Magic Secret (Half-Blood Academy #2) - Meg Xuemei X Page 0,42

But at least we weren’t as locked together as before.

And I was safe with my flame tucked in the bottom of my magical well.

“I briefed you before I took Rosebud here,” said the Demigod of Sky. “I’m sorry you’re late. It had to happen like this.”

He didn’t sound sorry at all.

Without a word, Héctor tore me from Zak and pressed me against him, as if harm would come to me from the Demigod of Sky.

He strode along the bank with me naked in his arms.

“Brief this!” Axel barked, ramming his fist into Zak’s face.

I winced and twisted in Héctor’s embrace. “Stop fighting, please. It’s not his fault. I needed him. You weren’t around. I needed to...feed, and he fed me.”

It seemed Zak was no longer interested in explaining. He punched Axel back.

A sheet of water surged into the sky. The structure of the pool cracked at the impact of the two demigods’ crashing forces.

“Quit it, you idiots!” Paxton shouted from a bench.

For the first time, he proved to be relatively useful. Or he would’ve been if he hadn’t called his cousins idiots, which further fueled their wrath. Then the Demigod of the Sea sent waves of current to separate Zak and Axel.

“She was fading away,” Paxton yelled. “Zak fed her to bring her back. We found out that mating to one of us is the best way to give her energy.”

Axel, however, not caring for the sea demigod’s reason, flew toward Paxton and kicked him in the chest.

“Fucker, you caused all this again!” he shouted in a rage. “You locked her inside an ice tomb, so she panicked and her power went haywire. She wasn’t prepared for such a power outburst. She could’ve died from your careless, stupid act.”

Héctor took off his long coat, wrapped it around me, and carried me away from the scene of destruction.

The rest of the demigods were still on the warpath.

“Héctor, stop their fight please,” I said. “I didn’t plan for this to happen, but it happened. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, lamb,” he said. “But I’ll have words with those two fuckers and beat the shit out of them with Axel later.”

Once again I learned the harsh reality that the demigods couldn’t be reasoned with. If I was going to have a relationship with them, I had to accept that drilling some sense into their bullheads would be the biggest challenge of my life.

But wasn’t I the same way?

I’d lost myself to the mating and feeding frenzy.

“Héctor, are you going to hate me?” I asked in a whisper.

“No, lamb,” he said. “You need to rest in my bed after what you went through. We’ll sort things out tomorrow.”

As he said it, sleepiness rolled over me. I yawned, pressing my cheek against his jaw.

“After you sort things out, are you going to dump me?” I asked before I shut my eyes, anxiety flooding my stomach like waves of acid.

“Never,” he said. “You’re mate to us all. I’ve accepted it, but I was hoping to be your fist. I blame myself for not being here to take care of you when you needed me.”

“You were my first,” I said softly. “What happened in that dream was every bit as real as this.” I kissed him.

“We didn’t finish,” he said regretfully when I pulled away, then gritted his teeth. “And that was Paxton’s doing as well. The fucker will pay!”

I’d told him that Paxton had invaded my dorm and yanked me out of the dream, while in fact my new best friend Yelena had awoken me for class.

“Héctor, I’m still sorry,” I breathed.

I had such a strong bond with him. The last thing I wanted was to hurt him. Yet somehow I had still hurt him.

“Axel and I accessed Zak’s mind,” Héctor said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you. I needed to make sure our soldiers retreated to safety. I couldn’t let them be slaughtered. And I know Zak was taking care of you. We left the hot zone to the demons for now, but I’ll go back in and take the territory back after I’m certain you’re safe and well.”

Tears pricked against my eyelids. Instead of blaming me for giving myself to another man, he blamed himself for not being available.

He needed to find the ultimate weapon so he could keep their half of Earth safe. It was his responsibility. Yet, in the end, he and Axel had given up the battlefield and rushed to my aide.

Héctor loved me unconditionally.

While I wallowed