Percy’s fury radiated through our bond, a crimson tide of rage that matched my own. We’d been played for fools. And Jupiter had paid the price.
“Don’t move,” Percy whispered, his voice deadly calm. He stepped out from behind the shelves, but I followed, unable to look away from the train wreck about to unfold.
“Hello, Melissa,” Percy said, his voice cold enough to freeze fire.
She whirled around, face draining of color. “Percy! I was just?—”
“Yeah, we heard.”
Her eyes darted between us, then to the tablet where her accomplice had already disconnected. “You don’t understand,” she stammered, backing away. “Jupiter was manipulating you?—”
“Save it. We heard everything. I want to know how and why. The real reason, Melissa, before I rip your fucking spine out of your asshole.”
Melissa’s expression shifted to bone chilling fear. “My father works directly under your father, Percy, and bonding with you is our family’s ticket to the elite. It wasn’t my fault. He made me…I swear he made me.”
I wanted to wrap my hands around her throat. The only thing stopping me was Percy’s hand on my arm.
She kept stammering. “My family has been waiting for a chance to move into the inner circle for generations. When Jupiter showed up and the Assembly made it clear they wanted her with the Nightfall Shield, we knew we had to act.”
“So you decided to ruin her life?” I snarled.
“She’s nothing!” Melissa shouted, the mask slipping completely now. “A nobody with no family connections, no history. She didn’t deserve you! Any of you! I’ve been waiting for years while you ignored me, and then she walks in and you all fall at her feet? No. That’s not how this works. That’s not how our world works.”
Percy’s expression was terrifying. I knew there was darkness inside of him, waiting to slither out, but this was utterly merciless. “You’ve made a critical error in judgment, Melissa.”
“What are you going to do?” she squeaked, trying and failing not to sound like she was wetting herself. “It’s your word against mine. And who’s going to believe you after weeks of telling everyone how Jupiter manipulated you? You’ve already destroyed her reputation.”
Wehaddone that. We’d been so hurt, so angry that we’d spread the poison through the entire school. We’d made sure everyone knew Jupiter was a liar, a manipulator, the Assembly’s puppet.
“Percy. We need to go to her. Now.”
He nodded, his dark eyes never leaving Melissa. “This isn’t over, bitch. You just fucked up. If I were you, I’d start running now.”
We left her standing there, trembling, and practically ran from the library. As we burst into the cool night air, I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Draco and Eris.
A: Jupiter’s room. EMERGENCY. She didn’t do it. It was Melissa.
We raced across campus, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs. All I could think about was Jupiter, alone and broken, believing we all hated her. Believing we’d abandoned her.
TWENTY-SIX
Jupiter
I didn’t hearmy door open over the music blasting through my headphones. The sudden movement in my peripheral vision made me jolt so violently I nearly fell off my bed, my heart slamming against my ribcage. All four of them stood in my room—Percy at the front, with Aiden, Draco, and Eris crowded behind him, all looking absolutely wrecked.
Their mouths were moving rapidly, talking over each other, hands gesturing wildly. Percy’s eyes were bloodshot, Aiden’s hair was a disaster like he’d been running his hands through it for hours, Draco’s normally composed face was twisted with anguish, and Eris—god, Eris looked like he’d been crying.
I stared at them, paralyzed by their sudden appearance. The ancient leather-bound book on bond-breaking rituals lay open on my lap, pages marked with sticky notes where I’d found particularly promising (and dangerous) options.
I slowly pulled my headphones off, the music still faintly audible as they dangled around my neck. I felt strangely calm, like I was watching this scene happen to someone else.
“I didn’t hear a word you just said,” I told them flatly. “But you need to leave. Now.”
“Jupiter, please,” Percy stepped forward, his voice breaking. “We were wrong. So fucking wrong.”
“We know you didn’t write those emails,” Aiden said, his golden eyes swimming with unshed tears. “It was Melissa. She confessed to everything.”
“Please,” Draco whispered. “Just let us explain.”
