I pulled my knees to my chest, still staring at the sky. “I’ve fought them for the last three years, not that I was given a choice. Once my designation manifested, I was thrown into the fray and expected to be an expert. In reality I should have died like a million times already. They’re evolving, finding new ways through the barriers.”
“Which is why the Assembly wants you with us,” he said matter-of-factly. “The Nightfall Shield has the highest success rate against the bane.”
“And you? What do you want?”
Draco was quiet for a long few moments. “I want to understand. The histories say the Ophis and Scorpio designations were closely aligned before the Crossing. Some texts suggest they were two branches of the same ancestral line. I know your designation is all mysterious and mythical, but I think we might be more alike than we realize.”
I nodded, not altogether disagreeing with that. I lived most of my life expecting to be a Scorpio. “Is that why you brought me here? Professional curiosity?”
“Your shield seems to loathe me,” I muttered, glancing at Draco.
He shrugged. “It’s not that. They don’t know you enough to loathe you. Percy and Aiden have it worse than Eris and I. Their fathers are high ranking zodiacs from prominent shields, and they have a lot of influence. They expect perfection from their sons, and anything less than that is unacceptable. Percy thinks his father is going to try and force a bond between us unless we choose an axis before term end.”
“They sound like assholes.” I twisted my fingers in agitation, deciding not to tell him that like their fathers, the Assembly was trying to push me on them as well.
“They are. All they give a shit about is prestige and bragging rights. Percy is just worried about what this means for our future.”
“And you don’t share his concerns?”
He met my eyes. “I share some of them. But I also recognize opportunity when I see it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I never even saidI wantedto be anyone’s axis. The Assembly expects it, I know, and it would be smart given the fact that Ophis magic is so volatile, but…”
“But you feel like your choice is being taken away from you,” he guessed correctly.
I nodded. “Since the day I manifested.”
“Tell me about your snake,” Draco said, changing the subject. “Noodle, was it?”
I laughed. “Yes, Noodle. He showed up the day after my designation manifested. Just appeared in my bedroom. He won’t admit it but I think he escaped from the zoo.”
“Familiar bonds are rare. Especially with venomous creatures.”
“He claims he chose me,” I said, then froze, realizing what I’d revealed.
Draco’s eyes sharpened with interest. “Youcancommunicate with him. I thought so.”
I hesitated, then nodded. “With all serpents, actually. It’s part of the Ophis magic.”
“Fascinating… The texts mentioned that ability, but I wasn’t sure if it was literal or metaphorical.”
“Veryliteral. Noodle has opinions about everything.”
Draco actually smiled then. “I’d like to hear more about that sometime.”
I realized he was one of the best looking men I’d ever seen. There was something almost elven about both him and Aiden. Pretty in a masculine way if that made any sense.
The sky had shifted above us, stars moving in their slow dance across the heavens. It must have been well past midnight. The hours just slipped away.
“I should go,” I said reluctantly. “It’s late.”
“One more thing before you do,” Draco said, rising and crossing to one of the bookshelves. He returned with a slender volume bound in faded leather. “This might interest you. It’s a firsthand account from a Scorpio who knew the last Ophis leader.”
I took the book carefully. “Why are you helping me?”
“I make my own judgments.” He paused. “And despite what Percy might think, I believe understanding your designation is in everyone’s best interest.”
As we walked back down through the quiet corridors of Dominion, a comfortable silence between us, I realized something. Maybe I’d judged him too harshly. Maybe the thought of one day bonding with a man like him might not be the worst thing in the whole world.
