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“Humble much?” I asked. “I have more doubts now.”
“Then you’ll hurt my feelings.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not sure you even have them.”
“I have plenty for you, Cookie—only you,” he said softly. “But I have to hold back. I’m afraid the weight of my feelings would crush you before you’re ready. A demigod’s feelings aren’t easy to inspire, but when it happens, they’re very intense.”
My heart fluttered. I’d experienced how intense the demigods could be, and I was drowning in their high energy and secretly loved it.
But would I be able to take it when all of them unleashed their desire and powers on me?
“Let’s go to them,” I said in a lower voice. “I don’t want you and Zak to get into a stupid fight before the class even starts.”
“As you wish,” Axel said, letting go of my waist, but he immediately held my hand and led me to the group of students, who fixed their eyes on our entwined fingers.
The Demigod of War could steal thunder from the Demigod of Sky just like that.
Under the other students’ heavy gazes of envy and hatred, I tried to lift my chin to show some attitude, but for the first time, I failed to demonstrate it.
Axel had no qualms about showing his affection for me in public, and I had no qualms about beating the crap out of anyone. But I was a bit reserved when it came to public displays of affection. Mostly it was because I wasn’t entirely sure how my relationship with either Axel or Zak was playing out.
With Héctor, it was clear. He was my ultimate shield. He was courting me, and I was letting him. If the Academy didn’t work out, I would move in with him and bartend somewhere to pay rent.
Okay, he probably wouldn’t allow me to pay rent, but I wouldn’t let him compromise my independence and integrity.
With Zak and Axel, we’d gotten off on the wrong foot at the beginning. It was going to take a while to mend our relationships. On the surface, we appeared fine now, but there was still a knot in me—a reservation about them.
Even if I was emotionally reserved, it didn’t mean I would swat Axel’s hand away and hurt his feelings in front of everyone. He was probably three years older than me. Age-wise, we thought alike a lot of times, and I had more in common with him than with the other demigods.
“C’mon, Cookie,” Axel barked, as if he wasn’t loud enough. “Everyone is waiting for you. You don’t want to be the center of attention.”
He’d already made me the center of unwanted attention.
From across the room, Paxton’s cold, fuming stare cut into me. He stayed away from everyone as if it was beneath him to mingle with us. But he lurked there, like a big nasty wolf that just wouldn’t go away.
I didn’t spare him a second glance, yet I could still feel a pull toward him, the same pull I felt to the other three demigods. I hated that it also existed between the asshole and me.
So, I pushed the pull away, but when it insisted on tugging at me, I mentally bashed it with a brutal fist. I didn’t know if Paxton could feel the blunt force of my attack or not.
I didn’t care. I wouldn’t look at him again.
Axel and I strode to the rear of the crowd, and everyone in front of us parted ways like the Red Sea, split from the middle.
Then, all of a sudden, I was staring at Theodore as he stared back at me.
“I’ll be your main instructor for the class House Magic,” he said. “Some of you have heard this already, but I’m going to say it again for the benefit of the new students. Later, you’ll be separated into groups according to your house. You’ll practice the specific powers that the gods’ Blood Runes activated in you.
“The third years will be your team leaders as you practice your house magic. I want this class to go as smoothly as possible.” He gave me a look. “No violence against other students will be tolerated. Whoever picks a fight will be punished. This is theintroductionto House Magic. It isn’t Advanced Battle Magic, and we aren’t on the battlefield today.”
I hoped he remembered that last time it wasn’t me who had started the fight. I’d been a victim of the violence he referenced. I’d been the one who was beaten within an inch of my life. Only in the end, I’d put Jack and Paxton in their places.
“Understand?” the priest asked, looking at me again.
I really wanted to flip him the finger.
Demetra and her clique swept their hostile stares to me to emphasize Theodore’s point while answering loudly with everyone. “Understood!”
Despite their hate, I noticed a veiled fear coated their eyes. They’d seen how I’d taken the fight to a demigod and lived.
