The bane darted between us, impossibly fast, its multiple limbs lashing out in all directions. It caught Eris with a glancing blow that sent him skidding across the stone floor. Aiden moved in, his golden blades slicing through the creature’s arm—or trying to. The bane’s form shifted at the last moment, becoming less solid, and the blade passed through with only minimal resistance.
“You have to disrupt its energy pattern!” I said, and thrust my light-spear directly into the center of the bane’s mass.
The creature convulsed, its form rippling violently as my starlight energy tore through its dark matter composition. It let out another metal-tearing screech, this one higher and more desperate. Its limbs flailed wildly, one of them catching me across the chest and sending me flying backward.
I hit the wall hard, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs. Stars danced in my vision—the regular kind, not the magical kind—and I struggled to regain my footing as the bane rounded on me again.
But before it could reach me, a flash of white-silver intercepted it. Draco had moved between us, his Scorpio magicflooding the cave with violet light. The bane recoiled again and shrieked.
“Jupiter, now!” Draco shouted.
I didn’t hesitate. Channeling everything I had left, I formed my starlight into a net and cast it over the bane. The creature thrashed and twisted, trying to escape, but the light held it fast, constricting tighter with each movement.
Percy and Aiden moved in from opposite sides, their magic joining mine and Draco’s, creating a containment field of four different energies. The bane’s struggles grew weaker as its dark matter form was overwhelmed by our combined light.
With a final, pitiful wail, it collapsed in on itself, shrinking to a small, dense ball of darkness that pulsed feebly within our magical prison.
“Holy shit,” Eris said again, limping over to join us.
I released my magic slowly, letting the starlight fade as the bane’s energy signature diminished to almost nothing. My knees felt weak, and I leaned heavily on my staff to stay upright. Using that much magic in one burst was draining, especially after days of classes and training.
“You okay?” Draco asked quietly, appearing at my side. “These fuckers get strong sometimes when they’ve been down here long enough.”
I nodded. “Thanks,” I managed to say, trying to catch my breath. “That was a bigger one than I expected for a training exercise.”
Percy approached, his red magic receding back into his skin. “Everyone good?” His eyes lingered on me longer than the others, but his brows were dipped into a deep frown. Sometimes it was hard to tell if that man was pissed off or if that was just his face.
“I’m fine,” I insisted, straightening up despite the ache in my back where I’d hit the wall.
Aiden rolled his shoulders. “That wasn’t so bad all things?—“
A shadow dropped from above, a blur of writhing limbs and gaping darkness. None of us had checked the fucking ceiling.
“Aiden!” I screamed as the second bane descended directly above him.
He looked up too late, golden eyes widening as the creature—twice the size of the first one—plummeted toward him. His blades came up instinctively, but I knew they wouldn’t be enough.
I didn’t think. I just moved.
My magic erupted from me like a supernova, white-hot starlight flooding through my veins so fast it burned. I threw myself forward, channeling everything I had into a shield of pure celestial energy that slammed into the bane mid-fall.
The creature shrieked as my magic tore through it, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. The power kept flowing, more than I’d ever channeled before. It was too much, too fast, but the bane was still moving, still reaching for Aiden with those elongated fingers that would drain his soul in seconds.
“Jupiter, enough!” someone shouted—Percy, maybe Draco—but their voices seemed distant against the roar in my ears.
White light filled my vision as I pushed harder, feeling my magic begin to fracture my control. The bane’s form disintegrated, dark matter particles scattering like ashes, but my magic wouldn’t stop flowing. It turned inward, seeking escape, burning through my own defenses.
The pain hit like lightning. Every nerve ending ignited at once as fissures of starlight cracked across my skin, splitting me open from the inside. I screamed, collapsing to my knees as my magic continued to pour out unchecked.
“Jupiter!” Multiple voices now, panicked. Hands reached for me, but recoiled as my magic lashed out, starlight whipping around me in protective tendrils.
I couldn’t see through the blinding light. Couldn’t hear past my own screams. My body arched backward as another wave of agony tore through me, the fissures in my skin widening, revealing the cosmos burning inside me.
“We have to get her out of here!” That was Percy’s voice.
“Don’t fucking touch her,” Draco warned. “The magic will burn right through you.”
“She’s burning through herself!” Aiden shouted back. “We can’t just?—“
