Chapter 10
TEN
Jupiter
I woke to the sound of voices arguing, their words muffled as if coming through water. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy, my body weighted down like I was sinking in quicksand. The pain had subsided to a dull ache, but compared to the agony I’d experienced in the Abyss, it was almost pleasant.
“...unprecedented magical integration...”
“...need to understand the mechanics before...”
“She’s not a lab rat, you fucks!”
That last voice cut through the fog in my brain. Percy. He sounded furious.
I forced my eyes open, blinking against harsh fluorescent lights. I was in what appeared to be the infirmary, surrounded by medical equipment and monitoring devices. And people. So many people in suits, hovering around my bed like vultures.
“She’s awake,” someone announced, and suddenly all eyes turned to me.
Director Waverly stood closest to my bed. Beside her was a man in an Assembly uniform I recognized as Deputy Director Kwan. Three other officials I didn’t know stood nearby, tablets in hand, clearly taking notes on my condition.
And there, forming a protective semi-circle on the other side of my bed, stood the Nightfall Shield. All four of them looked like they hadn’t slept, their faces drawn with exhaustion. Every single one of them looked pissed off.
“Ms. Black,” Director Waverly said, her voice carefully calm. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I got hit by a semi truck,” I croaked, my throat raw from screaming. “Then the truck backed up and hit me again.”
Relief flickered across her face before her professional mask slipped back into place. “You experienced a severe magical burnout. If not for the quick thinking of the Nightfall Shield, you likely wouldn’t have survived.”
I glanced at the four men. Draco gave me a slight nod. Aiden stood with his arms crossed, looking uncomfortable. Eris offered a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. And Percy... Percy just stared at me.
“What exactly happened?” I asked, though fragments of memory were already returning—searing pain, starlight fracturing my skin, and then the cool relief of their magic flowing into me.
“That’s what we’d like to know,” said one of the officials I didn’t recognize, a woman with sharp features and bright eyes. “The new axis bond you formed was unexpected.”
“I thought it was temporary?” I repeated, looking between them and the shield. Something churned in my stomach.
Deputy Director Kwan smiled. “The emergency bond they performed should have created only a momentary connection, enough to stabilize your magic until you reached medical care. But something unusual happened.”
I felt a strange sensation then, like an echo of emotions that weren’t my own—concern, frustration, protectiveness. It took me a moment to realize they weren’t coming from me at all.
“The bond didn’t dissolve,” Percy said flatly.
“What?” I tried to sit up, but pain lanced through my chest and I fell back against the pillows with a gasp.
Careful, a voice said in my head—Draco’s voice, though his lips hadn’t moved. You’re still healing.
My eyes widened as I stared at him. You can hear me? I thought back, not entirely sure how this worked.
We all can, came Aiden’s mental voice, tinged with the same golden warmth as his magic. Surprise.
“Fascinating,” murmured one of the officials, watching our silent exchange with hungry eyes. “The telepathic connection is already functional.”
“Ms. Black,” Director Waverly said. “We need to understand exactly how this happened. The mechanics of Ophis bonding have never been documented before, but things seem to be progressing faster than they would in a normal, consensual bonding.”
“It was consensual. I was dying,” I said flatly. “They saved me. That’s literally all I know. One minute I was burning from the inside, and then the next I was here.”
“Did you actively participate in forming the bond?” the other woman asked.
“For fuck’s sake,” Percy snapped, his patience finally shattering. “She just woke up after nearly burning out from the inside. Can’t your interrogation wait?”
“This isn’t an interrogation, Mr. Whitlock,” Deputy Director Kwan replied smoothly. “This is incredibly vital research.”
“Research,” Eris repeated skeptically. “That’s all this is to you fuckers, isn’t it? It’s not like it’s our lives or anything. That’s why you wanted her to bond with us in the first place. Well it looks like you got your damn wish.”
“The bond was meant to be temporary,” Director Waverly said, ignoring the accusations. “But our preliminary analysis suggests it may not fade as expected.”
“What does that mean?” I demanded, fear spiking through me.
“It means,” she replied carefully, “that the connection you’ve formed with the Nightfall Shield appears to be stabilizing rather than dissolving. There’s a very strong chance this will become permanent.”
“That’s impossible,” Aiden said. “We didn’t perform a formal bonding ritual. There was no intent to form a permanent connection.”
“Intent may be irrelevant when it comes to Ophis magic. She’s too powerful, and the magic craves to latch onto anchors.”
The officials exchanged glances, and I caught an undercurrent of excitement beneath their professional demeanor.
This was exactly what they’d wanted all along, the Ophis designation bonded with the Nightfall Shield, creating a weapon of unprecedented power.
They just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, or under these circumstances.
“How long?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt. “How long until we know if it’s permanent?”
“Days, perhaps a couple of weeks. We’ll need to monitor the bond’s strength and stability throughout training courses, and reassess.”
“And if it is permanent?” Draco asked, his mental voice simultaneously echoing in my head, laced with concern.
Are you okay with this? he asked privately, and I realized I could feel the difference between a thought directed only at me and one shared with all of them.
Before I could answer, a commotion at the door drew everyone’s attention. A familiar black shape slithered into the room, moving faster than I’d ever seen Noodle move before.
‘You are hurt!’ his panicked voice filled my mind as he raced across the floor and up the bed frame. ‘Do not like!’
“Noodle, I’m okay,” I said aloud, relief washing through me at the sight of him.
‘Not okay. Broken inside. Magic wrong.’ He coiled around my wrist, his scales cool against my skin.
“Did he just say...” Aiden began, staring at Noodle with wide eyes.
I froze. “Wait, can you hear him?”
All four men nodded slowly.
“Holy shit, the snake can speak English,” Eris breathed.
Noodle tasted the air in their direction to study them with suspicious eyes. ‘Why do they taste like you now?’
“They saved my life,” I told him, kissing his snoot, aware that the Assembly officials were watching our exchange with rapt attention. “We’re bonded now, but we don’t know for how long.”
“This is unprecedented,” Deputy Director Kwan said, stepping closer. “Familiar communication transferring through an axis bond...”
Noodle hissed aggressively, rearing up. ‘Stay back, suit man. I bite.’
Percy actually laughed, which I was beginning to think was a physical impossibility for him. “I think like your snake.”
‘Not snake. Noodle,’ came the indignant reply, which Percy clearly heard based on his raised eyebrows.
“We need to run tests,” the sharp-featured woman said, reaching for a tablet. “Cognitive assessments, magical resonance scans—”
“No,” I said firmly, sitting up despite the pain. “No tests. Not today.”
“Ms. Black, you don’t understand the significance—“
“I understand that when you people look at us, you’re seeing a potential weapon instead of five people trying to process a life-altering event, but you need to back the fuck off if you want us to even consider cooperating with you. Pick your battles, Director.”
I could feel a swell of appreciation through the bond.
Director Waverly’s expression softened almost maternally. “Jupiter, the Assembly needs—”
“The Assembly can wait,” Percy interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument. “She needs rest. I would heavily suggest you get the hell out of here before you piss us off.”
I felt a wave of his anger through our new connection, followed by similar sentiments from the others. It was disorienting to feel emotions that weren’t mine.
“Twenty-four hours,” Director Waverly finally conceded. “You’ll have twenty-four hours to rest and adjust. Then we begin the assessment.”
The officials filed out reluctantly, leaving only Director Waverly behind. She approached my bed. “For what it’s worth, this isn’t how I wanted it to happen. But now that it has...” She glanced at the four men. “This bond could change everything in our fight against the bane.”
After she left, silence fell over the room. I looked at the four men who had saved my life, who were now linked to me in ways none of us fully understood.
“So,” I said, attempting to not be as awkward as I currently felt. “I guess we should talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Eris said, running a hand through his hair. “We did what we had to do to save your life. No one expected... this.”
‘I like this one,’ Noodle commented, studying him. ‘He has a funny voice.’
“It’s called Scottish, lad. But thanks, I’ve always wanted a snake’s shining endorsement.”
‘Not snake. Noodle,’ he hissed again.
Eris sank into a chair beside my bed. He was so large I wondered how the chair was even holding him up. “How much do you feel from us?”
I concentrated on the new presence in my mind. “It’s like background noise. Emotions mostly. Stronger when you’re focused on me.”
“Same here,” Draco said. “Your pain woke all of us up. Apparently we passed out in the caves and the extraction team found us.”
“This is not how axis bonds normally work,” Percy said, pacing at the foot of my bed. “Not this fast. It usually takes weeks for mental bonds to connect. Overnight is insanity.”
“Nothing about me is normal apparently,” I reminded him, attempting a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. “Ophis, remember?”
He stopped pacing to look at me directly. “You almost died saving Aiden.”
“Would have been a shame to lose his charming personality.”
“Why?” Percy pressed. “Why risk yourself for someone who’s been nothing but hostile?”
My smirk dropped. “Because that’s what we do. We protect people, even if they’re raging dickheads with nice hair.”
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of Aiden’s mouth. “I do have nice hair.”