Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Juno
I woke up to Noodle staring at me from the foot of my bed.
‘You slept late.’
“I know, I know,” I groaned, rolling over to check my phone.
5:45 a.m. I’d been living with the Nightfall Shield for a week now, and somehow I’d fallen into a routine that included pre-dawn jogs with Eris and Draco.
If someone had told me a month ago that I’d willingly hang out with any of them, I’d have laughed in their face.
Yet here I was.
I dragged myself out of bed and changed into leggings and a sports bra, pulling a light running jacket over it. The mornings were cooler as autumn deepened across the campus. Noodle watched me with his usual unimpressed expression, if snakes even had expressions.
‘Not going,’ he declared, coiling himself more tightly on my pillow.
“Didn’t invite you,” I replied, tying my hair back. “Stay out of trouble.”
‘Always trouble,’ he hissed.
Draco and Eris were already waiting in the common area, both dressed for running. Eris tossed me an energy bar as I approached. “Eat. You burned too much magic yesterday.”
I caught it one-handed. “Thanks, dad.”
He shot me a narrow eyed look, but his lips twitched.
The morning run had become something I actually looked forward to. Just the three of us as the sun broke over the horizon. The academy grounds were absolutely stunning bathed in gold.
When we returned, sweaty and pleasantly exhausted, Percy and Aiden were already in the kitchen. Percy was making coffee, while Aiden was scrolling through his phone, occasionally shooting me glances when he thought I wasn’t looking.
The day passed in a blur of classes and training.
The routine was becoming familiar. Shield combat in the morning, specialized magic training in the afternoon, and regular check-ins with the healers monitoring our bond.
The Assembly’s interest in us hadn’t waned; if anything, it had intensified as our bond continued to strengthen.
By evening, I was drained. I’d managed to create a spatial distortion field large enough to encompass all five of us during combat practice, something I’d never been able to do before the bond.
After showering, I collapsed on my bed, letting the day’s tension seep out of my muscles. My phone buzzed with a text, which was nice and normal rather than telepathically weird.
D: Movie night? Found a scary one.
I smiled. Draco had been making an effort to find common ground between us, and somehow he’d remembered my offhand comment about loving horror movies.
J: Give me 10. I need to change.
I donned a pair of soft black pajama shorts and a cropped t-shirt. My hair was still damp from the shower, so I gathered it into a high ponytail. No makeup—we were well past the point where I felt the need to impress any of them.
When I walked into the common room where Draco was setting up the movie. He looked up as I entered, and his eyes widened slightly, gaze traveling from my bare legs to my exposed stomach, lingering too long to be casual.
The heat there made my skin warm, and through the bond I felt him slamming a wall down between me and whatever he was thinking.
“What are we watching?” I asked, heading to the kitchen for a drink, very aware of his eyes following me.
“Blair Witch,” he replied, his voice slightly rougher than usual.
“Perfect,” I said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
I heard the door to Percy’s room open, followed by Aiden’s.
They filed into the living room as I returned from the kitchen.
Percy took the armchair, his dark eyes sweeping over me briefly before focusing determinedly on the screen.
Aiden sprawled across one end of the couch, leaving space beside him.
Eris was the last to join us, emerging from his room wearing nothing but gray joggers that hung low on his hips.
His broad chest and muscular arms were on full display, and I couldn’t help but stare for a moment.
The man was built like a brick wall. A few scattered tattoos decorated his skin—Celtic designs I was pretty sure.
“Starting without me?” he asked, running a hand through his copper hair.
“Just setting up,” Draco replied. He hesitated a moment, looking at the seating options.
The couch was large enough for three people, maybe four if we squeezed. Aiden had claimed one end, Eris was settling into the other, leaving the middle open. Draco glanced at me, then at the space between his shield brothers.
“Where do you want to sit?”
It was a simple question, but it felt loaded. Where I chose to sit would say something about how comfortable I was with them, how much I trusted this tentative peace we’d established.
A week ago, I might have taken the floor just to maintain distance. But things were different now. We weren’t friends, exactly, but we weren’t enemies either.
I decided, moving to the couch and settling between Aiden and Eris. Draco nodded and took the loveseat adjacent to us, close enough that I could still feel his presence.
As the movie started, I became acutely aware of my precarious position.
On my right, Eris’s bare arm brushed against mine, his skin radiating heat like a furnace.
On my left, Aiden’s thigh pressed against mine, the contact sending little sparks up my leg.
Through the bond, I could feel their awareness of me too even though they tried to hide it.
“You good?” Eris asked quietly as the opening credits rolled.
I nodded, trying to focus on the screen.
Twenty minutes into the film, I found myself relaxing. The movie was genuinely scary. During a particularly tense scene, I unconsciously leaned closer to Eris, who responded by draping his arm along the back of the couch behind me.
“Scared?” he teased, his voice low enough that only I could hear.
“Hell yeah I am. This shit is worse than the bane.”
“You’ve fought more of them than most,” Draco said, his hazel eyes finding mine in the dim light. “How many incursions did you handle in New York?”
I considered it. “Fifty-seven confirmed. Some of them were assists since there were other shield teams nearby.”
“Fifty-seven?” Aiden’s eyebrows shot up. “In three years? That’s—“
“A lot. Yeah, I know. The Assembly kept me busy.”
“No wonder your combat skills are so refined,” Percy said, the closest thing to a compliment he’d ever given me.
I shrugged, uncomfortable with the attention. “I did what I had to do. We all do.”
Eris’s hand moved from the back of the couch to my shoulder, squeezing gently. “Still. Fifty-seven incursions solo is impressive as fuck.”
“Not entirely solo,” I corrected. “I had Assembly backup for the larger ones.”
“Still,” Draco echoed.
Halfway through the movie, I found myself yawning non stop. The day was catching up with me, and the warmth of being nestled between Eris and Aiden was making me drowsy. I fought to keep my eyes open, determined to see it through, even though I’d seen it before.
I must have lost the battle, because the next thing I knew, the credits were rolling and someone was gently shaking my shoulder.
“Jupiter,” Draco’s voice, near my ear. “Movie’s over.”
I blinked awake, disoriented. Somehow, I had slumped against Eris’s chest, my head resting on his shoulder. His arm had moved from the back of the couch to wrap around me, holding me secure against him. On my other side, Aiden had shifted closer, his hand resting lightly on my thigh.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, straightening up and running a hand over my face. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
Eris’s arm was slow to withdraw from around me. “You pushed yourself hard in training today.”
I stood, stretching my arms above my head, aware that my top rode up further with the movement. Four sets of eyes tracked the motion, following the serpent tattoos that wound their way up my ribs.
Percy stood, stretching too. “We should all get some rest. Early training tomorrow.”
“Thanks for the movie,” I said to Draco as I passed him. “Next time I’ll try to stay awake.”
He smiled, making something in my belly flip. “Next time we’ll pick something even more horrifying.”
“It’s a plan.” I laughed, and made my way to my room, aware of four sets of eyes pinned on my back.
The nightmare started like they always did, with darkness closing in, the smell of the bane’s acrid presence, that metallic taste that filled my mouth when dark matter tore through reality.
But this time was worse. I was alone in the Abyss, and the fissures were opening across my skin, starlight pouring out as I screamed.
No one came to help me this time. No one heard me.
I jolted awake with a gasp, my heart hammering. Sweat drenched my skin, making my shirt cling to my body. I gulped air, trying to orient myself in the darkness.
“Jupiter?” A deep voice came from the corner of the room.
I jerked upright, my magic instinctively flaring at my fingertips, illuminating the space with silver light. Draco sat in the chair by the window, shirtless, his pale skin almost luminous in the glow of my magic. His eyes were faintly purple, his magic was active, though barely.
“What the hell?” I gasped, still trying to catch my breath. “What are you doing in here?”
He leaned forward, muscular forearms resting on his knees. “You were having a nightmare. I felt it and couldn’t sleep.”
I ran a shaky hand through my hair, finding it damp with sweat. “So you decided to just sit in my room and watch me sleep? That’s not creepy at all.”
He smirked. “And I was worried. Your fear was really intense.”
The silver light from my magic dimmed as my panic subsided, but I could still see him clearly in the moonlight filtering through the open window. The lean muscles of his chest and shoulders, the tattoos that snaked down his toned arms.
“I have nightmares a lot,” I admitted, shifting to sit up straighter. As I moved, I felt the cool air on my legs and suddenly realized I’d kicked off the blankets during my thrashing. I was wearing nothing but black underwear and my crop top from earlier.