Caroline Peckham

Valenti

The stars have cursed us. After the devastating events at Zodiac Academy, we have to deal with this darker world we're faced with. Lionel seeks to hurt us, the Nymphs seek to hurt the entire Fae race, and between all of it, we just have to try and survive each day as it comes. I'm afraid of everything falling apart, but it looks like it already has.

Zodiac Academy #5

Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates

Cursed Fates

Sophia

“Cheerleaders sometimes support a certain player on the field,” Darius said as he pushed his hand into his pocket and took out a navy ribbon with the word Fireshield on it. “Will you cheer for me today, Roxy?”

I could feel Darius’s gaze on me as I left him behind, but I didn’t turn back. I knew if I did my resolve would shatter like the fragile thing it was. I couldn’t let Darius Acrux have my heart. No matter how much I ached for him. We were doomed anyway. Star Crossed. And even if we weren’t, I just couldn’t trust him with it.

It was a serious shame he was straight. Well, at least when he was sober.

that is so hot ngl💀 i'm fine with them staying friends obviously but this is fire haha

His dark blue eyes were alight with the bloodlust and he caught a fistful of my hair as I weighed him down, wrenching my head backwards as he lurched toward my neck. “Fuck,” I exclaimed as his teeth sank into a vein, my breathing quickening as he immobilised my magic. He wrapped an arm around me and in a burst of speed, carried me to the oak tree and slammed me back against it, his fangs sinking deeper into my neck.

“Be still my beating heart, what a beautiful suggestion,” Geraldine cooed. “I feel so honoured to receive this most wonderous of invitations. And look how stunningly crafted it is-”

She unfolded an imaginary invitation and Tory and Darcy grinned as she proceeded to pretend to read from it.

“Their un-royal un-holinesses Maxy boy, king of the trouts and Sir Seth, ruler of mutts, formally request your attendance at their birthday party. There will be unsavoury characters around every corner and the chance of having your drink spiked with unmentionable potions. Not to mention amorous dongles galore, ready to invade any unwitting lady garden they can find. Please don’t forget to bring a toothbrush and spare pair of panties just in case you fall for any of their baloney under the light of that tricksome minx Venus and end up on your back beneath one of them before waking up filled with morning after shame.” 

Maybe I should have listened to those instincts. Because his bed didn’t feel the same without him in it. And for the first time that I would admit to myself, I had to wonder if I’d made a terrible mistake when I said no.

Darius hesitated right beside us and reached out to run his fingers along the side of my face. “You were right you know,” he breathed as if the others weren’t surrounding us and as I looked into his eyes, it almost felt like they weren’t. “I’m not good enough for you.”

No, Darius wasn’t going to be here this morning. And that was just fine by me. We’d always been destined to fight on different sides of this war anyway.

I bit my bottom lip, raised my chin and stepped outside.

Darius was leaning against the wall in his running gear like usual, his eyes brightening as I stepped out and my gaze locked on his.

“You’re here,” I breathed before I could stop myself and his eyebrows rose in surprise.

AWW i was hoping he's wearing it😭 besties

She smiled at him in thanks and I glanced between the two of them with warmth in my soul. The fact that Tory had given him that little friendship bracelet – which he religiously wore every day without comment – was the cutest damn thing ever.

“No,” he growled in a serious tone, catching me in his gaze. “I could have smashed his head in the second Darius told him to back off of us, but I held back. Because you know what’s more satisfying to me than beating the living hell out of him, Blue?”

I shook my head, my throat too tight as I absorbed the passion in his expression.

“You doing it,” he breathed with a seductive grin.

“He’s all yours, beautiful. I want you to make him scream. I’m gonna be right there with a fold-out chair and a bag of freshly popped popcorn to enjoy the show. But I won’t be the one breaking bones – and trust me I really want to be that guy, but not this time. Seth Capella has written his fate in the stars. She’s coming for him like a monster in the night. And her name is Darcy Vega.”

“Assholes! Despite the grunge hair Capella is sporting and the fucking worst mohawk of the century Rigel seems to think is cool, this is not a fucking mosh pit at some prissy indie rock gig. So get your asses up and start fighting like Fae or you’ll all be in detention for the rest of the week.”

Darius sighed and the weight of the world was in that sound. It hurt me. Genuinely. Like I could feel his pain slicing into my soul. He was so unhappy it was like he was drowning and I just couldn’t think of anything that I could do to pull him back above the surface.

they have to change it😭😭😭 he could have been good enough😭😭

“You two are…well, fuck the law for saying you can’t be together,” Darius said, folding his arms.

 heart squeezed at his words and I saw so much pain in his eyes that I strode forward and wrapped my arms around him.

 wasn’t that I’d forgiven him, or even that I was remotely convinced he was good enough for my sister. But maybe he could have been. Maybe if they’d made better choices, followed their hearts instead of their pride.

“Fuck the stars too, Darius,” I breathed and his muscles tightened around me as he held me close. “Fuck every shining, gleaming one of them.”

“He bought you a bike?” Darcy gasped. “I can’t believe he’s actually admitting I beat him at something,” I said slowly. That just seemed so unDarius.

“It doesn’t change anything,” I muttered as I ran my thumb over the key. But if I was really being honest with myself, maybe it did. Just a little.

Orion ran his tongue over his teeth, moving closer to Diego in an intimidating stance. “If you try to fuck me over, kid, I’ll break every bone in your body. And if you try to fuck over the Vegas, I’ll rip out said broken bones one by one, put them in a blender and feed them to you through a straw. I know some nasty fucking spells that will make sure you stay alive through the entire thing. Mark. My. Words.”

i just wish she could've said not yet instead of no😭

But what other choice did I have? I’d offered her the world, but I’d waited too long to do it. So now I just had to face the consequences of that and live with the fact that this was all my fault. And there wasn’t a thing I could do to change it.

taci

"Wait," I gasped desperately, wondering if there was even the slightest chance that I could bargain with a mad man. “YOU want me, don't you? You want me to give in to the shadows and give you my blood? I'l do it. AIl of it. Whatever you want. Just let my sister go. Let them all go." "Tory no!" Darcy shouted and Seth grabbed her as she tried to lunge towards me despite the river of shadows dividing us. "Over my dead body," Darius snarled furiously beside me, but he couldn't move any more than I could. My hands were shaking as the shadows coiled around them, but I was far more terrified of what they were about to do to Darcy and the Heirs than anything that might happen to me.

Her eyes filled with tears as she straddled me, pressing a dagger made of ice to my throat, the blade pressing down firmly enough to draw a bead of blood from my skin. I can't let you hurt him, Darius," she breathed and the horror she felt at the idea of that was clear as her gaze flared with rage and despair, and every plan I'd ever had for my father's demise came crashing down around us. "I'm his Guardian now. You'd have to kill me first."

"Roxanya Vega," Father growled, looking down at her as a dark smile pulled at his lips. "You will guard my life at the detriment of your own life. Nothing will ever be more important to you than that-" "No," I gasped as the words from my past echoed over me. The words he'd spoken when he forced Lance to abandon the life he'd worked so hard for and stolen everything from him. “Please. Don't do this to her!" I fought against Clara's hold on me with everything I had, panic blinding me as Roxy looked between me and my father fearfully.

"What would it take for you to kill this girl, Darius?" Father asked me in a dangerous voice. "Nothing," I replied instantly. "Td die first." Triumph flashed in Father's eyes at my words and my pulse thundered in panic as I tried to figure out why. What possible reason could he have for being pleased over my feelings for a girl who could ruin everything for him?

"You're the best friend, Diego," I promised and a smile pulled up the corner of his mouth ever-so-slightly. You always felt like...home," he said on a guttural breath, then he fell horribly still, his eyes fixed on the stars above as they reflected in their glassy surface. "No," I groaned, falling forward as grief took hold of me and I wrapped him in my arms, wishing I could have done more. Wishing I could make this right. Don't die. You cant die. His body suddenly turned to ash and a choked noise of pain escaped me as his remains danced away on the breeze, lost, gone forever. 

Lionel finally finished branding the X into my foot which completed his surname and I fell still against the table, panting as a tear slipped from the corner of my eye. But he wasn't done there. "The only problem I have with burns," he said slowly as he lifted the knife from the table and pressed it to my skin. “Is that I don't get to see you bleed" A scream lodged in my throat as the knife bit into my flesh and he drew a line of agony beneath his name, spilling the blood he was so eager to se. l almost blacked out and when he drew the bloody knife away, I fell back against the table once more 

“AII you have to do to make me stop, is give yourself to the shadows," he breathed as he moved around the table, his fingers trailing down my body from my neck all the way to my ankle and drawing a shudder of repulsion from my skin before he stopped by my feet. "Once you surrender to the power of the darkness, you will willingly follow the Shadow Princess and do my bidding when required." "Never,"I growled and the cormer of his lips twitched in amusement. I fought to contain my fear as he pulled my sneaker off and dragged his thumb up the sole of my foot. "What are you doing?" I asked, my muscles bunching as he slid a knife from his belt.

"Because I have need of a Vega. And my Seer predicted your sister leaving her room so that you wouldn't be able to locate her. And how you Would believe the worst so easily. All it took was a few minutes of Drusilla watching an illusion of your dear sister being tortured to create the memory for the web. She delivered it to her spineless son and you came charging in like a warrior to rescue Gwendalina when you were really just a sacrificial lamb racing to the butcher's chopping block."

I seriously consider to dnf the series just because of it. That is unbearable. And if Lionel will do what even Paris Warner would've never done (despite Juliette being all weird in that moment) than I'm going to throw up in all seriousness.

Also I cannot believe how easily one can just cast a Guardian Bond. That shouldn't be so easy. And the affected people should have a say in it. It's insane how fast it can be placed. If it's that easy it's a miracle Fae don't use this as a weapon to fight. But I guess because the pull goes both ways they would rather not have that power. Still..INSANE. That bond needs to be gone on every single one who has it right now. The fact this kind of magic is even POSSIBLE is jarring. It's in their nature to never back down and never listen to another Fae because they despise orders but the body accepts a GUARDIAN BOND??? Truly INSANE!

(Caleb and Seth were my only source of light during the second half. He needs to get over his "straightness" because I need something to look forward to or I am going to dnf)

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDING

I seriously consider to dnf the series just because of it. That is unbearable. And if Lionel will do what even Paris Warner would've never done (despite Juliette being all weird in that moment) than I'm going to throw up in all seriousness.

Also I cannot believe how easily one can just cast a Guardian Bond. That shouldn't be so easy. And the affected people should have a say in it. It's insane how fast it can be placed. If it's that easy it's a miracle Fae don't use this as a weapon to fight. But I guess because the pull goes both ways they would rather not have that power. Still..INSANE. That bond needs to be gone on every single one who has it right now. The fact this kind of magic is even POSSIBLE is jarring. It's in their nature to never back down and never listen to another Fae because they despise orders but the body accepts a GUARDIAN BOND??? Truly INSANE!

(Caleb and Seth were my only source of light during the second half. He needs to get over his "straightness" because I need something to look forward to or I am going to dnf)

Susanne Valenti

After the devastating events at Zodiac Academy, we have to deal with this darker world we're faced with. Lionel seeks to hurt us, the Nymphs seek to hurt the entire Fae race, and between all of it, we just have to try and survive each day as it comes. I'm afraid of everything falling apart, but it looks like it already has.

Zodiac Academy #5: Cursed Fates

I have loved this series so far. However I have spent the last 3 days trying to decide if I should continue or dnf.

Its so obvi Orion was eventually gonna go to jail so its whatever even though him and blue were cute. He's hot.

Lionel?!? Disgusting. Now why would we do that? Did I expect it? Hell no. But could we have gone any other route? Yep probably. I am disturbed. However I am curious as to how this plays out cause Tory is a baddie and cant be whipped forever right???

I think the whole Darcy-heirs team up will be a good switch up.

I really thought this series was gonna go a very different route. I have lots of feelings about these new developments.

Ariel Walker

Ahhhhhh

I have loved this series so far. However I have spent the last 3 days trying to decide if I should continue or dnf.

Spoilers/Thoughts:

Its so obvi Orion was eventually gonna go to jail so its whatever even though him and blue were cute. He's hot.

Lionel?!? Disgusting. Now why would we do that? Did I expect it? Hell no. But could we have gone any other route? Yep probably. I am disturbed. However I am curious as to how this plays out cause Tory is a baddie and cant be whipped forever right???

Poor Darcys about to get real emo. 

I think the whole Darcy-heirs team up will be a good switch up.

I really thought this series was gonna go a very different route. I have lots of feelings about these new developments.

Fuck Lionel. 

millena

The ending??? 💀

This book is so big that I'm confused by everything that happened but the only thing I know for sure is that Lionel is fucking disgusting and I’m really afraid of the next one

————————————

I came back to do a decent review bc sometimes I use my own reviews to remember what happens in the book so here we go. All these books so far have followed the same pattern for me: 

0-30% meh
30-80% love it, best book ever
80-97% *screaming crying throwing up* I’ll never read the next one
97-100% *downloading the next one on my kindle*

I wish I was strong enough to give up on this series now bc I know things will get worse but I can't 😔 anywayyy the beginning of the book I wasn't really liking it and mainly bc of bluelance, I know a lot of people love them but for me they’re a little boring idk. Now now, the threesome???? HELLO 😭 Caleb is a genius and we love him for that but istg I thought his plan was to be just a chaperone and not participate in the while thing 

The cutest thing in the world was seeing torydarius falling in love, every scene of them running and having coffee together I kept kicking my feet bc ughhh they’re everything. I also loved seeing the friendship between heirs x vegas developing, I wish the authors had brought this up sooner but I understand why it took so long

Spoiler below so if you haven't read it, be careful 🚨

It was obvious that Lance would go to prison at some point but fuck that scene hurt so much

Lionel is sick as hell, what he did at the end with the guardian thing was disgusting and I imagine that in the next book it will be even worse

big ab

jesus god make me stop reading these books. why cannot i stop????? it’s like a car crash. i’m five books into a series, and each book the protagonists lose again and again and again. except this is like the worst loss so far because now the loss involves FORCED borderline INCEST? there’s literally one singular character i care about. there’s way too much going on, a bunch of half baked nonsense subplots, almost as if the authors know this book sucks and are just trying to get you connected to anything… will i keep going? i do not know.

abby

this book is utterly pain, I hate it so much. God, I truly hate the ending.😭😭

Jade 🌷

The emotional turmoil. The constant agony. The moments of peace before the storm. The eye opening moments. The utter frustration. Captivating.

Fuck this book for the plot twists . I literally had to sit on this review for a few days to even process what was going on. And let me tell you, i went through the stages of grief. I recognized my pain. 

and i want more 😭 

you might wanna take a break after this book.. everyone told me to and i didn’t believe them. but i truly needed this time to process. take this moment to read a quick standalone. Or to read The A.S.S Party, maybe even read the Ruthless Boys if you were like me & skipped those books. 

You can read in whatever order you like though, i know how stressful it is to hear so many different reading orders. but please just let yourself process this one first

that being said, WHAT THE FUCK?

I genuinely dislike characters more than ever and fuck the stars.

aleksandra

3/5

We are finally getting somewhere!


  
    "We had time stretching out before us, years and years and years. And I was going to cherish every damn one of them. I wasn’t going to let a second go by without coveting each moment we had together”

“No one gets to pick my future for me. I choose what I want and I want you.”

“Everything in my life was brighter with her. It was good and sweet and perfect. I didn’t know what I’d done for the stars to gift me this girl”

I want to give this a 4 because of how much tory/darius yearning we got but the ending made me so upset I can’t.

Hanna 

Sidney Schaffner

Still distraught. I thought things were looking up. They were not.

this one was kind of boring,, not much action and WFT WAS THAT TRIAL WITH ORION AND WTF WAS GHAT ENDING???

Betty

This was truly amazing! I loved this one! So sad and tragic but so good🥲

Emma Kamer

Nouran Hazem

I’m crying at 6 am after binge reading this in a day.. what the hell was that ending can’t the evil sisters let their characters know peace 😭😭

why was this so long….what was the plot…..WHAT WAS THAT ENDING FUCK YOU  

i’ll come back to elaborate my review later but i’ve been in shock since yesterday 

why was this so long….what was the plot…..WHAT WAS THAT ENDING FUCK YOU  

i’ll come back to elaborate my review later but i’ve been in shock since yesterday 

Nouran

This book ruined my day on multiple occasions. Out of the whole series this one took me the longest to finish bc I had to keep taking breaks from getting upset over outcomes. Not a single thing goes right in this book for any of the characters. No one can catch a break. And all your favorite characters get the grunt of it.

I stg if things aren’t righted in the next book, and it better be in a super epic and worth the bs way, then I will be throughly disappointed. 

Daisy Gosnell

This book ruined my day on multiple occasions. Out of the whole series this one took me the longest to finish bc I had to keep taking breaks from getting upset over outcomes. Not a single thing goes right in this book for any of the characters. No one can catch a break. And all your favorite characters get the grunt of it.

I stg if things aren’t righted in the next book, and it better be in a super epic and worth the bs way, then I will be throughly disappointed. 

Clara Mendonca Silva

i think i’m experiencing zodiac academy burnout. 

i’m going to need some more solid resolution soon because it’s getting really hard to keep chugging along.

samantha lias

i think i’m experiencing zodiac academy burnout. 

i’m going to need some more solid resolution soon because it’s getting really hard to keep chugging along.

THAT WAS THE WORST ENDING EVER! that was both devastating and disgusting at the same time

I need a break, give me a break 😮‍💨😮‍💨

Souhaila

okay i lied THIS ONE has the most angst bc omg. my heart was hurting reading this. lance and darcy dude omg :((( FUCK KYLIE!!! dude once the vegas and heirs but their differences to the side, they are going to be one badass royal court and i am so excited for it!!!! gets knocked down a half star bc i could not stand tory’s pity parties for herself

Danyella Barajas

loren

QUE MIERDA CON ESE FINAAAALLL !!! 😭😭

Allison Freedman

Welp everything has gone to complete shit and my heart can’t handle.

Cherryreads

Can the characters catch a fucking break????????????????

Zodiac Academy 5: Cursed Fates Zodiac Academy #5

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