“That’s... ambitious,” Hector finally said.
“They hate me. And I’m not particularly fond of them either.”
“But you have to admit,” Lydia said carefully, “the power potential would be unprecedented.”
She wasn’t wrong. The Nightfall Shield was already one of the most formidable teams ever assembled at Dominion. Adding an Ophis as their axis would create something... terrifying.
“Power isn’t everything,” I said, pushing my plate away.
“It kind of is,” Tye muttered.
I spentthe rest of the day in the library, diving deeper into the ancient texts. The more I read about my designation’s abilities, the more questions I had. There were references to powers I hadn’t even begun to access. I looked up more information about “darkrending” that sounded similar to my portal manipulation but way more dangerous.
The texts also mentioned that Ophis magic runs the risk of being overused, causing the zodiac to be consumed by their own magic, literally burning out from the inside. That explainedthe Assembly’s insistence on finding me a shield. An axis bond would stabilize my powers, preventing them from overwhelming me.
I hated that Percy was right.
I was so absorbed in my reading that I didn’t notice the sun setting. When I finally looked up, the library was nearly empty, and my stomach was growling again.
As I gathered my books to check out, I sensed someone watching me. I turned to find Draco standing a few shelves away, a book in his hands.
“Research?” he asked, nodding toward my stack of ancient texts.
“Just trying to understand what I am,” I replied honestly.
He approached slowly, scanning the titles. “Those are from the restricted section.”
“I have clearance.”
“Of course you do.”
I studied him curiously. “Are you following me?”
“No,” he said, holding up his book, a dense volume on advanced Scorpio techniques. “Just doing my own research.”
“Right.”
We stood in awkward silence for a moment.
“You performed well today,” he finally said. “Better than expected. Percy’s still fuming about it.”
“Was that a compliment?”
A hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “I am capable of individual thought, you know.”
I tilted my head, running my eyes over him. “You’re different from the others.”
“How so?”
“Less hostile for one thing.”
He considered this. “I prefer to make my own judgments based on evidence.”
“And what evidence have you gathered so far?”
“That you’re powerful, but untrained. Skilled, but reckless. You’re nervous, but determined to show everyone that you can handle the pressure of your designation. And you’re hiding more than you’re showing.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Quite the assessment from a few minutes of combat.”
