Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  “I’m sure they could be persuaded,” he replied with a grin.

  “If you’re gonna start offering out As to them for allowing you to place a bet, then I should get one for giving you the inside scoop,” I said.

  “Hmm. Maybe you’re right. I probably shouldn’t use my position to my advantage.”

  “Heaven forbid,” I agreed. Though I really wouldn’t mind a free pass in his class. I guessed that was a little over ambitious though even for me.

  “Life as the new kid has obviously attracted a fair bit of attention your way,” Titan said. “It can’t be easy having the two gang leaders hawking after your attention like that all the time. You will let me know if you start to feel under threat in any way, won’t you?”

  Like if I start to think toying with the four guys I suspect murdered my brother might be getting too dangerous?

  “I honestly think they’ll get bored soon,” I replied, shrugging off the risky tug of war I’d placed myself in.

  Titan frowned like he didn’t believe that any more than I did.

  “Elise... I know that you grew up in this city and you have some understanding of the way the gangs work but...” Titan frowned like he wasn’t really sure if he should go on. Or like he was afraid to. The idea of that sent a prickle down my spine. Even the teachers here didn’t want to cross the gangs. He feared speaking out against them even in private just to me.

  “I won’t tell them you said anything,” I said with a shrug. I was hardly about to run blabbing to the first gang member I met that a teacher had been a bit rude about them and get him in trouble.

  Titan offered me a faint smile. “I’m only concerned at how this could end for you. Dante Oscura and Ryder Draconis are accustomed to getting anything they want. Everything they want. And even if this is just some power play or game to see who can bed the new girl first, you have to see that there’s a chance that this could really come down hard on you.”

  “How so?”

  “Well...let’s say that you were to start falling for one of them and ended up sleeping with them. Or even kissing them. The other one would be publicly humiliated by that decision. And do you suppose either of them are the kinds of men to take humiliation well?”

  I didn’t miss the way he called two of his students men like he was actually intimidated by them himself. Or the way his gaze kept flicking to the door like he was afraid we might be overheard.

  “Obviously not,” I sighed. “But I really don’t intend on picking between them anyway. Like I said, they’ll probably just get bored eventually.”

  “Let’s hope they do,” Titan said. “Because it would be a real tragedy if you fell prey to their revenge tactics.”

  He held my eye and worry swam in his gaze for a long moment before he blinked and it was gone, banished by a benign smile.

  I shifted uncomfortably. I’d never really had many people who looked out for me in my life. Gareth had been the only one I could truly rely on. My mom did her best, but it wasn’t really good enough. She was only ever semi-present; one half of her mind on the men she’d once loved or the bets she wanted to place next. She dipped in and out of depression which wasn’t really her fault but still kinda sucked for me. And since Gareth’s death, she’d been worse than ever. I called the retreat every few days for an update on her progress, but they didn’t have much to tell me. She wasn’t up for talking to me yet. She wasn’t really talking at all. They told her I called. They told her I loved her. And I could only hope she knew that that was true.

  To find out that Professor Titan actually gave a shit about me was weirdly...nice. He didn’t want anything from me or ask for anything in return. He just cared.

  I gave him a genuine smile as I let myself accept that fact.

  “In more exciting news…” Titan grinned as he tapped his fingers against the table like a drum roll and I found myself leaning forward to find out what he had to say. “I have your class rank ready…”

  “Oh really?” I asked a little anxiously. In a class of two hundred students who had all had an academy education since their Awakening I really wasn’t sure where the hell I’d rank. I didn’t want it to be too low but I wasn’t holding my breath. I just had to hope I wouldn’t end up at the bottom with Eugene Dipper.

  “We had a faculty meeting last night and Principal Greyshine signed off on this, so it’s official and your new score is already on the board for everyone to see.”

  “For fuck’s sake just tell me already!” I demanded with a grin as he drew out this torture for as long as humanly possible.

  “You are currently ranking at…fourteenth!”

  “What?” I asked, not even managing to conceal my disbelief at all. I mean, yeah I’d actually been doing fairly well in my classes considering how behind I was and I was definitely finding it easier to cast magic and conduct proper spell work than I had been before coming here. But fourteenth in the whole class? It didn’t make sense.

  “We all agreed that securing Ryder Draconis and Dante Oscura as your Sources merited a substantial boost in points. As did the fact that you’ve somehow found a way to dance between the two of them without falling prey to their ire. You’re proving yourself to be a very powerful young Fae. And your behaviour has been an exceptional example of power claiming. It’s very Fae of you.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at the turn of events. But he did have a point. Leon ranked well despite the fact that he didn’t even do any of his work himself because his power meant others were doing it for him. And as a Vampire, the truest form of power you could display was in who you drank from. I had two of the biggest, baddest, most powerful Fae on the tap. It didn’t matter if I hadn’t gotten them there in the traditional way. I still held that power over them one way or another.

  “Congratulations,” Titan said warmly before turning to pull a book from the shelf behind his desk. “So. On to more educational matters,” he said ruefully. “Let’s catch you up on some of the Cardinal Magic lessons your high school skimmed.”

  I leaned forward eagerly as I looked down at the book he presented. The last thing I’d had on my mind when I’d hacked my way into claiming Gareth’s scholarship at this school was my education, but I had to admit that I was drinking in everything I could learn in this place.

  Aurora Academy may have been the lowest ranking academy in Solaria, but it felt like going from drinking piss to champagne to me. In the short time I’d been here I’d already gained more control over my Element and Cardinal powers than I had in the year and a half I’d spent at my high school. I was learning new things every day about Tarot and star alignments, auras and Orders. This place was better than I’d ever really comprehended from Gareth’s stories. And I couldn’t help but lose myself in the call of it from time to time.

  My mission here wasn’t changing. But Gareth had always wanted a better life for me. If I managed to find whoever had killed my brother and exacted my vengeance, then maybe there was a chance that I could get away with it. No one looked into Gareth’s murder properly after all. What was one more death at this academy? And if I got away with that then maybe I could leave this place with proper control over my power and a shot at claiming a better position in Solaria for myself far, far away from here.

  ***

  I headed back to my room with my mind full of the lesson Titan had just given me on mental shields. I’d already had a pretty strong grasp on them before coming here, but he’d helped me tighten up my defences in a way that was specifically aimed at keeping out visions. It hadn’t taken me long to realise that it had been a thinly veiled lesson on protecting myself from Basilisk hypnosis and I was glad that he’d given me a few new tricks to use even though I’d already been doing pretty well at kicking Ryder out of my head. Professor Titan might have been a bit indirect in his approach, but I couldn’t help but appreciate the help.

  The dorms were fairly quiet as I headed up the stairs to the top floor. It was Friday night and a lot of the students had headed out
to enjoy the local bars as usual. And as usual I wouldn’t be joining them. I had no money for drinks and no one I could really call a friend as such to go drinking with even if I did. Aside from Laini who didn’t drink and spent her Friday nights alone in the library where she could enjoy the silence. So I had no one. That fact was actually a bit depressing. I’d given so much attention to figuring out what the hell had happened to my brother in this place that I hadn’t let myself form many real bonds with any of the other students here. I guessed in a way I blamed all of them for Gareth’s death. For none of them seeing something, saying something, doing something which might have resulted in him surviving.

  I let out a breath as I tried to let some of my anger go, but I couldn’t. It lived in me with every waking breath. Consuming, devouring. There wouldn’t be an end to it until there was an end to the one who’d killed him. And even then I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to claim my heart was at peace again. Because a part of it would always be missing. And nothing I could do here would change that.

  I pushed open the door to our dorm and found the place empty for once. It was such a novelty to have the room to myself that I quickly kicked off my shoes and loosened the top buttons of my shirt, preparing to...well I guessed to just sit on my bunk and scroll through shit on my Atlas. But I’d be doing it alone for once so that made all the difference.

  I pushed a hand through my hair and made a move towards my bunk when a grunt of pain caught my attention.

  I frowned, turning towards the window as I focused my enhanced senses on the sound and a pounding heartbeat came to my ears followed by a growled curse.

  “Gabriel?” I gasped, shooting towards the window and pulling it wide.

  My lips fell open as I spotted him clinging to the fire escape, his bare skin smeared with blood and his chest rising and falling heavily. He looked like he might pass out and I reached for him as panic bled through me, my own heart racing as I took in the state of him.

  “What happened to you?” I breathed as I caught his hand.

  He let me drag him forward into our room then almost fell on top of me as he dropped down from the windowsill.

  I gripped his shoulder, using my gifted strength to support his weight as his grey eyes looked into mine.

  “Don’t tell anyone,” he breathed, his voice a plea instead of a demand and that alone had me nodding in agreement.

  His blood slid between my fingers as I gripped his bare shoulders and I swept my eyes over him. His skin was covered in slits which oozed blood and his beautiful wings were half shredded, gaping holes stabbed through the black feathers. They glimmered wetly and when I reached out to touch the top of one of them my fingers were stained a deep red.

  Gabriel hissed in pain at the contact but I didn’t pull back, I pressed my hand down more firmly and directed healing magic into my palm. The spells I knew were a bit of a catch-all so I was using more power than I would have if I had more training, but I didn’t care. I just needed to take this pain away from him.

  Gabriel dropped his forehead to my shoulder and groaned slightly. It seemed like he might pass out on me and I forced my magic to work faster, the tug of it leaving an empty place in my chest.

  I listened to the pounding of Gabriel’s heartbeat as it slowed. When the wounds on his wings had healed over, I slid my hand over his shoulder and down his back, seeking out the lacerations which marred the rest of his skin so that my power could find them faster.

  Gabriel’s breathing evened out and he shifted his hand around my waist, drawing me closer while his head remained on my shoulder.

  The well of power in me was steadily draining out until a hollow, echoing sensation resounded within me but I didn’t stop until every wound on his body was healed.

  My fingers started trembling as I finished, the last of my power slipping from them and into his skin.

  Gabriel’s breath was dancing over my collarbone and he hadn’t released me despite the fact that he was healed now.

  I swallowed a lump in my throat, remembering the last time I’d gotten this close to him with a surge of heat that ran through my body.

  I didn’t know what to make of Gabriel. Most of the time he was so cold and distant. It was impossible to feel like I knew him even at all. But in that moment it felt like our souls were reaching out to each other. Both of us stood there, stripped of our power, silence echoing around us, not making a single move to back away.

  “You just used all of your power to help me,” Gabriel breathed, his lips brushing against my neck.

  “I couldn’t leave you in pain like that.”

  His arm tightened around my waist and I arched my back in response.

  “Why not?” he asked.

  “I...” I frowned at that because I didn’t really have an answer for him. Maybe I should have just let him suffer. He certainly hadn’t done anything to earn my loyalty, let alone my help. But seeing him like that had hurt me too and I didn’t know why, but helping him hadn’t felt like an option. It was just something I’d had to do. Maybe that made me an idiot because I still couldn’t be entirely sure that he hadn’t been involved in Gareth’s death but in the moment that idea hadn’t even occurred to me.

  “What happened to you?” I asked again instead of replying.

  Gabriel was silent a long time and I pulled back an inch, presuming I wasn’t going to get any answers but his grip on me tightened, keeping me in place.

  “I was out in the city having a drink with a friend in Lunar Territory,” he said slowly. “Felix Oscura came in with his pack-”

  I inhaled sharply. Felix Oscura was the most infamous member of their Clan. He was their leader ever since his brother Micah, Dante’s father, had been killed. His reputation was brutal. I’d read more stories about the horrors he and his pack had been responsible for than I could even count. He was a butcher. A tyrant. A maniac. And there was only one reason why he would show up in Lunar Territory.

  “How did you escape?” I asked, fear flickering through me.

  “I had a vision. I managed to hide and then I ran for it. They spotted me before I could get far enough away but I doubt they’d recognise me. Besides, I’m not going to be talking to the FIB and I’m not a member of The Brotherhood so hopefully they’ll just forget about me.”

  “That’s a lot of hope to put on the actions of a psychopath,” I said, drawing back so that he was forced to lift his head and look down at me. “What if they come for you to cover their tracks?”

  Gabriel’s lips twitched like he found me amusing. “Well then maybe you can offer me an alibi if Dante asks where I was.”

  “You want me to tell him you were here?” I asked, a faint frown pulling at my brow. Would I do that for him? If the Oscuras found out I’d lied to protect him they’d come for me too. But if he really had just been unlucky, caught out in the wrong place at the wrong time then could I really let them come after him if I could offer a simple lie to protect him?

  Gabriel rolled his shoulders back and his wings retreated, glimmering out of existence as he shifted back into his Fae form.

  “No,” he said slowly. “I wouldn’t really ask you to lie to the gangs for me.”

  I looked up into his stormy eyes and my heart began to beat faster for a whole other reason. We hadn’t been alone together since that night on the roof and suddenly it was all I could think about. Heat prickled along my skin and I bit my lip as I tried to shift my mind onto something else.

  “Thank you,” Gabriel said as I failed to come up with anything else to say. “For helping me.”

  “You owe me one,” I teased.

  Gabriel smiled darkly as he looked down at me and I couldn’t help but imagine a few ways that he could show his appreciation.

  As if his mind was heading in the same direction, his gaze slipped to my mouth and my breathing hitched in response.

  “I’m sorry,” he breathed. “For all the things I’ve done to try and keep you away from me.”

  “You’ve
been an asshole,” I agreed.

  “Can you forgive me?”

  “No,” I replied though I was pretty sure that was a lie.

  “We should stop,” he said, drawing closer.

  “Okay,” I agreed, not moving an inch.

  He reached out and caught my jaw in his grip, tilting my chin up as his mouth sought mine out.

  I melted against him, every sensible thought tumbling from my skull and blowing away into a corner of the room as my body took full control of my actions. I should have hated him for the way he’d treated me. I did hate him. I hated him. But somehow I wanted him too. Just for now, not forever. But for a little while maybe I could just forget and let my body have what it wanted…

  I fell into his kiss, his tongue teasing my lips apart and pressing against mine as I gasped in desire.

  Gabriel’s other hand skimmed the hem of my skirt, his fingers roaming across the bare skin of my thigh and making heat pool in my core.

  My heart was pounding to a relentless pace, my lips tingling as he kissed me harder and my fingers twisted into his midnight hair.

  Gabriel’s hand shifted higher beneath my skirt and I moved back a step, pulling him with me towards my bunk.

  His kisses lit a fire within me that wouldn’t be put out. I needed more of him. All of him. I didn’t understand this pull I felt towards him and I didn’t want to believe his crazy theory about him being my mate, but with his hands on my skin it was impossible to deny the power he held over me.

  “You told me to stay away from you,” I breathed against his lips.

  “I was wrong,” he replied. “I wanted to keep you safe from me. Away from me…”

  “And now?” I demanded. His hand was moving higher and higher with every passing heartbeat, carving a line of sin beneath my skirt and up my thigh.

  “Now I want you closer,” he admitted. “Even though I know I’m being selfish.”

  Gabriel pressed himself against me and my heart thundered as I felt the keen bulge beneath his jeans.