Zodiac Academy: The Awakening(109)

At the back of the room was high a balcony above which were smaller silvery orbs hanging from the ceiling to light the place.

We crept through the first row of bookcases, the scent of old parchment tingling my senses. The library had plenty of shadowy corners to hide in and the thought sent goosebumps fluttering across my skin.

“Where are they?” I whispered, the place seeming to require silence.

“Here,” a deep voice answered and a man stepped into the aisle in front of us.

My heart raced as I stared upon the face of Falling Star. He smoothed down his long grey moustache, taking a step forward out of the thick shadows.

Professor Astrum, our tarot teacher looked a little pale as he glanced between us. “Girls,” he said softly. “I'm sorry for not revealing myself sooner.” He smiled warmly and my thundering heart began to slow. “I was a good friend of your mother's,” he said, pausing to let that sink in. “Merissa loved you both very dearly.”

Tory folded her arms. “Is that why she dumped us in the mortal world to fend for ourselves?”

Astrum frowned deeply. “You don't understand, dear Roxanya.”

“Tory,” she corrected sharply. “Don't use that name. It isn't mine.”

I pressed a hand to Tory's arm, giving her a pleading look. If we angered him now, he might not tell us anything. And I seriously wanted to hear what he had to say.

Tory gave me a nod that said she'd hold her tongue and I turned back to Astrum.

“Go on,” I urged.

“Those times were dark. Your birth father, King Vega...The Savage King, he was the cruelest of rulers, barely a day went by without a public execution in the capital. Merissa was trying to protect you from him, from the way the world was too.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my heart pounding at the idea of being related to someone with such a terrible reputation.

“Nymph attacks rose every year and King Vega grew panicked, lashing out at his own people in response. He was deeply afraid of them. And in the end, that fear was valid. They murdered him, as you know, and the rest of his family.”

My throat closed up as I thought of the two human twins who'd taken the fate that was meant for us. And that made me feel all kinds of uncomfortable things towards my birth mother.

How can we be related to people like that?

“And you think Darius's family is involved in that somehow?” Tory asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“There is much evidence to suggest it, yes. And the stars...they give me clues.” He took a Tarot deck from inside his tan blazer, rubbing his fingers across them. “I consult with the heavens using these...they were your mother’s. She was adept at reading the stars and we often consulted over them together. When she died...this pack arrived on my desk. She must have bound them to me.” He sighed heavily, the pain of her loss clear in his eyes.

“What was she like?” I asked and felt Tory stiffening in my periphery.

Astrum gazed between us with a dark grief in his eyes. “Strong, beautiful, powerful. Her death still haunts me. For many years I tried to deduce from her cards what occurred before the night your parents were murdered. My instincts tell me the answers to my questions lies amongst them but they have only revealed some to me.”

“So what have they told you?” Tory asked.

“They told me a dark conspirator was pulling the strings behind the murders. That the Nymphs were just pawns in a much bigger game,” he said, his voice dripping with fear. His eyes flicked over our shoulders and I could sense he was getting jittery. “No Nymph would have gotten into the royal palace without help. And though they receive Fae power when they kill, rarely do they learn to harness it well enough to attack our kind with skill.” He started thumbing through the cards in his hand, doing it so smoothly I imagined it was a habit he was accustomed to. “They were trained by Fae,” he whispered and icy water seemed to spill through me. “And now that you have returned, I believe whoever controlled the Nymphs before is doing so again. I have long suspected Lord Acrux and now I think his son has taken up the torch too. With the help of Orion, a man whose family has deep roots in dark magic.”

“Dark magic?” I breathed and Astrum nodded.

He looked over his shoulder, his thumb brushing through the Tarot deck at an increased speed. “The attacks are starting again and both Darius and Orion are linked to every scene. And each death is occurring frighteningly near to you both. If they are somehow controlling the Nymphs to try and-”

A creak sounded somewhere deep within the shelves and I stiffened.

Sweat beaded on Astrum's brow and his thumb suddenly halted on a card. He flipped it out of the deck, his eyes whipping across it back and forth. When he looked back at us, his face was as white as a sheet.

“Someone is listening to us,” Astrum said so deathly quiet I almost didn't hear it.

My heart crashed against my ribcage and my breathing hitched as Astrum backed away.

He shook his head, seeming frantic as he continued to thumb through his deck. “Go now. I'll find you again another day. There is much more to be said.” He darted into the shadows and Tory grabbed my arm, pulling me into a fast walk then a jog, then a run.

We fled through the library and out onto the path, my breathing ragged as we hurried away from the building.