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“Don’t flatter yourself, princess.” He barks a humorless chuckle, cutting me a sidelong glance. “I need to figure out what he’s up to and find out who is responsible for today’s attack.” He pauses for a moment. Seemingly contemplating something. He pulls out his phone, sending a quick text before pocketing it.
“Give me your phone,” he grunts without preamble—the request sounding more like a demand. I place my hands on my hips, raising my brows in question.
“Oh, sure, jackass, since you asked so nicely,” I purr sarcastically, handing him an imaginary phone. He cocks an eyebrow, staring back at me, lips pursed.
“What? I thought we were giving each other nicknames.” I shrug innocently, flashing him a sweet smile. Despite my joke, his expression doesn’t change. He simply holds out his hand, apparently waiting for my phone to appear.
I huff out an annoyed breath, turning to retrieve my phone from my bag for the sole purpose of getting him out of my face. I return, placing the phone into his outstretched palm and rolling my eyes at the demanding bastard. He ignores me, thumbs tapping at my screen before returning it.
“Next time a demon attacks, call me. Don’t throw yourself at the thing.”
I scowl at him, yanking my phone out of his outstretched hand. An amused chuckle slips past his lips, apparently he’s only entertained at my irritation. I glower at him before he turns towards the door—his words replaying in my head, his retreating footsteps echoing in my ears.
“Wait, next time? You think there’ll be a next time?” My voice wavers as the words leave my mouth. I internally chastise myself. I hadn’t wanted to show the fear still hovering at the back of my mind. He pauses his steps, glancing back, indecision warring in his eyes.
“Bye, princess.” He sighs, the words not coming out nearly as biting as I’m sure he meant them to. I swear I see his eyes soften with sadness as he turns once more, striding through the doorway.
I take a few steps back, joining my friends once more. The bell rings, signaling the next period, but no one moves to leave—the mundane task of attending classes seeming insignificant after this morning’s events. I survey the wreckage. The delicate pieces of wood scattered about the floor now, leaving no trace of the door that once stood there.
Desks, chairs, papers, and books are strewn about. And yet the rest of the school are blissfully unaware of the chaos contained in this room. My peers group around the three students who were attacked and the professor. Thankfully all of them are moving, battered but still alive.
I spot a figure in the doorway out of the corner of my eye. My heart starts in my chest, half in fear of another attack, the other half in anticipation of Maximus’ return. However, the figure standing there is not the hulking God of Destruction but rather the lean, sculpted form of Kyros, the God of Healing. I sigh a breath of relief, pushing aside my thoughts of Maximus. I really shouldn’t let my thoughts linger on the brooding, surly bastard.
His eyes widen, surveying the wreckage of the classroom before his eyes land on me. The shock in his eyes turns to cold fear. He heads straight in my direction, footsteps hurried as his eyes drift to the blood covering my arms.
“Olivia,” he breathes, moving to touch me before thinking better of it. His hands hover over the gashes in my arms. The warm light emanating from them, sinking into my cold, weary bones. The adrenaline from the past hour quickly drains with that relief. I hadn’t realized the pain I was in until this moment—the constant threats blocked it out.
My skin stitches itself back together under his touch until all that remains is the dry, rusty blood coating my skin. He pulls me to him, arms wrapping me into a tight embrace—his corded muscles pushing me into his toned chest. I relax into his touch, taking comfort in his solid chest, resting my cheek against him.
“Are you alright? What happened?” His questions come in rapid succession. His tone betrays his concern despite the hushed note he takes—his breath feathering lightly across the top of my head. I take one more moment to relish the security I feel wrapped in his arms before tilting my head up. His honey-brown eyes are soft with concern.
I pause, my chest tightening—the enormity of this feeling washing over. I shouldn’t feel this level of safety and security in this man’s arms, not when I barely knew him. He must see the fear in my eyes because his eyes widen, and he blushes in embarrassment. Unwinding his arms from around me, he takes a step back. His hands drop awkwardly at his sides. I chew my lip, cheeks flaming and cross my arms, wrapping them around myself, my skin chilling at the loss of his warm embrace.
A pained groan sounds in the distance, jerking me out of my thoughts. Here I am, worrying about how close we are getting when students in this room need his help.
“I’m fine now. Thank you.” I reach out to caress his arm. “I’ll have to tell you everything later, though. The others need you more right now.” He blinks at my words, as lost in the moment as I had been.
I point him towards the professor and the students needing attention, explaining what happened to each of them. I stand behind him, watching him work. His warm gold powers sweep through their bodies, finding and healing their injuries. It turns out the professor only sustained minor injuries. Her quick thinking saved her life while leaving the rest of us defenseless.
“If you hadn’t cast that stasis ward, you would have died from asphyxiation,” he says gravely. “Luckily, you only sustained a few cuts and bruises from the earlier attack and the fall.”
I fill Kyros in on the events that occurred as we move around. He found the first man under the demon’s attack had a broken arm and Kyros sends his powers flowing through the male student’s body, repairing his broken bone. The second student attacked had a concussion, and the third has deep cuts along his torso and arms from fighting the demon off.
Kyros heals all of their injuries, the power flowing from him with ease. As he heals the last student, Professor Pallas calmly strides into the class, his long blonde hair swaying around him. “All classes have been canceled for the rest of today,” he announces, sending murmurs around the class. He stands silent, only continuing once the room quiets. “The headmaster has asked me to bring everyone to my classroom to answer some questions regarding the attack. We’ll also be performing some meditation to ground ourselves after this horrific assault.” He gestures towards the door, the students filing out at his motion.
Kyros finishes up with the last student. He thanks him before following the others out into the hall. I motion my friends on, only now noticing them waiting for me a few feet away. I bite my lip, not wanting to leave the comfort of his presence just yet.
“She’ll stay with me,” Kyros states, voice firm, allowing no argument. Either sensing my hesitation or not wanting to leave me just yet. The professor glances over at me, gauging my reaction to this statement. I give him a small smile and nod, grateful he would be willing to go against one of the gods if I hadn’t agreed. At that, he inclines his head to Kyros, backing from the room to join the others.
“You haven’t told me how you got your injuries,” Kyros prompts, standing from where he knelt on the floor to heal the student’s injuries. He slowly turns to face me, throat bobbing. I tell him the rest of the story, connecting the other parts and explaining what I had done and what happened to me.
Once I finish, he wastes no time placing his hands on my head. His powers warm my skin, probing for any further injuries.
“You don’t have any head injuries,” he grits out, the anger shadowing his face looking out of place. His face is usually smiling, eyes crinkled in amusement. I let my body move on instinct, pushing the small commitment-phobe voice out of my head for now. Reaching out, I clasp his hand in my own and his head snaps down at the contact. Gripping my hand back, he breathes out a sigh of frustration.
“That asshole, he told me there was a demon attack. He didn’t tell me that—” He cuts himself off, blushing slightly before clearing his throat. “He didn’t tell me that so many students were injured.
I swallow thickly, guilt burning my skin at his words. Of course, they know each other. They’re both gods. Had most likely known each other for millennia. I chew my lip thinking about my flirtation with Kyros and the dark draw I have to the asshat Maximus. Not to mention the other two gods I’ve felt connected to so far.
