Sorrow and Starlight: Zodiac Academy 8

Sorrow and Starlight (2022) is the eighth novel in the romantic fantasy Zodiac Academy series, written by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. Following the battle in Heartless Sky (2021), the Vega twins are separated and left to deal with their own grief and loss. Tory, mourning the death of her mate, Darius Acrux, embarks on a perilous journey that leads her to confront the boundaries between life and death. Meanwhile, Darcy is imprisoned alongside her lover, Lance Orion. She must break free to aid the rebellion against the tyrannical Lionel Acrux and fight the dark curse that threatens to consume her.

This guide refers to the e-book edition self-published on Amazon in 2022.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, sexual violence, graphic violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, bullying, antigay bias, suicidal ideation and self-harm, sexual content, substance use, and cursing.

Plot Summary

In the aftermath of the battle at the end of Heartless Sky, Gwendalina “Darcy” Vega struggles with the curse placed on her by the Shadow Princess, Lavinia Umbra. The curse keeps Darcy in the form of the Shadow Beast—an enormous, terrifying monster whose destructive impulses she struggles to control. She flees to the mountains, where she discovers that her magic is gone. While trying to cleanse herself, she receives a vision of her deceased parents, who urge her to embrace the darkness within her and trust herself. Meanwhile, her twin sister, Roxanya “Tory” Vega, grieves the loss of her lover, Darius Acrux, and swears to make the stars pay for taking him from her. She finds the surviving rebels—those who seek to overthrow the tyrannical rule of Lavinia and Lionel Acrux—and rallies them before rescuing the missing Heirs—descendants of the Celestial Councillors who ruled Solaria before Lionel’s coup. She and Geraldine storm Acrux Manor and rescue the trio and their families.

Elsewhere, Lavinia and Lionel torture Darcy’s lover, Lance Orion, and Zodiac Academy professor Gabriel Nox in the Palace of Souls. Lavinia soon summons Darcy, using the curse to force her to comply. When Darcy and Orion reunite, Orion reveals that he made a Death bond with Lavinia to free Darcy from her curse and that he must stay for the allotted time. He also confirms that Darcy’s Fae magic still exists, though weakened.

Tory’s clash with the ex-Councillors in the rebel camp is interrupted by the news that Gabriel was captured by Lionel, who will try to use Gabriel’s prophecies to find them. After fending off an attack by Nymphs who serve Lionel and Lavinia, the rebels use their magic to break off a massive section of land, creating a floating island they name the Rebels’ Undying Mighty Province (R.U.M.P.). As they establish their floating stronghold, Tory sets out with Caleb to find the Library of the Lost to save Darcy. They convince the librarians to give them access and are guided to a labyrinth containing forbidden knowledge. There, they find four elemental tomes and a fifth black book labeled “Ether,” which contains the forbidden magic they seek. However, their intrusion triggers the arrival of the library’s monstrous guardians, who force the pair to fight their way out with the books. Back at R.U.M.P., Tory obsessively studies the Book of Ether and experiments with its dark magic to locate Darcy. The ritual nearly kills her, but Tory confirms that Darcy and Orion are Lionel’s prisoners.

At the Palace of Souls, Orion’s estranged mother, Stella, heals him after another round of torture. Once she leaves, a hidden passageway opens, leading Darcy and Orion to the royal treasury. Darcy finds an artifact that shows her a vision of the curse of the Vega line, which will continue until she and her sister fix their Order’s broken promise. When Darcy is later forced by Lavinia to hunt down escaped Fae, she rescues one trapped in the form of a mouse. He tells her and Orion about Lionel’s grotesque experiments to fuse Fae powers for his army. A spy, Francesca, infiltrates the palace to gather evidence against Lionel but is caught and killed. Her final act is to ensure that Orion and Darcy receive her ring, which contains proof of Lionel’s crimes.

Tory, Geraldine, the Celestial Heirs, and Xavier also infiltrate the Palace of Souls, aiming to rescue their allies and assassinate Lionel. The team splits up, with Tory leading the search for Darcy and Orion; Xavier and Max rescuing the other prisoners; and Seth, Caleb, and Geraldine looking for Gabriel. The latter group stumbles across Lavinia, who has given birth to her and Lionel’s monstrous “heir,” Tharix. Meanwhile, Tory finds Darcy and Orion; Orion can’t leave, and when Darcy insists on staying as well, Orion knocks Darcy unconscious so that Tory can take her. Instead, however, Darcy shifts into the Shadow Beast form and attacks her sister, leaving her critically wounded. Caleb and Seth rush in and restrain Darcy to save an unconscious Tory. Geraldine is entrusted with getting her back to their base for healing, while Caleb and Seth search for Max and Xavier.

After freeing the prisoners, Xavier and Max find Gabriel in the amphitheater; before being dragged away, he warns them to run. Lionel attacks with his army of Bonded Dragons and ignites the amphitheater, forcing a retreat. While fleeing through the palace, they reunite with Caleb and Seth, and the four barely manage to teleport away.

Back at R.U.M.P., the remaining rebels attempt to recover from the defeat. Seth gives Francesca’s ring to Xavier and his partners to expose Lionel’s crimes in The Daily Solaria. Tory recovers and returns to the Book of Ether; after discovering a possible way to bring Darius back, she leaves to go to the Damned Forest. There, she faces visions of herself and her father; the visions try to stop her by reminding her of her insecurities. She defeats them both and then tears a hole through the final barrier between life and death. On the other side, she reunites with Darius, who has refused to move on in favor of watching over her and their friends. When he tells her that he can’t go back with her, she carves a rune from the Book of Ether into his chest and binds their lives together, warping the very laws of the universe and forcing his soul back into the land of the living.

In the Palace of Souls, Stella sacrifices herself to end her son’s Death bond and free Darcy from her curse. Darcy fights the now-separate Shadow Beast while Orion fends off Tharix. When Darcy defeats the beast and regains her magic, she recognizes that it is a victim of Lavinia and chooses to heal it, earning its loyalty. They reunite with Orion and, along with Gabriel, fight their way out of the palace and escape.

At R.U.M.P., Xavier stumbles upon a livestream from Zodiac Academy, showing the students under siege by Lionel’s monsters. The rebels rally to defend the school. Darcy, Orion, and Gabriel receive a vision and teleport to the battle, followed by Tory and Darius, who also rush to join. Upon reuniting, the sisters take to the skies and combine their Phoenix powers in an explosion that obliterates their enemies. The academy’s students and faculty kneel in allegiance to them, but before they can celebrate, the twins are pulled from the physical world by the stars, who reveal the truth of the curse on their family: Their ancestors made a pact with a fallen star, Clydinius, in return for power. Until his heart is returned, the curse will only grow stronger. Tory and Darcy return it with the intention of killing him and breaking the curse for good, but he gets the upper hand. He physically manifests as copies of them and vanishes, leaving the sisters trapped and drained of their magic.