“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aiden asked.
“You don’t get to judge me fordancingwith someone when one of you is literally fucking someone else,” I said, my eyes landing on Eris.
Eris at least had the decency to look uncomfortable. “That was before?—”
“Let’s not pretend any of you want this.”
“That’s not fair,” Draco said quietly, moving closer. “The circumstances weren’t ideal, but?—“
“But now you’re stuck with me, so I should just fall in line? Become the perfect little axis who doesn’t talk to other men? Should I climb you and ride your dicks right now? Beg for you to want me?”
Percy ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “That’s not what this is about. The bond is still forming, still fragile. What you were doing in there was destabilizing it.”
I hesitated. “So what, I’m just supposed to never interact with anyone else ever again?”
“No one’s saying that,” Draco said. “But there’s a difference between interaction and whatever that was. With the bond this fragile and new, we’re likely to put someone in the hospital for even thinking of you, much less putting their hands on you.”
“And what about you four?” I demanded. “Are you planning to become celibate? No more Lyssas or whoever else you’ve been sleeping with?”
The silence that followed was telling. I laughed bitterly.
“That’s what I thought. Double standards are fun, aren’t they?”
“None of us would do what you were doing in there. Not with the bond forming.”
“Because you’ve all had each other for years!” I exploded, the frustration of the past weeks finally boiling over. “You chose each other! You built something together willingly! I didn’t get a choice. I was dying, and now I’m tied to four men who see me as an inconvenience at best and a threat at worst. You don’t fucking want me, so why should I want you?”
My voice cracked, tears threatening despite my best efforts to hold them back. I felt their shock at my outburst.
“Is that really what you think?” Eris asked with a deep frown. “That we see you as a threat?”
“What else am I supposed to think? When the bond happened, you all looked like you’d been sentenced to life imprisonment. I know being magically chained to me isn’t ideal, but maybe extend me the same fucking respect you give each other for once.” I yawned suddenly, the several drinks I’d chugged catching up with me. “I’m going back to my room.Alone.”
I moved to walk past them, but Percy stepped into my path. “We need to figure this out. All of us. The bond isn’t going away.”
“I know that,” I said quietly. “But tonight, I just wanted to feel normal. To forget for a few hours that my life isn’t my own anymore.”
His eyes shuttered slightly. “I understand that better than you might think.”
Before I could respond, the terrace doors burst open. Lydia stumbled out, her face flushed and eyes wide.
“Jupiter! Thank god,” she grabbed my arm. “You need to come. Now.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately alert.
“It’s Noodle. He’s in the hall, and he’s not happy.”
“Shit! How did he even get out?”
I felt the Nightfall Shield’s collective concern spike. They’d all grown surprisingly fond of my familiar over the past week. I followed Lydia back through the party and out into the hallway. As we hurried toward the main hall, I could already hear the commotion.
“What happened?” I asked as we ran.
“I don’t know exactly. Someone said he appeared in the middle of the dance floor, started hissing at everyone. Security tried to capture him, but...”
We rounded the corner and I stopped. Noodle was coiled, his body raised in a defensive posture. Around him, a circle of security personnel stood with containment poles, trying to figure out how to subdue him without getting bitten.
“Don’t touch him!” I shouted, pushing through the gathered crowd.
