“You were right,” I said to Ella. “The different types are becoming easier to identify.” The Sangré Bloods were the easiest with their colorful heads, then the Malefic Bloods because of their penchant for obsidian. The Death Bloods I recognized because of class yesterday, and the Elite Bloods seemed to be gravitating toward Kolstov.
The Warrior Bloods weren’t in this class because it was defense basics and they would slaughter us all. Or that was how Ella explained it, anyway.
Regardless, I was ready for a physical course. I had a lot of pent-up annoyance to burn, thanks to Shade’s mental gymnastics last night. He’d taunted me with his tongue over and over, never letting me orgasm, and I woke up panting and hot andveryfrustrated.
His smirk now told me he knew it, too.
“I can’t tell if you want to fuck him or kill him,” Ella remarked, following my glower to the source of my anger.
“Kill,” I said. “Definitely kill.” I tugged on my collar, irritated by its presence. I’d give anything to be able to create a tree and use its branches to smash the willow stump’s head into the ground.
Of course, it’d probably be a burning thwomp.
Uh, yeah, I didn’t want to play with those again.
A hush fell over the students as Zephyrus appeared in a pair of loose pants and a sleeveless shirt. He didn’t acknowledge me or Kolstov, just picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground, gave it a twirl, and ignited both ends with green flames.
“You all know who I am. You all know why you’re here. Defensive magic is a key part of your continued education. But I’m not going to waste your time teaching you spells from a book you can read. Instead, we’re going to practice them. However, before I can assign you to groups, I need to assess your skills. So today will be about what you know and what you can handle.”
Ella and I shared a glance.
I was pretty sure whatgroupI’d be assigned to.
“We’ll go for old-fashioned duels with winner and loser circuits. I’ve already assigned your first pairings.” He snapped his fingers, and names began scrolling through the air in emerald script crafted from fire.
“Ha. Well, our friendship was short-lived,” Ella remarked, pointing to our pairing. “You’d better bring more than flowers to this fight, earth chick. I’ve been practicing with Tray.” She wiggled fingers lined with dark red magic, her gaze taunting in a playful manner.
Her teasing warmed me slightly, making me relax just a bit.
Until the first fight began.
Vibrant sparks flew through the air as physical attacks were blocked with defensive spells.
Defensive spells I didn’t know.
“Uh, this is going to be a really short fight,” I told Ella.
She smirked. “I know. But I promise to go easy on you. Trust me, I was a newbie not too long ago. I get it. We can review some common defenses tonight or during one of our break days.”
I nodded absently, my focus falling to Shade as he stepped into the ring with a lanky Malefic Blood. The male narrowed his gaze. “I’m so glad we’re paired, Shadow. I’ve been dying to kick your ass all week for disgracing my sister.”
“Is that what she told you?” Shade mused.
“That would require her to be able to speak, which?—”
“Stop flirting and get to it,” Zephyrus said, interrupting the Malefic Blood.
“Gladly,” the lanky male replied, a sharp, translucent blade appearing in his hand.
I jumped as he charged Shade in a whirl of power, his aim going right for the other male’s heart. It was a brutal attack, one clearly meant to kill.
But Shade sidestepped with ease, stirring a dark cloud in his wake and wrapping it around the other male’s throat. “If you want to play like that, then properly challenge me,” he said sharply, yanking on the hold and bringing the male to his knees.
“Enough,” Zephyrus snapped.
Shade released the male with a little wave of his hand and shrugged. “Stiggis started it.”
“Bastard!” The Malefic Blood flew through the air toward Shade, additional weapons falling into his hands, but he ran headfirst into a wall of magic and bounced backward to collapse to the ground.
