Page 28 of The Bound Zodiac

He lifted me, hands under my thighs, and my legs locked around his waist on instinct, ankles crossing at the small of his back. The bark scraped against my spine through my t-shirt, and I didn’t care. Didn’t care about anything except the heat of him against me, the hard ridge of his cock pressing through his pants right where I needed him.

I ground down against it, and the sound that came out of me was obscene—a low, broken moan that echoed off the canopy above us. Draco made a noise against my mouth that was barely human, hips bucking up into me, and the friction was so good it made my vision white out.

He practically fucked me against the tree in slow, agonizing rolls of his hips, and I met every one of them, my fingers fisted in his hair, my mouth open against his, our breathing ragged and fast and completely out of control.

“Draco—Draco, I’m⁠—”

“I know,” he growled against my jaw, and his hand slid between us, pressing flat against my clit through the thin fabric of my shorts, and that was all it took. The orgasm hit, my whole body seizing, a cry tearing out of my throat that I was distantly grateful nobody could hear this deep in the forest.

He let out a guttural, broken “fuuuck—” before his hips stuttered, his whole body shuddering against mine as he came hard, his forehead dropping to my shoulder, his breath hot and ragged against my collarbone.

We stayed like that for a moment. His weight against me, my legs still locked around him, both of us breathing like we’d just run a marathon. The waterfall kept rushing. The birds kept singing. Somewhere in the ferns, Noodle had apparently decided to pretend this wasn’t happening, because there was no judgmental commentary, which was either a blessing or a sign that he’d wandered off to hunt something.

Draco’s forehead was still pressed against my shoulder. I could feel his heartbeat through his chest, hammering against mine, gradually slowing.

“Slowly…” I whispered breathlessly.

He laughed. “Yeah. Slowly. We’re doing great already.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

JUPITER

I stood in the middle of the Scorpio common room, watching the clock tick closer to midnight. My stomach was doing somersaults, and I couldn’t stop fidgeting with the hem of my sweater. Noodle had draped himself across the back of the couch, watching me.

The room was dimly lit, just the fireplace casting warm light across the dark wood furniture and deep blue walls. I needed everyone to be as at ease as possible for what I was about to propose. I’d been putting it off for too long, and it was time to rip the bandaid off.

The door opened, and Lucas stepped in first, followed by Rowan, Jamie, and Phoenix. Theo was last, carrying a tray of what looked suspiciously like snacks.

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow.

“What? This could take a while.” He set the tray on the coffee table. “I brought cookies.”

Before I could respond, the door opened again, and Nightfall filed in. Percy led the way, his expression unreadable. Aiden was right behind him, arms crossed, eyes already scanning the room and its occupants with skepticism. Draco came next, and our eyes met for just a fraction of a second. Long enough for heat to crawl up my neck before he looked away with the smallest of smirks.

The room suddenly felt very, very small.

“Everyone find a seat,” I said. “We have a lot to discuss.”

The tension was palpable. Stardust had arranged themselves on one side of the room, Nightfall on the other, with me standing awkwardly in the middle like some kind of referee at a boxing match. I’d known this would be difficult, but the physical manifestation of the divide between the two shields made my chest ache.

“First,” I began, clasping my hands behind my back to hide their trembling, “I know this is... unconventional.”

“Unconventional is one word for it,” Percy muttered.

I shot him a look. “Let me finish.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender, but I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his fingers tapped restlessly against his thigh. He was nervous too, I realized. All of them were.

“I’ve been doing a lot of research since I came to Imperium,” I continued, pacing slowly. “About my designation, about the history of our people, about what it means to be Ophiuchus.” I paused, gathering my courage. “And I’ve discovered something that changes everything.”

I told them about the Order, and about the elders and the chamber beneath the academy. About the scorch mark on the floor where the last Ophis had stood. All the while, they stared at me blankly.

“The bane have probably moved on,” I said, watching their faces closely. “They’ve left the home worlds behind, searching for better feeding grounds now that the Aelari are scattered. The worlds are empty but not dead. We can go back and rebuild.”

The silence that followed was overwhelmingly loud. I exhaled a long, shaky breath, feeling my shoulders sag. I’d spilled everything, hoping I’d find the courage to say it all.

“You’re talking about opening a portal,” Draco said, his brow furrowed in thought. “To the home worlds.”