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“Titus,” Mateo roars from behind me, smashing into the barrier. I blink in confusion up at the man before me. The light brown eyes stare back at me, his features more defined. He shrugs the cloak from his shoulders, revealing his true form. He wears a black fitted suit and a burgundy tie. His physique is lean, not nearly as muscular as the four gods surrounding me.
“Thank you, Olivia. I was getting tired of posing as that measly demigod.” He scowls down at the cloak, wiping off the invisible lint from his suit in disgust. He takes a step forward, and I reflexively step back. His lips curl in amusement, eyes lighting up with delight at the challenge. The expression on someone else may have put me at ease, yet I see the malice in his eyes.
The realization finally hits me, Titus. This man or god is Titus, the God of Vengeance, son to the god of death, and the head of the dark gods and infernal realm, Romulus.
Despite feeling my newly unlocked powers coursing through my veins, I still have no clue how to use them. So I slowly step backward, silently hoping the guys will figure out the damn barrier soon.
“Unfortunately, I had to speed up my plans since your little lap dogs were getting too close with all their sniffing around.” He sneers at the guys, still frantically shouting on the other side. I tune them out, focusing on Titus as he follows my every step. “Thankfully, those idiots on the council don’t know their heads from their asses. It was all too easy to convince them to move up the Ascension ceremony.”
Panic strikes me as the smooth barrier presses against my back. He closes in, not wasting a moment, seizing his opportunity to corner me. I inhale sharply. With the sudden closeness, I sense the dark power roiling off him. The energy calls to a part of me, just as the book had. I grit my teeth, fighting off the repulsion I feel at having any connection to this god.
“What do you want with me?” I growl, not cowing to this asshole. He may be a dark god, but I won’t go down cowering in the corner. So I pull myself up, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. Sure it may be all bravado, but maybe I would get lucky, and this new power would just zap him or something.
“Ah—ah—ah,” He waggles a finger before me. “It’s way too much fun keeping this to myself. You won’t get my secrets that easily.” He chuckles dryly.
“You must have some idea,” he whispers just to me, giving me a pointed look. I feel the blood drain from my face and my cheeks cool. Sending out a silent prayer that he keeps his mouth shut. I don’t want him to voice the darkness I feel calling to him in familiarity. He lets out another throaty chuckle, apparently amused by something he sees on my face. Before backing away slightly, satisfied that I have nowhere to go, caught like a mouse trapped by a cat.
“Now,” Kyros shouts. My gaze whips around to see what’s going on. I feel the barrier disintegrating behind me, and jump forward just in time to avoid falling backward off the stage.
A fierce roar breaks through the sudden silence, forcing my gaze up. A gust of air whips my hair up into my face, and I hurry to steady myself. The force almost knocks me from my feet. I brush the hair back from my eyes in an impatient swipe, seeing Mateo crouched before me.
The sound of his skilled landing sends vibrations through the wood platform. The boom reverberates in my ears. It takes me a moment to adjust, spotting the large golden wings protruding from his back.
My mouth falls open, inspecting them, the light reflecting off the metallic feathers. He stands, tearing his shirt the rest of the way off, having already partly shredded from the force of his outstretched wings. His bulging back muscles draw my gaze, and I admire his solid athletic form. He looks like an avenging angel with the ferocity in his gaze.
I feel a soft touch along my finger and turn to see Adrian. He clasps my hand, giving me a reassuring smile. Despite his upturned lips, I see the fear and panic in his ocean blue eyes. Maximus and Kyros find a place on either side of me a moment later.
“We need to go, angel,” Adrian murmurs, his eyes glancing to my wings before giving me a smirk that doesn’t meet his eyes. I take a small amount of amusement at how accurate his nickname is, given my new huge-ass feathery appendages.
“You won’t be taking her anywhere. She’s coming with me.” Titus crosses his arms over his chest. Not intimidated in the least by the four gods surrounding me.
“Like hell, she is,” Maximus growls, the fierce, possessive claim shocking me.
“You’ll have to go through all of us. You may be strong, Titus, but you can barely stand against me,” Mateo proclaims with excitement in his gaze. The crazy bastard is begging for a fight. I guess he is the god of war. His hands clench at his side, like he’s itching to lay the pompous dark god out.
“Why may I ask, are you so protective of this female?” Titus smirks, a knowing glint in his eyes. I narrow my gaze on him, before darting to the four gods standing by me. None of them allow anything to slip past their masks, not even flinching at his words.
Why did the four of them want to keep me safe? Obviously, I’m some sort of anomaly, not a typical demigod as they suspected. Is that the only reason they want to keep me safe? Did they sense my power and want to use it for themselves? Sure, they’re light gods, but that doesn’t mean inherently good. They could use my powers for their own ends, regardless of its effect on me. I take a step back, thinking over Titus’ words.
Adrian’s gaze meets mine, his brow furrowing in confusion at my movement. Titus lets out a deep chuckle, shaking his head in amusement.
“Looks like she doesn’t want to stay with you anyway. Good.” He fixes his gaze on me, his brow quirking, a maniacal grin splits his lips. “This may just be easier than I thought. Well, just in case.” He shrugs, raising his arms before him. Uttering a quick chant, not taking nearly as long as the others I’ve heard.
At my questioning gaze, he gives me a devious grin, the expression turning my stomach. “I’ve had twenty years to plan for this, Olivia. You don’t think I would leave anything to chance, do you?” he asks with a pompous chuckle. I narrow my eyes on him. How on earth would I know that? I don’t even know this man.
The sizzle of power permeates the air. My eyes flash to the windows as a thick blue barrier melts away from the walls.
“The wards,” Kyros announces. With those words, the entire auditorium goes into a panic—apparently content to sit and watch the drama unfold before. The professors are guiding students out the large doors and attempting to calm the few running like the devil himself is on their tail. Oh, don’t worry, sure the devil may be here, but he doesn’t want you. He wants me, unfortunately.
My eyes narrow on Kali, Domenic, Zina, and Lucas who don’t seem to be going anywhere. Kali meets my stare head-on, daring me to say anything. I grit my teeth in frustration, not wanting to draw Titus’ attention to them. They thankfully don’t climb to the stage, only watch the exchange from the floor below.
I feel the moment the wards come crashing down around us. Unknowingly, I became so accustomed to the magic surrounding me, its absence now leaves a chill on my skin that seeps down into my bones.
He gives us a lazy grin, rolling his wrist—power sparking from his hand. A wave of dark forms sweeps down from the ceiling taking shape behind Titus. A swarm of at least twenty shadow demons stand at his back. Well shit.
Mateo’s grin widens at the sight and he conjures a sword into his grip, already poised to strike, and battle lust clear on his face. Adrian and Maximus stand in front of me with Kyros standing steady by my side. Adrian waves his arm, depositing a sword into each of our palms.
Its sudden appearance and weight startles me, so much so, I almost drop the weapon in surprise. I lift it before me, supporting its weight with both hands now, with one lightly supporting the flat of the blade. I stare at it in wonder, realizing now that the initial shock of holding a freaking sword in my hands has lifted.
