Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)(46)

“Fuck off, Paxton,” Zak snarled. “You have no rights to her anymore.”

“Don’t let that fucker get one inch closer to her,” Axel bellowed. “I’ll have a word with him after I make sure Marigold lives. He’s started a war this time.”

“The hell I’ll let any of you kick me out of the game,” Paxton said. “She’s mine as much as she’s yours.”

Game? What kind of sick game was he talking about? Were the demigods all playing a game with me? How dare that psychopath think I was his? Did he have an ounce of fucking common sense?

“After what you did to her?” Axel hissed in wrath.

“You’ve gone too far, Paxton,” Zak agreed, regarding the sea demigod like an icy statue. “You don’t deserve a mate like her after you laid your hands on her—after you encouraged another student do this to her. We never hurt our own. There’s no coming back from this for you.”

“I never meant for this to happen,” Paxton growled. “I didn’t expect her to be so bullheaded. I’ve never met anyone as stubborn, hot-headed, and infuriating as her. She refused to yield, and it got out of control. I was about to stop it. I just wanted to see what she was made of, what made her tick, and how much she could take so I could bend her a little. Our girl has a short fuse and a hotter temper. So it backfired, all right. I’ll fix it.”

“Fix it, my ass!” Axel said. “Look at her. Look what you did to her. You crossed the line, you sick fuck! She’s not your girl, and you’ll never touch her again.”

“You don’t get the final say in our pact, cub,” Paxton said coldly. “We’ve found the one woman for us all, and I won’t back off. I’ll have my share. And for your information, she hates you, too. She knows exactly what you’ve done to her. You dragged her to the Academy and risked her life in the ritual for your own curiosity.”

“I knew she’d survive!” Axel shouted.

“But she didn’t know that,” Paxton sneered. “You aren’t on better ground than I am. She didn’t just declare war on me; she declared it on all of us. If I can’t have her, neither can you.”

“You bastard!” Axel snarled. “You ruined everything. If she doesn’t live, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

“Bring it on, cousin,” Paxton said. “I’ll take you down first and have her all for my own.”

The Demigod of War wheeled from the orb that encased me, wrath radiating off him, and charged the Demigod of Sea.

The two demigods crashed.

Kicks and punches flew as they pounded each other without mercy. The brutality of their fight would’ve shocked me before, but not after today.

“Enough!” Zak shouted.

The priest and the healer darted nervous glances between the battling demigods.

I put a few things together.

I wasn’t dead.

Those assholes were fighting over me. They wanted to make me theirs, even after what they’d done to me.

They thought they could just take whatever they wanted.

I needed to get out of here. I needed to stay as far away from those psychopaths as possible.

I slammed back into my body, and the returning pain blasted through my every muscle, bone, and tissue.

I suppressed a scream as my eyes fluttered open.

Axel and Paxton were still engaged in their mêlée. Zak tried to break them up and rammed fist after fist toward Paxton’s face.

“Marigold?” The healer noticed my stirring first and called, “Marigold, can you hear me?”

I flicked a glance at her and frowned.

“You’re injured badly, Marigold,” Theodore stuttered, as if surprised that I’d returned to consciousness. “You need to lower your shield so Melissa and I can heal you.” He paused for a second and added, “You’re safe now.”

The fuck I’d let anyone come near me or touch me. All I wanted was to get out of here.

But I couldn’t move an inch. My broken body wasn’t cooperating.

So I begged my magic to do something for me.

When I attempted to summon it, my power answered.

An incorporeal and nearly liquid flame coursed through me, soaking me—not to burn me but to heal me. Every place it touched and licked, it healed.

My tissues and bones started to knit together, mending and repairing themselves rapidly.

The pain ebbed inch by inch.

Melissa widened her eyes. “My gods, she’s regenerating faster than a demigod.”

Zak, Axel, and Paxton halted their onslaught and rushed toward me.

I wouldn’t let them come to me. I was so done with all of them.

But where could I go?

In my desperate hour, I thought of the sweet, erotic dream I’d had this morning before the Demigod of Sea charged into my dormitory and started this charade.

I thought of my winged, beautiful dream lover and how I rode him to the heavens.

If only he were real.

If only I could meet him in the real world.

Wouldn’t I give half of my soul for that?

I rose into the air, my body going as incorporeal as my spirit had been.

“Marigold!” Axel screamed. “Don’t leave.”

His fingers, warm, desperate, and possessive, brushed over my fingertips like a phantom touch before I faded from the room and disappeared.