Chapter 22
Jamie
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other as we stood outside Jupiter’s common room door, my stomach doing somersaults that would make an Olympic gymnast proud.
The others were equally on edge. Lucas kept adjusting his collar, Rowan was pacing in small circles, and Theo kept running his hand through his hair until it tangled.
“Where the bloody hell is Phoenix?” I muttered, checking my phone for the fifth time in as many minutes. “He said he’d meet us here at six.”
“Knowing him, he’s probably talking to his plants and lost track of time,” Theo said, checking his own phone. “I still think this a risky plan, just for the record.”
Lucas sighed. “We’ve put this off long enough. It’s time she knew the truth.”
I nodded, though my throat had gone dry. Tonight was the night. After weeks of dancing around the subject, we’d finally agreed to tell Jupiter about the Order of Ophiuchus. About how our families had been waiting for her for centuries. About the prophecy that foretold her arrival.
And I was absolutely terrified.
What if she thought we’d been using her? What if she felt betrayed that we’d kept this from her? What if she walked away and never looked back?
“Let’s just fucking knock,” Rowan said, raising his fist to the door. “Phoenix will catch up.”
Before he could knock, the door swung open.
Phoenix stood there, looking suspiciously pleased with himself.
His locs were damp, water droplets still clinging to the ends, and he smelled distinctly of sweet pears, rose soap and.
.. something else. Something that made my stomach clench with both jealousy and excitement.
“About time you lot showed up,” he said, a smug grin spreading across his face.
I rolled my eyes, exchanging a knowing look with Rowan. “Let me guess. You’ve been here a while?”
Phoenix’s grin widened. “Long enough.”
“Of course you have,” Theo said, smirking. None of us were actually jealous, how could we be when we’d all crossed the line already? The fact that she seemed to care for all of us equally made this whole situation delicate. If we fucked up, this could go badly for us all.
“Come in,” Phoenix said, stepping aside. “She’s just getting dressed.”
We filed into the common room. It was actually cozy and clean.
Plants lined the windowsills, their leaves reaching toward the fading sunlight.
Books were stacked on every available surface, many of them open to marked pages.
A soft throw blanket was draped across one of the armchairs.
There were only ten Scorpios in attendance right now, so all was quiet and calm.
There were voices coming from the hallway, telling me we weren’t alone. This wasn’t a conversation for anyone’s ears but ours.
“Why don’t we go to her room, actually. I think we’re intruding…”
Phoenix glanced in the direction of the voices and nodded. “Yeah, come on.”
We reached the top of the stairs, and Phoenix poked his head in the room, letting her know we were coming in. We filed into the sitting area, and the entire room smelled like pears. I really wanted to know where the hell that scent came from because it made my mouth water.
“Tea?” Theo offered, already moving toward the small kitchenette. “I’ll make some of that Earl Grey with honey you like, Jupiter!”
“Perfect!” She called out from the open bathroom door. “I’ll be right out!”
I settled onto the couch, my leg bouncing nervously. Lucas took the armchair across from me, his posture rigid. Rowan perched on the arm of the couch, while Phoenix leaned against the wall, still looking far too pleased with himself.
Jupiter emerged a moment later, her dark hair still damp from what I assumed was a shared shower that I was really bloody jealous of.
She wore simple leggings and an oversized sweater that slipped off one shoulder, revealing the serpent tattoo that curled up her arm.
She was so beautiful it physically hurt sometimes to look and not touch, which was incredibly strange after years of avoiding touch altogether.
“Uh oh, this feels serious. What’s going on?”
Lucas cleared his throat, leaning forward. “Jupiter, we need to talk to you about something important. We’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now, but the timing never seemed right, and—“
“Does this have anything to do with the Order of Ophiuchus?”
For a second nobody said anything. You could have heard an eyelash hit the floor. Five grown men with advanced degrees and combat certifications and enough magical firepower to level a city block, and we all just sat there with our mouths open, staring at her like she’d sprouted a second head.
Jupiter’s lips twitched, eyes glinting, and my stomach did a sick little flip. She took a slow sip from her mug and waited, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make it clear who was in control of the conversation.
“The Order of Ophiuchus,” Lucas repeated, his voice a perfect deadpan, but I could see the pulse ticking at his jaw. “What exactly do you know about it?”
She shrugged way too nonchalantly. “Enough. You want to know how I figured it out, or should I let you finish your rehearsed speech?”
Phoenix let out a low laugh, shaking his head. “Well, there goes the element of surprise.”
Theo groaned, dropping his face into his hands. “We had a whole bloody PowerPoint planned.”
“Not literally,” Rowan said, though he looked like he wished he’d had time to make one.
I tried to find my words, but they’d all gone fuzzy in my head.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. We’d spent weeks building up to this, prepping every angle, every possible reaction.
We’d planned that Rowan and Lucas would take the lead, that I’d step in if things got weird, that Phoenix would run interference if she got spooked and tried to portal away.
We’d covered every scenario except this.
I managed to get my jaw working. “How long have you known?”
Jupiter angled her head, gaze flicking to me. “Since my second week here, give or take. The restricted texts are full of surprises. You tried your best though, I have to give you that at least. ”
Theo made a strangled noise. “You mean to tell me you’ve been onto us this entire time?”
She grinned, all teeth. “What, like it was a secret or something?”
Lucas let out a breath, shoulders dropping. “Well, that’s that. You’re not angry?”
“Should I be?” Jupiter asked, and there was something dangerous in the way she said it, like the question was a blade she might use if we gave her the wrong answer. “I mean, I guess I should be pissed that you didn’t trust me enough to say something, but I get it. You didn’t know me.”
Phoenix slid onto the arm of the couch, arms folded, looking at her like she was a deer about to sprint away as fast as she could. “You’re not going to run?”
“Why would I?” She set her mug down. “I already transferred continents to get away from one set of manipulative bastards. If I was going to bail, I’d have done it last week.”
Rowan finally found his voice. “We weren’t going to manipulate you. That’s not what this is. We just—”
“Thought I’d run. Yeah, I kinda figured.
But I’m not a child.” She straightened, suddenly serious.
“So here’s my most important question, and I only need it answered once.
” She looked at every, single, one of us.
“Are you using me to fulfill the prophecy, or are you here because you actually want me?”
There was no room for jokes, or teasing. Jupiter was dead fucking serious. Nightfall had wrecked her so badly that I didn’t blame her for not trusting us. After Eliza betrayed us, it took a year before I spoke to anyone outside of my shield.
Lucas sat forward. “The moment I met you at the gala, I stopped caring about the prophecy. The Order didn’t matter. It was about you, and not your designation.”
Theo nodded. “We waited this long to tell you because we thought you’d bolt. We thought you’d never give us a chance to explain.”
“It’s not about the prophecy,” Rowan said. “It’s about what we could be if you wanted us too. How happy we could make each other. But I wouldn’t blame you if you said you weren’t ready.”
Phoenix just looked at her, eyes glowing slightly green, telling me enough about his internal freak out without invading his emotions, though he looked composed on the outside. “You know I’m here for you, Jupiter. Only you.”
I realized my fists had balled up in my lap, white-knuckled.
I forced them open, made my voice as steady as I could physically manage.
“You could walk away right now, Jupiter, and none of us would stop you. In the end, this is a choice, not some duty you’re bound to.
The Order can go fuck itself. All I want is for you to be safe, and to be happy.
I know that’s a lot to fucking ask after everything, but… ”
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.