lillia-“

  “Shhhh Mindy.” I called them all Mindy. Made it miles easier to remember. They didn’t really mind, not that I asked. I pulled her into my arms and she giggled, running her hands down my chest. “Min..?” I started for her and she said, “-dy.”

  “No, mineral water. Keep up Mindy.” I nudged her away, folding my arms as I returned my gaze to the pitch. Where was my damn whistle when I needed it? I had a golden whistle, custom made. A real beautiful thing to behold. But I had to keep an eye on it because Dante was always eyeing it up. I gave him gold no bother because my family threw it at me like it was confetti, but that whistle was mine. I’d designed it top to bottom when I’d made Team Captain. It had the four Elemental symbols engraved on it plus the Solarian Pitball League insignia at the bottom. One day, I was going to get the Fireside of The Skylarks, Alid Kerberos, to burn a mark into it too. It was mine. And when something was mine, I did not let it go.

  I wouldn’t even have needed a whistle but our coach, Professor Mars, ran detention on Thursdays so I always filled the role for him then.

  I sought Dante out on the pitch - if you could call this shitty sandbox with a hole at the centre of it a real pitch – and found him stroking my damn whistle.

  “Dante!” I waved my arms to get his attention. “Bad boy!” I mocked then patted my knees. “Bring it back. Come on.” I made kissing noises at him and he smirked, promptly placing the whistle around his neck on the chain. “No, Dante,” I complained, serious now. I pushed a hand into my shorts pocket, taking out a few gold coins. It was like trading doggie kibble for the TV remote.

  He was a damn magpie. And birdie would come flying when he saw these. I pinched them between my fingers and let the sun catch them, shining them in his direction.

  His head lifted and he wandered over, his eyes never wavering from the gold. He reached for them immediately and I held them behind my back. “Whistle. Now.”

  Dante sighed. “But it’s so…”

  “I know. And it’s so mine. Give it or I’ll cut you from the team.” I meant it. Sort of. Dante was a solid Airsentry and though he was no Lance Orion from Zodiac Academy, we still might have had a shot at beating their asses if we were all on top form in our next match against them. Maybe. Okay, probably not. But I was a major optimist. And as Captain, I was determined to enthuse my players as best I could. The team hadn’t even made it beyond the qualifiers for years before Dante and I had signed up to play defensive positions. And we’d barely scraped by this year in our first match of the quarterfinals. But if we had another one or two strong players, I reckoned we could actually win the whole tournament one day.

  Dante handed it back to me with a terse frown and I tossed him the coins, planting the whistle in my mouth and blowing it so hard he winced.

  “Stronzo,” he snapped, throwing a hard punch into my arm. “My fucking ears.”

  “You need to stronzo back onto that pitch and play ball, Dante.” I pointed.

  “That is so out of context.” He rolled his eyes but did as I asked and moved away across the pitch to the Air Quarter. Not many people outside of the Oscura Clan could claim to call Dante their friend, but we’d built a bond on Pitball and beer which was hard to deny.

  “Hey,” a soft voice announced the arrival of Elise and I turned to find her in the extra small kit I’d purposefully given her. I grinned, raking my eyes up her bare legs, taking my sweet time over her nipped in waist, then riding the express train to her rack. Yep, I was happy to disembark there. More than happy. Until her hand caught my chin, yanked it up and pinched so hard I grunted.

  I bashed her arm away, rubbing my face. “Be careful. This face is worth a lot.”

  “Not enough to afford that long of a look at my chest, Leon. Do you also stare at Dante’s tits like that, or is it just the female members of the team you perv on?”

  “I don’t need to look, he lets me fondle them in the locker room.” I flashed her my best grin and she choked on a laugh as she tried to keep it in. My grin widened and I slid my hand down her back, prodding her onto the pitch. “If you can outwork Gladys you can have her spot on the team. She’s only a sub filling in for the Airstriker position anyway. The guy who had it before, he...” I pressed my lips together as Gareth’s face pushed into my head. I battled the image away, swallowing the lump in my throat along with the knot of guilt in my gut.

  Elise had dropped down to tie her shoelace and I managed to recompose myself by the time she stood up again, her jaw set.

  “Well he’s gone, so just do better than Gladys.” I leaned in and whispered, “Anyone’s better than Gladys.”

  “Hey!” Gladys snapped.

  “Oh come on Gladys, you only play to impress Harvey.” I pointed at Harvey who looked at Gladys like he’d never seen her before, raking a hand through his coppery hair.

  “Leon!” Gladys screeched, turning bright red.

  “I’m done with the dead weight, kitten,” I said, making my decision. “In fact, Harvey, do you want to go out with Gladys?” I cupped my hands around my mouth as I shouted.

  Harvey shrugged, then nodded and Gladys lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “Perfect. I’ll text you her number.” I waved Gladys off the pitch. “You’re off the team, Gladys. I’ll be gladys to pass on a recommendation to another school club.”

  She headed away, not seeming remotely bothered. I could finally understand why we came last in nearly every tournament in the history of the inter-school matches. A third of the team didn’t have any skill with a ball.

  “Right, out you go. Let’s start with the basics. Catch a ball and get it in the Pit.” I ushered her onto the pitch, folding my arms as I stuck the whistle in my mouth. Instead of the fancy enchanted holes that some prestigious academies could afford, we had one in each corner of the pitch that worked correctly about sixty three percent of the time. So when the Elemental balls did shoot out of them, that was worth celebrating.

  At the centre of the pitch was the Pit where all goals were made. The game was simple. Get the ball in the pit before the other team did. There was only five minutes per round so there was no room for mistakes. If the ball wasn’t in the Pit by the time the clock ran down, it exploded. And it fucking hurt when it did.

  “Okay.” Elise jogged ou
t onto the pitch and I shamelessly pictured her ass bouncing up and down on my lap before she turned back to face me.

  I blew the whistle and a fwooomph sounded as an Airball shot out of the hole in the Air Quarter. It reached twenty feet – Zodiac Academy’s Air Hole shot it fifty, not that I was jealous – and everyone waited for Elise to go for it.

  She lazily swatted her hand and a slap of air knocked it right into the Pit.

  My jaw fell slack. “You’re in. Fucking in.”

  She beamed, twirling around and lifting a pretend skirt as she curtsied. I grinned stupidly then noticed Dante doing the same. I blew my whistle so loud it hurt my own ears and everyone on the pitch flinched. “Right, now do it while everyone else tries to stop you.”

  “Everyone?” Elise asked, her eyes widening, but this chick clearly wasn’t too fazed. She was already planting her feet and twirling a storm in her hands. That not-so-innocent, puckered lip look was sure getting me hard. She’d look so damn good on her knees.

  “No Order gifts,” I called to Elise and she pouted. I bet I’m gonna have those lips wrapped around something after this try-out. She definitely wants me.

  I blew the whistle and Dante ran at her, a fucking force of pure muscle. She realised both he and the other nine players were also gunning for her and stumbled back before turning and sprinting across the pitch to escape. The Earth Hole had ejaculated a heavy Earthball half a foot away from itself like it had given up on life and died.

  Elise raced for it and I admired the muscles working in her calves, her thighs, her ass. I dunno what it was about her that got me so switched on, but I was a walking boner every time she got too close.

  She leapt onto it, snatching up the heavy Earthball with a strength that made my brows lift. She raced back down the pitch, knocking the Waterback, Harvey, to the ground with a powerful blast of her magic.

  She charged toward the Pit and Dante outpaced everyone else, his arms powering back and forth. She raised her hands to throw the ball but Dante took her to the ground before she made it, pinning her down with his hips and laughing in her face.

  I counted down from five and waited for him to get up. But nope. Their mouths were too close and they were still on the fucking ground.

  “You’re Out Callisto!” I barked, mostly to get Dante to move. Which he still didn’t do. He had her wrists pinned and she was smiling like a cat, her hips writhing as she feigned trying to escape, when in fact I expected his dick was getting more attention than a Solarian Pitball match on prime time TV. I blew my whistle and Dante finally got up, tugging her with him. I did a boner sweep and yep, there it was. That big-ass fucking Dragon was getting a rager all over my pitch and all over my girl.

  “Play on! Callisto, come here,” I demanded. She jogged over and Dante tilted his head as he watched her go. And her ass go. He not-so-subtly rearranged his crotch and I sighed. I loved that guy. Sharing was caring. But also…owning meant boning.

  I locked my arm around her the second she was close, guiding her away from the pitch as the fwoomph of another Airball filled my ears. The stampeding sound of feet told me the team were running for it so I tugged Elise behind the bleachers while they were busy.

  “Is this where I have to sit while I’m Out?” She wrinkled her nose as she stared at the gum stained floor.

  I shoved her back against the wall behind the seats, her top riding up because it was too damn small. I placed my hands on her hips, stepping closer. “No, this is where you go while I try to swallow your tongue. It’s a fun game, wanna try it on me first?”

  She planted a hand on my chest, but didn’t throw me off, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Is this because Dante had his hands all over me?”

  “They weren’t all over you.”

  “Yeah they were. You couldn’t really see, but he got them everywhere.”

  “You’re baiting me,” I purred, moving in to taste her sweet breath and try for that kiss.

  She gave me the cheek with a teasing giggle, her hand floating lower onto my stomach. I inhaled, my mouth bone dry. “I taste like candy,” I promised, giving her the slanted smile that always worked. Girls fell at my feet like dead flies. Sometimes they went down on me so long I took a nap in the middle. I wanted her to take control and just get her hands all over me, but she wasn’t playing ball.

  She rested her head back against the bleachers. “I taste like soot,” she teased. Her fingers reached my waistband and she hooked a devilish finger into it, almost grazing my junk. I let out a lion’s growl and she bit into her lower lip. That fucking lip.

  “I want your mouth.” I shoved her hand away, done with this game as I caught her hips and crushed my mouth against hers. I bit down where she’d been biting and she gasped. She didn’t taste like soot, she tasted like cherries and fucking sunshine. I ground her against my arousal and she moaned. By the stars, that sound needed to be my new ringtone. “Do it again,” I begged.

  “Make me,” she whispered. I opened my eyes, still kissing her just because I needed to see how her face twisted in desire for me. She was totally absorbed in my kiss and I hoisted up her legs, grinding into her until I drew that noise from her again.

  “Screw practise, come to my room. You’re already on the team.” I wanted her frontways, sideways, backways and always. Something in me just needed her. I couldn’t explain it even if I tried. I doubted my half a brain cell Numerology teacher could either. She was like a shell without the nut inside. Speaking of nuts. Elise was grinding into mine and it felt like pure sin frozen into a popsicle and stuffed in my mouth.

  “Let’s go. You can do whatever you want to me,” I panted and she drew away, her lips puffy from where I’d kissed her so hard.

  “Wow lucky me,” she said dryly then she tapped my nose, unwound her legs from me and straightened her top. “But I’m kinda hungry. See ya Leo.”

  “Leon,” I corrected tersely, knowing she was playing me like a fool.

  “Right,” she laughed. “Thanks for the candy.” She sashayed her hips and I just stood and watched her walk away with my hard-on sinking like the Titanic.

  I jogged away from the Pitball pitch, pressing my fingers to my lips where they still tingled from the force of Leon’s kiss.

  Making out with possible murderers now, are we?

  I frowned at that thought. My inner snarky bitch had a point. But something about Leon made it hard for me to consider him as a real suspect. I wasn’t a fool, I wouldn't dismiss the idea entirely but the other Kings just seemed so much more likely. They were violence personified. I doubted Dante or Ryder would even deny the fact that they’d killed people. Their gangs certainly did it often enough. And Gabriel...well it was pretty damn hard to figure him out but he had that strong, silent, psycho vibe going for him anyway.

  I put on a spurt of Vampire speed and shot toward the dorms, not slowing until I made it to our room and pressed my back against the door inside.

  “Laini?” I asked, the sheet was closed around her bed but there was no response. I trained my hearing on the room, searching for a pulse which wasn’t there.

  I actually had the room to myself for once. I glanced at the open window and pulled it shut to give me an extra second of warning if Gabriel appeared. Those Harpy wings of his meant he could move in near silence and arrive so suddenly that I barely even heard his heartbeat coming. Not many people could sneak up on me and knowing he could do it so easily was more than a little unsettling. He hadn’t mentioned the note I’d left in his bed. In fact, I didn’t think I’d heard him utter a word since that interaction at the window. And as far as I could tell, he hadn’t been snooping into my stuff since either. So for now we seemed to have come to an understanding about boundaries at least.

  I quickly pulled the broken Atlas from my bag and hopped up onto my bunk. I crossed my legs as I frowned down at it. It had come on last night but I hadn’t gotten a moment alone to study it until now. The damn thing had a passcode and I’d needed a bit of time to think through the
possibilities before I attempted to enter any. I didn’t want to lock myself out. I was sure I could hack my way past it if I did, but it would be a pain in the ass. Besides, if this had been Gareth’s Atlas then I was pretty sure I’d be able to get into it.

  I took a deep breath and tapped in my own birthday.

  The screen flashed and I smiled triumphantly as the Atlas unlocked for me.

  When we were younger one of Mom’s ‘friends’ had given us an old Atlas. He was the kind of guy who sneezed money so it had clearly been no bother to him, but it had meant a hell of a lot to us. Gareth had chosen my birthday for the passcode to make it easier for me to remember and it seemed he’d decided to keep using it since then too. He’d always said the two of us had no secrets and he never wanted us to, so I guessed he never minded the idea of me knowing his code.

  I took a peek at his FaeBook page but it was pretty empty, there were a few photos that he’d been tagged in but he’d never really done the whole social media thing. I shut that down and headed to his emails. At first there didn’t seem to be anything of interest there either but then I spotted a mailbox tucked in the bottom corner marked with one word. King.

  A shiver tracked down my spine as I opened it. There weren’t many messages there but I quickly read all there were.

  King:

  The full moon is tonight, don’t be late.

  Gareth:

  I’m not sure she’s ready. Shouldn’t we wait?

  King:

  I don’t have another month to spare. You should know that by now. Meet me at midnight as usual or you’ll pay in her place.

  Gareth:

  Okay, I’ll be there.

  I pursed my lips. Be where? King had said to meet him as usual...

  I quickly switched to the map on the Atlas, typing away to access the GPS records. A quick search on my own Atlas gave me all the dates of the full moons over the months leading up to Gareth’s death and I entered the information into the GPS search alongside the midnight time stamp.