Page 71 of The Bound Zodiac

Out the window, I could hear the noise rising. Cars pulling up outside. The soft thud of distant music. Voices on the wind. Aelari reporters congregated at the entrance of the main building, and every few minutes there was a flash of light as someone’s camera went off. I watched as an entire shield team disembarked from a glossy black car, all of them in matching tailored suits, moving in perfect formation. The Assembly really knew how to put on a show. It would probably be even more extravagant than the one in New York.

Eventually, a knock sounded at the door. This time, it was my father, flanked by Percy and Rowan. Dad looked good in a suit. He’d shaved, and his hair was slicked back.

“You look like your mother,” he said finally, voice thick. “Except, you know, taller, meaner—” Rowan elbowed him, and my father cleared his throat with a laugh. “Go get ‘em, sweetheart.”

I took a breath, let my father’s words settle in my chest like armor, and tried to ignore the fact that my hands were shaking. It was fine. I’d been through worse than this. I’d literally fought monsters that wanted to eat my face. A few hundred bored rich assholes and power-hungry politicians were nothing.

Except my stomach was tight with nerves and my heels felt like they were made of iron spikes. I adjusted the ponytail, making sure it was still high and sleek. I was ready. Or as ready as I was going to be.

Rowan offered me his arm first, the picture of a gentleman in a perfectly fitted suit, but the little glint in his turquoise eyes told me he was up to no good as usual, and the tone of his inner thoughts was distinctly inappropriate. My father flanked my other side as I was led out the door.

We descended the staircase, and I tried not to trip or sweat through the silk. This was just another battle. Just another mission. I could do this.

At the bottom of the stairs, my entire shield was already there. For a second, nobody noticed us. Then Percy looked up from where he was half-leaning against a side table, tie already loosened at his throat, and his eyes snapped to mine.

The bond lit up like a live wire. I felt it pour through me. There was the heat, the hunger, the admiration, the restraint. It was so thick I almost staggered. He went still. Everyone did, actually.

Aiden was perched on the edge of one of the armchairs. He watched me cross the room, eyes smoldering, jaw clenching with the effort not to react. Jamie actually blinked, then grinned with a rare, real warmth, his usually sad eyes drinking me in. Lucas’s hand flexed on his glass. I could feel the force of his attention even though he barely moved. Eris looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. For a second, he just stared, then a slow, wicked smile crept over his face.

Draco just stared, his face blank but his mind screaming through the bond. Phoenix grinned a bit too feral for the company we had. Theo, who was passing a tray of shots, nearly dropped the fucking thing.

My dad raised an eyebrow at the assembled men. “Are you all planning to keep my daughter safe tonight?”

Eris grinned, baring teeth. “Yes sir.”

“You better,” Dad said, but his eyes were laughing.

Draco and Theo passed around shot glasses, and I took mine greedily. Then, Draco lifted a glass. “May tonight go smoothly, and may the Assembly live to regret inviting us.”

I snorted. “Hear, hear.”

We all raised our glasses. The bond vibrated with the collective rush of anticipation, nerves, and something darker and sweeter that had nothing to do with toasts or galas. The shot burned like hell going down, but the aftertaste was rich and honeyed.

Theo grabbed another round, passing them with a flourish. “For luck,” he said. “And because that last one barely counted.”

We did the second shot. This one hit harder. I could feel the warmth flush my skin, steadying my nerves. The guys closed in around me, not touching, but close enough that I could feel the heat of their bodies. No one said it, but everyone was braced for battle.

The walk to the ballroom was short. Out the doors, across the courtyard. The night air was cold and filled with fog, scattering the noise of the crowd that had already begun to gather at the entrance of the oldest wing of the academy.

Everywhere, people were posing for photos and mingling, the smell of expensive perfume mixing with the scent of old stone and moss. The flash of camera lights was nearly constant. Lydia and the others caught up with us, blue dress shimmering as she linked arms with Valeria and Kassie.

But the guys never left my side. We moved as a unit, eyes tracking every threat. It should have felt ridiculous, but it didn’t. With them at my back, I could have walked into hell happily.

The ballroom was stunningly decorated for the evening. Like a gothic cathedral of dark stone, vaulted ceilings hung with silvered banners and glowing lanterns. Glass windows rose thirty feet, letting in moonlight across the marble floors. The sound of hundreds of voices hit me at once, but I kept moving.

The moment we entered, a hush fell. It was subtle, but I felt it ripple through the crowd. All eyes turned to us—the freak show, the anomaly, the first Ophiuchus in ten thousand years.

I could feel the pressure of it bearing down, but I didn’t flinch. Assembly members surged forward, all of them desperate to get a piece of me. Hands extended, faces painted with professional smiles, voices cloyingly sweet as they tried to out-politeness each other.

“Miss Black, such a pleasure, such a privilege, we’ve followed your progress with great interest…”

“You look radiant, my dear, simply radiant. As does your shield. So impressive.”

I recognized some of them from New York. I played the game, smiling, shaking hands, letting them prattle on. All the while, I scanned the crowd for threats, for allies, for anyone who might make this night easier or harder.

Scattered through the crowd were members of the Order. Some wore the formal silver pin on their lapel. Others just gave me the subtlest nod. I recognized Tala, stone-faced and regal in velvet, her eyes meeting mine across the room. Next to her, Malakai, raising his glass in a salute, looking so much like Phoenix it was jarring sometimes. There were others, too. Some of them I barely knew, but their faces shone with pride and encouragement.

The tension in my spine eased, just a little. I wasn’t alone. In the bond, the guys felt it too. The relief, the flicker of hope, the anticipation of what was coming.