Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

Dressed as a man, Tory hot-wires a stranger’s limited-edition motorcycle and brings it to Joey’s shop. Joey belongs to a bike gang and purchases stolen bikes from Tory. Given how limited this latest bike is, Joey lowballs Tory. Rather than the $300,000 minimum she expects, they agree on a measly $800, much to Tory’s displeasure.

Tory changes into her clubbing clothes and goes upstairs to Joey’s public bar. While grabbing a drink, Tory is approached by a tall man who seems too polished for a rugged biker bar. He attempts to speak with her, but she shrugs him off and exits the bar. After catching a ride home with a young biker named Matt, Tory is confronted by the same polished man from the bar.

The man tells her to stop, and she momentarily does, despite every instinct screaming at her to run. She regains her faculties and sprints into her apartment. He catches her outside the door and introduces himself as Professor Orion. He orders her not to scream and to let him in. Tory outwardly obeys the orders while her mind screams to do the opposite.

Darcy is on the couch in her pajamas and watching Breaking Bad when Tory and the stranger enter the apartment. When he speaks, Darcy recognizes his voice as the man who gave the police officer the order to let her go earlier that evening. Professor Orion hands over the $2,000 she dropped in the mud, claiming to have been looking for them both all day. He has the ability of Coercion, which encourages others to obey his verbal demands. He reveals that since they turned 18, they’ve been giving off a signature that his kind can detect.

The twins are Elemental Fae and contain un-awakened powers defined by the zodiacs. They are Geminis—an air sign—and belong in Solaria, “a mirror world of earth where Fae rule” (34). He presents paper evidence of the twins’ past. Their parents died in a house fire when they were infants, but they were found unharmed and placed into foster care. Orion claims that the couple who died in the fire were not their biological parents but unsuspecting humans whose real children were swapped with two Changelings—Tory and Darcy.

When Orion claims that their real parents were the wealthiest family in Solaria, they accept his offer to enroll in the Zodiac Academy. Upon graduating from the Academy, they will receive their full inheritance. During their term, they will receive free room and board, as well as monthly stipends. As they pack, Orion reveals that their parents were very powerful and that they’ll have one, or perhaps two, Elemental abilities. He blows a black powder that he calls stardust in their faces, which teleports them to the Academy.

They join a circle of 200 students linking hands while Professor Zenith of the Astrology department introduces herself and begins an incantation to Awaken their Elements. Tory and Darcy feel rain on their faces, and when Zenith asks the class to raise their arms if they feel rain, the twins’ hands join many others. Zenith says that they all share the Element of water ability that she possesses. Though it’s uncommon to possess more than one Elemental ability, Tory and Darcy feel every Element—wind in their hair, grass curling up and around their arms, and a ring of fire surrounding them. The class is shocked, and some students are resentful. Zenith tasks their head of year, Orion, with bringing them to The Orb, where they will join their Elemental house. Those with more than one ability will have to choose.

On the journey to The Orb, a short blonde with a pixie cut named Sofia introduces herself to Tory and Darcy and offers to be their guide at the Academy. In The Orb, Tory’s sees four powerful men seated on a curved, red couch. Her perusal of the space is interrupted by Principal Nova’s arrival. She speaks with Tory and Darcy, revealing that they are the lost Vega twins whose “every move will be watched and assessed as [the Fae] all clamor to find out if [they] can truly reclaim the throne” (51). The twins are surprised to discover that their parents were the last King and Queen of Solaria and that they are joint Heirs to the throne. Since the demise of their birth parents, the four Celestial families have shared the throne equally. The twins will have to master their abilities and graduate from the Academy if they wish to reclaim their throne.

The four young men on the red couch are introduced as the Celestial Heirs—Max Rigel, Caleb Altair, Darius Acrux, and Seth Capella. Clearly threatened by Tory and Darcy’s presence, they decide to prove that the girls are unprepared to handle Zodiac Academy. Darcy is held back by Max while Caleb pins Tory against a wall and bites her neck, drawing both blood and power out of her.

Darcy fights back against Max, blasting him away with her air ability. A brunette girl, along with other supporters, help Darcy and Tory when the Celestial Heirs make a second move on the twins. When the time comes to choose their Elemental houses, Principal Nova forces Darcy and Tory to separate to avoid a power imbalance. Tory chooses House Ignis, designated for fire focus and led by Darius Acrux. Darcy chooses House Aer, designated for air focus and led by Seth Capella. Caleb Altair leads the earth house, House Terra, and Max Rigel leads the water house, House Aqua.

Though Darcy believes that she’s chosen the safest house, she is quickly drawn into an unpleasant initiation. She and the other pledges are blindfolded and taken to the tower roof of House Aer. They’re told to jump on the count of three and allow the air to catch them; if they don’t, they will not be inducted. Darcy jumps on the count of three, only to land on a step a foot below. When she pulls off her blindfold, she finds everyone, including all the pledges, laughing at her.

Seth shows his darker side and declares that he will not let Darcy and Tory take the throne that’s belonged to the sons of the Celestial Council for 20 years. He drags her to a balcony and places her on the ledge. When she begs to be let down, he claims that he’ll only allow it if she cuts off all her hair. Realizing that this is a trap meant to publicly ridicule and demean, Darcy chooses to jump off the balcony. She feels her power surge just in time to catch her and lands safely on the ground.