Magic Secret (Half-Blood Academy #2) - Meg Xuemei X Page 0,18
leading our armies to battle Lucifer’s demons, so you might not realize that a catfight on campus is different than fighting fiends from Hell.”
“Are you being condescending, Esme?” Zak said. “We could easily reverse roles and send you to the frontline of the battlefield so you can set a good example there.”
Axel grinned. “You can’t win this argument even if Ares interferes, Esme, no matter how tight you are with my father. Ares is only one god, and the four of us can override him if necessary.”
“I’m not picking a fight with you,” Esme sighed. “I have no ill intentions toward Marigold, but it’s also my duty to protect every student here.”
“Since you mentioned it, headmistress,” Héctor said. “From now on, I’ll tend to the administrative responsibilities in this Academy. I’ll give my former burden to Paxton. The Demigod of Sea can lead the army and stay away from my lamb. I’ve fought this war for centuries. It’s my turn to sit back and relax.” He gave me a doting look, which implied he’d decided to relax and enjoy life with me while the war raged.
My face burned red as my thoughts wandered to how he’d washed and caressed me in the steamy Jacuzzi in his suite in Manhattan. I’d like very much to revisit the scene if possible. We could set a date for the weekend.
An irritated and jealous look rippled across Paxton’s stony face as he darted his menacing gaze between Héctor and me. A derisive noise emitted from his nostrils.
Esme groaned and shot Paxton, the coldest demigod, a pleading look as if to say, “Someone save me please.”
Axel sighed. “It’s always like this. Nothing can get done when the four of us are in one place. That’s why we almost never get together. If it weren’t for Marigold this time—”
“We aren’t a lost cause,” Zak said. “Now that Marigold has come into our lives—”
Damn, he’d better not broadcast his idea of sharing a mate—and me being that mate. They might not give a rat’s ass about propriety as sovereign beings, but little folk like me didn’t have the luxury to do whatever I wanted.
I might’ve shrugged off what people had said about me so far, but I wasn’t entirely notorious yet either.
“Dudes,” I chimed in urgently. “You don’t need to be here. You should all leave and do whatever you usually do, since this is a private meeting between Headmistress Von Rouche and me. Seriously.”
I restrained myself from shooing them away like a school of ducks.
“Cookie wants to get rid of us,” Axel said, rubbing his chin with his thumb. “I wonder why.”
“You’ll learn to get used to it, Rosebud,” Zak said. “Anything about you concerns us.”
“She doesn’t want you all to be here,” Héctor said. “You’re crowding my lamb. I can tell that you’re making her uncomfortable. She needs her space. You three should make your exit now. I bet all of you have somewhere else to be. I’ll supervise this matter alone.”
“Marigold made a valid point,” Esme said. “She’s my responsibility and under my protection as well. While my student and I further discuss her educational plan, the four of you are welcome to leave to take care of more important business, like our defenses, war strategies, pushing Lucifer’s army further back, and protecting Earth.”
“No business is more important than Marigold,” Zak said softly, yet the lethal undercurrent could cut into a blade.
All the women in the room—Esme, Marie, and I—dropped our jaws at the same time, which would’ve been comical, if the situation wasn’t so ridiculous.
I raised my hand in the air in a gesture of surrender. “Don’t look at me,” I told the headmistress sincerely. “I didn’t bewitch them. They denied my request to join the Other Academy. They’re responsible for their own words and actions.”
“Don’t worry about our business, Esme.” Axel flashed his teeth, and not in a kindly way. “We have many generals and minions running the show in our absence. And they take their jobs seriously. Peace on this land won’t be achieved in one day, and we’ve been at war for centuries. Now that Marigold has come to the Academy, we’ll stay where she stays. If you have an issue with her being enrolled in the Half-Blood Academy of North America, we can take her to the Academy in France.”
My eyes brightened. “Paris, you say? Do they include crème brulee on their Academy’s lunch menu? If we can also have it for breakfast...” I snapped my fingers, forgetting I