Zodiac Academy: The Awakening(102)
Silence descended and I could feel the tug of Max's power, draining me emotionally and magically. The tears had dried on my cheeks and the contact between us suddenly felt colder.
Max stood, leaving us on the ground as he stepped away. “Thanks for the meal Vegas. See ya.” He dove into the lake and my thoughts slammed back into realignment. His friends laughed heartily as they jumped in after him with hollers of excitement.
Neither Tory or I looked at each other for a long time. We stared across the lake. And I decided Sirens were my least favourite Order of them all.
I was still feeling magically drained by the time Tory and I arrived at lunch in The Orb and I wondered how I was going to refuel the power the Sirens had taken. We'd barely acknowledged what Max had done to us and I felt sure she didn't want to talk about her fear as much I didn't want to talk about mine.
I spotted Diego and Sofia in a corner of the room and we headed towards them. I was quietly glad Geraldine wasn't here to lay out a table at the heart of the lounge for once, though I immediately felt guilty for it. The Nymph attack had apparently left her unable to heal as quickly as usual and her power was only just starting to restore.
The four Heirs were sitting on their usual couch and a hard wall built up in my chest as I surveyed them. Seth caught my eye and raised a hand to wave. I turned away, not trusting him one bit especially after one of his best friends had sucked my inner secrets out of me earlier. He’d probably heard all about what I’d told Max by now and the thought made me sick.
“Fuck them,” Tory hissed as we headed over to join our friends.
We sat side by side and I relaxed a little, glad when Sofia took over the conversation and started telling us about her own Order class. Diego had spent his class with the Harpies and it sounded like he'd had more fun than we had, riding around on their backs through the sky.
“You didn't just ignore me did you, babe?” Seth dropped into the seat beside mine, wrapping his arm around my waist and sending a bolt of electricity through my heart.
“Go away,” I said, scooting down the seat to try and escape him.
“What's up?” he asked as Diego and Sofia stared at him like the Loch Ness Monster had just joined our table.
“As if you don't know,” Tory said dryly. “And can you stop pretending to like Darcy? No one's falling for it.”
My heart stung at her words even though I knew she hadn't mean it the way I'd taken it. But after revealing my inner fear to Max, that old wound felt thoroughly picked open right then.
“I didn't mean that,” she said quickly and Seth pulled me against his hip, leaning around me to glare at my sister.
“Well what did you mean, Tor?” he asked.
“Don't try that bullshit. We're twins, nothing gets between us,” she snapped at him and I shoved him away again, shuffling back up to Tory's side in a show of unity.
Seth frowned, playing with something in his hand. He glanced around at the icy stares he was receiving from everyone at the table then stood up with a snort of irritation.
Before he left he leant over my shoulder, his mouth brushing my ear. “Read it when you're on your own.” I felt him slip something into my pocket and he turned, marching back to his friends who were watching us with unconcealed scowls.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, still looking over my shoulder at Seth as he rejoined his friends.
Diego snapped his fingers by my ear. “Earth to Darcy, please tell me you're not interested in that perro?”
I didn't answer. Partly because I didn't know what perro meant, but also because I didn't know what the answer was. The note Seth had put in my pocket seemed to be burning a hole there, begging me to run away somewhere and read it.
“You can't!” Marguerite's voice suddenly filled the entire Orb and everyone fell silent.
I wheeled around, spotting her standing above Darius as he gazed up at her from his position on the couch, seeming annoyed that she was causing such a scene.
“It's over, move on,” he said coolly, turning his cheek to try and dismiss her.
“Darius, baby, how can you throw away everything we have?” She clutched his hand and he prised her fingers off of him, attempting to continue ignoring her.
“Darius!” she shrieked, fire bursting to life in her palms.
The Heirs were suddenly on their feet and Darius practically snarled at Marguerite as he glared down at her, almost nose to nose. The flames in her hands extinguished and she backed up, muttering an apology and bowing her head. Several of her friends ran forward to group around her and I spotted Kylie amongst them. My tongue thickened as the tension in the room weighed down on me.
“This is about them.” Marguerite suddenly pointed at Tory and I all the way across the room and my heart rammed into my throat. “Ever since they arrived you've been acting different.”
“Stop embarrassing yourself,” Caleb shot at her, rolling his eyes. “You just can't deal with the fact that Darius got bored with you months ago. Move on, find someone else to screw. From what I've heard, it sounds like you need the practice.”
Marguerite looked to Darius in horror. “But you love me.”
Silence rang out and Darius glanced at his friends with a smirk. “Love you?” he laughed, turning back to her. “At what point in our once a week bed parties did you get that idea?”