Magic Secret (Half-Blood Academy #2) - Meg Xuemei X Page 0,22

Martial Arts

Magical Training with the Four Demigods

Witchcraft

Working with the Others (shifters, vampires, fae, and witches)

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And there were twelve more classes like that.

I squirmed. “Must I attend all these classes? That looks like a lot!”

“You need to equip yourself,” Esme said. “In addition to these classes, you’ll also attend some regular classes with other first-years.”

“You don’t understand, Headmistress Von Rouche,” I cried out. “I’m not exactly cut out for school! All I have is attitude and not much else.”

Axel threw his head back and laughed so hard. I glared at him. Esme glared at him, too.

“Then use your attitude and rise to the top of the class,” said Esme before she scolded the Demigod of War. “You’re one to laugh, Demigod Axel. You skipped most of your classes all four years. We shouldn’t have even let you move up to the fourth year. And I doubt you’ll ever graduate.”

“I don’t need to graduate,” Axel said with a shrug. He was more arrogant than I. “I can wait right where I am for Marigold to catch up, and then we’ll go to the same class together every day.”

“There’ll be no fourth year,” Paxton cut in in a hard tone from where he’d been lurking in the corner since our clash.

Why couldn’t he just shut up?

“We’ve condensed the terms to three years,” he continued. “We need soldiers quickly in this war. All the students will have extra loads of study and practice.” He turned to me, his gorgeous face cold. “There won’t be preferential treatment for you either, Princesa.”

“Why are you even talking to me?” I asked in a flat, bored tone, before I swept my impatient gaze over the other three demigods. “Didn’t you promise you’d keep him out of my sight? And that I could get a restraining order served to him if he ever got too close to me?” I narrowed my eyes. “How can I ever trust your words when you can’t even get that jerk to behave?”

Icy steam emitted from Paxton’s eyes. If I hadn’t had other demigods as my allies, I believed he’d have murdered me. I bet he would try again when they weren’t around.

“He won’t touch you, Rosebud,” Zak said lethally. “If he lays a hand on you, he’s dead.”

“He doesn’t need to lay a hand on me,” I said. “He can have his punk minions do his dirty work.”

Paxton snorted. “I won’t sink that low.”

“You sank that low yesterday, you lying fucker,” I said.

The icy steam in his eyes boiled, and the window shattered.

“Rein in your temper, Paxton,” Zak said. “Or you’re out! I don’t want to keep reminding you. It’s tiresome.”

I shot to my feet at the aggression of the sea demigod. Twin streams of flames whooshed out of me, tracing down my arms. I gathered them in my palms.

I was keyed up to attack him, but I wouldn’t assault him first in front of everyone. That would be considered a true offense, especially when my opponent was a demigod.

I was learning to play a better, dirtier game.

Zak, Axel, and Héctor all shot to their feet in defensive positions around me.

Axel wrapped an arm around my waist, and I sensed his invisible shield surrounding us. His other hand shot up as he readied his own power to slam into the sea demigod.

Héctor wheeled toward Paxton, his death shadow hissing at his feet, and his sapphire eyes burning with death light.

Paxton leaned back in his chair, the storm receding from his violet eyes.

“All of you gang up on me—your brother of centuries—for a woman you met a day or two ago?” he asked bitterly. “It this how you’re gonna roll?”

“She isn’t just any woman,” Héctor grated. “When you speak to her, you’ll show respect.”

“Yet she’s shown me none,” Paxton said. “In my immortal existence, not even the devil has badmouthed me as she has.”

“You provoked her,” Zak said.

“If it were any other woman, you wouldn’t have lifted a finger to defend her,” Paxton retorted. “This one is more dangerous than you think. I’ve never seen any of you lose your head over a woman, and now you only think with your dick when you’re around her. Especially you, Héctor. You used to be a hard-core warrior. I used to admire you, look up to you. And now you’re just like a cub, juvenile, and pussy-whipped. What sick twist of fate made her the only woman you can touch?”

“Don’t blame me for choosing my fated mate over you,” Héctor said. “You’d have done the same