Near the beginning of Zodiac Academy #5 ~ Cursed Fates, the authorities discover Orion’s affair with Darcy and he is put on trial. Without Darcy’s consent, Orion makes a statement in which he claims it was all his fault and he manipulated a vulnerable young woman to rise in society. He is give ten years for the sexual relationship and fifteen for the black coercion. He will be out when he is 51 years old (he is currently 26.)
The fact that Orion is no longer around has enormous repercussions. Darcy, already hurting from being dumped by an ex-boyfriend in Chicago, then Seth’s similar treatment of her is completely devastated. She doesn’t understand why Orion is lying, especially as they had promised always to be together, and it is especially devastating as they haven’t even had time to say ‘goodbye.’ Of course, the reason why Orion is lying is because if he told the truth Darcy’s reputation would be tainted forever. This way, people will have at least a little sympathy for her, and she will be able to move on.
The other big fallout from Orion’s imprisonment is that he’s no longer around to help Darius prepare to kill his father, or to teach dark magic to the heirs and the Vega twins.
So with Orion locked up early on in this volume, what happens to everyone else?
Like many other readers, I thought this novel could have done with a good prune. It is long (26 hours and 17 minutes) and really all that happens is that Tory finally admits to herself that she loves Darius, and Max Rigel starts to pursue Geraldine Grus, who at this point in the story, is busily ignoring him.
Of course, the end of the novel is packed with action. Darius is forced to take up arms against his father and…
But I am not going to say any more so as not to spoil this volume for those of you who haven’t read it. Five stars for world-building, 1 for a too-long novel in which there was little character development, making this three stars.
