Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning Zodiac Academy #3

Darius Acrux was sorry? He didn't know the meaning of the word. But after what he'd done, risking our lives by tangling us up in his family's psychotic ritual, I planned on making him learn the definition He was sorry? Not yet he wasn't.

We'd survived. And more than that, our Orders had emerged. And we weren't Dragons at all. For a momentI was at a loss as to what we were, but the knowledge came to me like it had been there all along. We'd been reborn from the flames, rising from the shadows like... “Phoenixes," I said, staring at Darcy in complete and utter fascination.

With a cry of pure agony, I fell back instead of forward. Darcy was pulling me with her or maybe I was pulling her. Away from the shadows, falling into the fire. The pain in my back exploded out of me like a tsunami of pure relief. The world was burning and falling away and for a moment I didn't realise what had even happened. But I wasn't dead. I was flying. I blinked away the flames and stared at Darcy in complete and utter shock as I took in the fire which engulfed her body. Wings of flaming red feathers burst from her back, beating in time with the slow pace of my heart as she held herself aloft. Her hair was a twisting mass of living flames burning in darkest red and orange which whipped around her as she beat her huge wings to stay hovering at my side. Flames licked over her skin, casting her flesh in flame and her eyes in darkness. She looked like an angel fallen to the flames, endlessly beautiful and eternally powerful.

Lance?" Darcy breathed shakily, catching his fingers between her own. "What are they going to make us do?" *They want you to claim the shadows," he breathed, his tone pained. I exchanged a look with Darcy but she clearly had no idea what that meant either. It's how my sister died," Orion added and my lips parted as fear swept through me, sharp and fierce.

My shoulders itch and...I dunno." He frowned, taking me seriously at last. "Turn around." I raised a brow at him. “Are you going to spank me again?" He chuckled darkly. “Not right now." He took hold of my shoulders and turned me to face the other way. Then he pulled up my shirt, gently running his thumbs over my shoulder blades, causing a divine shiver to run through me. Ohhh that feels so good." He did it again with a laugh and I arched into his hands, desperate for more. "Wings," he announced. “You're gonna have wings.”

My shoulders itch and...I dunno." He frowned, taking me seriously at last. "Turn around." I raised a brow at him. “Are you going to spank me again?" He chuckled darkly. “Not right now." He took hold of my shoulders and turned me to face the other way. Then he pulled up my shirt, gently running his thumbs over my shoulder blades, causing a divine shiver to run through me. Ohhh that feels so good." He did it again with a laugh and I arched into his hands, desperate for more. "Wings," he announced. “You're gonna have wings.”

Geraldine got to her feet, pulling her top off and revealing her large cleavage. "Who's up for a skinny dip, friends?" She shed the rest of her clothes and I laughed as more of the A.S.S jumped up. Angelica tore off her dress excitedly before sprinting into the water hand in hand with Justin, their bare asses making me laugh harder.

"If a girl sends you a photo of her in her underwear, she wants to screw you, right?" I asked, frowning at myself for even asking this question but it just didn't seem that simple somehow. "Generally I'd say that's a pretty clear indicator," he joked. "Even when that girl hates you about as much as is humanly possible?"n Lance hesitated, his gaze dropping to the Atlas in my hand even though I held it so he couldn't see the photo. I wasn't sure why but I didn't really want to start showing it around to anyone else. She'd sent it to me. It was mine.

It should have been pretty simple. Girl sends half naked photos - not so subtle hint she wanted in my pants. But Roxy wasn't an open book. She hadn't offered me that photo; I'd dared her to show me what she was wearing. And she wouldn't blink. Because she never fucking did. The filthy shoes were her way of flipping me off and saying this isn't sexy. Even though she'd failed pretty abysmally if that had been her intention. I'd never stared at a photo that hard in my fucking life before. What was that smile about? Why did she send this? What would she taste like? Fuck. If she wanted me hooked she had me. I just didn't know if she wanted me.

I opened the door and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I found Darius leaning on the doorframe. His gaze slid over my dress slowly and heat crawled along my skin everywhere he looked. You sorted out your problem then?" he asked casually. Umm... I decided on different shoes..."

The words Darius Acrux is typing had been sitting at the bottom of my screen for way too long now. Either he was about to send me an essay or he'd half written a response and forgotten about it or he was having trouble deciding exactly what to say back to me.

Fuck it. I kicked on a pair of heavy boots which still had mud on them from when I'd worn them out in the rain and a smirk pulled at my lips. I took a deep breath, held my Atlas up and took the photo. Heat prickled along my skin as I toyed with the idea of pressing send or delete. I wasn't really going to send Darius Acrux a picture of me in my underwear. Was I? I snorted at the idea, moving my thumb to hit delete and swiping send instead.

I was standing in my underwear not wearing some awful outfit like he thought I was. Unless he didn't think I was. Maybe he knew exactly what I was wearing. But how could he? And why was I even considering sending him a photo when I obviously wasn't about to do it?

Darius: I dare you...

Tory: No, I think that would be wildly inappropriate actually. Darius: Why? How could three little letters make my heart race like that? I read his message four times which was excessive for a one word response but I didn't know how to reply to it. I just kept blinking at it until he sent another message. Darius: Send me a photo and I'll give you an honest opinion.

Darius: I'm sure you 'll look good enough in anything you wea: Just turn up as you are. I looked down at myself in my underwear and laughed. That would certainly help my reputation as a sex addict, wouldn't it?

Tory: Thanks for the invite but I'm not sure I've got anything appropriate to wear. What s the dress code? As soon as I hit send my stomach dropped and I tried to un- send it again. I tapped the screen, bashing my hands against it again and again as I tried to figure outa way for that message not to have just been sent. A notification flashed up at the bottom of the screen and my heart lurched uncomfortably.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she spat, glaring at him with so much venom in her gaze that I halted my advance on them. Stopping you from embarrassing yourself and ending up all over the press tomorrow in a story about how you have to pay for kisses as well as having a sex addiction," he replied scathingly. "You're welcome." "I was asking him about which charity the kissing booth is raising money for," she bit back instantly. "Not paying for a fucking kiss. Unlike you, I don't just pay my way through life, living off of Daddy's credit card. But I do have a stipend that's stupidly generous and a fucking conscience and I was trying to do something decent. Which I guess you wouldn't know jack shit about."

Darius looked like he was fighting hard not to add anything on the subject and I decided against baiting him on it. If he' d wanted a shot at Tory then I wasn't what was standing in his way: he was the one who had made her hate him like she did.

That had absolutely been my plan right up until I'd gotten her up there and looked her in the eyes. I thought she'd crumble when I pushed her. I thought she'd ery or beg or... something. But she just stared me in the face and lied. She didn't even bother to lie well. She knew I'd caught her out and she just owned it. Pushing back at me and daring me to do something about it or let it go. And it was so fucking hot that Il'd chosen option B. I didn't know what it was about Tory Vega, but I was fast becoming addicted to it.

Her window was open and she still hadn't put her seatbelt on. What did she have against seatbelts? I swear the girl had more mysteries in her travel preferences than I had in my whole life.

I nodded, looking out of the window so I didn't have to see his reaction when I told him. "When we were in the battle and you were about to die, I felt compelled to save you. Like...ifI didn't a part of me would die too. And ever since then, that part of me is getting stronger like it's become this tangible thing that lives in me. I've never been a jealous person before but when I see you with Francesca it's like I turn into an animal with nothing but basic instincts." My cheeks burned hotter and I didn't dare look at Orion's face, unsure why I was baring my soul to him right then. I rarely trusted anyone enough to spill my heart out to them, but I always wanted to with him. “I told you it was crazy."

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said, sounding lost. “I don't apologise very often. Its not a very Fae thing to do. Did I not do it right?" I smacked his chest as another tear spilled over. He caught it at the edge of my chin, wiping it away with his thumb. You could have just said the words," I whispered with another sniff and he gave me a hopeful grin, inching closer into my personal space. "I'm sorry." He pressed his hands either side of me on the car and my breathing hitched.

*Our first ever winner, ladies and gentlemen!" Rusty recovered from his obvious shock and applause rippled through the air. Orion staggered to his feet, lifting a hand to heal himself and I relaxed as the pain in his posture ebbed away.

*They don't even hook up the numb guy. It's all a scam," someone said behind me and my heart tumbled in my chest. "Higher!" Rusty commanded.