Page 30 of The Bound Zodiac

“And what would this training involve?” Draco asked.

“The elders would work with all of us as a single shield team,” Phoenix explained. “Teaching us to channel our power through Jupiter, to strengthen the bond between all nine of us. It would be intense, requiring full commitment.”

The room grew quiet again as everyone processed this information. I could feel Nightfall’s mix of confusion, resistance, and a growing curiosity. They exchanged glances, sharing a silent conversation. I couldn’t hear their thoughts since they weren’t directed at me, but there was a faint murmuring in the back of my head, like distant chatter.

Percy was the first to move. He stood, slowly, and walked over to me. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, and for once, he didn’t seem angry.

“You really think this is possible?” he asked quietly, studying my face.

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”

He held my gaze for a long moment, and I felt our bond hum, feeding me his emotions. “Then we’ll do it,” he said finally. “Whatever you need. Whatever it takes to keep you safe, to make you strong.” He turned to look at his shield brothers. “We’re in.”

Aiden’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “We’re in.”

Eris shrugged, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Aye. Though I reserve the right to complain.”

All eyes turned to Draco. He was watching me, his expression unreadable, but I felt something warm and satisfying through the bond. “You already know I’m in.”

CHAPTER NINE

AIDEN

The admin building emptied into the main courtyard through a set of heavy oak doors that groaned on their hinges. The afternoon had turned cool and overcast, the sky the color of wet slate, and the courtyard was mostly empty—a couple of second years hurrying across the flagstones, a groundskeeper raking leaves along the far wall.

The air smelled like fresh rain. Dominion’s air had smelled like the remnants of city smog. This place smelled like it had been growing for a thousand years and intended to keep growing for a thousand more.

I’d made it maybe ten steps across the courtyard when she materialized from behind the stone column to my left, and my whole body went rigid.

I’d known she was still here. Imperium had been hers for the last two years. I’d been here for over a week and I hadn’t looked for her. Hadn’t tried to find her room. Had walked the long way around the Leo tower on the off chance I’d run into her in the corridors. Some part of me had been hoping she’d simply evaporate into the English fog and spare us both the effort.

No such luck. She was leaning against the column with her arms crossed, watching me with an expression I couldn’t read. My sister had always been the most striking of the three of them. Tall, blonde like me, with the same gold eyes that ran in the Reece bloodline. Our father’s perfect daughter.

“Aiden…”

“Eliza.”

We stood there for a moment, the silence stretching between us. The last time we’d spoken had been at a family dinner in New York, three years ago, and she’d spent the entire evening making pointed comments about my drinking and the company I kept, and I’d spent the entire evening wanting to put my fist through the wall behind her head.

That was how it went with the Reece sisters. They’d been raised to be weapons, same as me, but they’d been raised to be the kind of weapons that smiled while they cut you, and I’d never quite mastered the smiling part.

“Dad mentioned you’d transferred.”

Another silence. The rain was starting. A fine, cold mist that settled on my shoulders and the collar of my jacket. She was studying me with an expression that was almost thoughtful, which was so unlike her that I found myself searching her face for the trap.

“How are you?”

I blinked. “What?”

“It’s a simple question.”

I stared at her. This was not the script. The script was: Eliza says something cutting about my life choices, I say something cutting about hers, we part ways with the mutual understanding that we’d both rather eat glass than share a room.

“I’m… fine,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say.

“You look tired.”

“I am tired.”