“We have a situation,” Winters began. She tapped a location on the glowing map, zooming in on a sprawling, complex structure. “There has been a Class Three bane incursion at Waterloo Station in central London. The tear is wide, and the entities are pouring through in numbers we haven’t seen in a decade.”
A collective murmur rippled through the other shield teams. My own heart gave a hard, eager thump.Finally.
“A Class Three?” Phoenix asked, his brow furrowing. “At a major transit hub during rush hour? It’ll be a slaughter.”
“Exactly,” Professor Ellis said grimly.
Since humans couldn’t see the bane, they had no idea what was hunting them. They could only feel the effects. The sudden, freezing drop in temperature, the inexplicable terror, and the rapid draining of their life force. If these bane were allowed to feed on the commuters, the humans would simply collapse and die of what medical examiners would later call massive heart failure.
I stepped closer to the map. “Any non-combat zodiacs in the vicinity can be consumed entirely with that many. The bane will tear their souls apart to gorge on their celestial energy. We needboots on the ground immediately to establish a perimeter, veil the area from cameras, and exterminate the threat.”
Winters looked directly at me, looking pleased. “Well said. I requested the three best combat shields Imperium has to offer. And I specifically requested you, Jupiter.”
The upperclassmen shifted, casting sidelong glances at me. I stood taller, meeting Winters’ gaze head-on. “I’m ready.”
“Are you certain, Ms. Black?” Winters asked, her gaze penetrating. “This is not a simulation.”
“No offense, but it’s not my first rodeo, and I’ve been itching for a real fight since I got here.”
I was practically vibrating with pent-up aggression. I had weeks of heartbreak, betrayal, and suffocating tension coiled up inside my chest, begging for an outlet. I wanted to hit something. I wanted to unleash the starlight burning in my veins on something that deserved to be destroyed.
Lucas looked at me before turning back to Winters. “Stardust is ready. When do we gear up?”
“Now. Head to the armory,” Winters instructed. “Transports are waiting in the underground bay. You leave in ten minutes. Dismissed.”
We didn’t waste a single second. The three shield teams moved as a synchronized unit, plunging into the hidden depths of Imperium Academy. The subterranean armory was a cavernous, stone-walled bunker lined with racks of weapons, tactical armor, and specialized gear designed to channel and amplify zodiac magic.
The air was thick with the smell of oiled leather, sharpened steel, and old earth. I moved to an open bench, strapping a sleek, dark leather combat harness over my chest and shoulders, the material immediately conforming to my shape.
Around me, the Stardust Shield transformed from students into elite warriors. Rowan strapped a massive broadsword tohis back, his broad shoulders flexing against the dark fabric of his combat vest. Jamie was silently sliding a dozen throwing knives into hidden sheaths along his thighs and forearms. Theo fastened a pair of heavy bracers over his forearms, while Phoenix hefted a gigantic, glowing war hammer that looked like it weighed more than I did.
I moved to the weapons rack, my fingers trailing over the steel until I found what I wanted—a pair of twin, curved daggers forged from Scorpius iron. I spun them in my hands, testing the balance, before sliding them into the holsters at my waist. I didn’t strictlyneedweapons, my Ophis starlight was deadlier than any blade, but having them made me feel better.
“Jupiter.”
I turned. Lucas was standing behind me, fully armored, looking like a warlord stepped out of a modern myth. “Are you absolutely sure about this?” he asked, his gaze searching my face.
“I just told Winters I was,” I replied, bristling slightly. “I’ve handled Class Fives, Lucas. A Class Three swarm isn’t going to break me.”
“I’m not talking about the bane.” He reached out, his gloved fingers lightly grazing my elbow. “I’m talking about Nightfall.”
My breath hitched.
“They’re in the village. Right outside the academy gates. As long as you’re inside Imperium, the ancient wards dampen the bond. They can’t force their emotions down your throat. But the second we leave the grounds... the second we cross that boundary line in the transports, you’re going to be in their physical proximity without any magical shielding. Theywillfeel you. And youwillfeel them.”
I hadn’t thought about that. In my eagerness to get out and fight, I’d forgotten that Percy, Aiden, Draco, and Eris wereliterally camping on the academy’s doorstep like a pack of starving wolves.
“They might try to intercept the transports. Or they might just flood your mind with so much static you won’t be able to focus on the mission. If you need to sit this out, no one here will judge you.”
I looked down at the twin daggers at my hips, then up into Lucas’s eyes. “My job is more important than my feelings, Lucas. There are innocent people at that station who are going to die if we don’t get there. I don’t give a damn if they feel me. Let them feel me walking away to do the job they were too busy playing politics to do. I’m going.”
Twenty minutes later,I was strapped into the back of an armored transport, the heavy hum of the engine vibrating through the metal floor and up into my combat boots. The interior was bathed in the dim red glow of tactical lighting. Across from me, Rowan sat with his massive broadsword resting between his knees.
Beside him, Jamie was running a whetstone over one of his throwing knives, the rhythmicshhhk-shhhksound strangely calming. Lucas, Phoenix, and Theo were going over the station schematics on a tablet in the center of the bay.
I focused on my breathing, rolling my shoulders against the tight, comforting restraint of my leather harness. Noodle was securely tucked beneath the reinforced collar of my vest, his small, cool body coiled tightly against my collarbone.
“Approaching the boundary line,” the driver’s voice said over the intercom. “Exiting Imperium wards in three, two, one.”
