“It’s called Scottish, lad. But thanks, I’ve always wanted a snake’s shining endorsement.”
‘Not snake. Noodle,’he hissed again.
Eris sank into a chair beside my bed. He was so large I wondered how the chair was even holding him up. “How much do you feel from us?”
I concentrated on the new presence in my mind. “It’s like background noise. Emotions mostly. Stronger when you’re focused on me.”
“Same here,” Draco said. “Your pain woke all of us up. Apparently we passed out in the caves and the extraction team found us.”
“This is not how axis bonds normally work,” Percy said, pacing at the foot of my bed. “Not this fast. It usually takes weeks for mental bonds to connect. Overnight is insanity.”
“Nothing about me is normal apparently,” I reminded him, attempting a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. “Ophis, remember?”
He stopped pacing to look at me directly. “You almost died saving Aiden.”
“Would have been a shame to lose his charming personality.”
“Why?” Percy pressed. “Why risk yourself for someone who’s been nothing but hostile?”
My smirk dropped. “Because that’s what we do. We protect people, even if they’re raging dickheads with nice hair.”
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of Aiden’s mouth. “I do have nice hair.”
ELEVEN
Eris
One weekafter the Abyss incident, and the entire academy was still buzzing about our unexpected bond with Jupiter. Every hallway I walked down, conversations hushed as I passed, then erupted into frenzied whispers once I was supposedly out of earshot.
Everywhere we went, eyes followed. A shield bonding with an axis was always big news at Dominion, but this? This was unprecedented.
I could feel Jupiter’s presence in the back of my mind like a silver thread connecting us. It wasn’t intrusive, more like knowing someone was in the next room even when you couldn’t see them. Since the bond had formed, my magic felt different. Stronger, with reserves I’d never accessed before.
“Eris?” Jupiter’s voice broke through my thoughts. We were in one of the training rooms, preparing for our first official practice as a bonded shield. “You okay? You’ve been staring at that practice dummy for five minutes.”
I grinned, adjusting the wraps around my hands. “Just thinking about how much it resembles Percy when he first wakes up.”
Percy shot me a glare from across the room where he was meticulously checking his weapons.
Jupiter smiled, and I felt a ripple of amusement through our bond. That was something I was still getting used to, feeling her emotions alongside the guys. Sometimes they came through crystal clear, other times just faint impressions. Healers said the bond is still stabilizing, still finding its balance.
Draco entered the training room, carrying a stack of books. “Found some historical references to shields with Ophis axes. Not much, but it might help us understand what we’re dealing with.”
“Any mention of how to break the bond if we wanted to?” Aiden asked, joining us. His tone was casual, but I felt Jupiter’s flicker of hurt through the connection.
“No one’s breaking anything, dick,” I said firmly. “We saved her life. She saved yours. The bond happened. We deal with it.”
Aiden raised his hands in surrender. “Just asking the question everyone’s thinking.”
“Not everyone,” Draco muttered, setting down his books.
The door opened again, and Director Waverly entered with two Assembly officials in tow. They’d been hovering around us all week, monitoring the bond, taking readings, asking endless questions. I was getting sick of feeling like a lab rat.
“Good morning,” Director Waverly greeted us. “How are you all feeling today?”
“With all due respect, ma’am, if you ask me that one more time I’m leaving,” Percy snapped.
She had the grace to look slightly apologetic. “I understand your frustration, but this is a unique situation that requiresobservation. Today’s training session will help us assess the bond’s stability during combat scenarios.”
