Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (Supernatural Beasts and Bullies #1)(62)

“Not me,” Max said. “I’m still getting my own fix.”

Seth shrugged, already having confirmed that he didn’t have any to spare and Caleb shifted his gaze to Darius hopefully. It was weird to hear them discussing the idea of this so casually. Caleb usually just took what he wanted but he clearly wouldn’t attempt that with his friends. And I didn’t think it was because he couldn’t manage it. The four Heirs seemed fairly evenly matched and I was sure he’d at least have had a good shot at taking power from one of the others by force as he did to me. No. This was about respect. He cared about his friends and he would only take power from them if they offered.

“I’m already feeding one parasite tonight, you’re not seriously going to ask me to feed two are you?” Darius asked. It wasn’t a flat out refusal though. I got the feeling he’d give in if Caleb pushed for it which seemed more than strange as it was clear he didn’t really want to. I never would have expected Darius Acrux to give in to anyone.

Caleb sighed dramatically as he finally dropped down onto a stump. “I had planned on topping up from my Source at dinner but the Vegas never showed.”

I smiled to myself, glad that I’d managed to grab an early dinner before my Liaison meeting and avoided that particular run-in.

“You could bite any idiot in the school,” Darius said, rolling his eyes. “Why didn’t you just get your top-up elsewhere?”

“You know I like my power how I like my spirits,” Caleb replied dismissively. “Top shelf or nothing. I enjoy the way Tory tastes, she’s got more power in her blood than even you assholes.”

The other three shifted uncomfortably at that comment and Caleb shrugged, running a hand through his blonde curls.

“There’s no point in denying it,” he said. “We all know what their potential is.”

“Which is why we need to make sure they fail The Reckoning,” Max growled.

A shiver ran down my spine at the malice in his tone. Did they really think Darcy and I wanted their stupid throne so badly? Why hadn’t any of them even bothered to talk to us about this instead of just blindly fixating on getting rid of us.

“It’s all in hand,” Seth shrugged. “We can come up with some more ideas back at King’s Hollow. I think tomorrow should be a big day for those twins. And if you wanna come for a run with me at midnight then I’ll let you feed on me,” he added to Caleb.

“Or you can meet me at Ignis House in the morning and wait outside Tory’s room to surprise her,” Darius suggested with a smirk and I ground my teeth angrily. “If we get really lucky we might find out that she sleeps naked.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t found that out already,” Max said suggestively and Darius’s mouth hooked up into half a smile which made me bristle and flush red at the same time.

“Yeah... I might just take you up on that,” Caleb replied, his own smile widening.

“Why don't we all show up,” Seth said enthusiastically. “We can give her a wake up call she’ll never forget.”

Thanks for the heads up, pricks. I know exactly where I won’t be tomorrow morning.

“Sounds good to me,” Darius said, getting to his feet and knocking Max’s arm from his shoulders. “I’m going to head to bed.”

“You’re not coming to the Hollow?” Max asked, looking disappointed.

“Nah, I’m beat. I’ll see all of you in the morning then? Wanna say six? She never gets up early.”

Stalker much? Was he really paying that much attention to me?

“Alright, we’ll work on something special for our Vega fun,” Seth agreed.

He shifted forward and pulled Darius into a hug, brushing his fingers through the back of his dark hair for a moment before heading back out of the clearing. Darius accepted the Werewolf’s tactile behaviour with an air of understanding that said he was used to it even if it wasn’t the way he’d choose to behave himself. Again, I was surprised that he would alter his natural behaviour to please one of his friends but it was clear that these four were more than willing to adapt their natures to come together as a group. I had assumed their bond came from being in the same position as each other as Heirs but there was more to it than just responsibility and expectation. They seemed almost like family.

Max and Caleb both clapped Darius on the arm before they headed out of the clearing too and Darius hesitated a moment, pulling his Atlas from his pocket as he waited for them to go.

A couple of minutes ticked by as I waited in silence for him to leave and he finally dialled a number on the device in his hand before clipping on an earpiece.

Darius ran his fingers over his jaw as he waited for the call to connect and his brow dipped into a frown.

“Took you long enough,” he growled when the person on the other end finally answered. “I need to talk to you in person... No, not tomorrow; now. This situation is going on too long, we should have dealt with them by now. I think we need to escalate the plan... Just stop. I’m coming to yours now.”

Darius killed the call and got to his feet, the rising moon throwing his features into shadow beneath his scowl. A prickle ran along my spine as I tried to figure out who he’d been talking to and what it was about. He said he wanted ‘them’ dealt with. Could he have been talking about me and Darcy?