But then, my mental walls shattered.
Jupiter!
“Jupiter!”
The voices weren’t in my head anymore. They were in the room. I froze, my breath catching in my throat. I spun around, scanning the massive, chaotic concourse.
Bursting through the shattered glass of the southern entrance, was the motherfucking Nightfall Shield.
Percy was at the front, his Aries magic flaring so brightly around his fists that it cast red shadows against the walls. Aiden was beside him, his eyes locked onto me across the sea of fleeing humans and fighting warriors, his twin blades drawn. Draco and Eris flanked them, both staring straight at me.
The shock of seeing them, of feeling the bond suddenly flare to full, agonizing life now that they were physically in the same space, short-circuited my brain. For one crucial, fatal second, I forgot where I was. I forgot the job. I just stared at Aiden’s face, remembering the way he had looked at me when I left him in that smoking room.
“Jupiter, move!” Rowan bellowed.
I snapped my head back around, but I was too late.
A massive Class Three bane, easily the size of a transport truck, had dropped from the upper balcony directly behind me. I didn’t even have time to raise my daggers. The creature’s elongated, shadowy arm swept out like a battering ram.
The impact felt like being hit by a freight train.
The bane’s claws tore through the reinforced leather of my combat harness, biting deep into my ribs. The sheer force of the blow lifted me completely off my feet. I was thrown backward through the air, the world spinning in a dizzying blur of lights, shadows, and screaming faces.
I crashed violently into a heavy wooden ticketing kiosk. The wood splintered around me, and my head snapped back against the stone pillar behind it.
Pain exploded in my skull, a blinding flash of white light that immediately faded into ringing darkness. I slumped to the flooramidst the wreckage, my daggers clattering away from my numb fingers. I could feel warm blood pouring down my side, soaking into my shirt.
JUPITER!
The scream wasn’t just through the bond. It echoed physically across the concourse. It was Percy, his voice tearing at the vocal cords, completely unhinged.
I blinked, trying to clear the dark spots dancing in my vision. My ribs felt like they were in pieces, and every breath was a jagged knife of agony. I tried to push myself up, my hands slipping on my own blood. Through the ringing in my ears, the sounds of battle escalated to a deafening roar.
The bane that had hit me let out a victorious screech, raising its claws to finish the job. I raised a trembling hand, trying to summon my starlight, but the blow to my head had scattered my focus. The magic flickered and died in my palm.
But the bane never brought its claws down.
A blur of golden light intercepted the creature. Aiden hit the bane with the force of a meteor, his Leo magic roaring like a physical lion. He drove both of his long blades into the creature’s chest, his face contorted into pure, murderous rage. He butchered it, ripping his blades outward and tearing the shadow entity completely in half.
The bane dissolved into ash, coating Aiden’s dark combat gear. He didn’t even pause. He spun around, dropping to his knees beside me in the wreckage of the kiosk.
“Baby,” he choked out, hands hovered over my bleeding side, terrified to touch the wound. “Jupiter. Look at me. Look at me, please.”
I blinked, trying to focus on Aiden’s face. My ribs screamed in protest with every shallow gasp of air I managed to pull into my lungs. They felt shattered, the jagged parts grinding together inside my chest. Beneath my torn combat gear, thewound was already beginning to knit itself back together—Aelari healing working its magic—but it wasn’t fast enough to stop the agonizing, throbbing pain that radiated from my side.
Aiden’s hands were shaking so badly they were practically vibrating. “Where else?” he demanded. “Jupiter, where else are you hit? Tell me!” His eyes were wild, darting over my body, searching for more blood.
I opened my mouth to speak, to tell him to back the fuck off, but I couldn’t pull in a full breath. A wet, rattling sound escaped my throat instead. I reached for my magic, wanting to push him away, but the starlight only flickered weakly at my fingertips before dying out completely.
A second later, Eris dropped to his knees beside Aiden. His copper hair was disheveled, his face streaked in ash. He didn’t say a word, his movements quick and efficient as his hands ghosted over my limbs, assessing the damage.
“Eris, she’s bleeding—“ Aiden started, panic choking off whatever else he was going to say.
“I see it, shut up,” Eris snapped. He leaned over me, taking my face between his hands. His touch was firm, steadying my lolling head. He stared intently into my eyes, his brow furrowed in deep concentration.
“Shit,” Eris hissed. “She hasseverehead trauma. One of her pupils is completely blown out. We need to stabilize her neck.”
I felt the edges of my vision darkening, the noise of the concourse fading into a muted buzz. I was going to pass out. The weight of the Nightfall bond pressing against my weakened mind, combined with the physical trauma, was too much.
