“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 aboutyou, 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 foryou, 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…”
