“Highspell made me burn them in preparation for the ‘new age’，” she spat bitterly. “She had me burn the ones on Phoenixes first.”
My heart tugged, knowing how Orion treasured his books and I suddenly remembered that he needed one in particular to help him discover more about the zodiac gemstones. I grabbed an empty satchel hanging on a hook by the door and stuffed the remaining books into it, my heart humming with joy as I found the Stones of the Sky tome among them. I slung the bag over my shoulder just as a high-pitched shriek sounded out in the corridor.
“Miss Cygnus!” Highspell yelled. “You have been summoned to a Nebular Inquisition Centre by the king himself!”
The clip of high heels sounded our way and Tyler shifted into his Pegasus form while I blasted through the spells keeping the window intact with as much power as I could put into the blow. Glass flew outwards in every direction, leaving it wide open and I tossed Sofia up onto Tyler’s back before following her onto him and wrapping my arms around her waist.
“Stop!” Highspell wailed, running towards us with her arms outstretched, but Tyler lifted his tail and farted a spurt of glitter in her face before leaping through the open window and freefalling, her ice cast missing us by inches as the deadly blades flew overhead.
Tyler’s wings snapped out, catching us before we hit the ground and my stomach lurched as he wheeled upright again, racing for the sky.
My gaze hooked on Darius as he plummeted through the air above Ignis House, shifting as he did so and crashing through the window that led into his old room. A whinny of terror left me as Lavinia landed on the roof, tendrils of shadow ripping through the coloured glass and sending massive pieces of it smashing to the ground. A plume of fire burst from Darius’s room, blazing along Lavinia’s flesh and making her shriek as she raised up on a tower of shadow, leaving a shimmering trail of glass in her wake.
Darius leapt back out of the remains of the window with a bag in his hand, shifting into his golden Dragon form once more and catching the bag between his teeth. I had no fucking idea what he’d just risked his neck for but as he sailed towards us and jerked his head in an order for us to flee, Tyler put on a burst of speed towards the boundary.
I held the stardust ready in one hand while keeping Sofia locked against me with the other, my eyes pinned on Lavinia over my shoulder as she chased after Darius, shadows spewing from her hands as utter rage flared in her black eyes.
I neighed in encouragement to Tyler and he flew somehow faster towards the fence that marked our freedom. But my brother apparently wasn’t done risking his neck as he swung away from us, flying fast and furiously towards the parking lot a hundred yards away.
“Darius!” I cried to him in panic as Lavinia veered after him with a murderous intent in her gaze.
But Darius was faster, his talons tearing away the roof of the lot and latching around a pristine super bike while huge lumps of masonry smashed down on the beautiful cars there. He was moving again before Lavinia could get close enough to strike at him, swinging back towards us with the motorcycle clutched in his talons and a flare of victory in his gaze.
But the Shadow Princess descended on him like a plague from above, coils of shadow wrapped around her arms and pulsing with an eerie energy. Huge pillars of smoke whipped out from her, trying to catch hold of Darius and I whinnied in horror, throwing out a palm and slicing through one of them with a torrent of water as it exploded from me.
The whips tried to bind Darius in their grasp and for a second, I saw my brother’s death looming as Lavinia closed in on him.
“Faster!” I roared at my brother and he twisted sharply, slicing through the shadows, a decision in his eyes as Lavinia turned her full power towards us and the entire sky turned black with her terrifying power.
Tyler lurched aside to avoid a blast of her shadows and Sofia screamed as she tumbled from his back, bursting through her clothes into her pink Pegasus form a moment later and tearing along beneath us as my heart bunched with fear for her.
She flew hard, gaining height and whinnying in alarm as Lavinia shot a spear of shadows right at her, forcing her to wheel overhead as I cried out in alarm.
“Shift back!” I roared, my voice thick with the commanding tone of a Dom and she did so instantly, tumbling through the sky and falling right towards us as the shadows missed her by mere inches.
I reached for her as Tyler whinnied in fright, snatching her into my arms and holding her close, my cheeks heating at the feel of her naked flesh pressing against mine as she stared at me in wide eyed gratitude and surprise.