Page 56 of The Bound Zodiac

“Come here, lass,” I said, before I could talk myself out of it.

She did, and without hesitation, stopped in front of the couch. I reached out, slow enough that she could refuse, and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her into my lap. She was a bit stiff, but through the bond I didn’t feel any hints of disgust or resentment, and that surprised the hell out of me. Her hair tickled my nose, and I buried my face in it, breathing her in.

“Jupiter, please listen. I need to say this.”

She went very still. I could feel her heartbeat through the thin fabric of her shirt, fluttering like a caged butterfly. Still she didn’t move. Didn’t try to flee, and that was more than I deserved. I knew she was likely only indulging this for the sake of the Horizon Shield becoming a functioning unit, but I would take what I could get.

“I’m sorry, Jupiter,” I said, and it was the truth, the rawest thing I’d ever spoken. “I’m so damn sorry for what I did. For what I said. For how I made you feel. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret it.”

Her breath caught, but she didn’t pull away. I pressed on, because if I stopped talking, I’d never get the words out.

“I know I hurt you. I know I can’t take it back. But if you’ll let me, I’ll walk through hot coals for you. Sleep on a bed of nails. Crawl over broken glass. I’ll do anything, anything, if you’ll forgive me.”

I felt her shiver, just the tiniest tremor.

“I’ll wait,” I said, my arms tightening around her. “As long as it takes. I mean it, Jupiter. You could make me wait a hundred years and I’d still be here. I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you throw me out on my arse, and even then, I’ll just camp outside your fucking door, so you might as well get used to me.”

That was the truth of it, wasn’t it? I would follow her to the end of the earth. Hell, to the ends of the galaxy if it meant catching just one more glimpse of those starlight eyes.

She was silent for a long, long time. The longer she was silent, the more nervous I became, thinking maybe I said the wrong thing.

But then, slowly, her hands came up, cupped my cheeks, and turned my face so I had to look at her. “You’re an absolute idiot,” she murmured. “You don’t have to walk through hot coals, Eris. You don’t have to sleep on nails. But it’s enough to know that you would if I asked.”

She sucked in a deep lungful of air and adjusted herself on my lap. “Listen, Eris… So much has happened since I left Dominion. I’ve changed more in the last few months than I have in the three years since my manifestation. But something I realized when you four came after me to Imperium, is that there’s still so much life ahead of us, and the time we spent together at Dominion was a speck of it. We barely knew one another, but the hurt was amplified by our bond.”

I shook my head, my heart absolutely racing. “It doesn’t excuse what I did.”

“Of course it doesn’t,” she amended. Her hands were tight on my cheeks. “But I’m coming to realize that it’s not exactly fair to expect absolute perfection from four men who never asked for me to barge into their lives. Four men who gave up their freedom of choice in order to save me that day in the Abyss.” Her eyes sparkled, as if she could cry but was holding it back. “You made a mistake, and yeah, it fucking hurts. It hurts so bad sometimes I can't fucking breathe. But you know what else fucking hurts?” I shook my head, at a loss for words, and a small smile touched her lips. “The thought of never giving us a real shot, magical bond be damned.”

She leaned forward and kissed my cheek, and my heart nearly exploded.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JUPITER

The sky was bone gray, a colorless morning that made the woods look like something out of a horror flick. I needed to get out of the tower. Away from the academy. I found myself headed for the forest, boots crunching old leaves and moss at the edge of the path. I followed the path down to the pond, where the gentle drum of the waterfall was the only sound.

It was private and somewhat isolated, and since I already had luck with the pixie, maybe a kelpie or two would grace me with their presence.

I stripped off my hoodie, peeling it over my head, and tossed it onto a rock. The leggings went next, leaving me in a sports bra and underwear that basically counted as a swimsuit. The first toe hit the water and I sucked in a breath. Fuck. It was a lot colder than expected. I gritted my teeth and waded in up to my knees. The chill bit at my skin, but I forced myself deeper, up to my waist, then chest.

A sound broke the silence, a low, steady splash. I blinked, peering through the mist. There was a body moving in the water, slicing through it with grace, and there was an ever so slight golden glow emanating from the water around him, steam rising into the air.

Aiden.

For a second, I just floated there, feeling like a creep. He saw me eventually and stopped at the edge of the pond and leaned back, supporting himself on both hands, chest gleaming with droplets, golden eyes fixed on me.

“Didn’t expect an audience,” he drawled, voice like honeyed whiskey with a mean edge underneath.

I rolled my eyes and tried for casualness, as if my heart wasn’t hammering itself to death behind my ribs. “Relax, I’m not here to interrupt your brooding.”

His mouth twitched. “You’re welcome to brood with me anytime.”

I waded deeper in, shivering, his gaze dragging up and down my body, setting every nerve on fire. The water was so damn cold, but in a way it felt good. Refreshing even. But my teeth were chattering, and I had no idea how long I could stand it in here.

For a second, neither of us said anything. The only sound was the waterfall. The golden glow around him began to expand like sunlight on the water, until it reached my abdomen, encircling my body entirely. Then, the entire pond began to glow and turn warm, as if Aiden were the sun himself. Perks of having Leo fire at your beck and call, I supposed. At least I could stop shivering.

I swam out a little deeper, the warm current swirling around my legs. We were only a few feet apart now, close enough that I could see the gold flecks burning in his eyes. He watched me with hunger so raw it was almost violent.