And there, forming a protective semi-circle on the other side of my bed, stood the Nightfall Shield. All four of them looked like they hadn’t slept, their faces drawn with exhaustion. Every single one of them looked pissed off.
“Ms. Black,” Director Waverly said, her voice carefully calm. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I got hit by a semi truck,” I croaked, my throat raw from screaming. “Then the truck backed up and hit me again.”
Relief flickered across her face before her professional mask slipped back into place. “You experienced a severe magical burnout. If not for the quick thinking of the Nightfall Shield, you likely wouldn’t have survived.”
I glanced at the four men. Draco gave me a slight nod. Aiden stood with his arms crossed, looking uncomfortable. Eris offered a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. And Percy... Percy just stared at me.
“What exactly happened?” I asked, though fragments of memory were already returning—searing pain, starlight fracturing my skin, and then the cool relief of their magic flowing into me.
“That’s what we’d like to know,” said one of the officials I didn’t recognize, a woman with sharp features and bright eyes. “The new axis bond you formed was unexpected.”
“I thought it was temporary?” I repeated, looking between them and the shield. Something churned in my stomach.
Deputy Director Kwan smiled. “The emergency bond they performed should have created only a momentary connection, enough to stabilize your magic until you reached medical care. But something unusual happened.”
I felt a strange sensation then, like an echo of emotions that weren’t my own—concern, frustration, protectiveness. It took me a moment to realize they weren’t coming from me at all.
“The bond didn’t dissolve,” Percy said flatly.
“What?” I tried to sit up, but pain lanced through my chest and I fell back against the pillows with a gasp.
Careful,a voice said in my head—Draco’s voice, though his lips hadn’t moved.You’re still healing.
My eyes widened as I stared at him.You can hear me?I thought back, not entirely sure how this worked.
We all can,came Aiden’s mental voice, tinged with the same golden warmth as his magic.Surprise.
“Fascinating,” murmured one of the officials, watching our silent exchange with hungry eyes. “The telepathic connection is already functional.”
“Ms. Black,” Director Waverly said. “We need to understandexactlyhow this happened. The mechanics of Ophis bonding have never been documented before, but things seem to be progressing faster than they would in a normal, consensual bonding.”
“Itwasconsensual. I was dying,” I said flatly. “They saved me. That’s literally all I know. One minute I was burning from the inside, and then the next I was here.”
“Did you actively participate in forming the bond?” the other woman asked.
“For fuck’s sake,” Percy snapped, his patience finally shattering. “She just woke up after nearly burning out from the inside. Can’t your interrogation wait?”
“This isn’t an interrogation, Mr. Whitlock,” Deputy Director Kwan replied smoothly. “This is incredibly vital research.”
“Research,” Eris repeated skeptically. “That’s all this is to you fuckers, isn’t it? It’s not like it’s our lives or anything. That’s whyyou wanted her to bond with us in the first place. Well it looks like you got your damn wish.”
“The bond was meant to be temporary,” Director Waverly said, ignoring the accusations. “But our preliminary analysis suggests it may not fade as expected.”
“What does that mean?” I demanded, fear spiking through me.
“It means,” she replied carefully, “that the connection you’ve formed with the Nightfall Shield appears to be stabilizing rather than dissolving. There’s a very strong chance this will become permanent.”
“That’s impossible,” Aiden said. “We didn’t perform a formal bonding ritual. There was no intent to form a permanent connection.”
“Intent may be irrelevant when it comes to Ophis magic. She’s too powerful, and the magic craves to latch onto anchors.”
The officials exchanged glances, and I caught an undercurrent of excitement beneath their professional demeanor. This was exactly what they’d wanted all along, the Ophis designation bonded with the Nightfall Shield, creating a weapon of unprecedented power. They just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, or under these circumstances.
“How long?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt. “How long until we know if it’s permanent?”
“Days, perhaps a couple of weeks. We’ll need to monitor the bond’s strength and stability throughout training courses, and reassess.”
