Zodiac Academy 9: Restless Stars by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

Author:Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti [Peckham, Caroline & Valenti, Susanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Ink Publishing
Published: 2024-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTY ONE

Ikicked at the dirt, sending a scattering of gravel cascading over the edge of the ravine that Roxy and Gwen had jumped headlong into almost an hour ago.

“They said thirty minutes,” I snarled, glaring out at the distant jade castle and gritting my teeth against the desire to follow them to it.

“I’m pretty sure you were the one to put that timescale on it, not them. Besides, as a loyal subject of the queens, should you really be questioning them on anything?” Xavier asked, earning a scowl from me.

“I bowed to the might of their power and my belief in their ability to rule. I did not sign up for being left on this frigid tip of a fucking mountain doing jack shit while they run off into danger and-”

“Maintaining this illusion isn’t jack shit,” Xavier grunted.

I looked to him again, noting the sweat on his brow from the prolonged effort of keeping the magic going.

It wasn’t easy by any means, especially as we had to make the supposed army move without allowing the individual pieces we’d constructed to collapse and give away the ruse.

The Councillors had moved down from their position on the opposite mountain, hiding in the centre of the illusion and giving life to it, while using their considerable power to destroy any scouts sent from Lionel’s ranks, or flying Orders foolish enough to rush into battle before the bulk of my father’s army. They had the worst of it, but Xavier and I were hard pressed too, keeping up the expanse of movement behind them, feeding into this lie for as long as we could. And all the time the twins were gone, we had to keep it going.

My thoughts roamed over the others and what they were currently attempting at the Nebula Inquisition Centres, all of my hope pinned on the distraction we were causing with this false army. We needed this win. Needed Solaria to see that the rebellion wouldn’t forget its people or allow them to suffer in those fucking Inquisition Centres. Especially in the wake of that footage of the supposed twins destroying one.

I didn’t know what Clydinius had been thinking when the star had done that or whether its alliance with my father had already been in place then, but his name was high up on my list. Just beneath those of my father, Lavinia and the fucked up thing they had claimed as an Heir.

“Do you need a breather?” I asked Xavier.

I studied the illusion he’d created, taking in the details and preparing myself to take on the burden of maintaining his part of it too so he could rest, but he shook his head.

“I’m not as useless as I was before you died, you know,” he teased, though there was a touch of steel to his tone which said he meant that. He hadn’t wasted his time while I’d been gone; training relentlessly, working to make sure that he was able to wield his power as well as possible so he’d be ready to stand and fight in the coming battle.

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