Chapter 58

“Juniper!” Orion shouts, starting after her, fury and horror twin echoes in his voice.

But Anton steps in front of him, a stiff arm held out that takes the Prince in the chest, hard. “No,” Anton growls, his brows drawn down low over his eyes.

“She’s –“

“No,” Anton snaps again, shaking his head once. “You don’t get to say a damn thing about what she is, Orion. You fucked this up. You did.”

“It was a stupid piano recital!” Orion spits out, horrified, appalled that both Juniper and Anton are reacting like this.

“Don’t you get it?” Anton whispers, stepping close to Orion, his hand clenched between them in a fist. “Didn’t you listen, at all, to what she just did? That was – that was her whole fucking soul in that music, Orion! That meant a lot to her – more than a lot!”

Orion’s face falls in shock and confusion. “I – how was I supposed to know that!?”

“I don’t know, you idiot!” Anton barks out, angry, as the God of Death steps forward to the fire, waving a hand and putting it out so that only smoke fills the air now instead of flame and heat. “Maybe notice how worked up she was when she walked in here tonight, that she was shaking when she climbed onto that stage!? Maybe listen to a single thing that she played? Maybe watch her while she was playing, and see that she did the entire thing with her eyes closed!?”

Dread fills Orion and he groans, his own eyes closing as he realizes that Anton has a point. That he turned away from the music almost instantly, rather bored by it. It was beautiful, of course, but –

Anton flinches backwards like he was tugged by a rope and he gasps, his head spinning towards the stage. And then he disappears.

Orion gapes after him for a moment before he groans, burying his hands in his hair, realizing that he again made a mistake. That he really, really hurt her feelings, even if her reaction to that was…extreme.

But why shouldn’t it be extreme? Here she is in a competition where she dies if she fails to win his favor, and he can’t even listen to her play a song on the piano for ten fucking minutes? Orion hangs his head, ashamed of himself, as smoke drifts slowly to the ceiling.

He just…can’t seem to do anything right, can he?

Especially not where it concerns Juniper Sinclair.

“That’s fine, you can go,” Anton snaps at Nic the moment the trio appear in the room.

Nic uncharacteristically hesitates, glancing at Juniper as she turns away, her lip shaking now that the rage has left her, tears gathering on her lower lashes.

“Go!” Anton barks out, taking an aggressive step towards Nic.

“Fine, fine,” Nic murmurs, putting his hands up as he gives in. “Call if you need anything.” He disappears.

Anton turns to look after Juniper after Nick disappears, unusually at a loss with what to do. Juniper groans and sniffs hard, burying her head in her hands as she flicks through outfits, clearly trying to figure out what to wear that’s not her uncomfortable performance dress and unable to decide. First it’s another gown, and then pajamas, and then a skirt over a pair of jeans –

Anton’s eyes widen as he realizes that she’s…kind of having a meltdown. But as much as he wants to go to her, and help her, and comfort her, some part of him is also terrified.

Because Juniper – she just…set a piano on fire. With her mind. Her sister’s gift that she mastered apparently in an instant – that took no effort, and no mate with an endless well of power for her to draw upon…

What…what is she? Beyond seriously powerful…what the hell is she?

Anton’s wolf bites him, hard, in his soul. You’d better put all of that aside, you idiot, his wolf growls, baring his teeth and ready to bite again. And go help that poor girl – look at her, she’s in a raincoat and footie pajamas –

Anton shakes his head, concentrating again on June, his eyes widening as he sees that his wolf is right. That June is completely spinning out, and he’s just standing here. Anton moves, crossing the room to her.

“Juniper,” he murmurs, quite soft, slowing his steps as he comes close, not wanting to touch her if she doesn’t want to be touched.

Juniper just starts to sob into her hands, her clothes settling finally on a black t-shirt and soft, flowy grey pants, her feet bare. “I fucked up, Anton.”

“Oh, Junie,” he murmurs, putting a hand on her shoulder. She turns into him then, still sobbing into her hands, and Anton wraps her up as well as he can – which isn’t very well at all, he realizes with a grimace, being incorporeal and all. “It’s not so bad. It can’t be so bad.”

“But it is,” she sobs, shaking her head. “Death – he’s going to be so mad at me – he’s going to punish me, maybe expel me from the game.” She shakes with her tears now before lifting her wet face to Anton’s, the devastated expression there a knife to his heart. “He’s going to take Sera. Or Rosie or Bella.”

She shakes her head like she can’t stand the thought.

“We don’t know that,” Anton murmurs, doing his best to wipe away her tears and failing. “We have no idea how he’ll react. Maybe he…” Anton hesitates before he shrugs. “I mean, the fire was seriously impressive June. Maybe we can convince him it was…part of the show?”

But his joke falls flat, and she just groans, tucking her face back against her palms and crying harder.

Anton takes a deep breath, holding her close, resting his chin on top of her sweet dark head, wishing he could do anything – anything at all to make this better.

But suddenly he gasps when she walks straight through him, striding across the room. A freezing shiver runs through every inch of his being – he hates when she walks through him like that – but he turns in surprise to see her stalking back and forth as she wipes hard at her face with her hands.

“We need a plan,” Juniper growls, hiccupping and doing her best to rile her anger, which Anton knows she’s so much more comfortable with than pain, than anguish and fear.

“June,” he sighs, holding out a hand towards her, knowing that no plan can be made.

“Maybe we can…offer him something,” she murmurs, stalking back and forth, her hands fists at her side.

“June.”

“Maybe if I…if I offer to be in the Bottom? For the rest of the competition?” Her voice is more driven than hopeful. “Maybe that will assuage him? Or, if I give up the gift at the end, like Laila did?”

Anton goes a bit cold at that – because he’s still counting on that wish, hoping desperately it can be used to bring him back to life. But…not important now.

“June,” Anton says, slipping his hands into his pockets, his voice harder now, demanding that she listen.

Her head snaps up and she glares at him. “What,” she growls, the word slipping between her teeth. Anton can’t help it, the little thrill that runs through him to see her angry like that, so ferocious and beautiful. His wolf yips and then raises his snout to the sky, letting out a delighted little howl.

But Anton smacks his rump, making him pay attention.

“Juniper,” Anton says softly, crossing to her. “I’m phrasing this as a question because I know that if I don’t you’ll probably try to stab me but…are you really upset about Death here? Or is this about….Orion?”

Her face goes pale before a thousand emotions shift over it. Pain first, and then anger to cover it up, and then more rage at Anton for daring to say it, and then pain again – always pain – always there beneath it. All the pain of a fourth child who has never felt enough, who hides her gifts away because she’s scared that the world is going to see them and turn away with a sneer.

A girl to whom that happened tonight, when she bared her soul to the guy she has a crush on – and she does have a crush, Anton is aware, even if she won’t admit it.

And that guy, instead of being awed by the true beauty of her spirit…talked to another girl instead.

“Junie,” Anton murmurs, his own soul aching for her, his wolf pressing against the edges of his soul, scratching hard, trying to…to break through, to get to her, to rush to her wolf and press himself warm to her side. Anton steps forward and offers her his hand, hoping he can help her calm, hoping she’ll come to him.

But Juniper just presses her eyes shut, her entire body tensing as her mouth becomes a thin line, as she just…shoves it all down. Shoves all the pain deep in her soul and looks for a distraction.

Anton sighs, because he knows the feeling well. But also knows that it doesn’t help anything – maybe for the moment, but not in the end.

“I can’t do this,” Juniper snarls, turning away and stalking across the room. Anton just takes a deep breath and follows her – knowing that’s what she needs, what he promised he’d do. That, as asked, he’s ruthlessly on her side.

But also knowing that he’d do it anyway, even if a divine being hadn’t asked him to. It’s the only place he wants to be, after all.

Juniper stalks out onto the terrace, her hands sinking deep in her long dark hair, staring frantically out at the wasteland and the moonlit sky like it’s going to offer her something. Anything.

“What are you doing?” Anton asks, leaning against one of the pillars that separates the room from the outdoors.

“I don’t know,” she growls, not looking at him. “I just…need some air.”

He nods, understanding, realizing that nothing that he says right now is going to help. So he keeps quiet and stands witness instead – the only thing he can offer in this moment.

Still, Juniper’s frantic energy isn’t quelled. She glances around, looking for something, for anything to concentrate on, her breath coming faster and faster.

“Is it working?” Anton asks, hesitant.

“No,” she sighs, frustrated and angry. “It’s…I need…I need space, damn it.”

And then, to his shock, Juniper disappears into thin air.