Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)(18)

The Dominions pried my fingers off Demetra’s hair, dragged me back, and pinned me in place. The other Dominion soldiers barked orders at the group, urging them to keep walking.

None of them wanted to attract a demigod’s attention.

I wasn’t proud of myself for pulling hair—I was more of a punch-you-in-the-teeth kind of girl. But I was too mad to care about my dignity or anyone else’s. The whole day’s frustration and the fear of what was coming all accumulated and accelerated.

Plus, when I faced bullies, I became an aggressor myself.

I took no shit, and walking toward death’s door wasn’t going to change my attitude either.

“I don’t give a fuck how thick a god’s blood is in your nasty veins,” I warned, not even struggling in Cameron’s and Marie’s grips. “Talk shit like that again, and I’ll beat the crap out of you.”

“You’re dead, you inferior human!” Demetra shrieked. “You don’t have an ounce of any god’s DNA in you. You should never have come here. You won’t come out of that building alive. You’ll suffer an agonizing death before the first rune—”

“What the hell is going on here?” a voice boomed, carrying potent magic.

Axel appeared at the top of the stairs we were about to climb, which led toward a magnificent yet intimidating red building.

Power rolled off him in an icy wind, crushing down everything and everyone in its path.

As one, everyone dropped to their knees, except for me, again.

Even the noises of the wind hushed.

The Dominion soldiers around us quickly straightened their outfits, which were already straight and spotless.

“Are you causing trouble again, Marigold?” Axel asked impatiently.

“Who? Me?” I asked darting my eyes around in innocent confusion.

“What did I say about the consequences of you not behaving?” he pursued.

I bit my lip. He’d let his Dominions punish Jasper and Circe. “This damn robe is uncomfortable,” I said.

His dark amber eyes dipped to my robe before roving across my every inch.

Maybe I shouldn’t have complained about my wardrobe. I suddenly understood what it meant to be caressed without touching.

The demigod could undress me with his mere smoldering gaze, and wearing nothing but a robe didn’t help. If I had on my hunter attire, I’d be in my element and know how to deal with him.

Right now, I’d never felt more vulnerable than under the weight of his blunt, heated, and assessing gaze.

Worse, a swirl of liquid fire licked the flesh between my thighs, and my sex became slick and wet.

My face burned. Goddammit! What had I said about not wearing panties?

Gods help me if my lady bits got any wetter!

I lifted my chin, staring back at the demigod in defiance as I tightened the front of my robe.

An amused, wicked, and possessive smile ghosted his lips before it disappeared as if it had never been there.

“You were out of my sight for only a few hours,” Axel sighed, “and you’re already causing chaos. I’m starting to wonder if it was worth it to bring you here.”

My eyes sparkled in hope, and I stepped toward him without his invitation, though he was still twenty stairs away from me. “You’ll let me go?”

He regarded me darkly, seeming to think about it, and I smiled at him in order to get in his good graces.

“Nope,” he said, his face turning hard. “You will go through the trial, Marigold, even if I have to drag you through it myself.”

A wild wind rolled down from the stairs, shuffling my robe and caressing the valley between my thighs. I parted my lips and widened my eyes at the sensation. Then the naughty wind was gone, as was the infuriating Demigod of War.

Demetra snickered as she rose to her feet. She must believe that Axel was using the ritual as a means to humiliate, punish, and execute me.

She would be the cheerleader for that, wouldn’t she?

But she might be right, though.

I refused to let any of them further crush my spirit.

I paused at the base of the stairs and turned to Marie. “May I borrow your boots, Marie?” I asked. At least I could try to improve my current condition as the first step. “You have socks. My bare feet are fragile. It really hurt walking on that long, cobbled path.” I raised my head and peeked at the cobbled stairs leading to the red building where the ritual would be held and lives would be lost.

Maybe I was stalling. I had no courage left. “Man, just look at those stairs. I don’t think my feet, which aren’t made of stones, can take it anymore.”

The clique shot me dirty looks and climbed the stairs with vigor. The other two outsiders followed closely behind them, showing their strength as well.

Nat and Yelena paused beside me.

“C’mon, Marigold,” Yelena offered. “Let’s go. You can lean on Nat and me.”

“Get moving, Marigold,” Cameron said, his voice back to harsh and threatening. “You nearly got my rank stripped with that hair-dragging stunt. No more hassles, or you’ll be very sorry.”

I started to wonder if he had bipolar disorder.

“And the answer to lending you my boots is a big no.” Marie chuckled. “Your feet are the least of your concerns now. You don’t want to keep getting on the bad side of the demigods.”