The Awakening (2019) is the first installment in the fantasy-romance Zodiac Academy series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. Set in a Fae-centric world with a magic system based on the zodiac, the series follows twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega, who are brought to the Fae world of Solaria upon discovering that they are the lost Heirs to the throne. Threatened by the reemergence of the royal bloodline, the four Celestial Heirs—Max Rigel, Sam Capella, Caleb Altair, and Darius Acrux—make it their mission to bully the twins into abandoning the Academy and forfeiting their right to the throne. Despite having no interest in the throne, Tory and Darcy are set on securing their financial inheritance and mastering their magical abilities over all four Elements. However, the twins quickly learn that their enemies are plentiful—from the suspicious Professor Orion to the infamous Nymphs who drain Fae of their power to use for themselves.

This guide refers to the e-book edition self-published on Amazon in 2019.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of bullying and sexual harassment.

Plot Summary

Twins Gwendalina “Darcy” and Roxanya “Tory” Vega adjust after a harsh upbringing in foster care. To secure funds for their tiny Chicago apartment, Darcy sneaks into the house of their former foster father, Pete, to reclaim the $2,000 she and her sister saved. She is interrupted by the police, and though she drops the money, she escapes during a distraction provided by a mysterious man.

After hearing of the misplaced funds, Tory steals an expensive superbike and sells it at a reduced price to one of her biker contacts. She is followed home by the same mysterious man who intercepted Darcy. The man—Professor Orion—uses an ability called Coercion to compel Tory to let him inside the twins’ apartment. There, he reveals that they are both Fae and the long-lost Heirs to the Solarian throne. He magically teleports them to Zodiac Academy, where, if they are able to pass The Reckoning at the end of their schooling, they will receive not only a sizable inheritance but also a chance to reclaim their throne.

At Zodiac Academy, the twins are greeted with mixed reactions. The Awakening ceremony to bring forth their powers reveals that they have the rare control over all four Elements. While there is an obsessive fan club devoted to the royal bloodline, most students dislike them, including the Celestial Heirs, a group of four young men—Max, Caleb, Darius, and Seth—who will assume the throne in the absence of a royal family. Though Tory and Darcy make two genuine friends, Sofia and Diego, their day-to-day life at the Academy is rife with pranks from classmates and brutal bullying from the Celestial Heirs.

Darcy’s initiation into House Aer places her in the direct firing line of Seth’s ire, while Tory’s initiation into House Ignis places her in Darius’s predatory sights. Their continued susceptibility to Coercion—which allows students to put the twins in various dangerous situations against their will—prompts Darcy and Tory to realize that they need tutoring to survive the cutthroat academy. Darcy and Tory receive guidance from teachers and peers. Darcy receives instruction from Professor Orion, and Tory is forced into magic sessions with the uncooperative Darius.

The twins learn that Fae belong to one of three Orders. The Taenia Order includes beings such as Vampires and Sirens; the Mutatio Order contains shapeshifters such as Werewolves, Dragons, and Pegasi; and the Devisus Order contains hybrids such as Minotaurs, Medusas, and Chimeras. Each Order recharges their magic stores differently. Darcy and Tory are tasked with attending Enhancement classes to determine what Order they belong to.

As their schooling continues, the girls learn that their own parents, the King and Queen, were murdered by Nymphs, the primary enemy of Fae. Nymphs have no inherent Elemental power and use their ability with shadows to steal magic from Fae using long, knife-like fingernails that they stab into their victims’ hearts. The Nymphs are murdering many families for their powers. Darcy and Tory begin receiving mysterious messages from “Falling Star,” an informant who claims to be an ally and warns them against trusting Orion or Darius. Tory’s spying reveals that Orion and Darius are conspiring to kill a mysterious “them” soon. She believes that they are talking about her and Darcy.

During a night out at a nearby town called Tecana, Darcy notices Orion at the bar with a woman friend. When ordering drinks, she hears them devising a plan to kill a mysterious “them.” Darcy thinks that Orion is speaking about her and Tory, but when he corners her in the bathroom and asks what she overheard, he brushes her theory aside and warns her to go back to campus. Instead of heeding his warning, Darcy returns to her table with Tory, Sofia, and Diego. Sofia becomes drunk, and Diego offers to drive her back to campus. Tory is messaged by Falling Star, asking the twins to meet behind the bar. When they arrive, the alley is empty. They receive another message claiming that it’s unsafe, and they flee, barely escaping a rattling shadow figure that somehow renders their magic null.

After making it to safety, the girls cross paths with the Celestial Heirs, who offer a truce for the night. They go dancing at a club and become intimate with each other, but the night is interrupted when a student is attacked by a Nymph and saved by Professor Orion. As Zodiac Academy students are loaded onto a bus, the girls notice that all the Celestial Heirs are present except Darius.

Seth and Caleb begin to show more genuine interest in Darcy and Tory, which lowers their defenses. Tory hooks up with Caleb, and Darcy begins to believe that Seth has real feelings for her when he asks her to the upcoming dance. Tory learns that Darius is a Dragon shifter. During a Siren lesson, Max practices his Siren abilities on the twins by asking them to share their biggest fears. He feeds on their emotions as Tory divulges a fear of drowning after an accident with her ex-boyfriend, and Darcy admits to a fear of abandonment after her ex-boyfriend left her following sex. Darcy dyed the tips of her hair blue as a symbol of the emotional bruises the experience left on her.

At the dance, the twins receive a message from Falling Star asking to meet in Venus Library. They discover that their ally is Professor Astrum, a friend of their deceased birth mother who reads tarot cards to divine the future. He believes that Fae conspired with the Nymphs, teaching them how to master the Fae magic they stole to murder the King and Queen. He suspects that Lord Acrux is involved, as well as his son, Darius, and Professor Orion. Their meeting ends early when they believe someone is eavesdropping.

After returning to the dance, Darcy dances with Seth and then leaves for fresh air. She is greeted outside by Orion, who warns her away from Seth. She instead kisses Seth on a bench. Seth takes advantage of her trust and vulnerability, cutting off her hair for his amusement. He leaves, and Orion returns to comfort Darcy. Meanwhile, Tory leaves the dance in search of Darcy. She’s confronted outside by Darius, who gives her one last chance to leave the Academy. When she declines the offer, he uses Coercion to render her helpless before leading her to the Lunar building, where he forces her to jump into the deep end of the pool to face her own fear in front of a mass of students and the other Celestial Heirs.

The Celestial Heirs use their magic to hold her under and cover the surface with impenetrable ice until Tory becomes unconscious. She’s saved by Orion and Darcy, who heard her scream just before she hit the water. Orion saves Tory from drowning and administers detention to everyone involved. Commotion from outside interrupts them. They all exit the building to discover that Professor Astrum has been murdered. Tory feels a tingling sensation, and when she draws near, a magically preserved tarot card flies from his hand to hers. It is the Death card: A message on the back warns that the Shadow has discovered him, that the answers she seeks are hidden between Leo and Libra, and that they must not trust the flames.