Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)
Meg Xuemei X
Prologue
The Demigod of War
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The green-eyed human girl fought like a fiend against a large, vicious gang.
Her ferocity was the most stunning thing I’d ever seen.
But I didn’t come for her. We came for the two supernaturals on her team. Rogues weren’t allowed to roam the demigods’ territory unchecked. They either joined the Academy or were put down.
Wrap it up, I ordered Cameron, the lieutenant of the Dominion of Gods, with a gesture. These soldiers had survived the Trial of the Blood Runes because they had gods’ blood in their veins.
The fight in the street ceased abruptly as Cameron’s men marched into the battlefield, gunning for their targets. The other combatants stepped back, fear for the Dominion soldiers sinking in their eyes—all except for the human girl.
She stepped in front of a teenage wolf shifter and an underage witch, blocking Cameron and his soldiers.
“Marigold, they’re the Dominions. We can’t fight them off,” the shifter whispered, trying to pull her back to protect her, but she shrugged him off.
“Like Hell I’ll let them take you!” she said, her hands twitching, ready for violence.
She was still running on adrenaline. I smelled her dark fear, though it was no match for her fury.
Cameron’s jaw clenched. He hadn’t met a civilian who dared resist an arrest or recruitment. And no one cursed in front of a Dominion soldier without suffering the consequences.
The lieutenant and his men were more than zealous to impress me, as a demigod rarely accompanied them on an enlistment mission.
“I don’t give a fuck how pretty you are, chick,” Cameron snorted. “Get the fuck out of my way, or—”
The girl attacked.
She planted a boot into Cameron’s chest and kicked hard. At the same time, she nocked five arrows, letting them fly in blurry succession.
Her every aim hit true, but she was up against the well-trained Dominion warriors in armor that no human weapon could penetrate.
Our forces surrounded her. The girl yelled for the shifter and witch to run, but instead they pressed their backs against hers, ready to fight to the death with her.
I chuckled.
“Fun’s over, little minx,” I said, peeling myself from the shade and stepping into the battlefield before my soldiers terminated the trio.
My demigod power coiled, ripping the fabric of the air.
Every knee—the soldiers’, the civilians’, and the gang members’—dropped to a battlefield strewn with shells of bullets, bits of concrete, animal fur, and blood.
Yet one pair of knees refused to go down.
A flick of surprise flashed through my eyes. That was a first.
The girl braced her feet apart and glared at me, the fire of fury burning in her eyes, their color so vivid it was greener than any forest in any universe I’d passed.
A flame lashed out like invisible lightning, striking the icy, steel walls that encased my careless, ruthless demigod heart.
Instantly, my cock hardened.
What the fuck?
The beast roared in me, awakening, as did my primal need.
I reined in the beast with effort so I wouldn’t drag down that female, push her to the ground, and mount her from behind, right there.
I prided myself in not being a savage demigod, but without a mirror, I knew my eyes glowed molten gold with a crimson ring around the pupils.
My power increased, unleashing at the girl’s challenge. Violent wind charged from me, wheeling and slamming into everything in its path.
The buildings within the scope of my power rumbled, glass shattering.
The wolves, hybrids, and humans whimpered as they were thrown backwards, including the young witch and the shifter who knelt behind the human girl.
She swayed before steadying herself.
Kneel, I commanded her.
Her lavender hair spread wildly, whipped by the electrifying power in the air. Beads of sweat dotted on her cute little nose. Fear and rage spoke volumes in her eyes as she endeavored to resist my power.
Her legs buckled, revealing her human weakness, and I waited for her to drop to her knees to pay me respect, like everyone else.
My faint smile wilted from the corners of my lips when she straightened her back and straightened her legs.
No human or supernatural could withstand my compulsion, except for the primordial Olympian gods and Lucifer. Even my demigod peers had to put on their armor and shield themselves against me with their power.
But this mere human girl stood her ground.
As if that wasn’t infuriating enough, she flipped me the bird.
It was the first time anyone had ever given me that. She didn’t know she was courting violence, then death.
My soldiers’ gasps were audible, even over the gang’s and her companions’. Hushed quietness resumed at my snarl.
Everyone waited for me to strike down the insolent human girl.
The minx smirked, the brightest, most gorgeous thing on Earth, and every predatory cell within me swirled alive.
A thrill coursed through my veins.
My cock grew hard, jerking forward and rasping painfully against the fabric of my pants.
I clenched my teeth, willing myself to keep control and stay put, no matter how badly I wanted to claim this female now, over and over.