Chapter 10

"Fuck you, Clyde!" Tory yelled, launching a rock at the wall, the thing hitting it so hard that a spark ignited. She went to do it again, and I leapt to my feet with a gasp.

"Wait, Tor." I grabbed her arm. "The sparks."

"Holy shit," she said in realisation.

I quickly tore off a piece of my jumpsuit's sleeve and the Shadow Beast grunted as he moved closer, apparently intrigued by what I was doing.

The sound of Tory ripping her clothes carried to me in the dark, and I felt around on the floor for some more rocks, gathering one in each hand and striking them together. The flash of light gave me enough to see by for a millisecond, and Tory grabbed the scraps of clothes, tossing them together at my feet. I struck the stones over them once more, determination brimming in my muscles. We had to get out of here. Back to our Mates, our friends.

With a tug in the centre of my chest, I realised they had become so much more to me than just friends. Lance, Darius, Geraldine, Seth, Max, Caleb, Sofia, Xavier, and Tyler, they had become family to me as deeply as Tory and Gabriel were. Each of them had become a part of me that I was so damn grateful for. And I couldn't let them down, rotting here in some dusty cave to become a pile of useless bones.

A growl left me as I struck the stones again, and a shower of sparks cascaded onto the strips of clothing. A flame took root, and I squealed as Tory let out a whoop of relief. She took her top off, offering it to the fire, and I ripped apart the top of my jumpsuit to fuel it too, dropping down to sit beside it and soak in the power it offered me. Tory ran her hands through the fire itself, groaning as it started to fill up her magic reserves.

The ground shook beneath us as the Shadow Beast slammed his huge body down between us, his back legs splayed and his front paws stacked neatly between them. He towered above us, his bear-like face tilted down to look our way, and he let out a little grunt.

I grinned at him, reaching out to pat his leg, and his brown eyes brightened.

"Does Orion know you adopted the giant furball?" Tory asked in amusement.

"Yep."

"And did he try to stop you?"

"Obviously."

"But you adopted him anyway."

"Duh."

Tory laughed, but it slowly fell away until she was frowning at me instead. "Is Orion good? After all Lavinia put him through?"

I fell quiet, my gaze dropping to the fire as the horror of our captivity crept over me once more. Within the flames, I swear I caught a flash of blood, of Lance on his knees while a knife was twisted in his side. I winced, a shuddering breath fluttering past my lips and a cloying sense of terror washing through me. I pushed it back, grounding myself in the now and reminding myself that we were no longer there, though it was hard to shake off the feeling of dread in my bones.

"I don't know," I admitted. "We've barely had a moment to process it. And now we're parted again…" I took a breath. "But he's strong as hell."

She nodded, a flicker of darkness passing through her own eyes before she pushed to her feet, and I had the feeling she was thinking about her time under Lionel's rule. "Are you-" I started, but she spoke over me, clearly not wanting to go there.

"I'll cast some flames to quicken this up." She opened her palm, weaving fire into existence and letting it spill from her, circling around us and warming my back.

I sighed, revelling in the sense of my power igniting inside me, and though I desperately wanted to cast, I held back until I had enough to get us free.

Finally, we stood together in the centre of the cave, and I urged the Shadow Beast to return to the ring on my finger, its ghostly form twisting away into the gemstone.

We turned our gaze to the roof, holding hands and raising our free ones. Our magic flowed together like a river that came from the very same source. As one, we threw our earth power into the roof, carving a hole right through it and creating a stairway of stone that spiralled up and away towards freedom.

The scent of fresh air called from above, and we both raced onto the steps, sprinting up them as fast as we could go. As the stairs took us right up above the jungle and the humid air kissed my skin, I felt us pass out of the oppressive power of that cave, and my fear over releasing my Order and succumbing to Clydinius's curse within those tunnels ebbed away.

We made it to a platform at the stairs' pinnacle where birdsong and monkey chatter carried from the jungle canopy and the beating sun burned down on my skin, heating me through. I took in a breath of fresh air, basking in the relief of our escape, then we unleashed our wings, flexing them once before taking off into the sky, turning north towards our family.

The thrumming of my heart called me back to Lance, and adrenaline fuelled my movements, my wings beating hard and fast while Tory sped along at my side. It would be a long flight back to Zodiac Academy, but I wouldn't rest until we made it home.

I landed before the imposing gates of the academy and Tory touched down beside me, but as I took a step forward, a voice boomed out. "Halt!"

Guards glared out at us from between the metal, suspicion skewing their features.

"It's us," I said in confusion. "Let us through."

"But word has it you're not you," a woman called fearfully.

"Clyde," Tory hissed, and I shared a look of anger with her.

The guards muttered among themselves, then one of them amplified their voice to carry right across campus. "The True Queens are at the gate!"

Orion and Caleb were there in a blur, and I rushed forward, meeting my Mate's gaze in hope.

"It's me," I said fiercely. "What can I do to prove it?"

"No need, Blue," Orion said, taking me in with a piercing look. "I'd know you anywhere."

"Yeah, that's fucking romantic and all, brother, but I require more proof than that," Caleb said, narrowing his eyes at Tory.

"We can test their magical signature," Orion said. "I'll get a guiding crystal." He shot away and returned at speed just as Geraldine and Darius came running up the path behind him.

"Hey husband," Tory said, stepping up to the gate and reaching for Darius through it. "You can feel my heart beating, can't you?"

He smiled roguishly, taking her hand. "It's them," he confirmed to the others.

"Still." Caleb grabbed the crystal from Orion, holding it out to check our signatures and then releasing a breath when it apparently confirmed we were us.

"Open the gates!" Geraldine roared, and the guards drew them wide.

Geraldine released a noise akin to a baby goat tumbling down a hill, then ran forward and collided with Tory and me. We staggered backwards, squeezing her tight as she came apart entirely, sobbing heavily and burying her face in my hair.

"My l-lady Darcy and my l-lady Tory, I deserve the flail for not realising sooner that a dastardly creature had taken your faces. The moment you flew above us upon The Howling Meadow, I should have known. There was the very moment I should have seen the lie like a gnarlybob pretending to be a treegibber. Yet I did not realise it even when I spoke to that impersonator face to face, and for that, I must take my own flail as punishment." She threw herself to her knees, producing her flail from her back and bowing her head as she held it above her. "Flail me, my Queens. Flail me like the whelk I am. For I am as useless as a sodden haybale on a winter morn."

"No one needs to get flailed, dude." Tory nudged her with the toe of her shoe.

"Geraldine, you couldn't have known," I said, but she only held the flail higher.

"Flail me," she croaked. "I will not be rid of my guilt until I am flailed."

"No one's gonna flail you. We all love you too much," I said, trying to pull her to her feet, but she wouldn't move.

She dropped her hands, peering up at me with wide eyes. "Love?" She looked to Orion as if he of all people might confirm it and he folded his arms, his lips pressing together.

"Lance Orion, professor of all things cardinal magic and professor of true, undying love to one of my dear queens. Will you confirm my dear Darcy's words?"

"I'm really not the right choice for this question," he muttered, and Geraldine's eyes wheeled to Darius instead. Again, a poor choice in all honesty.

"Great Dragoon of the lagoon. Will you deny or confirm that I am too loved to be flailed?"

"Sure," he grunted, seeming amused.

"Which is it!?" she wailed, shuffling toward him on her knees. "A denial or a confirmation?!"

"The one that makes you get off the ground," he said.

"You couldn't have known any of this, Geraldine," Tory said. "We've been impersonated."

"Good gravy, we know! We saw the footage. But by whom? The lame lizard?" Geraldine gasped.

"The footage of what?" I asked in fear, and Orion stepped closer with a grave look that made my stomach clench.

"Of you burning a Nebula Inquisition Centre to the ground with all the Fae inside," he said darkly.

"Fucking Clyde," Tory hissed.

"Who's Clyde?" Darius growled.

"The Imperial Star," I said, and they all looked at me in confusion. "Well, sort of."

I explained the insanity we had faced since our crowning and how the stars had given us a choice of how to deal with the Imperial Star, telling us it belonged to the heart of Clydinius who had cursed the Vega line for not returning it.

"And now that motherfucking star is wearing our faces," Tory snarled.

"And killing innocent people while posing as us," I said in horror. "We have to stop him."

"This is grave news indeed," Geraldine choked out, finally rising to her feet. "That cretin of a spangle has not returned here since the footage of its vile impersonation was aired. Oh my Gerry juice." She held her chest, breathing in deeply. "How can we ever hope to face such a foe? A star walking among us like a fig falling from its tree only to grow legs and prance upon the grass. It is most loathsome. A repugnant twist of the natural order."

"Everyone else is holding a council at The Orb," Orion said. "We can go there, make a plan."

I nodded, and we all headed that way, leaving the guards to close the gates at our back. Orion took my hand and my heart raced from the contact, my need to be closer to him making my breaths falter. He drew me nearer as we followed at the back of the group, his mouth dropping to my ear. "You've been missing all this time. Fuck, Blue, I'm sorry I didn't realise it sooner."

"How could you have known?" I looked up at him, and he leaned down to touch his lips to mine, a burning promise of love in that brief kiss.

When we walked into The Orb, silence fell like we'd just cast a silencing bubble over the whole room.

"You're here at last," Melinda Altair called from a seat at the huge, circular wooden table that had been crafted to sit at the centre of The Orb. The rest of the tables and chairs had all been pushed aside to make way for it.

"Where have you been? What is the explanation for the terrible massacre at that Nebula Inquisition Centre?" Tiberius demanded, his booming voice echoing off of the domed roof.

Tory and I fell into another explanation, the eyes in the room pinned on us, faces paling as the truth of our words fell over them.

"A star walking among us?" Antonia breathed in shock. "How is it possible? Surely it cannot be?" She looked to Tiberius as if he might know the answer, but his eyes were firmly set on us, a grim belief settling over his features.

"It seems it is so," he said heavily, a pregnant pause filling the space before he went on. "Well, we have much to discuss now that the True Queens have returned."

All eyes fell on me and Tory, and my pulse quickened from the reverence in some of their expressions. The fact that the Councillors had bowed to us along with the Heirs was a headfuck of its own special variety, and it was going to take some real getting used to.

Seth waved to me from the right of the table, smiling eagerly from his place between Caleb and Xavier, and I shot him a smile back.

"Where's Gabriel?" I asked, looking around hopefully for my brother among the Fae gathered here.

"He's resting, bella," Dante said, lightning crackling between his fingertips as he sat back in his wooden chair. His muscular frame was draped in gold medallions, rings, and necklaces; the Storm Dragon not often seen without his gold. "His Seer gifts have been overwhelmed by what happened to him at Palace of Souls, but he's in good hands."

My gut tugged at knowing Gabriel was struggling after what Vard and Lionel had done to him, but I knew his family would look after him, and I'd do whatever I could to help too.

Geraldine ushered us to the table with emotion in her eyes. "Your places await you."

She pointed to where two enormous carved wooden thrones were sitting there expectantly, just for me and my sister. Two notably smaller chairs sat either side of them, one with Guild Master etched into its surface and the other with King Consort.

Darius arched a brow at that title and Orion sniggered at him as we moved to take our seats. Darius wasted no time burning the name off of his chair- much to Geraldine's horror – but before it could descend into an argument, I addressed the room.

"A lot's happened since we were all last together," I said, looking to the Heirs, to Dante and Rosalie Oscura, the Councillors, and Xavier. Washer wiggled his fingers at me, and a hum of happy energy flowed from him that for once wasn't tainted by lust. "Not everyone is here who should be here." I thought of those who had been lost, my heart weighing heavily in my chest as sullen eyes stared back at me. "But we're so close to finishing Lionel for good, I can taste it in the air."

"Hear, hear!" Geraldine cried, bashing her fist down on the table from her seat beside Orion. "The assault upon the Court of Solaria went spectacularly – even if we did attack under the orders of your doppelgangers instead of following the commands of the True Queens as we should have." She bowed her head guiltily.

"That plan was ours regardless," Tory said. "I doubt Clyde gives a shit about any of that anyway. He has his own plans to focus on, whatever they may be. Tell us what came of the attack?"

"We won," Max said with a laugh that was echoed around the room, the victory clearly having sparked a lot of hope and pride in our inner circle. "Linda has been rendered useless to Lionel."

"How so?" Tiberius asked, sitting up straighter at the mention of his traitorous wife.

"I broke her mind," Max explained grimly. "I removed all memory of magic from her and shattered every path to wielding it. She won't ever be able to cast with skill again."

"But you left her alive?" Tory asked, reading between the lines of what he was saying.

Max cleared his throat, glancing from Tory to his father before replying.

"Ellis was there," he admitted in a low voice. "She didn't act against me, though she didn't turn on Linda either. But she did beg me for mercy for her mother and I…"

Tiberius released a slow breath at the confirmation that his daughter still lived.

Geraldine laid a hand over Max's, squeezing softly. "Your soft belly is understandable, my cuttlefish," she soothed.

"My father won't want a powerless advisor," Darius said firmly. "Linda Rigel will be cast out of his inner circle for the shame alone. It sounds to me like she's harmless now."

"Looks like we can forget about her then. What about General McReedy?" Tory asked, clearly knowing more about the plans for this attack than I did.

"I captured him," Caleb said.

"Yeah, he went above and beyond," Seth said brightly. "You should have seen him – we lost him in the battle and all came back here without him, and I was freaking out thinking he might be dead. But turns out, he'd chased McReedy into the sewers and they wrestled around in the shit down there even after their magic was all tapped out. When he came back here, everyone thought he was a bog beast because he looked like crap and smelled like-"

Caleb punched him in the arm to shut him up and Seth growled at him in reply.

"Point is, I caught the fucker," Caleb said firmly while Darius stifled a laugh.

"I have pictures," Seth murmured, taking his Atlas from his pocket and sliding it across the table towards us.

I caught a glimpse of Caleb coated in what looked like both blood and shit for all of half a second before Caleb snatched it away again and shoved it into his own pocket.

"Forget the pictures," he growled. "Xavier caught Vulpecula and brought down the entire Court of Solaria with his earth magic."

All eyes turned to Xavier who smiled sheepishly. "Err, yeah – Sofia did it with me," he added quickly.

"We've captured Gus?" I asked excitedly, and he nodded, lifting his chin with pride.

"The captives await our interrogation at your earliest convenience, my Queens," Geraldine said. "And the city rose to your call too. They came from home and hovel to fight the good fight and took up the valiant cry of your names. Even as we speak, thousands flock to us from Celestia to join our army. It was a veritable success."

"Well, at least something went right while we were gone," I said in relief.

"So what do we do now?" Orion asked and all eyes once again turned to me and my sister. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Clydinius is a complication we need to deal with fast," Tory said, rage sparking in her eyes. "But he's not the only thing we have to focus on. There's Lionel, Lavinia, and the Nymphs."

"I have some news about Lavinia and the Nymphs," I said.

"It's more than news, it's a fucking victory, Blue," Orion growled, and everyone perked up hopefully.

"What ho, my lady?" Geraldine pressed keenly.

"Before our escape from the Palace of Souls, I trapped Lavinia with my Phoenix fire and used an ancient spell to shut off her link to the Shadow Realm. She can no longer summon any new shadows, and the Nymphs who were forcibly under her control in her army were freed. Many of them turned on their comrades."

Dante released a low whistle and Seth howled his joy while everyone else shared hopeful looks.

"So how weak is Lavinia?" Caleb asked keenly.

"It's hard to say," I said uncertainly. "But she can only wield the shadows that remain within her body. She's killable for sure. I just didn't get the chance to do it," I added bitterly, my vow to do just that still burning hot inside me.

"Her Nymph army has lost perhaps a quarter of its ranks," Orion said, pride dripping from his voice. "Though, of course, a large portion remain who were following her willingly."

"Maybe we will stand a chance when the final battle comes," Tiberius said thoughtfully. "Perhaps if we can cut Lionel off from the others, then our queens and our Heirs could hunt him down while we deal with his vile queen, and the rest of the army can keep his Bonded at bay."

"Isn't that unFae?" I asked in surprise.

"On the battlefield, anything goes," Antonia said darkly. "War is the exception. Your enemies will not hesitate to band against you, so you must be willing to band against them in kind."

"Well, we also have one new weapon against those enemies." I stood up with my hand raised, the Shadow Beast ring gleaming in the glow of the Faelights hovering above us.

"Blue," Orion murmured. "I really think-"

I encouraged the beast from the ring, and it burst from it in a swirl of smoke, landing on all four paws on the table, releasing a roar of joy.

I probably should have planned that better because screams rang out and the Heirs leapt from their seats, hands raised, ready to blast my new friend into oblivion.

"No, wait!" I yelled, leaping onto the table too, and the Shadow Beast sat down with a thump that made the wood beneath us groan. I petted his head, and everyone looked at me like I'd gone insane while Geraldine continued to shriek like a banshee.

"It's alright, Geraldine," I called to her. "The Shadow Beast was under Lavinia's control. I freed him. He's on our side now."

"Ballcakes on a barge," she cursed, hands raised as she backed up. "Th-that thing nearly sent me into the nether world. It's a beast of the bog, a bandit of the blaggerhole!" She shuddered.

"See, Cal? Everyone has totally forgotten that you turned up here covered in shit and terrified us all with your rotten stench – there's a new bog beast now. And the smell is like eighty percent gone too," Seth muttered in an undertone, and Caleb shot him an irritable look in reply.

I raised my ring to the Shadow Beast as mutters broke out and the Councillors started debating whether they were going to kill him, stirring a protectiveness in me that made me growl. The Shadow Beast turned back into grey smoke, fluttering into the ring where he was safe, and I raised my chin as I addressed the looks of fear in the room.

"He was a prisoner too. And now he wants to help us in this fight," I said firmly, and the chatter fell quiet. "Lavinia had her claws in us both. What we went through together has bonded us in a way I refuse to deny. So the long and short of it is, he stays. And anyone who hurts him will answer to me."

Orion smirked, leaning back in his seat. I knew he didn't agree with me on keeping the Beast, but he sure as shit seemed to like it when I pulled the True Queen card, so he clearly wasn't going to argue with me.

"Well, I love him. He's got all the best qualities," Seth decided. "Fluffy? Check. Deadly? Check. Cute in a murderous kind of way? Check. What's not to like?"

"It's a cretin of the crag," Geraldine hiccoughed, and I jumped off the table, reaching for her hand.

"I'd never let any harm come to you. If he was dangerous, I swear I wouldn't bring him here," I promised. "I'm so sorry he hurt you. And that I wasn't strong enough to stop Lavinia from using us against you. But I swear her power over us is gone."

She took my hand with shaking fingers, nodding slowly. "Well, I must admit it has given me quite the heart jigs, but I do trust your word, dear Darcy. Always. So I will trust it now, even if the beastly Beast sets my waters stirring in reverse."

"He's all good, Geraldine," Tory said calmly. "Darcy's great at taming feral creatures. Just look at Orion. All grumpy and twisted up inside once upon a time. Now he's…well, actually he's still those things, but he'd do anything for her. I think the Shadow Beast might be the same."

"Thanks for the comparison," Orion said dryly.

"No worries, dude." She smirked at him and Darius chuckled.

"If you say it is safe, then we will trust your word," Melinda said, and Antonia Capella smiled warmly as she nodded.

"I'd advise against it," Tiberius added, then inclined his head. "But whatever you decide, my Queen."

I stared between the Councillors in surprise, the truth of what we'd become to everyone here sinking in deep. My gaze slid to Tory and we shared a brief look that spoke of the disbelief we were both feeling, then I nodded to Tiberius.

"The Beast stays," I said decisively, and no one came back at me.

"Vicious creatures that my mate has adopted aside, it might be worth mentioning that we found another Guild Stone," Orion said like it was nothing.

"Really?" I gasped, moving back to my seat as Geraldine did the same, still looking a little shaken.

Orion put his hand in his pocket, then frowned, checking his other pocket and cursing before his gaze snapped up to fix on Darius.

"You asshole," he muttered, and Darius shrugged like he wasn't disagreeing with the assessment. "Show them."

Darius reached into his pocket a little reluctantly, then opened his palm to reveal a turquoise gemstone that glittered beautifully. Tory reached for it, but his fingers snapped shut around it once again.

"I'll keep an eye on it," Darius said, pocketing it quickly.

"How many are there left to find?" I asked keenly.

"Just two," Orion said. "The Pisces aquamarine stone and the Aquarius amethyst."

"And I know where one of them is," Darius said. "Thanks to Azriel and Hail's work beyond The Veil."

A hushed silence fell over the room, and my heart ticked faster as I observed the man who had been to death and back. Everyone was clearly on the edge of their seat for more details, me included, and Darius went on.

"Azriel traced one to the FIB impound where all illegal, valuable, and downright dangerous contraband is held. How we'll reach it, I don't know, but at least we have another location."

"I might know how," Xavier said thoughtfully, sitting up straighter. "Francesca Sky's memories. We can go through them again and see if she had access."

"Then hop to it, you wily Pego-boy," Geraldine encouraged, and Xavier nodded, heading from The Orb at a trot.

"If the prophecy about the stones is true and we need to claim all of them, then that should be our priority," Tory said firmly.

"What do the stones mean now though?" Seth asked, looking to Orion. "If the Imperial Star has morphed into a walking-talking murder star, then what were all those power words for? I spent a long ass time remembering them."

"We all did," Caleb agreed.

"Yeah, which was a dumbass move considering only a reigning sovereign can use them or you'll die," Tory said with a snigger.

"There was still a chance any of us might have become a reigning sovereign back then," Caleb said confidently.

"Aw, it's cute you thought that," I teased, and he pursed his lips. I looked to Orion, his brow furrowed in thought. "So what do you reckon the stones are for?"

He hesitated before answering. "Honestly? I don't know. But your mother and my father were certain reuniting the Guild Stones could bring about a chance for a new fate. And perhaps there is more that will be revealed once we have them."

"It's all we have to go on, and we need to have faith in Azriel. In our mother too." I glanced at Tory, whose eyes darkened. "They set out this path for us years ago, and we have to follow it. It won't be for nothing, I'm certain of it."

"Darcy's right," Tory said. "We will plan our strike today and retrieve that stone from the FIB tomorrow once everyone has rested and recovered their magical supplies. Then we need to focus on locating the final stone and retrieving that too."

"The FIB impound will be heavily guarded," Tiberius said. "I was integral in implementing a lot of the security measures which have been put in place surrounding it, and it isn't going to be at all easy to circumvent them – likely it isn't even possible."

"That's what you think, amico," Dante purred from his place across the table. "But it might be worth taking some advice from those of us who have made a career out of breaking into places which people like you think are impenetrable."

Rosalie grinned like a cat, and my own lips twitched with amusement while the Councillors all began murmuring about the criminals among us. I had to wonder what they might think of Tory's past transgressions if they found out about them.

"I can provide as much information as I possess on the precinct's layout and security," Tiberius said, reaching for a large roll of parchment and placing his hand over it. Black lines began to spread from beneath his fingers, a rough blueprint seeping across the page piece by piece and making my lips lift with hope.

"Looks like we're breaking and entering tomorrow then," I said excitedly, and Tory smiled widely.

"And there was me thinking I wouldn't be cut out for this queen shit – turns out it suits me just fine," she said.

Darius breathed a laugh at her side, dropping his arm around the back of her throne and looking like the smuggest asshole in the world while the Councillors exchanged uncertain looks.

"What about the other stone?" Caleb asked before they could question our plan any further. "Do we have any leads?"

"Azriel hadn't managed to locate it," Darius admitted, the bitter sting of that reality sinking in as the others fell into a discussion about its possible location.

Legends, myths, and rumours were all we really had to go on. It was infuriating to think that we might hold eleven of the twelve stones in our grasp as soon as this time tomorrow and yet still be that single step away from completing the set.

Maps were summoned from the stars only knew where, Geraldine coating the table in reports and figures on the latest known movements of Lionel's army while possible locations for the final stone were mentioned, though no one had anything really useful to suggest.

"What about the body-snatching star issue?" Seth asked suddenly, drawing my focus away from the incredible Map of Espial where I'd been watching clouds waft slowly over the realistic mountain ranges. "Just seems like kind of a big deal too." He shrugged innocently and I pursed my lips at the reminder of the new enemy we were threatened by.

"He didn't snatch our bodies," Tory pointed out. "He just copied them."

"And used them to make the two of you look like a pair of arsonist psychopaths," Seth added brightly, as if we needed reminding of that part.

I gritted my teeth. "We were faced with a choice when we ascended into our positions as queens," I said, the reality of that fact still too insane to linger on. "We had the choice to break the curse on our family line and return the Imperial Star or keep it and try to wield it ourselves. As every other member of our family line who used the Imperial Star ended up dead or worse because of the curse attached to it, we decided to take the control of our own fate back. So we returned it, and Clydinius gained a body. We thought we'd be able to fight him but…"

"How do you even fight a star anyway?" Max asked curiously. "Does it feel pain? Can it die?"

"Clydinius should have released the magic of his kind into the universe upon impact with the Earth," Orion rumbled at my side. "That is the way a star's lifecycle is supposed to end."

"I plan on forcing him to do just that," Tory muttered irritably, and all eyes turned to her. "Assuming we can even find the motherfucker again. Any idea where he is now?"

"When I delivered a platter of bagels to the cretin wearing your fine faces, I found him loitering in the Earth Observatory," Geraldine said. "There were papers scattered about, records and tomes opened and picked through as if-"

My hair flipped into my face as a sudden gust caught it, and I blinked up at Caleb as he leaned down between me and Tory, placing a pile of scrolls and books on the table before us.

"This is everything he'd left out up there," Caleb said, clearly having shot there to retrieve them in the five seconds we'd spent discussing this.

I reached for a scroll on the top of the pile while the others took pieces of the puzzle to investigate too. It was a star chart, the date in the top corner marking it as almost a hundred years old, the points plotted on it seeming to trace the fall of a star across the sky.

"Is he hunting for fallen stars?" Tory asked, her attention on a large tome titled The Ledger of Fallen Stars. The page she held open had a large picture of a glimmering star suspended in the heavens at the top of it, the name Triphorius in swirling script above it. There was a detailed account of facts about the star across the two pages beneath, ending with an account of its fall from the sky, including a location of where it had struck the Earth and a description of it releasing its power into the universe as its final act.

"It looks that way. But for what purpose?" I frowned.

"Do beg my pudding, but is it possible there is another gandering spangle like the terrible Clydinius walking among us?" Geraldine uttered in fear.

Orion leaned past me to claim the book from Tory. "No other star has ever denied the path of nature like this before. All who have fallen have released their magic within minutes of colliding with the ground. I've studied this book and many others like it in detail, and I have never heard so much as a rumour of a star delaying its demise like Clydinius has."

I sighed, feeling no closer to understanding the star's motivation than I had before seeing what he'd been studying in the observatory and without any idea on his plans, it was damn hard to come up with any way to stop him.

The conversation roamed over everything we knew about Clydinius and how we might locate him before he caused another massacre, but it seemed we were at a dead end there too.

My head was spinning by the time our debate moved to Lionel – who apparently hadn't shown his face anywhere since we had defeated the monsters he'd sent to the academy. Eventually, we divided up tasks from organising scout teams to astrologers who would seek the stars for guidance, and others who would look into old legends to find clues towards the final Guild Stone. There was a lot of work required to maintain the army, and they needed training too. which was keeping Washer fully occupied along with a lot of help from Geraldine and the Councillors. We listened to reports and requests, made decisions where we could and took advice when we needed it, and by the time our meeting was finally drawing to a close, my head felt like it might crack in two from all we had discussed.

One thing was clear though, and it demanded the bulk of my focus now. We would strike at the FIB impound tomorrow in hopes of claiming that Guild Stone, and all of us needed to rest and recover our magic before then, so we'd be reenergised for what came next.

Geraldine caught my arm as we filed out of The Orb. "I have a surprise for you and your Orry man, Darcy. Would you do me the honour of sharing it with you both?"

My gaze hooked on Tory and Darius up ahead, and though I longed to spend more time with them after being parted for so long, I couldn't refuse the glint of longing in Geraldine's deep blue eyes. Besides, I'd missed her a hell of a lot too.

"This way!" Geraldine cried before Orion could answer, and I grinned at him, capturing his hand and leading him into a jog after her.

She forged a path through the ex-Councillors like a charging horse, and we followed her all the way across campus to Air Territory.

"If you might do the honour of opening the door," Geraldine asked, and I sent a gust of air at the Aer House symbol, gazing up at the tall tower to the rotating turbine at its peak, the familiarity of this place sparking nostalgia in me.

We headed inside, chasing after Geraldine who was walking up the winding spiral stairway at a fierce pace.

My stomach started to growl, and Orion shot me a frown. When was the last time I'd eaten properly? We'd grown a few apples with our earth magic on the flight back, but that was it. And before that, it had been a few sparse meals after we'd escaped from the palace. In all honesty, I was bone tired, hungry as hell, and running on fumes.

Geraldine led us past my old floor and up to the House Captain's room where Seth had once resided. Before I could question why she was taking us here, she threw the door open with a dramatic twirl into the room and spread her arms wide.

"Behold, sleeping quarters for a True Queen – I plan to offer the very same thing to the Ignis House Captain room once I can get past Darius's pesky security wards. The Aer mutt's room was not half as well protected – though it seemed no one had gotten in here before now. Those Heirs are quite the arrogant Anguses, keeping their rooms from being inhabited by anyone else." She tittered, rolling up her sleeves and stepping aside to let me and Orion further into the room.

The large space had been transformed to a sprawling sea of grey with the Gemini and Libra constellations glittering in a swirl above the enormous bed.

There was a tea set with hand-painted scenes of my life on the porcelain, a blossoming tree growing in one corner that had D+L etched into a heart on its trunk, and my possessions had been placed around the room with thoughtful care.

My Phoenix armour had been mounted on one wall with Orion's Phoenix sword gleaming proudly next to it. On an ornate sideboard beneath it was a selection of my most prized items. The rose quartz stone Orion had given me, the silver Gemini bracelet which had been a gift from Gabriel, and my sketchbook placed beside them. I was overcome by seeing it all laid out like this, how much time and effort Geraldine must have gone to to provide this room for us.

"I didn't look upon your wonderiferous art." Geraldine leapt toward the sketchbook. "But I did do one thing… I truly hope I have not overstepped the shingdipper." She slid open a drawer in the sideboard, revealing a neat selection of sketching pencils, and a few extra sketchbooks with black covers that had swirling golden letters across them. QDV. It was on each of the pencils too.

"Queen Darcy Vega," Geraldine whispered, pointing to the letters.

"Geraldine, this is too much. You really shouldn't have," I said, sweeping forward to hug her.

"Yes, you really shouldn't," Orion grumbled, and I met his gaze over her shoulder, noting his annoyance over being in this particular room, and in truth, I didn't want to take Seth's room either.

"But maybe-" I started.

A snarl made me whip around, finding Seth striding into the room.

"What the fuck is this?" he barked.

"Oh, tish tosh." Geraldine waved a hand at him. "Don't get high up on your gander cushion now, Seth Capella. You have bowed to the True Queens and so, in true regal and stately fashion, you must offer them the finest fringles you can frangle."

"I don't know what the hell that means," Seth snapped. "But this is my room. And I might have bowed, but that doesn't mean I'm going to bend over and let the queens fuck me with a strap-on Phoenix dildo."

"We won't stay here," I told him, remembering the full-on orgy I'd watched Seth and his pack have from the closet right over there. Yup, this place was a hell no from me. "It's a really nice gesture, Geraldine, but this is Seth's room."

"Where are my things?!" Seth boomed as he strode past us, ripping open a drawer in a unit near the tall windows.

"I don't know what items you could possibly mean," Geraldine said with a shrug. "I put some twoddle in the garbage, that's the only bits and bobs I found in here."

"What twoddle?" Seth wheeled around to glare at her, and I shared an awkward look with Orion – though he seemed pretty amused over Seth's fury.

"Where are my clothes?" Seth demanded.

"There may have been a rag or two among the twoddle, I suppose," Geraldine said thoughtfully.

"You threw away my stuff!" Seth barked, stalking towards her with air magic riling up a storm around him.

"Holy guacamole, how can I be blamed for mistaking your attire for rags when it is you who dresses like a canary in a coal mine?" Geraldine scoffed.

"That stuff was designer," he hissed. "Get. It. Back. And return this room to how it was, or I swear to the stars, I'll make you pay for this."

"Darcy will be moving in with me anyway," Orion announced. "So keep your room, Seth. Thanks though, Geraldine."

I glanced up at him with a grin. "Was that you asking me to live with you?"

His lips twisted up at the corner, his dimple puncturing his right cheek. "You in, beautiful?"

"I'm in." I turned to Geraldine. "I'll help you move this stuff to Lance's place."

"Of course, if that's what your cockles long for," she said brightly.

"She can help you do that just as soon as she's returned all of my things to me," Seth growled, squaring up to Geraldine.

"And how am I to do that? Rummage through the garbage like a glugger slug?" She laughed heartily.

"Yes, if that's what it takes," he boomed, his brown eyes flashing with rage.

Orion caught my hand, towing me out the door and leaving them to their argument.

He dipped his head to speak in my ear, his fingers curling tighter around mine. "Hungry, Blue?"

My stomach growled in response to his words, and I groaned in answer. "Starved."

He whipped me into his arms without another word, shooting away down through the tower, spiralling along the steps at high speed.

We were suddenly moving across campus, and a giddy whoop fell from my lungs as the air rushed over us. We came to an abrupt halt outside The Orb, and Orion held me tight as the momentum almost sent me tumbling from his arms. He placed me down gently, walking up to the golden Orb and raising his hands so magic skittered across the ground.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously, stepping closer.

"Where do you think all the food comes from in The Orb?" he asked, a playful light dancing in his eyes. My answer was given to me as the grass shifted away beneath his magic and a golden hatch was revealed at his feet. He reached down, opening it up and unveiling a series of steps heading underground.

"Are you taking me to a sneaky kitchen?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, and it's staff only access, so I'll be sure to punish you for it later," he muttered, throwing me a heated look that made me bite my lip.

I followed him down the steps, the walls glimmering gold down here as well as the path beneath our feet. A passage opened out before us, lit by shimmering everflames in sconces on the walls.

Orion led me into a vast kitchen which was full of gleaming pots and pans and giant stoves that continually burned with sparking purple fire. He guided me into another room which was made entirely of glittering ice with food encased inside it to keep it frozen, stretching far away on either side of us in row after row of ice pillars. He kept walking, leading us into an incredible garden where fruit trees bloomed beneath a pulsing orb of heated light that seemed to emulate the sun. Here, giant vegetables grew from the ground around us, rows and rows of them ripe and ready to pick.

Orion kept walking, leading me into a food store where the air was cool but not unbearably so. Wooden racks stood all around us, and fresh food was waiting on them, each plate and dish of prepared meals glowing slightly as if with magic.

"It's all fresh. Pick anything you like." Orion turned to me, hunger burning in his own eyes. This was straight up heaven after the scraps we'd been fed in Lionel and Lavinia's captivity, and I was aching to try everything in front of me.

I lunged for a veggie burrito, picking it up and marvelling at the way it already felt warm in my grip, like someone had only just made it.

"There's a special concoction of fire and air magic keeping the food perfectly fresh, and a ward seals it from being contaminated by any outside source." Orion reached out, his fingers weaving in a movement that released the wards. "Now you can eat it."

I took a big bite, the explosion of tastes rolling over my tongue making me shut my eyes to savour it. The beans, the sour cream, the guacamole, the rice. It was fucking perfection. And it was either the best thing I'd ever tasted or I'd forgotten how good real food was.

Orion grabbed himself a burrito too, and we sat down with our back to one of the racks, eating our way through every bite in silence, too engrossed in our meals to do anything else. When I'd devoured my burrito and wolfed down a quesadilla and half a plate of nachos, I was pretty sure I couldn't eat another bite. But then Orion shot off and reappeared with a giant chocolate cake.

Oh chocolate, you tempting bitch, how can I ever resist you?

"Let's forget living at your place. Let's live here," I said, reaching for the cake despite my stomach saying no more.

Orion barked a laugh. "That's not a half bad idea."

He sat down, offering me a fork while readying his own, and he watched me take a bite before taking one himself.

"Fuck," he exhaled after swallowing. "Life tastes so much better when you've been to the brink of death and back."

"I don't want to waste a single second ever again," I said seriously.

"We won't," he promised.

I watched him eat a few more bites before pushing the cake aside and shifting closer to him, resting my head against his shoulder, the scent of cinnamon caressing my senses. I took a breath, trying to lean into the calm of this place, the knowledge that nothing could touch us here. We were safe at last. But my heart was only quickening, and as I closed my eyes to try and make it settle, memories tore through my mind of Orion covered in blood, of Lavinia's laughter ringing through my ears before she drove another blade into his flesh.

"Blue?" Orion whispered against my hair, his arm coming around me.

My hand fisted in his shirt, and I couldn't make myself open my eyes, trapped in that awful place once again with panic rising in my chest.

Orion caught my chin, tugging to make me look up at him, and I forced my eyes to open.

"Are you okay?" he asked, studying me closer, his gaze searching mine and surely seeing the cracks in my soul.

"We're free of Lavinia. That's what counts," I rasped.

"That's not what I asked."

"Lance," I implored, wanting to forget it and ground myself in reality again.

"Blue."

"I'm fine," I said, wanting to mean that so damn much.

"Don't lie to me," he warned.

"I'll be fine," I corrected. "Eventually. When the memories don't feel so fresh. Besides, it's not me who went through it. You're the one who had to face that torture."

"And I would go through it a thousand times over so long as it kept you safe," he said powerfully, lifting my hand and kissing the inside of my wrist. "It won't haunt me, Blue."

"Now who's lying," I said, raising a brow, and he chuckled darkly, kissing my fingertips this time. God, this man. What had I ever done to deserve his kind of love? It was as gentle as it could be wild. The perfect balance of sweet and rough.

"Even if the memories visit, I can hold on to why I did it. That's enough to banish them."

"But what if something bad happens again?" I whispered my darkest fear. "What if I lose you, what if-"

He pressed his lips to mine, chasing away the terror trying to burrow its way into my heart.

"I can't promise the dark days won't come again," he said, drawing back a little. "But we're free right now, and I've wasted too many years in misery already."

"Let's make every moment count then," I said, smiling a little as I took heart from those words. The now was where my attention needed to stay.

I sat back and Orion held up my fork in offering. I took it, eating another mouthful of cake, relishing the sweet rush of sugar.

When we were stuffed beyond belief and had a bunch of snacks crammed into a bag I'd made of leaves (including a big ass bar of chocolate for Tory), we headed back out of the kitchen storage and up to the academy grounds.

"Let's find the others," I said eagerly, missing them all over again.

"Don't you want to rest?" he asked.

"Rest can wait. I want to catch up on everything we've missed."

"Did I mention I smashed Highspell's necklace and she has a dick for a face?" Orion said, and I turned to him with rounded eyes.

"Tell me all the details."

We started walking around The Orb as he filled me in, and I figured we could check in there first to see if anyone was around. I didn't have an Atlas now, but I guessed we could head back to Aer Tower if all else failed and see if Seth and Geraldine were still up there.

Some of the rebels milled along the path, mixing with the students at the academy, and as people spotted us, they nudged each other and pointed us out.

"All hail the True Queens!" one girl yelled, waving at me, and I waved back a little awkwardly.

Everyone seemed overly excited to see me, and I really hoped I could earn the faith I saw in their eyes. I needed to step into the role as their ruler and make sure I did the right thing by them. The pressure of it all was overwhelming, but we'd made our stand now, and I had no inclination to back down. I'd been born for this, and I could feel the blood of the Savage King pumping through my veins alongside my mother's, telling me I was right where I belonged in this world.

My parents had been made for power, and I was too. After all I'd gone through, I finally felt ready to claim my rightful place in the kingdom at last. I was no longer a bullied girl at the bottom of the pecking order walking these paths. I had proved my grit, and I'd damn well keep doing so at every hurdle placed in front of me.

It wasn't the only thing that had changed in the time since I'd last been at the academy. Now, I walked at the side of the man I loved, our hands interlocked, and not a single Fae in this school or any other in the kingdom could do anything about it. It wasn't just accepted, it was respected, and I revelled in the joy that brought me after everything we'd gone through to claim each other.

None of our friends had returned to The Orb, and I pouted a little as we turned back to Aer Tower.

"Hey!" Seth stepped out the door of the tower and came running our way. "Darcy! Lance!" He sprinted toward us, waving as if we hadn't yet noticed him yet. "Awoooo!"

I laughed, breaking away from Orion and running to meet him, the Wolf dragging me into a tight hug.

"Did you sort things out with Geraldine?" I asked.

He licked my cheek and stepped away. "Kinda. She's got a hoard of the Ass Club in my room, packing up your shit. She still owes me my stuff back though." He grinned, gripping my shoulders. "How are you? Where've you been? You smell like chocolate. Do you have chocolate?" His eyes fell on my bag, and I shifted it behind my back.

"I got Tory a bar."

"Oh, I'll give it to her," he said with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Hand it over."

"No," I laughed, twisting aside as he tried to grab it, and I cast a tight air shield around the bag. "Get your own snacks, Wolf boy."

"I will," he said in a way that implied he fully intended on raiding my bag.

Orion caught up to us, not so subtly sliding his arm around me and pulling me against his hip.

"You licked her," he said icily.

"Ha, yeah. What's the matter, are you jealous?" Seth lunged at Orion in a bid to lick him too, and Orion's fist came out so fast that Seth only missed it by nearly falling on his ass.

"Rude," Seth muttered, righting himself.

"Not respecting people's boundaries is what's rude," Orion said. "We're looking for the others. Have you seen them? Darius, Tory…Caleb?"

"And you," I added, though Orion had almost certainly not meant Seth.

"They've all headed to King's Hollow. Let's go. I have so much shit to tell you on the way."

"I can just carry Blue and we'll meet you there." Orion moved to pick me up, but I gave him a look that warned him to stop being an asshole, and his shoulders dropped as he gave in to my silent demand.

"So, anyway," Seth started, but Geraldine burst out of the Aer Tower door with a swarm of Ass Club members at her back, all carrying boxes of stuff.

"That's it, hip-hup, get moving," she directed, wafting them onto the path.

"Do you need help?" I jogged over, but Geraldine waved me off.

"Not on your nelly, Lady Darcy. The Almighty Sovereign Society are honoured to assist you in your homecoming and settle you in like a frog in a sleeping bag."

The A.S.S. all went trotting off down the path in the direction of Asteroid Place, and Geraldine placed her hands on her hips, gazing proudly after them. "They'll have the place set up in two shakes of a billycrag's tail."

"If you're sure." I frowned. "I'd rather help though."

"You're a queen! They are more than honoured to serve you. Poor Douglas would have no purpose at all in life it weren't for the mighty A.S.S., would you Douglas?" She gestured to a blond man carrying a box, and he bowed his head pitifully.

"None whatsoever," he agreed.

"There, see?" Geraldine said while Douglas scurried off down the path. "They would be bereft without a task at hand to keep them as busy as barn owls in a mouse field. Oh drifting poppy seeds, how Angelica would delight in being here now, squirrelling this and that into boxes. She always did love a box." Geraldine sniffed and I placed a hand on her arm, my heart going out to her. Tory had told me about Angelica's loss, and it was another painful ache to add to my heart.

She waved me off, straightening her spine and jutting up her chin. "We mustn't dwell in the doom dell." She strode off down the path after the A.S.S. and I frowned after her.

"Do you think she's alright?" I said, turning to the others.

"I think she needs to keep busy," Seth said darkly as we started walking along the path. "A lot of fucked-up shit has happened. But Darius is back now, and you and Lance are finally free. We just have to focus on the good stuff."

"The mutt has a point," Orion said quietly.

Seth beamed from ear to ear. "Of course I have a point. So, listen moon friends, while we wait for the world to combust again, I need to tell you everything about my cocktastrophe with Cal."

Orion sighed wearily and I gave Seth a disappointed look.

"Does that mean you haven't sorted stuff out between you? Surely you've told him how you feel by now?" I implored.

Seth ran a hand through his long hair with a huff. "What am I supposed to do? Just blurt my feelings at him and let him run a lawnmower over my heart?"

"You don't know that's how it'll be," I said. "Have you even tried?"

"Of course I've tried! We fucked like heathens when Venus was in retrograde, and the moon was all cold and full and mysterious. But then our parents walked in-"

"Oh shit," I breathed as Orion released a low laugh.

"Yeah shit, Darcy. Yeah. Shit. It was the most humiliating moment of my life, and the way Cal looked at me after…I thought he'd only fucked me ‘cause the moon and Venus encouraged it." He let out a doggish whimper. "But then! When he showed up here as a bog beast, he kissed me, and we agreed to keep seeing each other. In secret, but still. That's something, right?"

"That's great," I said earnestly. "But really, I think the rest of our group would love to know about you two."

"Literally no one could care less," Orion said dryly, and though his tone left a lot to be desired, he was kinda backing up my point.

"I don't know… I don't think Cal wants that." Seth ran a hand over the braided side of his hair.

We arrived at the beautiful oak tree in The Wailing Wood that housed King's Hollow, the branches fanning out high above us and colouring the place in brightest green as the sun filtered through them. I opened the door in the base of the trunk, the gnarled bark twisting aside to give us access, and we walked upstairs.

"-what else do you remember about her?" Max's voice carried to us, and we stepped into the lounge as Darius answered.

"Well, Azriel kept giving your mom the ‘fuck me' eyes," he said, smirking as he rested his hands on Tory's knees. The two of them were on the couch together, her legs resting over his as she leaned back against the cushions.

"What's that?" Orion asked curiously as everyone noted our arrival.

Caleb was lounging in a large armchair by the fire, his shirt off and his feet up on the table, his blonde curls messy and some of them falling into his eyes.

"Your dead dad has been giving my dead mom the eyes apparently," Max muttered icily, glaring at Orion as if it was his fault.

"Really?" Orion asked curiously, but Max's eyes simmered with anger.

"She's waiting for my dad," Max growled. "Tell your dead father to back the fuck up."

"Sure, I'll just light a scented candle and whisper my wishes into the flames as soon as I locate my aromatherapy set," Orion deadpanned, and Max's scowl grew.

"Well you'd better do something about it," he muttered.

"I think it's cute," Darius said tauntingly. "You're both practically step-brothers now."

"Fuck off," Orion said lightly, moving to sit in an armchair while the rest of us laughed – barring Max who looked ready to fight someone.

Caleb yawned, pushing a hand into his curls, his eyes sliding to Seth. "Hey, man."

"Hey," Seth said a little stiffly, his eyes lingering on him.

I shot Tory a look, our twin minds needing no words to convey that we were both fully aware of the heated tension between them. It was clear they were dying to greet each other properly but were playing a game of ‘who can be the most aloof asshole' instead.

"So who's been fucking who while I've been gone?" Darius asked frankly, and Seth suddenly became intensely busy making coffee.

I moved to claim the other chair beyond Orion's, but he caught my hand and yanked me down onto his lap with a smirk. I tossed my snack bag on the floor, wriggling back into the corner of the seat, and he rested his hand on my thigh, his fingers tightening possessively.

"Me and Gerry are going strong," Max said proudly, moving to the fridge and pouring himself a glass of freaking milk. He got himself a packet of cookies too, then took his seat and began dipping them one at a time, crunching his way through them.

"How about you, Cal?" Darius asked. "Have any of the rebel girls caught your attention?"

"Nah," Caleb said vaguely, rubbing his hand down the back of his neck.

"Come on. I know you," Darius pushed. "You've had at least one long haired brunette pinned beneath you moaning your name recently."

Seth dropped a mug in the kitchenette and it smashed at his feet, making him curse.

"You good, dude?" Tory called to him.

"Perfect," Seth muttered, using air magic to clean up the pieces and send them flying into the trash.

Holy shit, did Darius know about Seth and Caleb hooking up?

"Any news on Gabriel?" I asked Tory hopefully.

"Dante said he'd text me when Gabriel was up for visitors," she said, and I hoped that would be soon. I was so worried about him.

"We've got a stash of Atlases here if you need one," Max said, crunching through another milky cookie.

"Here." Caleb got to his feet, shooting to the drawer in an ornate cabinet and rushing over to Orion and me, handing us one each. "They're protected from traces and bugging. We've got a pretty tight security system in place."

"Thanks," I said, and Caleb dropped down to perch on the edge of our seat.

"Log in to FaeBook," he encouraged with a look of mischief about him.

I took the bait, logging in and finding my inbox had blown up and I was tagged in hundreds of posts. So many, the app had simply stopped counting and put 999+ on the notification icon. I'd gained over two million followers too.

"You're pretty popular too, brother." Caleb nodded to Orion's new Atlas. "Check it out. You could do a little update post."

"I have no interest in social media," Orion said, just as I tapped on his profile through my app.

"You've got a lot of new followers, and oh…" I scrolled through the posts he'd been tagged in, a hell of a lot of them featuring fan art of Orion naked in various poses. There was a group linked to most of them called the Ori-Hoes.

"It looks like you have a fan club," I said, laughing as I showed him the artwork. "There you are in a barn lounging on a haybale - with your dick out. Oh and there you are climbing an apple tree – with your dick out. And, oh look, this one has immortalised that time you rode bareback on a horse through that cornfield. With your dick out."

Orion gave me that stern teacher look like I was somehow responsible for the porno art, and I only laughed harder.

"Yeah, we're all tagged in a bunch of weird shit like that," Tory said. "Darius has some creepy ones of him in a coffin."

"With his dick out?" I guessed, and Tory nodded woefully before we cracked smiles at each other.

I scrolled through a few of the posts I'd been tagged in, finding strangers from all across the kingdom showing their support for me and Tory. Some of their words were seriously heart-warming, the descriptions of their own struggles in this war and the hope we'd offered them making me feel like we'd really made a difference to their lives.

But then I tapped another post and my lips parted at the hideous image accompanying it, an artist's rendition of Tory and I made to look like soul-sucking demons, our eyes blood red and faces twisted in horrible grins. Worst of all, the image portrayed a fire at our backs where cartoon drawings of rats were burning in the background. The post was captioned This is who they REALLY are.

I knew I shouldn't do it, but I found my eyes moving to the comments, the regret instant.

Taylor Piccolo:

Heard they cooked them up and ate them, bones and all #ratpackedlunch #squealmeal

Kate Henry:

They always gave me the creeps, now I know why! I should forever trust my instincts, the stars never guide me wrong #tinglealltheway #Iknewitinmywaters #whatyoufeelisreal

Kendra Knight:

ALL HAIL THE TRUE DEMONS #eatthosetinyfeet

Andreea Dina:

I was divided on who I supported, but this has made my decision. The king would never be so wicked as to kill the lesser Orders. He only put them in the place they deserve, but this is monstrous! #longlivetheking #greenoverqueen

Amber Masincup:

This just makes me like them even more! Cannibal queens? Hell yes! #squealsonwheels #arodentfortheroad

Orion snatched the Atlas away from me and shut off the app. "Don't listen to that bullshit."

"They think we really killed them," I said in horror. Even though I'd known it to be true, seeing it like that made it really hit home.

"Tyler is already working to get the truth out there," Caleb promised. "Social media is like this. It feeds on drama, and some people can't wait to tear you down. Your real supporters will listen to the truth, but you'll never get through to the underworld of trolls who lurk in the cesspit of social media. They make a hobby out of being cunts, and if you let their vicious words hurt you, then you let them get exactly what they want."

My eyebrows raised at the passion in his words, and I realised he and the other Heirs had faced this kind of scrutiny their whole lives. Even Orion had had a taste of this shit after his Power Shaming. And sure, we'd had our names dragged through the mud on FaeBook the moment we arrived in this world, but now our popularity could literally decide the fate of this war. If the kingdom saw posts like that and believed we were monsters, how would we get more Fae to join our ranks?

"Ignore it, Blue," Orion said, and I met his gaze, nodding firmly and putting my Atlas away. Caleb was right; trolls would be trolls. I couldn't let them drag me down.

Seth started handing out coffees and Caleb shot over to help him, passing them to everyone in a blur of speed. When he was done, he threw himself back onto his seat as if he'd never gotten up.

Seth stared at him for a moment before moving to sit in the space beside Darius – though there wasn't really much space there at all, he wedged himself in all the same, nuzzling into Darius. The Dragon didn't seem to mind, even leaning into him as if he'd missed the contact, and I soaked in the feeling of finally being back to some semblance of peace. It was fragile, and we'd have to fight to keep it with all we had, but there wasn't a spark of fire in me that I wouldn't use to secure it.

"Geraldine stashed all the Guild shit here, Orion," Max said, slowly dunking another cookie in his milk.

"Great," Orion said.

"She's been moving stuff over from Rump Island all day," Max continued. "That woman doesn't sleep. I've tried everything, but she's got to be running on fumes by now. Even when she does rest, it's full of garbled sleep-talk…and she calls out to her dad sometimes." He frowned, tossing another cookie in his mouth, and I realised there were serious cracks in our family, fault lines which could rupture if we didn't help each other.

Seth was pawing at Darius like he was afraid he'd turn to dust at any moment, Tory kept staring at him like she thought the same thing, and Darius stared back at her with equal darkness in his eyes. Geraldine was obviously over-working herself to avoid her grief, Max was binge eating like there was no tomorrow, and Caleb seemed on edge, like he expected an attack at any moment.

Between me and Orion, there were enough scars left on us from Lavinia that I knew we weren't going to walk away unscathed either, and my brother…hell, Gabriel. I didn't even know what he was going through right now. I had to see him.

Tory's Atlas pinged and we all stiffened a little as she took it out and read the message. "Xavier's having luck with Francesca's memories. He can see a way into the FIB impound. He said it'll take a few hours, but he, Tyler, and Sofia can get a map drawn up for us."

"Then we'll soon have another Guild Stone," I said in relief.

"She says, as if breaking into a maximum-security FIB impound and stealing that stone will be in any way easy," Orion said with a smirk.

"I can't wait," I replied playfully.

"You're getting a taste for chaos," he accused.

"Well we're all-powerful Phoenixes, what could go wrong?" I teased.

Tory's Atlas pinged again, and she leapt to her feet, looking at the screen. "Dante says he can take us to see Gabriel now."

I jumped up too, keen to see my brother but also fearful of what he was going through.

Orion rose to his feet, concern warring in his eyes for his best friend. "Let's go see Noxy."