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“We need to interrogate him, Paxton!” Zak said.
Héctor turned to glare at Paxton. “I’ve got him. Why did you want to kill him? Are you trying to shut him up? Did you fucking send him?”
I knew why Paxton had tried to kill the mage. He wanted to preserve my secret. He thought that mage might’ve been sent by Loki, and the demon prince’s minions knew who I was.
Paxton spread his arms. “Are you crazy? I wouldn’t harm Marigold.”
I moved to stand beside Héctor. He didn’t look convinced but looked murderous.
“One way or another, we’ll find out who’s behind this,” Héctor said. “Whoever tried to harm my lamb won’t be allowed to take his next breath.”
“Agreed,” Paxton said. “They’ll regret they ever thought of hurting Buttercup.”
I met Paxton’s stormy eyes. Within them was a solid promise of protection—he’d find a way to end the mage to protect my secret, and even if he failed, he’d protect me from his demigod cousins.
And again, I didn’t know how to deal with this new Demigod of Sea, but I felt a spark of fire and an ache stirring in my chest.
If the demigods had to find out my dirty secret in the worst way, there was nothing I could do to stop them. It sickened me to hold back on them. The guilt was eating me up every day, dimming my light inside.
Deception never ended well.
But no matter which direction I went, it wouldn’t end well for me.
I was selfish, and I knew I was running out of time. But I just needed a bit more time with them before my bubble of happiness broke and shit blew up.
Or maybe I should run away while I still could?
On second thought, it didn’t matter. Both races would hunt me down to the ends of the universe, and sooner or later they’d all catch up with me.
Just like my past and my dark origin had caught up with me.
It wasn’t much of a life anyway if one had to constantly look over one’s shoulder and wait for the ax to fall from out of nowhere at any second.
I swallowed, my heart heavy. Then the headmistress and her mage team snagged my attention. They’d arrived on the scene just like any important party, and now they were conversing with Zak while Paxton and Axel barked orders and arranged logistics.
Zak and a team of Dominion sentinels would take the dark mage to the interrogation cell and get answers out of him. Héctor denied Paxton’s request to be the interrogator. They argued heatedly, but both Axel and Zak backed up Héctor. So Héctor and Paxton would check on the wards in the Academy together and amend them if there was a crack.
Héctor mentioned adding a few new spells, with the assistance of Esme and her mages.
The rest of the Dominions were assigned to thoroughly search every inch of the campus and the surrounding area.
Their words and argument brushed by my ear as I was drowning in my dreadful, dark thoughts until Axel pulled me into his arms.
“You can skip the next class if you want, Cookie,” he said. “You’ve had quite a day. You can just relax in the house. We can cuddle, play chess, and eat a lot of cake.”
Heat brewed in his golden eyes, and I knew what he wanted. My heart fluttered, and longing flowed in my blood. But I couldn’t indulge myself like that, not when I felt that everything might fall apart if I was constantly hunted.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I don’t want to miss any more classes.”
Esme nodded in approval. “You’re a soldier, Marigold. The best way to defend yourself is to become as strong as you can get.”
“We’ll train you, Cookie,” Axel said. “And from now on, I’ll take on the daytime duty and accompany you to your every class.”
“That’s unnecessary.” I squirmed. “After your men fix the wards, the campus will be safe again.”
Would it ever be for me?
I shook my head, jaw clenched. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
