Ruthless Fae, Zodiac Academy (Book 2)

When the twins and Sophia run into Caleb, he and his friend make crude, Pegasus-shaming jokes, suggesting a Fae could be nothing worse than a Pegasus. Sophia, a Pegasus, suggests starting a rumor that Caleb has a Pegasus fetish, which the twins eagerly accept as inspiration for their next prank.

In Orion's class, the twins learn their father was a Hydra, an Order now extinct, because he married their mother, resulting in "impure" genetics. Following a news flash confirming a Nymph murdered Astrom, Francesca, an FIB agent and Orion's associate, arrives to interview students.

Because Dragon Fae like Darius recharge their power with treasure, and Tory destroyed all of his when she set his room on fire, he must visit his family's estate to refill his coffers from the Acrux family vault. He brings Lance (Orion), exposing to the readers they are Guardian Bonded, a magical oath that binds Orion to protect Darius at all costs. This also validates the cryptic note found after Astrom's death, "the truth lies between Leo and Libra." This visit also reveals that Darius is regularly beaten by his father, Lionel, and is fearful of his "rages." He continues to go home regularly, however, to see his younger brother, Xavier. During this visit, he rushes to find his brother, Xavier, who has become deeply depressed and terrified since their last visit. Xavier reveals his Order has emerged: he's a beautiful lilac Pegasus with rainbow wings, a revelation that enrages their father and leaves Darius terrified for Xavier's life.

Back at the academy, Tory is unexpectedly called by Max's Siren Song. Typically, the Siren gains a memory while the recipient relives one. However, when Tory and Max kiss to break the spell, Tory, for the first time in Max's experience, gains control of the Song and reads Max's deepest secrets. He is a bastard, his father's firstborn out of wedlock, and he believes his stepmother is responsible for the death of his biological mother. Tory also learns that Max enjoys taking people's fear to achieve the feeling of peace in the aftermath. Furious that she seized his secret, Max warns her to silence. Tory, showing a powerful streak of character, agrees not to blackmail him, though she later accepts a magical lesson from him on how to breathe underwater.

Mid-lesson with Professor Washer, the girls were teasing each other about crush-worthy professors. The consensus was no one—until Darcy disagreed, countering "not even Orion?" A palm reading hints at a "forbidden affair" in Darcy's future. While waiting for her mentor session with Orion, she runs into Seth and Kylie. In a panic, Darcy fires a blast at them, and Seth turns into a wolf and chases her. Orion intervenes, helping her hide in a closet where a charged moment passes between them before Orion abruptly shoves her away.

To avoid getting caught during an FIB room search for burning Darius's room down, Tory and Darcy hide Tory's stolen items in the forest. Geraldine, a Cerberus, catches the twins burying their loot. They decide to trust her, and she is honored, helping them quickly finish their task. This act of rebellion acts as the turning point for their budding and life-long friendship.

The next day, as Orion helps the FIB search the students' rooms, he rudely reads aloud Diego's diary. Darcy chokes him with a vine, and he retaliates by biting her. Later, Seth confronts Darcy, having stolen the death tarot card from her with Astrom's secret message, and suggests it refers to Darius and Orion. Seth begins to treat Darcy with strange, uncomfortable familiarity, a dynamic that confuses her.

Darius visits Tory to invite her to the party at his family's estate, as directed by his father. She initially declines. After a heated argument in which he grabs her arm, he immediately softens and offers to teach her fire magic if she agrees to come. Their first lesson is intense and intimate, requiring him to touch her to channel her power. Unknown to Tory, her power is restored with fire. This is implied again to the reader when Darius has to take a break from their lesson to recharge his magic, but Tory's magical well never diminishes throughout their extensive use of it. They almost kiss, but Tory pushes him away, unable to forgive him for nearly drowning her.

Darcy's and the Heirs have detention with Orion, which involves digging a ditch, and later cleaning up rash-inducing griffin poop. Orion charmingly protects only her hands with magic from chafing. Max complains so loudly about cleaning up after the griffin's due to his sensitive skin, that Darcy is inspired to smear it on his Pitball uniform at their next match. When the Heirs attempt to bully Darcy during detention, Orion throws them off the building in a stunning display of power and no-so sutble hint towards his growing affection for Darcy.

In astrology class, the twins learn about Elysian Mates, a bond gifted to two Fae by the stars; if rejected, the pair is destined to never find love again. Following class, Darcy is attacked by a Nymph. Orion helps her escape, and when he leaves to join the hunt, Darcy warns him to be careful, the two sharing another charged moment before they part.

The twins continue their revenge pranks, placing a blow-up Pegasus sex doll in Caleb's room. He violently removes it and ends up biting its butt to "kill" it, an incident that is filmed and goes viral. Seth later attacks Diego, and when Darcy intervenes, Seth accidentally hits her. Orion retaliates for Darcy by slamming Seth's face into a mirror, breaking his nose, and dramatically tearing a bracelet Seth had woven from Darcy's sheared hair from his wrist.

Darcy breaks into Seth’s room to steal hair for her potion to summon moon fleas. She hides just in time as Seth and his pack return. Later, Seth catches her hiding in the closet. Darcy feigns interest, steals the hair she needs, and flees.

At the Acrux party, Lionel immediately confronts Tory, revealing Darius is engaged to his second cousin, Mildred. When Darius and Tory are interrupted while trying to take his motorbikes out, Lionel drags Darius away and beats him in his office while Orion stands guard. Darcy stumbles upon them leaving, overhearing Orion tell Darius he will soon be able to wield the shadows to overthrow his father. Orion then takes Darcy to the pool, calls her beautiful, and pulls her into a magical private bubble where they share a passionate kiss. Meanwhile, Caleb finds Tory during a game of hide-and-seek, and they hook up in Lionel’s game room. Darius walks in as they are getting dressed and kissing goodbye, clearly bothered. Darius later begs Tory not to hate him, claiming his past cruelty was "not personal."

Shaken by the series of mysteriously unfortunate events they have endured at the hands of the Vegas, the Heirs are a wreck for the crucial Pitball game. Darius is distracted by Tory framing Milton, Seth is suffering from fleas, Max is reacting to the griffin poop, and Caleb is losing his temper over the Pegasus rumor. When Caleb bites Tory to recharge at half-time, Darius is intensely jealous.

After a vicious comeback, Zodiac loses by one point. When the opposing captain taunts them about losing their crowns, Tory and Darcy jokingly agree. This is the first time in the series that the Vegas acknowledge they might want to pursue their Crown. The Heirs attack, but the twins combine their power and blast them across the stadium. The fight turns into a 1v1 battle until the Heirs throw the girls into the Pitball pit.

Suddenly, Nymphs attack! In the chaos, Darcy and Tory save the day with a mysterious, combined blue and red fire that devours the Nymphs. Both Darius and Tory, and Darcy and Orion, are forced to fight together and save each other's lives.

The book ends on a chilling note as the Nymphs formally declare war against the Fae of Solaria.