I could see the conflict in her eyes. The instinct to protect herself. The urge to flee. My heart raced painfully. If Jupiter chose to leave us, to disappear, I would have no choice but to respect that. But I knew already, without a shred of fucking doubt, that if she did, I would be ruined. Permanently this time.
As if she could hear my thoughts, Jupiter looked directly at me. “Okay then. That’s all I needed to know.” There was a collective exhale, and I could have melted into the floor with the relief that spread through my body. Jupiter leaned back, crossing her legs underneath her and pulling a soft throw blanked over her lap. “So. Who’s going to tell me the rest of the story?”
So we told her. Everything. The Order, the prophecy, the centuries of waiting. The way our families had been chosen as keepers of the secret, how the whole plan was to gently introduce her to the idea that she wasn’t just a one-of-a-kind axis, but the key to reconnecting the home worlds.
Jupiter listened without interruption, her face unreadable. When we finished, she didn’t say anything for a long time. She just stared into the distance, lips pressed into a thin line.
Finally, she sighed heavily, running her fingers through her long hair and said, “Well, shit.”
Theo offered her a refill on tea, which she took.
Rowan cleared his throat. “If you want to leave, we’ll understand.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to leave. I just need to think.”
“Take all the time you need,” Phoenix said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
She sipped her tea, eyes fixed on the swirling liquid. “You know what’s funny? I thought this would make things worse, knowing there’s a reason I’m drawn to all of you. But it actually makes it easier. At least now I know I’m not just crazy.”
“You’re not crazy,” I said, meeting her eyes. “And there’s no magical draw or compulsion. What we have is very real attraction and free will. The Ophis heir could have been anyone, and our mission would not have changed. It just happens to be that you’re the single most breathtaking woman any of us have ever encountered.”
She sucked in a breath, and her eyes glittered. “Watch out, James, you’re going to inflate my ego.” For the first time in weeks, I felt the knot in my chest loosen. “So what now?”
“Now, it’s up to you. The Order—our families—have extended an official invitation for you to join us, if you want.”
She blinked. “Join you how? Like, sign a contract and get a commemorative mug?”
Rowan huffed a laugh, but I could see how tense he’d gone, like the rest of us. “More like training. Mentorship. Access to everything the Order has kept hidden from the Assembly for centuries. They’re even willing to allow your parents to join. We don’t want you having to keep secrets from them.”
Jupiter eyed us skeptically. “So you want to train me up so I can fulfill the prophecy and open a portal to the other side of the galaxy.”
“If you choose to,” Lucas said. “The Order is not the Assembly. We don’t conscript people. But you’re the only one who can do this.”
She folded her arms, and her knuckles went white. “How long do you expect me to wait before trying to portal us to another fucking planet? Because I barely made it across the Atlantic without blacking out. You’re talking about leaping an entire arm of the Milky Way.”
“That’s why you need training,” I said. “No one expects you to do this tomorrow. Or even next year or five years. The Order has been passing down their knowledge for generations, and we can wait a little longer. There’s information in the old texts, formulas and rituals that?—”
“Formulas,” she repeated. “Hate to break it to you, but I couldn’t math my way out of an unlocked closet.”
“We’re not asking you to do calculus.” Theo laughed and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You know those portals aren’t something you unlock with a formula. That’s not how your ability works. But the Order has journals. Handwritten, by the last Ophis. Everything he did to bring us here, step by step. With enough study and practice, there’s no reason you couldn’t do the same.” He paused. “The catch is, you can’t do it alone. You’d need a shield behind you. A real one.”
She nodded, as if that’s exactly what she’d been expecting to hear. “So the pitch is, I join your cult, and in return, I get you as my shield team.”
Rowan’s lips quirked. “That’s the start. With all of our power behind yours, the records say you could open a portal the size of a city block. You could bring everyone home.”
She stared at the floor for a while, her lips pressed tight. “You know I’m still bonded to Nightfall, right? That’s not going away.”
“We’re aware.” The words tasted like poison in my mouth. We all felt the lingering shadows of the Nightfall Shield hanging over her. Even separated by an ocean, their presence was like a phantom limb she couldn’t separate herself from.
Jupiter’s eyes dropped to the surface of her tea. Her thumb traced the rim of the ceramic mug, over and over. “Draco gave me a proposition while we were at Dominion last week. He wants Nightfall to transfer here.”
The silence in the room was instantaneous. Theo actually choked on his own breath, coughing into his fist, while Phoenix’s eyes flared a dangerous, vivid green.
“They want to come here?” Rowan spat. “After what they bloody did to you? They think they can just?—“
“Strictlyas my shield team,” Jupiter said. She looked up, meeting Rowan’s angry gaze, then mine. “Draco said they would petition the Assembly to transfer as a professional combat unit. Nothing romantic. No attempts to win me back or force a relationship. The distance is killing them—killing all of us—and technically, we’re stronger together.”
“Strictly professional,” Phoenix scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Right. Because four men who are soul-bound to you, who are clearly in love with you, are just going to politely shake your hand in the mornings and keep their distance. That’s a load of rubbish, Jupiter, and you know it.”
