“Because it’s convenient for your ambitions.”
I felt my temper rising. “Because Jupiter is brave and powerful and saved my shield brother’s life without hesitation. Because she nearly died doing it. Because when the bond formed, it felt right in a way I can’t explain to you, nor should I have to. She might be the best thing that’s ever fucking happened to me.”
Lyssa’s face contorted with hurt and rage. “You’ve known her for what, two weeks? And you’re already this devoted? Was I really that forgettable?”
“This isn’t about you, don’t you fucking get that? Not everything is about you! The bond happened. It’s done.We’redone.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “There are ways to break bonds, especially new ones. We could?—”
“Get out. Now.”
“Eris—”
“We’redone, Lyssa. We were never anything but casual to begin with, and you knew that. You were a good fuck while it lasted, but that’s all it ever was. I would have done this nicer, and in private, but the way you treated her was fucked up.”
She recoiled as if I’d slapped her. “Don’t pretend like you and Percy weren’t saying the same shit last week. You’re going to regret this, Eris. When she shows her true colors, when the Assembly reveals what they’re really planning with their precious Ophis, you’ll wish you’d listened to me.”
“Goodbye, Lyssa.”
She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I collapsed back onto my bed, exhaustion washing over me. Through our bond, I felt a flicker of concern—Draco, probably sensing my distress.
I’m fine, I projected, though I doubted he would believe it.
Sleep evaded me that night. I kept thinking about Jupiter, about the hurt I’d felt through our connection before she’d shut us out. I needed to make things right, but I wasn’t sure how. Apologizing had never been my strong suit.
Morning came too quickly.I dragged myself to the training room, hoping Jupiter would show up for our scheduled session. To my relief, she was already there, working through stretches with Draco. Her face was carefully blank when she saw me.
“Morning,” I said, trying to sound normal.
She nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t speak. I felt her wariness, her guard still firmly in place.
Percy and Aiden arrived moments later, and we began our training in awkward silence. The bond felt strained, Jupiter’s participation minimal and mechanical. It affected our performance; movements that had been fluid yesterday now felt disjointed and forced.
After an hour of increasingly frustrating exercises, Percy called a halt. “This isn’t working. We need to address the elephant in the room.”
Jupiter crossed her arms. “Let’s just finish the damn session.”
“The bond is weak today,” Said Aiden. “We can all feel it.”
She looked away. “Maybe that’s for the best.”
“You don’t mean that,” Draco said.
“Don’t I?” Her silver eyes flashed. “You heard what your axis candidates think of me.‘Myth bitch that should have stayed buried.’So poetic.”
I stepped forward. “I never said that. Not like that.”
“But you did talk shit about me,” she challenged, finally meeting my eyes, the silver in hers icy. “To someone you were sleeping with.”
“Before I knew you.”
“Youstilldon’t know me, Eris. You might think you do because you can hear me, or feel my emotions, but it’s just the magic. You don’t actually give a single shit about me.”
She was wrong. But that was the worst part of this whole fucked up situation. None of us knew her. Not really. Was she hot as fuck? Yeah. Was she fierce? Double yeah. But did I know what made her that way? Did I know the reason she sometimes woke up screaming in the middle of the night? I felt her through the bond, and tried to block the deep things out, but I was beginning to wonder if this was the real thing, and we needed to lock the fuck in.
TWELVE
Jupiter
