I could feel their magic through our connection, raw power that I instinctively reached for and amplified. We’d been practicing this, the way my Ophis abilities could enhance their individual powers, turning them into something stronger and deadlier.
I pushed my magic into Aiden first, feeling his Leo energy surge in response. His blades ignited with golden fire thatburned twice as bright, cutting through a bane’s limbs like they were nothing but smoke.
Three coming from the left!I projected, already pivoting to face the threat.
On it,Eris responded, his Gemini magic creating three duplicates that confused the approaching bane.
The Sunbreak Shield was fighting with the precision of veterans, but even they seemed overwhelmed by the sheer number of creatures pouring through the breach.
“Jupiter!” Cassandra called to me over the chaos. “We need to close that portal!”
I nodded, already gathering my magic to attempt what we’d discussed. But before I could move toward the breach, something cold wrapped around my waist—a bane’s elongated limb, impossibly strong and freezing to the touch.
I had one moment to register what was happening before I was yanked upward, my feet leaving the ground as the creature lifted me into the air. I slashed at the limb with my dagger, but it was like cutting through gelatin—the wound sealed instantly.
“Jupiter!” Percy’s voice, both in my head and aloud.
The bane flung me away from the fight, releasing me when I was at least two stories up. For a terrifying moment, I was weightless, suspended in the air with nothing below me but unforgiving concrete.
Then I was falling, the ground rushing up to meet me. I braced for impact, trying to channel my magic to cushion the landing, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough.
Something large and solid intercepted me before I hit the pavement. Eris had thrown himself under my fall, his massive body absorbing the impact as we crashed to the ground together. He grunted in pain, but his arms remained tight around me.
“Fucking hell, that hurt,” he groaned. “You okay, lass?”
“Thanks to you,” I gasped, scrambling off him. “You didn’t have to do that, Eris, I could have crushed you.”
“Aye, I really did,” he replied, wincing as he got to his feet.
We rejoined the fight, which had spilled out into the square. Civilians were fast-walking away, unable to see the bane but feeling their cold, soul-draining presence. None of them had a clue what set their fight or flight into action, but it was better that they get out of our way. The other shield teams had arrived, creating a perimeter to contain the threat.
I caught sight of Draco facing off against a particularly large bane, his Scorpio magic forming a purple glow around his long leather whips that lashed at the creature. He was so focused on the attack that he didn’t notice another bane approaching from his blind side.
“Draco!” I screamed, but it was too late.
The bane’s claw raked across his cheek, opening a gash that immediately welled with blood. Draco staggered back, momentarily stunned by the blow.
Something inside me snapped. A white-hot rage unlike anything I’d ever experienced surged through my veins, burning away rational thought. My magic responded instantly, exploding outward from my core in a blinding wave of silver light.
When the light receded, I was holding two swords that hadn’t been there before, blades made of pure, concentrated starlight that hummed with power. They felt like extensions of my arms, perfectly balanced and eerily familiar though I’d never held them before.
What the fuck?I heard Aiden’s voice through the bond, his shock mirrored by the others.
I didn’t pause to question it. I moved toward Draco’s attacker, my body flowing with a grace that felt both foreign and natural. The starlight swords cut through the bane like they weremade of warm butter, their light causing the creature to shriek in agony.
“Jupiter, your eyes!” Draco called, his hand still pressed to his bleeding cheek.
I couldn’t see myself, but I could feel it. My magic had completely overtaken me, filling me until I was glowing with silver light. The tattoos on my arms were moving, writhing against my skin as if they were alive.
Three more bane converged on me, sensing the threat I posed. I met them head-on, my starlight blades whirling in deadly arcs. Where they touched the bane, the creatures’ dark matter simply ceased to exist, erased by the pure celestial energy.
I could feel the Nightfall Shield’s awe and concern fighting for dominance. They’d never seen me like this—hell,I’dnever seen me like this. But there was no time to marvel at it. My bond mates were in danger.
A scream of pain cut through the noise—Percy. I whirled to see him staggering backward, a bane’s claw protruding from his shoulder, dark ichor dripping from the wound. The creature was pulling him toward the portal, where dozens more were still emerging.
My vision went white. The bond between us amplified my rage, turning it into something terrifying and utterly unstoppable. The twin swords in my hands melded together, forming a single spear of blinding starlight that crackled with raw power.
I knew what I had to do. The portal was the source. As long as it remained open, we would be overwhelmed. Without thinking, without planning, I started running toward it, gathering speed as my magic pushed me faster than I’d ever moved before.
