turned to blades, which was really cool. I hoped I could get a pair of hands like that.
Demetra went with a pretty blonde who had vines around her neck and arms like hissing snakes. She made me think of the legend of Medusa.
It seemed everyone had a house to go to, except me.
“Cookie, stop pouting as if you don’t belong,” Axel said.
“But I don’t belong, Axel,” I said in a small voice.
“You belong with me,” he said. “We don’t come here to train the others. We’re here only for you. You’re our task.”
“I don’t want to be your task.” I extracted my hand and planted both hands on my hips. “Nothing good will ever come out of it.”
He grinned while veering me away from the others.
“Your arm is heavy.” I looked at his muscled arm draping over my shoulder.
“Good, that means that your spunk is back,” he said. “You’ll need it, Cookie.”
Zak headed directly toward us. “Don’t lead Marigold too far away from the other students. She’ll need to observe and see which house she feels an affinity to.”
Don’t let me be in the sea god’s house. I silently prayed. I’ll even amend my past sins, though I don’t know what they are, but I’ll figure it out.
I could feel Paxton’s eyes trailing after me, as if he could hear my prayer.
Then I relaxed, thinking of the fire I possessed. No way could I belong to his house. He was water and storm, and I was fire. They were opposite forces. They were enemies to each other, just like Paxton and I.
That must be the fundamental reason we couldn’t stand each other.
None of the Olympian house’s specialty was fire.
Apollo had sun power. I heard that he could use solar blasts to destroy his foes, but solar blasts and fire, though they both contained intense heat, were different elements.
The elemental’s warning not to show anyone the Living Flame in you, rang in my head, along with its next words: They haven’t recognized the true nature of your flames, but they will when you tame the two opposite forces within you and merge them.
I swallowed. Somehow the warning echoed true deep within me, even though I had no idea what the elemental was talking about.
A chill like no other sank into the marrow of my bones.
“Show me what’ve you got, Rosebud,” Zak said, motioning for me to start.
“I don’t know what I’ve got, Bolt. Sorry to disappoint you,” I said, but I’d just decided not to show him or anyone the fire again.
I also decided to give each of them a pet name, too, since they refused to give up calling me ridiculous names.
Axel roared with laughter, and Zak blinked at his nickname before a trace of lightning crackled in his ocean-blue eyes.
I shrugged. Others might be terrified of his lightning, but his bolts were harmless to me. They actually rejuvenated me like the best energy shot, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“What about trying that fire you played with, Cookie?” Axel said sweetly. He enjoyed it very much whenever I stood up to the other demigods—particularly if I added sharp words and snarls. “We’ve never seen that kind of fire. We can study it and sort it out, and then we’ll know which house you belong to.”
The Demigod of War had wanted to figure me out since the first time I’d brushed off his compulsion and refused to kneel in front of him like everyone around us. He’d been willing to put me through the trial, which could’ve killed me, to test what I was made of—though he insisted that he’d known I would survive it.
“I’m working on it, Casanova,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Casanova? I killed him!”
“So now you replaced him. Congratulations,” I said.
Zak snickered.
“Fire,” I called while I secretly commanded it to stay put and never rise to the surface unless I was in mortal danger.
“C’mon out, fire,” I added meekly.
I waited, and Zak and Axel stared at my fingertips and waited.
Across the room, Paxton stared at us like a vulture.
My fire didn’t stir, just as I wanted it to; my power slouched like a sleeping lion at the bottom of my magic well.
Cold air travelled through the room, and it wasn’t from me.
“Fire, won’t you get the fuck out to pay the demigods some respect?” I said without heat.
Zak and Axel pulled their gazes from my fingers to my face.
I shrugged. “I don’t have any fire anymore. I bet it was like a