Tye wasn’t fooled. His eyes followed my gaze to the Nightfall Shield, understanding dawning on his face.
“They’re still affecting you,” he said quietly. “Through the bond.”
I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.
“That’s it.” He stood, rolling his shoulders. “I’m going to beat the shit out of them.”
“Tye, no,” I grabbed his arm. “It won’t help.”
“Maybe not, but it’ll make me feel better.”
“Please,” I whispered. “Just... help me get through this session. I need to prove I can do this.”
He reluctantly backed down, but positioned himself between me and them for the rest of the training session, glaring daggers at anyone who looked my way. I went through the motions mechanically, focusing on my breathing, on the movement of my body, anything but the constant barrage of emotions leaking through the bond.
I was almost through it when Melissa sauntered up to Percy, placing a possessive hand on his chest. The casual touch sent a wave of nausea through me, and I stumbled, dropping my practice staff.
Lydia caught me before I hit the floor. “That’s it,” she hissed. “We’re leaving.”
“No,” I protested weakly. “I can finish.”
But my body betrayed me. As Percy’s hand settled on Melissa’s waist, a fresh wave of agony tore through me. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, desperately fighting back a scream.
Tye and Lydia practically carried me out, my legs giving way the moment we cleared the doors. In the empty corridor, I finally let the tears fall, silent sobs shaking my body as Tye held me upright.
“This has to stop,” Lydia said. “They’re killing you, Jupe.”
“It’s not their fault,” I whispered. “They think I betrayed them. They think I manipulated them.”
“But you didn’t!”
“They don’t know that.” I wiped my tears with shaking hands. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make them believe I did.”
“Who would do that?” Tye asked, his arm still supporting me. “And why?”
“Someone who doesn’t want me bonded to them,” I said, the pieces finally starting to align in my mind. “The same person who left that threatening ward in my room the first week. Someone with enough access to fake very real looking Assemblycorrespondence, and who knew details about me that nobody outside of my shield could possibly know.”
Lydia’s eyes widened. “You think it’s someone at Dominion? Someone with power?”
“It has to be,” I said, feeling stronger as anger began to replace despair. “And I’m going to find out who.”
“We’regoing to find out,” Tye corrected. “But first, we’re getting you something to eat. You look like you’re about to collapse.”
As they led me toward the dining hall, I felt a familiar presence brush against my consciousness—Draco, his emotions all over the place. For the briefest moment, it felt like he was reaching for me through the bond, searching.
Then it was gone, shut down so completely it left an aching void in its place.
I pulled my sleeves down further, covering the marks on my arms. Tomorrow, I would meet with Director Waverly. I would start investigating who might have wanted to destroy my bond with the Nightfall Shield. I would find a way to prove my innocence.
But tonight, I would curl up on my floor again, biting my pillow to muffle my screams as Percy would probably finally took Melissa to his bed, as Draco buried himself in ancient texts instead of sleep, as Eris drank himself into oblivion, as Aiden’s restless energy prowled the campus looking for distractions that never worked.
Tonight, I would endure. Because that’s all I could do now.
TWENTY-FOUR
Draco
I followed Jupiter,keeping enough distance that she wouldn’t notice. My stomach twisted watching her stumble slightly, her normally sure, confident movements now halting and unsteady. She looked like she was barely holding herself together.
