Tory Vega

by bethgilbert\_art

**Roxanya "Tory" Vega** is the daughter of Hail and Merissa Vega, the King and Queen of Solaria. She is the twin sister of Darcy Vega and half-sister of Gabriel Nox. As an infant, Tory and her sister were placed in a mortal family as changelings. They lived in the mortal realm until they were taken to the Zodiac Academy.

## Early Life

Tory, born Roxanya, and her twin sister Darcy, born Gwendalina, were born in Solaria to Hail and Merissa Vega, the King and Queen of Solaria eighteen years prior to the start of *The Awakening.* Tory is the older twin, born at three minutes and eleven seconds past midnight.

Before her death, Merissa foresaw that her children were in trouble, and she took the twins to the mortal world so that they could grow up as changelings. Melissa took the twins, and traded them for a pair of mortal twins, Darcy and Tory Gomez. Right before she and Hail died, Lionel Acrux used Dark Coercion to find out where she placed them in the mortal realm.

Using the information he forced from Melissa, Lionel found the twins’ changeling family home, and set it on fire in an attempt to kill the girls so that they couldn't ever claim the Throne of Solaria. The twins’ changeling family died in the fire, but the girls, invulnerable to fire because of their Order, survived and were found in the ashes long after he left.

After the fire, the twins were placed in the foster care system. They did not stay at any foster home for very long. Some foster parents said they were troublemakers and thought them difficult to parent, others were only fostering them for the money. Tory often felt that they were never accepted by their foster families because of her difficult personality.

Their last foster placement was with a man named Pete who was neglectful and cruel. To get their own money and save up for when they turned 18, Darcy started buying and selling unwanted items from students at her school for a small profit, and Tory started stealing motorbikes. Pete threw them out the day before their birthday, because he would no longer receive payment for fostering them, and they weren't able to grab the money they had hidden on their room floor. With what little they could make, they started renting a tiny, one room run-down apartment, with just a pull-out couch where they slept in.

## The Awakening

Having lost all the money she had saved up at her old foster home, Tory steals a bike from a car park and takes it to a bar owner called Joey, who sells them on the black market and gives her some of the share. At the bar, she meets an expensive looking man who wants to talk to her. Tory ignores him and runs off, getting a ride home from one of the bikers. However, when she’s entering her apartment building, she finds the man again, who presents himself as Professor Orion and Coerces her to let him into the apartment. There, they meet with Tory’s twin sister Darcy. Orion procedes to explain to them that they’re actually Fae from a kingdom called Solaria, and that their real parents were really reach and powerful Fae, who probably switched them with human babies to protect them. Now that they’ve turned 18, their magic signatures started working and they have to return to Solaria in order to Awaken their powers and attend a magic college called Zodiac Academy, and once they graduate, they can claim their inheritance. While they find the money and free housing tempting, the twins don’t believe him, but Orion Coerces them into agreeing and uses stardust to transport them back to Solaria.

Orion drops them off at Zodiac Academy and they join a circle with many other people of their age and Professor Zenith, who tells them they’re about to Awaken their powers. The powers consist of the four Elements, most Fae only possess the Element of their Star Sign, and some one more. However and to everyone’s shock, both Tory and Darcy unlock all Four Elements, making them the first Fae to do so in thousands of years.

All the students head to The Orb, where the twins meet Principal Nova, who explains to them that their parents were actually the King and Queen of Solaria, murdered 18 years ago, and that their real names are Roxanya and Gwendalina Vega. The government of the Kingdom was taken over by the four Celestial Councillors, but now that the Vega Heirs are alive, they’re expected to re-claim the Crown once they graduate. Nova then introduces the girls to the Four Celestial Heirs, who are sophomores at the academy: Max Rigel, Caleb Altair, Seth Capella and Darius Acrux, heirs to the Water, Earth, Air and Fire Elements respectively. The Heirs aren’t very welcoming of the twins, and as Tory and Darcy turn their backs on them, they decide to ‘teach them a lesson’. Caleb pins Tory down and starts drinking her blood, revealing himself to be a Vampire. He eventually lets her off, and as Max is about to attack Darcy for pushing him of with her Air powers, Nova calls the House Captains (who are non other than the Heirs), to the centre so the Freshmen who got more than one Element can choose their Houses. The twins want to pick Aer House, as Seth seems the less lethal of the four, but as they have to choose different houses for being too powerful, Tory decides to go to Ignis House with Darius and let her sister have it easier.

On the way to Ignis House, Tory befriends a blonde short girl named Sofia Cygnus, who is nice to her and offers to introduce her to the Fae Realm. Once at the entrance of the House, Darius asks which freshman wants to go through the Initiation Challenge first, and Tory decides to offer herself. Darius tells her this House isn’t for her and that she should run back to the Mortal Realm, however, Tory passes the challenge fast. Darius makes her walk through a door frame on fire, telling her she should leave everything behind if she wants to stay here. Tory walks through the door thinking he meant it metaphorically, but ends up burning her clothes, including all her money. Tory confronts Darius, who just gives her the key to her room and tries to embarrass her inviting her to his room. Tory shoots back telling him to enjoy the view while he can, and heads to her new room, breaking down in tears once she’s by herself.

The following day, Tory has her first Cardinal Magic class with Darcy and Sofia, and they befriend Diego Polaris, a hispanic Air Elemental. It turns out the class is dictated by Professor Orion, who is very agressive and always late. They learn about the Fae Orders, and as the twins still don't know theirs, they get assigned to different Order Enhacement classes until they discover it. They also learn about The Reckoning, a physical test students have in their first year in order to keep their place at the academy. They get an anonymous message on Faebook by someone called Falling Star, saying Orion didn't tell them the whole story. As Orion catches them, he Coerces them to stand on their desks, and encourages the whole class to keep Coercing them to do things until they learn to build up their mental shields, like Fae do since they're children. Principal Nova enters the class, and Orion mentions to her that the twins are gonna need Liason classes to catch up with the rest.

At Fire Elemental Class, Tory finds Darius and Caleb, where Caleb drinks her blood again and claims her as his Source, meaning he is the only Vampire who can feed on her, and tells Tory that he'll only stop feeding from her once she's able to fight him back. Once the class begins, Professor Pyro explains she might be too drained of power to cast her own fire because of Caleb, but Tory seems to actually have too much power left and is unable to control it. Pyro then helps her guide her power with her own magic, but gets easily drained, and tells Tory she's gonna need someone who is around her same power level, so she asks Darius to tutor her once or twice a week after class.

The next day, Tory wakes up to a Faebook post by Milton Hubert of naked pictures of her first night at Zodiac. She recognizes him as one of Darius' Ignis friends, and heads to the Common Room to face him. She attacks Milton with Water and Earth, taking him by surprise and unable to strike back, and forces him to delete the pictures. She then tries to head off the House, but Darius' girlfriend Marguerite Helebor tries to make fun of her and Tory shuts her up. Then Darius mentions to Tory that Milton sent him copies of the pictures. She tells him to keep them to jerk off if he wants to, and they bicker at each other until Tory leaves him speechless and heads off the house.

At breakfast, Tory meets Geraldine Grus, a faithful Royalist and founder of the The Almighty Sovereign Society, an association of students who believe The Vega Twins are the rightful owners to the Throne. As Tory and Darcy don't want anything to do with it, they try to ignore Geraldine, but sit with The A.S.S. anyway. The twins later head to their Water Elemental Class, and meet Professor Washer at the entrance, who seems to be really empathetic towards them, and lets them tell him all their worries. However, as Max and Darius approach, they learn Washer is a Siren like Max, and that they feed their power from other Fae's emotions.

At Werewolf Order Enhacement class, the twins meet with Seth and his pack, were they shift into their Wolf forms and encourage them to ride on top of them. They take them far into The Wailing Wood until they reach a pool of water where they bathe in, but Tory doesn't go in as she is afraid of deep water. Seth then tells the girls that in order to learn if they're wolves, they need to howl. They reluctantly end up doing it, only to confirm they aren't. Seth then tells them that if they aren't wolves, they can't ride with the pack, who run back where they came from, leaving the girls alone deep into the woods.

After her Liasion meeting with Professor Prestos, Tory heads through The Wailing Wood and spies on a conversation she finds The Heirs in, where they plan on attacking Tory when she wakes up in the morning, per Darius' suggestion. As they start leaving, Darius remains and she listens on an Atlas conversation where he asks someone to meet now. She follows him up to Asteroid Place, the Faculty Accomodation building, where he meets with Orion. Tory spies on their conversation, and hears Darius wants them to kill someone before they get too powerful, while Orion tells him to wait until they're sure. She asumes they're talking about her and Darcy. She spends the night at the Aer Tower with Darcy to avoid the Heirs, and fills her sister on the information. They chat with Falling Star again, who tells them not to trust Orion or anyone from the Acrux family, as they suspect they and the other Celestial families were involved in the King and Queen's murders, who were killed by Nymphs. They also learn that their father, Hail Vega, was named The Savage King for constantly killiing innocents and causing massacres.

When Professor Orion later feeds on Tory in Cardinal Magic class and Kylie Major posts it on Faebook, Caleb breaks into the classroom and has a fight with Orion, as the Vampire Code forbids Vampires from drinking from others' Source. Tory keeps avoiding the Heirs all she can, until she goes to the Pluto Offices to pick up a clothing online order and runs into Darius. He asks her where she is been hiding and they end up fighting again, though Darius seems impressed Tory is brave enough to confront him. As he is leaving, he notices she doesn't know how to get her mail and helps her, but then grabs her package and starts going through her clothes and suggests she models for him. She is resignated and tells him to burn her clothes again if he wants to and starts to leave, but Darius gives her back the box and says he'll do something better next time.

At Earth Elemental Class, Tory runs into Caleb and Seth, who also wonder where she's been. Caleb forces her to swear she'll tell other Vampires she's already claimed and kind of flirts with her. They take her deep into the cavern, standing on a ledge high above a sea of stalagmites, and push her so her feet are barely on the edge and she's hanging by their arms. She tells them once again she doesn't want the throne and only wants to learn to control her magic and get her money, but they keep threatening to drop her. Tory tries to concentrate and knowing they won't be expecting it, Coerces them to pull her up. They're shocked by her power, but as she tries to Coerce them again, it doesn't work. Caleb then feeds on Tory, and gets mad at Seth for touching her arm while he does it. They end up breaking into a friendly fight between themselves and leaving Tory behind.

For their first Friday night at Zodiac, the twins decide to go to Tucana town with Sofia and Diego. They end up at a bar and find Professor Orion there with a date. Tory ignores him and focuses on getting drunk and having fun with her friends, although Darcy listens on a conversation where she hears him talk about killing someone again. Later, other professors show up, and so does Geraldine, who they had lied to about staying at the academy. Geraldine asks them to hang out later and they tell her they will, although they plan on avoiding her. When Sofia drinks all the shots Diego had bought and ends up really drunk, he decides to take her back to the school while the twins stay. They get another message by Falling Star, asking them to meet at the back alley. When they get there, they get another message saying The Shadow is close and to run. But a dark shadow that makes a rattling noise shows up, and stops them from summoning their powers. They escape, and end up at a bar street where The Heirs are having drinks. Darius offers them a truce just for the night and pulls Tory to his lap. After a small chat, the twins run off inside a club, but the boys follow them and Tory ends up in a very intimate dance with Darius, though before things escalate, Caleb stops them and tells Darius Orion is looking for him. Caleb then dances and flirts with her again, but things are interrupted as Professor Astrum stops the music and informs a student was attacked. They find out the student was Geraldine, who was saved by Orion, and Tory and Darcy feel guilty, as she probably had gone looking for them at the alley. The girls head back to the academy in a bus with the Heirs, but Tory notices Darius is missing.

The following week, Tory heads up to the Fire Arena for her tutoring class with Darius, and decides not to use the fire uniform as it makes it harder to control her magic. She there meets Justin Masters, a senior Fire Elemental who's a loyalist, and asks her to the dance next Friday. Tory thanks him but declines, and suggests he should ask out Geraldine. As Darius doesn't show up to the lesson for the second time, Tory decides to confront him and heads to his room. She finds him laying on his bed, covered in gold and demands him to go teach her, but they end up bickering again and he tells her that if she wants him to teach her, she's going to have to force him. When Tory asks about the gold, he explains that is how his Order recharges magic. They have a tense moment where Tory feels attracted to him, she asks what his Order is, and he end up stripping down and jumping off the window, turning into a huge golden Dragon.

At Siren Order Enhacement, the twins meet Max again. He lures them in with his powers, and asks them what their greatest fears are. Tory tells him about the time her ex-boyfriend was driving her home while they were fighting and they veered off a bridge, falling into a river. He got out and left her there, and she almost drowned until a farmer saved her, but she fears deep water now. After Darcy tells him hers, he thanks them for the meal and leaves them.

At The Orb the following day, the twins watch as Darius and Seth dump their girlfriends in public after they confront them for dancing with Tory and Darcy at the club, but Marguerite and Kylie head to their table and fight the girls, until Kylie finds a note Seth left Darcy asking her to the dance, and storms off crying. The following day, Tory is running from Marguerite and her friends and hides in a classroom, where Caleb was waiting to tutor a new Vampire. She just accepts he's going to feed from her, but he is actually nice to Tory, and tells her that he knows how strong she is, and that one day she's gonna be able to fight him off. He also tells her that if she ends up graduating, they're gonna be in each other's life a lot. Tory had thought he didn't want her to graduate, but he doesn't seem very pissed about the idea, it's just that his loyalty is with The Heirs. He then tells her he has a proposition for her, and kisses her. While she knows it's a bad idea, she's not totally against it, and they start making out. Caleb fingers Tory and gives her an orgasm, and then asks her to ditch the dance on Friday so he can go to her room and have the house to themselves, although she declines.

When they're headed to the Dance, the twins get a message from Falling Star asking them to meet at the Venus Library. They decide to go, and find out that the secret messenger was Professor Astrum, who reveals he was a close friend of their mother. He explains she was trying to protect them when she sent them to the Mortal Realm, and that the stars told him the Nymphs were just a pawn behind someone else's plans. They learn the Orion family is involved with dark magic, that they're close with the Acrux, and that Lance and Darius are linked to every new Nymph attack. But soon after, Astrum feels someone spying, and tells them to go.

At the Dance, Caleb finds Tory and tells her it's not too late to ditch it and go with him, but as she doesn't want to be seen together with him, declines again. After she runs into Geraldine and The A.S.S start to surround her, Tory escapes the party to go find Darcy, who had apparently left with Seth. However, Darius follows her, Coerces her not to fight him and takes her to the swimming pool in the Lunar building, where Max, Caleb and a lot of students are waiting. Before they force her to go up the ladder to the trampolin, Tory tells Darius she can barely swim and she'll drown if they make her do it, but before he can change his mind, Max Coerces her to climb. They make her jump, and Max and Darius manipulate the water so she keeps drowning, until they freeze the surface. She fights with her fire and breaks the ice, but they freeze it again until she can't get out to breathe and passes out. Right then, Professor Orion breaks in with Darcy, who had her hair cut out by Seth, and jumps in to save Tory. He uses healing magic and gets her to wake up, and gives detention to everyone in the room, incluing The Heirs. He forces them to explain, and Darius just says they want them out of the school as they're under pressure, and decided to use their deepest fears against them.

As they get out of the building, they find a crowd outside The Orb around a massive fire. Orion puts it down, and there they see a body curled and burned on the ground. The twins feel a pull on their magic, and as they give in, the tarot card of Death flies to their hands, with a silver message at the back from Falling Star, that says the Shadow found him, that the answers they seek are between Leo and Libra, not to trust the flames, and to claim their throne.

## Ruthless Fae

After the events of The Awakening, Tory and her sister decide to head back to the Mortal Realm. So while everyone is at an assembly regarding Professor Astrum's death, Darcy goes steal stardust from Orion's office and Tory heads to Darius' room to steal some of his gold. She breaks into his room and fills a bag with his treasure, and also finds a strange dagger that keeps calling to her. She keeps it and also decides to do something that will actually hurt him, and burns the room down with her Fire magic. When Darcy gets back, she informs Orion caught her, but that she's changed her mind and wants to stay. Tory quickly agrees with her, and so they decide that instead of running away, they're gonna get back at The Heirs, but without them noticing it's them. Tory heads back to Ignis House at the same time the rest of the students, and enjoys as she watches Darius finding his room burned down and loosing control of his Order form.

Later, Caleb shows up at Tory's room and explains that as his Source, he can't cause any damage to her, and that while he knew the other Heirs were planning something, he didn't know what they would do, and that he doesn't feel good about what happened, as Fae are supposed to fight one on one. Tory tells him to fuck off, and that once she gets a hold on her magic, she's gonna get back at them, and he replies he looks forward to it. When Tory asks him why can't they accept they just don't want the Throne, Caleb tells her that once their Order emerges and they embrace their Fae side, they're gonna have a change of mind. After their talk, Tory understands a bit better how things work in the Fae Realm, and decides they need to adapt to survive.

On Monday morning, when Caleb makes fun of Sofia for being a Pegasus, Tory comes up with the idea of spreading a rumor that Caleb has a Pegasus fetish. In Cardinal Magic class, the girls learn about how a lot of families marry into the same Order in order to keep the bloodlines pure and avoid going extint, as it has happened to some powerful Orders such as the Hydra, The Savage King's Order. The King married a Harpy, and while the girls could come out as Hydras, the more Orders fall into the genetics the less likely they'd get the same Order as their parents. The class is interrupted as Orion gets a call from the faculty informing Astrum was killed by a Nymph, and with all the recent attacks, he has to teach the class about them. They learn Nymphs are beings from the Shadow Realm that feed on Fae, kill them and steal their powers by making a noise that nulls their magic, and that while their true form is a large tree-like shadow, they can take up a Fae form. The girls get called to testify about Astrum's death with Agent Francesca Sky from the FIB, the woman who was with Orion at the bar. As Tory offers to be the one to go, Sky chooses Darcy for the Cyclops investigation, but they get cleared.

Tory is afraid to face Darius and Max at Water Elemental Class, but decides to face her fears. Max starts taunting her, but before they can get close, Geraldine shows up along another A.S.S member named Angelica, who Darius reveals to be his bastard cousin. Geraldine tells the girls Professor Washer allowed them to turn into their Order forms and show the twins how they adapt to water, becoming their guardians for the day. Geraldine turns into a huge Cerberus and Angelica into a red Dragon, driving The Heirs away.

Tory wakes up in the middle of the night to a strange melody that drives her out of Ignis House towards a clearing, and finds Max sitting on a rock in his Siren form. He seems frustated, but explains to her that when the stars allign a certain way, Sirens need to let out a song that calls a Fae the stars think needs to feel their magic, and once they're lured in they can't leave until they've kissed. For the duration of that kiss, the Siren powers are reversed, and the other Fae is able to feel the Siren's emotions and even some memories. There is no other option, so they end up kissing and Tory is revealed a deep secret: Max is actually a bastard and he believes his step-mother poisoned his biological mother. If the news got out, his half-sister could claim his place in the Council. Max asks Tory what's it gonna take to keep the secret, but she replies she's not like him and wouldn't just spread something like that.

The FIB show up unannounced to Ignis House to investigate Darius' room incident, and Tory remembers she still has the dagger in her room. She manages to get to her room and throw it out the window, but when she later goes pick it up, Darius comes down from the sky in his Dragon form. They bicker for a while and when he leaves, she gets the dagger back. But as she heads to the Aer Tower, she notices he is following her. Tory manages to lose him and goes to Darcy, and informs her they'll have to hide the treasure somewhere they can't frame them. They decide to bury it in The Wailing Wood, where Geraldine catches them, and Tory confesses to her what they did. She decides to help them, claiming the Heirs should suffer for what they did, and easily buries the treasure with her Earth powers.

Tory notices Orion and Darius have matching tattoos of each other's Star Sign constellation. When she points it out to Geraldine at lunch, the girl explains they're probably under a protection bond. It's not really used in the present, but the Guardian bond links two people's souls, so if the Ward is under attack, the Guardian is compelled to protect and die for them. The bond pushes the two people together, and can only be broken by death. Geraldine says that if Orion agreed to be Darius' Guardian, he must really care for him. The Heirs show up and Max uses his gifts on Tory to make her reveal more fears, but she breaks his compelling and attacks him, to the shock of everyone. She reminds Max about his secret, and tells him to keep his Siren powers off of her and Darcy. Caleb finds Tory outside and tries to kiss her again, as seeing her punching Max turned him on. He asks her to tell him his secret, but Tory refuses. They flirt again and Tory mocks him for his Pegasus rumor, which has been spreading on Faebook, not willing to forgive him for the pool thing yet.

When Tory is in her room later that night, Darius comes in and informs her his father wants her and Darcy to go to a party at the Acrux Manor to met the Celestial Council. Tory refuses and pisses him off, telling him if he wants her to go, he's gonna have to force her, like her told her about the tutoring lessons. They fight for a while, until he offers that if she agrees to go with Darcy, he'll help her with her fire and even be nice for the whole evening of the party. Tory ends up agreeing, telling him to meet her at the Fire Arena tomorrow.

During her morning run on the way to the Arena, Tory is approached by Caleb and they flirt again, and he confesses he has been feeding on The Heirs instead of her for punishment of the events of the Dance night. At the Fire Arena, Tory meets Darius and they bicker as always, but in a lighter tone than usual. He then takes her hand so they can power share, and explains that the best way to do it is if she lets him in willingly, but she has to trust him for it. Tory replies he's gonna have to force it as that's impossible, and Darius seems annoyed by it. He ends up forcing his way in, and they experience an incredible feeling unlike with Professor Pyro, which Darius explains is because they're both incredibly powerful. The class goes well and Tory manages to do everything Darius asks, until he needs a break to recharge, though she barely feels drained. In the meantime, they have an actually pleasant conversation, although Tory feels frustated as Darius seems to have passed his bedroom burn-down as an accident, and begins to form a plan to make him realise someone stole his treasure. As they continue with the class and Tory needs to use both hands, Darius grabs her by her bare waist and she creates a fire motorbike, making Darius curious when he learns she likes to ride. He keeps teasing her sliding his hands below her waistband and she loses control of the form. She teases him back pushing against his body while she creates a bigger form and drags more of his power. As she feels his arousal behind her, they stare at each other until Tory gets out of her fantasy and breaks it off, walking off the Arena.

The next morning, Tory retrieves some of Darius' treasure to set in motion her plan, but as she heads back to her room, she encounters Seth and his pack in their Wolf forms, and he bullies her a bit before they all pee on her. After a shower, she sneaks into Darius' remodeled room and leaves a gold coin on his bed, then goes into Milton Hubert's room and hides more coins under his bed. Later, in Tarot Class, Tory and Darcy find the card Astrum left them again, and notice the constellations of Leo and Libra on a wall. Tory opens the magic lock and grabs the contents inside the compartment, which turn out to be a picture of a man and another Tarot Card that says to ask him about what happened to Clara Orion.

To continue with their plan of messing with the Heirs, Tory and Darcy break into Caleb's room and drop in an inflatable Pegasus sex doll. Caleb finds it when he gets out of the shower, and bursts out of the room naked with the doll and everyone films him, becoming a viral joke.

Darius picks Tory up on Saturday night to head to the party, and she is shocked as he actually behaves nicely to her like he had promised, and so do the other Heirs. Once they get to the Acrux Mansion, they meet the Councillors and the situation is kinda tense, specially with Lionel Acrux. However, when they ask them about the throne, the twins confirm to them that they have no intention of claiming it. Once they join the party, the girls meet Geraldine's father, Hamish Grus, who turns out to be the man in the picture Astrum left them. Max founds them then, and brings them to a shady smoking room where the Heirs and other people are drinking. Soon after, Darius' fianceé Mildred Canopus steps into the room looking for him, and Tory has a laugh when she sees Mildred's looks and claims about Darius saving himself for their wedding night. The girl then verbally attacks the Vegas and spits Dragon Fire off her mouth at them, though Darcy shields them from it. When they get out of the room, the twins meet a guy named Gustav Vulpecula, who seems to be one of the few people on their side, and they start telling him about their time with The Heirs at the academy. However, Orion finds them and Gus runs away. Lance tells them he's a Teumessian Fox and a reporter, and that Lionel probably set them up to get information. They look for Hamish Grus again and finally ask him about Clara Orion. He tells them she died mysteriously four years ago and was last seen at the Acrux Mansion. He led the FIB investigation, but everything was very shady and no one from either family would collaborate, and only her brother, Lance Orion, seemed devastated by her death. So the investigation was inconclusive and her body never found.

Tory loses Darcy and feels very bored and out of place at the party. Darius finds her, and as they share a conversation, he asks her to dance, but she declines and leaves him, not wanting to stay close as she keeps feeling attracted to him. She then meets a guy at the back of the room who she really gets along with as they complain about the party and dragons, and she is surprised when he turns out to be Darius' younger brother, Xavier. Darius finds her again, and Xavier tells his brother to get Tory some real food as he leaves the party. Darius thanks Tory for cheering up his brother, and guides her to the kitchens to ask the staff to make her food. After they eat, Darius takes her to a huge parking lot and shows Tory his bike collection, as he remembered she likes them. He encourages her to ride one if she wants, and though she is tempted, declines because of her outfit and drunkness. Lionel founds them there and asks Darius to leave him alone with Tory so he can have a chat with her. Darius insists he lets it go, and his father ends up accepting, taking him away to 'teach him a lesson' instead.

When Tory returns to the party by herself, Caleb finds her and informs he's back on feeding on her. Tory complains this is too easy for him, and suggests a game. She gets two minutes to hide, and if he can't find her in fifteen without his super speed, he can't feed on her. She hides in Lionel's office, but Caleb finds her and chases her into another room. When he catches her, he kisses her instead of biting her. He proposes a new game to her, and they end up having sex over the table. Darius finds them soon after they're done and looks extremely pissed, and he and Tory stare at each other while Caleb feeds on her at last. They get out of the house and Darcy instantly notices Tory had sex with someone, so she confesses to her sister, who is worried about her.

As they all get ready to leave, Darius approaches Tory again and tells her she shouldn't speak to his father like she did ever again. She notices his shirt has blood on it, but when she asks, he gets mad and tells her to drop it. They walk together arm in arm, and Tory jokes people might think they don't hate each other. He comments he doesn't hate her, and that what he did to her wasn't personal, but that only pisses Tory off. When he asks her if she hates him, she replies she would have to care about him for that to happen and leaves him again, although she feels like she just told him a lie.

The next day, a news article by The Celestial Times written by Gus Vulpecula comes out, where he lies about his meeting with them and paints them in a bad light, saying Darcy is mentally incapacitated and talks to imaginary ravens, and that Tory is a sex addict.

To continue their revenge towards The Heirs, the twins and Geraldine sneak into the Pitball stadium locker rooms and rub Griffin poop inside Max's uniform, knowing Sirens are extremely allergic to it. Back at Ignis House, Tory slips an envelope on Milton's door with a ring from Darius and a note from a secret admirer. She then sits at the common room to wait for her plan to come through. She runs into Darius and they bicker, and then he keeps his attention on her as Marguerite flirts with him. When Milton walks into the room, Darius notices his ring and watch and confronts him. He ends up going to his room and finding the gold Tory hid there. He calls Milton a traitor and a thief and declares him shunned, forbidding anyone from talking to him again, and leaves to fly away on his Dragon form.

Tory attends the Pitball game against Starlight Academy with Darcy, Diego and Sofia. With Seth infested with fleas thanks to a Moonstone Darcy left in his room, Max having an allergic reaction, Darius mad about Milton, and the public from Starlight having brought a huge Pegasus inflatable and mocking Caleb, the four Heirs are on their worst form to play, so they end up losing the game, embarassing themselves in front of their parents, who leave as soon as the game is over. The Vega Heirs are called to present the medals, and as they give the medal to the Captain of Starlight, he flirts with them and invites them to their after-party. He then jokes about how they should reconsider taking up the Crown, and as the girls are feeling cheery, they reply jokingly that maybe they should. This gets The Heirs angrier than they were before, and they challenge Tory and Darcy right there. The girls combine their power and blast them off through the field, but they regain their feet. Then Darius goes against Tory as Seth goes against Darcy, and while they try to put up a fight, The Heirs win, leaving them buried inside the Pit and humiliated.

When they manage to get out, the girls find the academy under a Nymph attack, with everyone fighting for their lives and turning into their Order forms. They lose each other in the mess, and as Tory tries to go to Darcy, Nymphs are about to attack her. She is saved by Darius in his Dragon form, but one gets hold of him. A blast of strange red-blue Fire power bursts out from Tory, killing the Nymph. They keep fighting like that alongside each other until Darius gets badly hurt. Tory tries help him as he shifts back to his Fae form while his whole body is bleeding, only being able to power share into him. Orion and Darcy arrive then, and he is able to heal Darius while Tory cries for him. Once he's ok, Tory hugs Darcy, glad that she isn't hurt, and finds out her sister managed to create the weird Fire as well. The Nymphs start to retreat as the Fae overtake them.

## The Reckoning

Following the Nymph attack, Tory spends the night with Darcy in her room at Ignis. They wake up early in the morning to a gong and a message that welcomes them to the Hell Week, a week where the freshmen must pass trials of their Elements and the older students play constant attacks against them, before facing The Reckoning. As they leave for class, they get attacked by several students until they make it to Cardinal Magic class. There, they read another article by Gus Vulpecula about the Nymph attack that makes it look like the Vegas didn't help and insults them once again. Tyler Corbin approaches them and thanks them for saving his life back then, and comments his mom works at The Daily Solaria, and that he'll make sure to tell her the real story. During the class, Orion terrorizes the students, even taking the air from Tory's lungs at one point. He explains that even though they're freshmen, they need to fight back in order to become real Fae, and instructs them about Hell Week.

At The Orb, the twins meet Geraldine, and find out that after seeing them during the Nymph attack, a hundred new members joined The A.S.S. Caleb, who kept texting Tory about forgetting what happened at the pit all morning, dares her to their hunt game and she decides to play. She hides in the library, but Caleb easily finds and bites her. They talk about their situation, and while Tory is mad about what happened after the game, lets it go as Caleb explains his side of the story but doesn't apologize, and she accepts that she likes assholes and at least he's an honest one. They kiss and he asks her to come to his room tonight, and she says she'll consider it as long as he runs her to class.

In Fire Elemental class, Tory struggles again with controlling her fire, arguing that it's the suit that makes it work weird. Strangely, when Professor Pyro gives her a disappointed look, Darius comes to her defense, saying she did better when he tutored her, so the teacher asks him to help her again. He tells Tory to stop asking permission to wear something else and just do it, as that's the way of Fae. They hold hands to power share, and Darius asks her to do it like they did at the battle, letting her barriers down. Caleb gets mad when he sees them, telling them to stop power fucking and get on with the lesson. The two of them start arguing before Tory and Darcy stop them. Darius asks Tory to do another mortorbike and they start an argument about them before he tells her that if she manages to make one again, they'll have a race and if she wins, she'll get to keep one of his bikes; if he wins, she'll have to do whatever he wants. She forms the bike, and he declares they have a date Wednesday night.

As he believes they might emerge as Dragons, Orion assigns the Vega twins to Dragon Order Enhacement. Because there are only six Dragons and no professors in the academy, Darius is the one who runs the class. He and Tory bicker as usual, and then they get started with the class, where they try to create the weird red and blue fire from the Nymph attack again, though neither twin succeed. On her way out, Tory encounters Max, who tells her he doesn't like having a debt to her because of the secret she's keeping for him and wants to make it up. As she's afraid of deep water, he offers to teach her how to create an air bubble to breathe underwater. Tory reluctantly accepts and he teaches her, declaring they're now even.

To relax from Hell Week, Tory stays drinking past curfew with Diego and Sofia at The Orb, using a glamour to hide. She gets way too drunk and while trying to do a dare that consisted of doing a strip-tease on the table, slips and falls unconscious. She starts having a nightmare in her sleep and unable to control her magic, starts filling the place with ice. Diego and Sofia don't know what to do, but Darius -who had come to grab a late dinner- shows up and helps tame her magic down. He picks Tory up and to objection of her friends, takes her to his room, arguing she might burn her room down if they leave her unwatched. He places Tory on his bed and takes off her shoes, but as she's drunk and midly conscious, she takes off her skirt as well. Darius tries to pull away, but she tugs him down and asks him not to leave her alone. He tells her he won't be able to sleep next to her dressed like that, so she takes off her shirt, straddles him, takes off his t-shirt and places it on herself, turning Darius on even more. She proceeds to run to his bathroom to puke and steal his toothbrush, leaving him speechless. They get back on the bed, and she instantly falls asleep on his chest.

She wakes up the following morning having no idea where she is but feeling strangely safe. As she takes on her sorroundings and the chest she's laying on, freaks out, but doesn't move. Darius explains to her what happened and Tory isn't sure what to make of it. As she feels his power next to hers, lets down her barriers and power shares with him for a while before freaking out and putting them back up, while he caresses her hair. She moves to face him and they talk more about the previous night, but when he asks her to tell him about the nightmare, she explains it's about drowning and remembers everything he did to her, breaking the peace of the moment. He asks her not to go and tries to explain better his side of the story, talking about his father, but Tory ends up telling him he is just like his dad, and heads out of the room. She showers and gets ready for class in her room, before noticing she left her shoes in his room. However, when she opens her door, she finds her clothes and shoes folded up before her. As she enters the common room, students try to attack her, but she sents a blast of air, and Darius tells them to let her go.

At The Orb, Tory casts a glamour on herself, and hides a Pegasus horn and a whip with Caleb's name on The Heirs' couch. She then fills Darcy in about what happened the previous night, who in return tells her something that happened with Seth, and they're both shocked to realize that all four Heirs had been nice to them. As the Heirs arrive and take out the sex-toys Tory hid, the whole school starts laughing and mocking them, and the boys swear vengeance on whoever is playing that prank on them.

At Cardinal Magic class, Orion gives the students Sexual Education for Fae, as the Lunar Eclipse is coming and it brings out Fae's most carnal desires out, and keeps screaming at Tory's ear throughout the class when he realizes she's hungover. But when he gets called on an emergency, Professor Washer takes over the class, giving sex toys to the students and asking about their sexual desires with his Siren powers, making Tory confess she finds her hunting game with Caleb hot. Back at The Orb for lunch, Caleb goes to Tory and she tells him about it. He promises he'll make sure Washer stays out of her head and heals her headache, and they agree to play their hunting game after lunch. Tory hides in the woods and wins the game for once, and watches as Caleb gets insanely upset about it. He finally spots her, but Tory tells him he can't bite her as she won, and won't play again if he breaks the rules. He asks then what does she want for winning, and he ends up giving her oral sex, and keeping her underwear as a consolation prize.

During Tarot Class, Tory has a small fight with Diego over his mood, which has been getting worse since Orion stole his hat. As the twins work on their card deck, they find another card Astrum left for them, which says "*In the Palace of Souls, rests a secret untold. Find the light who burned on after the fire*". The girls are confused by it, but Sofia explains The Palace of Souls is their family's palace, and that they own it now, and they decide to pay it a visit after The Reckoning.

When Tory sees Caleb again at Fire Elemental class, she asks him to return her panties, and he replies he'll give them back if she promises to spend the night at his place. She gets mad at him as Darius is approaching and he screamed it for everyone to hear, and Tory doesn't want everyone knowing they're hooking up, so she says no and turns her back on him.

At night, Darius texts Tory to get ready for their race. She heads up to his room and he informs her they're traveling via Stardust to his house. At the manor, they head to his room and he tries to casually power share with her again, although she doesn't let him. She asks him what it was like growing up in the mansion and they share a talk about their childhoods, but as he asks more about hers, she stops, not wanting to share so much with him. They meet Xavier, and Darius leaves them alone as he claims he has to go do something. Tory and Xavier decide to have a tray race down the stairs and have fun, laughing so much Xavier starts glowing and shifts into a Pegasus. She is gladly shocked he's not a Dragon asshole, caresses him and wonders why he looks so sad when Darius finds them, and asks her not to say anything to anyone, as their father is keeping it a secret. Xavier shifts back and thanks her for not caring about his Order and runs back to his room. As they go get their bikes, Tory gets texts from Caleb asking her to hang out, but she replies she got a better offer, which only gets him more insistent. Darius ends up taking a picture kissing Tory on the forehead and sends it to his friend, which gets her laughing and turning her Atlas off. They finally race under the heavy weather, and Tory seems to be winning, until a burning tree falls down their road and they get sent through the air, but Tory saves them with her Air and Earth magic as they fall on the ground against each other. Darius heals their wounds and they laugh about the crazy race. Back in Darius' room at Ignis House, they argue about who really won as Darius grabs her by the waist and dries them with his magic. He asks her to stay like the previous night, and when she asks why, he says it just feels right. Tory knows it's true and feels the same, but as she remembers everything he did to her, decides against it. She asks if he's going to admit she won and he replies that never, but as she gets to her own room, gets a message from him saying they could call it a draw.

Tory and Darcy head for their Air Trial the following day, and encounter The Heirs who've come to watch it. Caleb makes a scene to Tory about the previous night, and she replies she doesn't like clingy guys and he's not even her boyfriend so she doesn't need to check with him where she spends her time. He gets angry and tries to bite her, but Darius stops him, arguing it's gonna look bad to do it before their Trial. They also meet Diego's uncle, Alejandro Calabozo, who wears a red scarf knitted by Diego's grandma, and keeps insulting his nephew throughout the conversation, saying he only came to inform his parents whether he passes and that he won't be welcome at home if he doesn't. The Trial finally begins, and though the girls struggle at first, they manage to pass the test teaming up together, and helping Diego as well.

Tory's having a shower while she fantasizes about Darius, when Caleb suddenly bursts into her room and tells her she lost, making her scream in surprise. He explains he texted her about hunting her, found her door open and thought it was an invitation. They start arguing about what happened before and he insists on staying, when the door opens and Darius steps into the doorway, worried about her scream. She kicks them both out and gets ready to meet her friends. She finds the dagger she stole from Darius, which is calling to her, and decides to put it in her bag. On her way out, Tory finds Milton Hubert by himself, and feels bad about what she did to him, so she offers him to hang out with her and The A.S.S, as they won't care about Darius. He reluctantly accepts, and they head together to The Orb. When Darius sees them, he confronts Tory and they have a discussion fiilled with sexual tension where she refuses to do as he says. The conversation diverts to whether she still doesn't care about Darius or really hates him, but they get interrupted by Orion who wants to speak to Darius. He tells Tory they're not done, and she replies he still owes her a bike, which gets him to let out a laugh. Caleb heads to Tory's table while she's having lunch and confronts her about her night with Darius again. They end up flirting for a while before he leaves, inviting her to his room once again.

The twins manage to escape a riot The Heirs are pulling against the freshmen and head to the Air Cove, when the dagger in Tory's bag starts guiding her towards a cave. They get in, and find Darius and Orion performing a weird magic with bones that lets them harness the elements of dead Fae. Then they see them cutting themselves with a dagger exactly like the one Tory stole, and she starts cutting herself with it across her arm, and passes out. She shows up at some kind of vision where Lionel Acrux is meeting with Diego's uncle, and as Orion spots her, he freaks out and they get out of it. Darius and Darcy panic as Tory isn't waking up, but Lance heals her as Darius shares her his power. Tory is dragged deep into the shadows, but goes back to the light as she feels his power against her. When she wakes up and Darius finds out she had his dagger, all his worry turns to anger as he realizes how she got it. She sents a blast of air against him, but he holds his grip and they get both sent down the beach. She confesses she burned down his room and stole his treasure, and it looks like he's about to hurt her as Darcy steps in and sents a blast of air against him. Darius is shaking with rage, but Orion stops him, and explains he'll have to stay quiet about the room so that Tory stays quiet about the dagger, trying to calm him down. Darius then shifts into his Dragon and storms off, and Tory swears to remember how cruel and ruthless he is before thinking about him any other way again.

Tory goes on her morning run the following day when she crashes into Darius, who stops her from falling, but as she yells at him, he pushes her into the mud. The other Heirs find them, and Caleb defends her against Darius, shocking Tory as he stood on her side against one of his friends. They start arguing as Darius calls Tory a whore, and she leaves them behind, heading for her Water Trial while Caleb invites her to his room once again. Tory and Darcy face the Trial and succesfully pass again.

Tory encounters Darius at Ignis House that night, and they have more of their casual bickering while she's heading out to go to Caleb's room. He shows her a new article that claims the Vegas are cheating their way through the trials, and tells her she'll be sorry if she gets caught after curfew. She texts Caleb to start the hunt while she sneaks into his room by the window, and then sents him a picture showing him where she is. Once he returns, they start making out, and he tells her how crazy she drives him. They have sex and after they are done, she stays the night as they watch a movie together, glad to be distracted from the shadows on her mind since the cave incident.

Tory leaves Caleb's room when he gets an urgent message from Darius, and she heads to Darcy's room to continue to sleep and update her sister. They get woken up by The Heirs, who are playing a major Hell Week stunt on all freshmen, but seem particularly focused on the Vegas, and Caleb treats Tory roughly. The freshmen get dunked in a pool of Faesine, a wildly flammable substance, and are told they have to complete a circuit of 9 rings of fire while being chased by The Heirs, with Darius in his Dragon form. The twins are the only ones who make it to the final ring, but the four Heirs circle them and try to force them to bow to them, although Seth accidentally confesses the liquid wasn't actually Faesine. Max throws them into the mud and Darius takes out his Atlas to record them as they try Coerce the girls into begging, but they keep their mental shields up. Tory and Darcy join hands and with their power combined, knock The Heirs down and manage to escape. They make it to The Orb, where the students congratulate them for making it through the ninth ring, of hell leaving The Heirs furious.

Just a few hours later, the twins have to face their Fire Trial, but when they make it to the arena, they find a video being projected of the time Tory was forced into the pool and Darcy got her hair cut. The Heirs are there, but so are The A.S.S, who cheer them on. They inform Professor Pyro that they won't be using their fire uniforms, and head to the Trial. Not only do they ace it, but also find out they are impervious to fire, making the Heirs and everyone shocked. They face their Earth Trial the next day, and while they place last, they still manage to pass, leaving only The Reckoning left.

Caleb invites Tory to the Fairy Fair in Tucana, and she accepts to go with him. However, as he keeps her waiting for too long, she decides to take the shuttle bus and meet with Geraldine and the A.S.S. While she's at the stop, Caleb shows up in his car, and ends up apologizing and asking her to get in the car. She reluctantly accepts, although she's not a fan of cars given her accident. Tory starts freaking out when Caleb takes a different turn and ignores her, and throws her Atlas away when she tries to use it. He stops in the middle of the woods, and starts talking to Tory about how his rumours about Pegasuses might be real while he manhandles her, and she understands the reason he's been so dark is that he found out she started the rumours, though she refuses to accept it to his face. He then challenges her to the hunt and forces her to run. He chases her down, until Tory hits him with a tree branch, making him bleed. He calms down a bit and they start arguing, but the fight slowly takes a turn as Tory starts making jokes about his Pegasus kink, and he follows them. Tory remembers him about everything The Heirs did to her, and he mentions that she did promise to make him pay. They both calm down and, with her permission, he bites her, Then they kiss and they head on to the Fair.

They get there and Caleb goes talk to The Heirs, and while she waits, Tory heads to talk to a guy at a Kissing Booth, asking about the orphanage they're raising funds for. The Heirs think she went there to kiss him, and Darius scares the guy and drags her out, making Tory yell at him and storm off. Caleb goes after her, talks her up, and shows her he made a generous donation to the orphanage, but that only makes Tory wary, and she explains to him that she doesn't want him to do any grand gestures for her, as she's not his girlfriend. They run into Diego, who tells her he and Darcy kissed but she left him, and asks Tory to speak privately. He gets angry when she tells him she's hanging out with Caleb and calls her a whore, but when Caleb tries to fight him she asks him to leave Diego alone. They spend the rest of the afternoon having fun together at the fair.

The twins get their score of the Elemental Trials, getting a 9 out of 10 points each. They finally face The Reckoning, which turned out to be a mental test with the stars, and get the top scores. They share with each other how they both saw the fire they survived as babies, noticing a cloaked tall figure overseeing it and disappearing with stardust. After The Reckoning, they both feel llike they understand why they had to go through everything they did. The Heirs approach them to inform they still don't intend to let them graduate, and that the Lunar Eclipse will be their last night of peace.

Caleb has to go home the night of the Eclipse, and Tory is glad, as she decided to cut things with him after his threat with the other Heirs. She wonders who the Moon will drive her towards, when she gets a broadcast message from Darius demanding everyone in House Ignis to attend a Moon Party in Air Cove. Tory starts walking in her underwear deciding how to dress, when she looks at the moon and decides to text Darius, asking him about the dress code. He tells her to just show up as she is, which she replies might not be the best idea and sends him a picture in her underwear and a pair of heavy boots, arguing the shoes don't match. Darcy enters the room and is shocked to find her sister sexting Darius, insisting it's a bad idea, but Tory just blames the moon and asks Darcy who is the moon pulling her towards, but her sister is very secretive about it. They dress up and Darius knocks on the door and flirts with Tory, but leaves once Darcy interrupts.

Tory is dancing with her friends at the beach when she gets a sense of urgency, and starts walking away from the party until she reaches a rocky outcrop, where she meets Darius. He confesses he was watching her like he always is, aching for her, They get close and he asks if she could ever forgive him for everything he's done, to what she nods. They're about to kiss when Lionel Acrux interrupts them and captures Tory. He drags them around the cliff, where they find out he also has Darcy and Orion, and Lionel stardusts them all away from the Academy. Darius and Orion put on motion a plan they had with Blood Magic and fight Lionel, but when they're about to scape, he shows he has Xavier as well and threatens to kill him, and Darius backs off. His father makes him and Lance join his cult with dark robes, and starts talking about how four years ago they failed to enter the Shadow Realm, but noticed they made an error before, and what they needed was royal blood for a vessel. Lionel makes Darius and Orion prepare the girls for the ritual, and they explain they're gonna make them claim the shadows, and that that's how Clara Orion died. Tory is desperate, and can't help but feel heartbroken and angry at Darius for just giving up as he tells her he trusts she's strong enough and will survive it. The ritual begins and the girls get dragged to the shadows and hear a woman calling for them, but suddenly feel themselves engulfed in fire with flaming red wings bursting from their backs, and as their Order emerges, they realize they're Phoenixes. They get back to the Fae Realm to find Lionel succesful, as now he and all his people, including Orion, Xavier and Darius, have the Element of Shadows. He Dark Coerces the twins to forget everything that happened, believing they emerged as Fire Harpies and not realizing they now also hold the Shadows. But the Phoenix fire burns through any kind of Coercion, and so his command doesn't work on them. He tells Darius and Lance to bring them back to the academy and leaves. Darius apologizes to Tory, but she's now mad at him and plans to make him feel truly sorry.

## Shadow Princess

After the events of The Reckoning, Darius takes the twins and Orion to King's Hollow, a secret tree house in Zodiac Academy where The Heirs stay sometimes. The girls reveal Dark Coercion didn't work on them. Orion, who realized the Vegas are actually Phoenixes, tells them they'll have to keep it hidden or else Lionel will actually kill them, as they're the most powerful Order of all, and he and Darius promise to keep the secret. Tory doesn't seem to trush Darius and is pissed at him, but when he explains he couldn't do anything because of Xavier, she informs him that's the only reason she doesn't incinerate him, making it clear she doesn't care about what happened before Lionel found them. The twins stay the night, and Tory asks Darcy not to say anything about the fact that they still have the shadows, as she doesn't trust the two men enough.

Orion calls Tory, Darcy and Darius to his office later that day to share the information he found on Phoenixes, and explains they apparently can fight off any kind of psychological magic. They get interrupted as Gabriel Nox enters through the window, and Orion introduces him as his Nebula Ally and their new Tarot teacher. Gabriel is also a Harpy with the gift of the Sight, and informs them he got a vision about the twin's Order reveal. The girls click with him instantly, and they arrange for him to give them Order Enhacement class to tutor them on how to partially shift and hide as Fire Harpies.

Tory has trouble with the shadows and starts drinking herself to sleep at night, and dreaming of a woman calling for her, but refuses to ask Darius for help. She meets Caleb at The Orb and when he asks her about the Eclipse, she confesses the Moon did drive her towards Darius, but that nothing happened as her Order emerged then. After questioning her about Darius, Caleb asks Tory to be exclusive, but when she asks what that would mean long term, he explains that could never work because of his responsabilites to the Council, so she rejects his offer. He still invites her to hang out later, but they get interrupted by Darius, who tells Tory she can't, as she could randomly shift and burn him, though she shuts him up, and storms off after Caleb gets territorial of her again. She joins her friends and learns she wasn't the only one pulled towards an Heir during the Eclipse, as Geraldine slept with Max, who's now head over heels for her.

Professor Nox approaches the twins during Tarot class, confessing he came to the academy because of a card Falling Star left him, saying the Vega twins would help him find the answers he's looking for. As he tells them he's been getting messages and money all his life without knowing who he is, they inform him it was Astrum and that he was helping them too. Gabriel tells them he'll look for answers with The Sight, and they promise to keep it all secret between the three of them.

During Cardinal Magic class, Orion assigns the twins to extracurricular activities, as they forgot to email him about it. He signs Darcy up for Pitball, and Tory for the Cheerleading Squad, for her dismay. While they're practicing Silencing Bubbles, Darcy faints, and explains to Tory after the class that she had trouble with the shadows, hearing that voice again, and convinces her sister to tell Orion about it. Tory goes with Darcy to her liason with Orion, and he says he'll help them, but they'll have to join his Dark Magic sessions with Darius, not making Tory particularly happy. They join Orion and Darius at Air Cove at night, and though Tory and Darius keep bickering, they get on with the lesson. Lance gets them on working on drawing themselves back from the shadows, explaining it's easier with another person to anchor you. Tory tries first with Darcy as her anchor, and she lets the shadows take over too long, making her want to kill Darius, but Darcy draws her back. She feels conflicted about how they twisted her hurt and anger towards Darius to bloodlust, yet feels tempted to wield the shadows again.

The whispers and calls from the shadows keep getting louder, and Tory starts giving into them at night in her room, learning how to make them bend to her will. She tells herself she needs to learn to manage them faster than not only Lionel, but Darius and Orion as well.

While on a morning run, Tory gets a message from Caleb inviting her on a new game, and when she accepts, he picks her up with his Vampire speed and jumps down a cliff, making Tory catch them with her Air magic and thrive on adrenaline. They start making out and Caleb creates a small cave for them to have sex there. After they're done, he tells Tory he wants her to ask him to bite her, as the only thing better than her blood would be her wanting him to have it. She thinks about it and accepts she actually kinds of likes it, so she asks him to bite her.

After Caleb gives her a ride to The Orb, she confesses to Darcy she's been practicing with the shadows by herself and plans to keep on doing it, and while her sister doesn't like it, she has to accept it. Thet meet with Professor Nox for their Order Enhancement class, and he stardusts them to a remote place where they can practice without anyone spying on them. He asks them to just call him Gabriel, as he's had enough visions about them to know they're Nebula Allies, and he also invites them to hang out with him and his friends at a club on the weekend. As they feel an inexplicable connection to him and he makes it clear he's got an Elysian Mate and no second intentions, they accept. They get on with the lesson, and he teaches them how to only bring out their wings and fly, making Tory feel more free and alive than ever in her life.

## Sorrow and Starlight

Tory leaves the battlefield after having spent hours with Darius’ body. On her way she finds Orion's sword, the Imperial Star as well as Catalina’s and Hamish’s bodies, and she decides to create ice coffins for them and Darius and bring them with her on the way to find the surviving rebels.

Tory finds the camp thanks to the signal they left for her to follow and Geraldine and Xavier are distraught when they see the caskets but Geraldine tries to console him. The rest of the rebels pass by the caskets to pay their respect and after that, someone shows Tory to her room where Dante and Leon appear asking after Gabriel. When she informs them she doesn't know where he is they decide to return to the battlefield to look for him.

Tory makes a plan to save the Heirs and Geraldine goes with her. When they arrive at Acrux Manor they find the Heirs and their families are being used to charge a rift for Lavinia that drains their powers. Tory and Geraldine manage to free them while killing the Nymphs guarding them and then they head to Lionel’s treasure vault, where they use stardust to take all his treasure and on their way out they set fire to the manor.

Justin is still floating in the air with the parachute that was created by one of the twins and is followed by the Nymphs. He somehow manages to arrive after days in the new rebel camp with the nymphs following him and they try to attack the camps but are quickly subdued by Tory and the Heirs. That's when it’s revealed that Diego’s father Miguel was one of the Nymphs and he asks to speak with Tory claiming he wants to help them.

The rebels decide to leave their camp and head for the sea where they will be more protected. Once they arrive they separate a piece of land to create an island and Geraldine names it R.U.M.P. (Rebels’ Undying Mighty Province). They all work together to move this island using their elemental powers to travel the sea so Lionel can’t find them.

Tory and Caleb visit the Library of the Lost in order to find a way to track Darcy using Dark Magic, they find a secret room where there are five books of the elements and they discover the fifth element is called Ether. When they try to read it they are attacked by creatures called the Keepers of the Lost Knowledge but they manage to fight them off and escape with the books.

Tory makes a deal with Miguel and visits a secret Nymph village that is full of Nymphs who don’t follow Lavinia and there she visits the Oracles and learns how to control the Ether.

The Heirs, Tory, Xavier, Geraldine, Dante and Leon form a plan to rescue Darcy, Orion and Gabriel but they are unsuccessful when they realize the Dragons of the Dragon Guild made a Guardian Bond with Lionel.

When Tory goes to rescue Darcy she is attacked by the Shadow Beast and she only manages to escape thanks to Caleb.

Tory is in the Damned Forest fighting her way toward Darius and facing creatures that take the form of her biggest insecurities. She manages to go through the Veil and find Darius' soul but the Veil starts closing. She holds onto him out of sheer will, binding her soul to him and manages to bring him back. Once she wakes up she finds him by his mother's coffin and he informs her that he had seen her parents, his mother, Hamish and Azriel and that they had fought against the dead trying to escape and held open the Veil in order to buy her time so she can succeed.

Tory calls Geraldine who informs her of the attack on Zodiac Academy so she and Darius rush there as well. Once they all reunite they manage to kill all the monsters with the help of a spell Tory had learned in the Book of Fire. After the battle ends everyone circles around the twins and Darius pushes his way to the front, kneeling before them and pledging his allegiance to them. After the others recover from their shock, the Heirs, Lance and everyone gathered follow his lead. That’s when the twins notice the Councilors with the rest of the rebel army has arrived as well and they also kneel before them.

The Imperial Star starts pulsing, alerting them that they can now wield it. Before they can do that the sky fills with bright lights and they come in contact with the Stars finally revealing the Broken Promise. The twins fulfill the Broken Promise, but Clydinius betrays them, creates two clones of them and traps them in a cavern without their powers.

## Appearance

### Fae Form

Tory Vega has dark brown hair to her waist, green eyes, full lips and tanned skin. She has a slim, hourglass figure that often drags attention. She is always fit and toned because she likes to run and train daily. In Ruthless Fae, she’s said to be pushing 6’0 while wearing four inch heels, which sets her to be around 5’8. She is throughout the books described as hot and beautiful.

She is identical to her twin, apart from Darcy’s blue hair, and they are often mistaken for one another.

At the end of Shadow Princess, when Tory rejects Darius as her mate, she receives a black ring around her iris marking her as Starcrossed. It gets removed at the end of Fated Throne, when Darius makes a deal with the stars to change fate.

During Fated Throne, Tory gets a tattoo on her thigh with the Gemini and Leo constellations in a geometric design of the pattern of the moon and stars the night of their Divine Moment with the words “There is only him”, to match Darius' tattoo "There is only her".

At the end of Cursed Fates, Lionel marks Tory as his Guardian and she receives an Aries mark in the crook of her arm. When Darius makes the deal to change fate, this bond is broken and the mark disappears.

After Darius' death, Tory makes a vow to the stars cutting her palm, and decides to leave the scar instead of healing it.

### Order Form

In her Phoenix form flames engulf her body, and she has wings with flaming red feathers. Her hair becomes a living mass of deep orange and red flames. And the fire casts skin in flames, but her eyes in darkness. Tory describes Darcy as looking like an angel fallen to flames.

Tory is taught how to partially shift into he Order form and only bring out her wings by Gabriel. When she only has her wings, she occasionally extinguishes the flames, leaving just bronze wings.

## Personality

Tory is very sarcastic and can come across as bitchy. But she has a soft spot towards her friends and her sister. She likes to joke with her friends and while she prefers not to be the center of attention, she is not afraid of it.

Tory is very strong-minded and difficult to sway. When she has something in mind, there is nothing that can change it. She does not forgive people easily, and often plots revenge against those who have wronged her, her sister, or her friends. Tory speaks openly and does not hold back. Tory is very prideful and stubborn. Because of this, she does not bow to anyone, or lets anyone talk down on her. Tory can be hard working then she wants to be. She is incredibly determined, and will always see a plan through.

Tory uses sex to avoid her problems and fears, and as a means to have people close, but not let them in.

## Relationships

### Family

#### Darcy Vega

Darcy is Tory's twin sister. They have a very strong bond because of their rough childhood, as they only ever had each other growing up. They are used to sharing a bed, and sometimes they’ll sleep in the same bed for comfort from each other. Tory considers Darcy her other half and the most imporant person in her life. They often joke with each other and share each other’s clothes as they have similar styles. They are confirmed Nebula Allies, and rarely fight with each other. Tory often took care of Darcy growing up, stealing bikes to get them money. She keeps trying to protect Darcy throughout their time in the Fae Realm, although this often annoys Darcy.

#### King Hail Vega

Tory never met her father and didn't even know he existed for most of her life. After she arrived in Solaria and learned the truth about her parentage, she was told Hail Vega was a cruel and bad man and ruled over Solaria with an iron fist and no mercy, which earned him the nickname The Savage King. When the twins visit the Palace of Souls, they found out the truth. Their father wasn't the bad man people perceived him to be and many of the cruel atrocities he committed over the years were a result of Lionel Acrux using Dark Coercion on him. After recieving the visions, Tory starts thinking more fondly of him.

#### Queen Merissa Vega

She never met her mother and only found out about her when she returned to Solaria. She doesn't know how to feel towards her parents as she has spent her whole life hating them for abandoning her and her sister. But as she’s shown visions from her mother's life throughout the series, she starts to see that her parents didn't abandon her like she thought but loved her and her sister dearly. It's through one of her mother's visions she finds out Gabriel is her half-brother.

#### Gabriel Nox

Tory meets Gabriel in Shadow Princess, when he gets a vision where he meets her and Darcy. The twins instantly feel a connection towards Gabriel, and he confirms he *saw* they are Nebulla Allies. He gives Tory and Darcy private Order Enhancement classes where he teaches them how to fly and to partially shift so they only get their wings out and are able to disguise as Fire Harpies. They quickly develop a strong connection with each other. In Cursed Fates, the twins and Gabriel visit The Palace of Souls and get a vision from Merissa Vega that tells them he's her son, meaning he's Tory's half-brother. They love each other dearly, and he helps her countless of times with his visions.

### Romantic

#### Caleb Altair

Caleb and Tory first come together when he decides to make her his Source. As Caleb proceeds to keep finding her and drinking from her, their relationship adjusts and also becomes more sexual, and they start to play a game invoking the predator nature of his Order, where he hunts her to bite her. Caleb is very attracted to Tory and tries to get more serious with her many times, but struggles as he has to side with the other Heirs each time they to try to get the Vegas to leave the school. When Tory asks him if he sees her as a long-time relationship, he denies it, as a Celestial Councillor couldn't ever marry a Vega without him renouncing his claim, and so Tory rejects his intents to get more serious. He takes her out a couple of times, and while they have fun at the Fair, when he tries to take her out on a date, it goes horribly, as their tastes don't match at all and he doesn't seem to know what she likes. They officially stop their romantic relationship once he finds out she's Darius' Elysian Mate. He also stops claiming her as his Source and vows to never feed from her again when a hunt game goes wrong and he accidentally breaks her spine, making him feel incredibly guilty. After Darius' death, Caleb becomes a great friend to Tory, taking care of her and helping her on her mission to bring him back.

#### Darius Acrux

Tory and Darius feel an instant connection and attraction from the moment they first see each other, but they both have to act against it as he is the Fire Heir to the Celestial Council, and his father forces him to get Tory and her sister to leave the school. Darius bullies Tory the most out of all The Heirs, and they hit rock bottom when he and Max almost drown her in a pool. While they have several moments of sexual tension and where they seem to get along and find out they have a lot in common, they always go back to bite and hate at each other. After Darius and Tory end up having sex in Shadow Princess, she refuses to accept her feelings and tells him it was just meaningless hate sex, and he decides he rather have her hate him than not even look at him, keeping up their hateful relationship. They have their Divine Moment in that same book, and when Darius realizes she's his Elysian Mate, finally confesses his feelings for her, apologizes and promises to make it up to her, but Tory is not able to forgive or trust him, as she thinks he's only apologizing now because she's the woman the stars chose for him, and not because he's truly sorry. After Tory rejects him and they become Starcrossed, they both feel awful and keep pining for each other because of the bond. Darius eventually decides he's gonna fight for her anyway, and they start to develop a relationship, although they can never be alone as the stars won't let them. Tory fully forgives him during Cursed Fates and they decide to fight fate and the stars and be together anyway. Darius breaks the bond at the end of Fated Throne, when he makes a deal with the stars to save Tory and Darcy's lives, and gets only a year to live and love Tory like she deserves before he dies in their place. After being happily in a relationship for 11 months, Darius reveals the truth to her and they decide to get married. When he dies by Lionel's hands later that day, Tory curses the stars and swears to bring him back. She manages to do so at the end of Sorrow and Starlight, tearing through The Veil using Ether magic and binding her heart to his.

### Friends

#### Sofia Cygnus

Sofia was the first person to show Tory and Darcy kindness when they first arrived at Zodiac Academy, and is a member of House Ignis along with Tory. She serves as their walking encyclopedia on all things to do with the Fae Realm. She stays loyal to Tory and in her inner-circle throughout all the books.

#### Geraldine Grus

Geraldine is the founder of The A.S.S., a Loyalist and faithful server to the True Queens of Solaria. Tory tries to avoid Geraldine as much as possible when she first meets her, as she is highly obssessed with them and treats them with extreme adoration, making her uncomfortable. But when Geraldine suffers from a Nymph attack after she went looking for her and Darcy while they were avoiding her, she feels guilty and tries harder to be nice to her. She truly comes to appreciate Geraldine when she helps her get revenge on the Heirs during Ruthless Fae, and their friendship only gets stronger throughout the books. She is one of the people Tory trusts the most besides her siblings.

#### Tyler Corbin

Tyler is an Earth Elemental Pegasus who's in the same year as Tory. They become friends when they help each other out during their Hell Week as freshmen, and he constantly helps the twins with their public image in Solaria, getting his mom, a reporter for The Daily Solaria, to do favorable interviews to them and twist around the articles The Celestial Times puts out. After his mom is murdered by Lionel, he takes the job up himself. During Sorrow and Starlight, Tory mentions him as part of her inner-circle.

#### Diego Polaris

Diego is an Air Elemental who's in the same year as Tory. He quickly befriends the twins during their first Cardinal Magic class. While Tory considers Diego her friend, they aren't particularly close, as Tory seems to intimidate him with her strong character, and he is actually closer to Darcy. Diego acts a bit weird often, and Tory starts disliking him when he calls her a whore at the town Fair for going out with Caleb. She reluctantly forgives him after he apologizes, but their relationship is never the same, although she still helps him get through the Air test during The Reckoning. When Diego confesses his family is working with Lionel Acrux and shows the twins his hat is actually a magic hat that holds his grandma's soul in it and helps him see his family's memories through the shadows, Tory doesn't really trust him. At the end of Cursed Fates, Diego gets a memory of Darcy being kidnapped by Lionel, and Tory quicky goes with him to save her. The memory ended up being a trap by Diego's family, and he bravely dies in order to save Darcy from the Shadow Princess. Tory mourns his death, even after they find out he was actually a Nymph, although when she learns from his soul hat in Heartless Sky that he tried to capture her more than once before he turned on his family, she has mixed feelings about him.

#### Max Rigel

As the Celestial Water Heir, Max takes on seriously the task of getting the Vega twins out of the school, and heavily bullies them throughout their first months at Zodiac. He often uses his Siren powers on her. He got Tory to tell him her greatest fear, and he replicated it with Darius, almost drowning Tory in a pool. After his Siren Song-Spell forces him to kiss Tory and she finds out he is secretly a bastard, she promises to keep it, but he has to stop using his powers on her and Darcy. When Tory becomes Starcrossed with Darius, he starts being nicer to her, as he decides with the other Heirs and Orion to help find a way for them to be together. He becomes close to Tory during Fated Throne, after they manage to bring her back from the shadows, as Max helps her with his powers to fix the memories Lionel installed into her about Darius. He often sleeps with her since then, to help with her nightmares and taking on a lot of her dark emotions.

#### Seth Capella

As the Celestial Air Heir, Seth takes on seriously the task of getting the Vega twins out of the school, and heavily bullies them throughout their first months at Zodiac, although he is always more involved with Darcy rather than Tory. He even pees on Tory along with his wolfpack one time, something for which she holds a grudge for a long time. When Tory becomes Starcrossed with Darius, he starts being nicer to her, as he decides with the other Heirs and Orion to help find a way for them to be together. While they aren't particularly close, during Fated Throne Seth starts considering Tory part of his 'Real Pack', which involves The Heirs, Darcy and Geraldine. While she struggles with the shadows and Lionel's torture's effects, he often leaves her snacks around, although he usually steals them back before she can even eat them. This dynamic keeps going throughout the following books, where she hides all her snacks from him (because she really doesn't want him to find them) and he keeps stealing them, saying she actually enjoys it. During Sorrow and Starlight, Seth believes Tory is having sex with Caleb again after Darius' death, and as he is in love with Caleb, becomes a bit hostile towards Tory, although during the times that matter he shows he really cares for her.

#### Lance Orion

Their relationship begins as a teacher-student relationship, with them not really liking each other as Lance is Darius' Guardian and acts as an asshole professor to Tory, not wanting her to take the throne. However, he earns some respect from Tory after he saves her from drowning at the end of The Awakening. Lance is also always actively trying to protect Tory and Darcy from Lionel and the Nymphs, once he understands the girls are innocent and not at all like King Vega. They become closer during Shadow Princess, when Lance starts tutoring them in the use of the shadows and helps them hide their Order so Lionel won't hurt them again. They finally become friends after Tory finds out he's dating and in love with Darcy. When Tory becomes Star crossed with Darius, she has a chat with Lance and gifts him a friendship bracelet made of vines, which he keeps throughout the rest of the series. Their relationship consists mostly on drinking and being sarcastic together, although they often have deep conversations, and they share a deep love for Darcy, knowing they're both willing to do anything for her.

#### Milton Hubert

Milton is a Fire Elemental Minotaur who is in the same year as the Heirs. He starts the series as one of Darius' close friends, and during Tory's initiation he takes naked pictures of her and uploads them on Faebook. Tory attacks him by surprise for this and forces him to delete the pictures. After she burns down Darius' room and steals his treasure, Tory decides to make Darius believe it was Milton, placing traps for him by anonymously leaving him pieces of the treasure. She accomplishes it and Darius takes it out on Milton, forcing everyone in the school to start ignoring him. As Milton is completely alienated, Tory feels bad about what she did and decides to approach him, becoming his friend and inviting him to join The A.S.S.

## Quotes

“Everyone knows, karma’s a bitch. And today her name was Tory Vega.” - Tory Vega (Ruthless Fae)

“Fuck fate,” I snarled because it was time I owned what was going on between us. “No one gets to pick my future for me. I choose what I want and I want you.” - Tory Vega (Cursed Fates)

“Where I’m from I found out the hard way that this life will throw all kinds of crap at you, but the one thing you don’t have to accept is other people’s bullshit.” - Tory Vega (The Awakening)

## Gallery

by jemlin\_cby adamszkiartby emilia.mildnerby jessdraw.sby moondraw\_sby jessdraw.sby rachel\_art.fantasyDarcy and Toryby domesticartcreature\_by zodiac.academy.artby bookishdanidazeTory and Darcy with Phoenix wingsPhoenix Order