Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)- Meg Xuemei X Page 0,2

actually Half-Death Academy. Less than half of the attendants survive the first ritual, and I won’t let my people try their luck.”

“How dare you!” Cameron hissed. “That blasphemy alone shall get you hanged.”

I raised a hand to stop Cameron from cursing the girl further and quirked an eyebrow at her. It’d be interesting to see how the fiery minx survived her first day at my academy.

“I’ll spare your friends under one condition,” I said with a charming smile that every woman ate up.

She narrowed her eyes, but I could feel her pulse spike.

Her every reaction provoked mine, exciting me.

The girl arched a long, elegant eyebrow, relaxing a little and ready to bargain.

“And what is your condition, demigod?”

“You go in their places, Marigold,” I said.

CHAPTER 1

Marigold

I burst through the twisted trees in the dim forest, stealth no longer necessary or possible.

Jasper, the nineteen-year-old shifter in his white wolf form, had flushed out our prey and driven a pair of shimeras toward me.

Though we all preferred a rabbit’s tender meat to roasted shimera, we were thinking long-term. The shimera grew in number, faster than any other mutant beasts. We couldn’t afford to let them move out of the forest and overrun the blocks where Jasper, Circe—a seventeen-year-old witch—and I had taken up residence for the last three years.

The old, warded library building had been our last frontier, ever since the age of the Great Merge, when the world fell and was divided between the demons and four demigods.

Their unceasing war afflicted nearly every earthling and every corner of Earth.

We were lucky to have this town, called Crack, which the hordes of demons and the Dominion army of the demigods neglected or had forgotten while they were busy fighting for richer land.

That was why Jasper, Circe, and I had stayed here, and we stuck together to survive.

The shimera pair swiveled in my direction, their fur gray and fangs sharp. The species had a bull’s shape and a kitten’s size. But only idiots were fooled by their small form. They were some of the most vicious beasts in the jungle.

The pair leapt my way, mouths open to toast me. The little beasts’ fire was deadly within seven feet, hence Jasper had kept his distance while driving them in my direction.

“Watch out!” Circe warned from my left flank, moving to cover my back, her boots stomping on the dried leaves and twigs behind me.

I winced at her novice mistake, but then I had to cut her some slack. She’d just started hunting with Jasper and me. My young witch friend had begged me over and over, claiming that she was old enough to join our hunt and promising to be useful.

“I’m only two and half years younger than you and one and half younger than Jasper,” she had said crossly. “You aren’t my mother! If you want to protect me, you’ll need to prepare me for this fucked-up world. And don’t treat me as the weakest link amid the three of us.”

But she was the weakest among the three of us.

She’d seemed to read my thought and raised her chin. “I might not be as fast and strong as you, Marigold, but it won’t always be that way.” She’d even put a hand on her hip to emphasize her point. “You’re only a human, but I’m a witch. I have way more magic than you can ever have. I’ll be more powerful when I reach your age.”

Jasper had shot her a glare. He was a peaceful wolf shifter and didn’t like any discord among us. “Be grateful that Marigold took us in,” he’d warned.

“I’m not being disrespectful.” Circe glared back at him. The two always argued when they didn’t have anyone else to fight with. Circe was in a teenage rebellion stage, despite that she loved me. I hadn’t had the luxury, though, to go through that same phase. She kept going. “I was merely stating a fact. Marigold can deal with truth. If anything, she always appreciates honesty.”

I’d finally caved in. No matter how much I wanted to shield her, we lived in a dangerous world, and she needed to have all sorts of survival skill sets.

I was older and led the pack, but as they were supernaturals, soon their powers would surpass mine. Our hierarchy was going to change irrevocably when that happened.

Would I be a follower and let one of them lead?

Being a follower wasn’t in my blood.

I shook off the thought of what our future would become and focused on the