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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. “Youwillgo 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.”
I sighed in dismay as I climbed the stairs with Yelena and Nat. We were the last row. I could no longer stall.
“Even if the ritual doesn’t kill me,” I murmured to myself, “someone here will murder me eventually.”
“You bet,” Cameron said. “If you don’t keep your mouth shut.”
