Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)- Meg Xuemei X Page 0,21
in defiance as I tightened the front of my robe.
An amused, wicked, and possessive smile ghosted his lips before it disappeared as if it had never been there.
“You were out of my sight for only a few hours,” Axel sighed, “and you’re already causing chaos. I’m starting to wonder if it was worth it to bring you here.”
My eyes sparkled in hope, and I stepped toward him without his invitation, though he was still twenty stairs away from me. “You’ll let me go?”
He regarded me darkly, seeming to think about it, and I smiled at him in order to get in his good graces.
“Nope,” he said, his face turning hard. “You will go through the trial, Marigold, even if I have to drag you through it myself.”
A wild wind rolled down from the stairs, shuffling my robe and caressing the valley between my thighs. I parted my lips and widened my eyes at the sensation. Then the naughty wind was gone, as was the infuriating Demigod of War.
Demetra snickered as she rose to her feet. She must believe that Axel was using the ritual as a means to humiliate, punish, and execute me.
She would be the cheerleader for that, wouldn’t she?
But she might be right, though.
I refused to let any of them further crush my spirit.
I paused at the base of the stairs and turned to Marie. “May I borrow your boots, Marie?” I asked. At least I could try to improve my current condition as the first step. “You have socks. My bare feet are fragile. It really hurt walking on that long, cobbled path.” I raised my head and peeked at the cobbled stairs leading to the red building where the ritual would be held and lives would be lost.
Maybe I was stalling. I had no courage left. “Man, just look at those stairs. I don’t think my feet, which aren’t made of stones, can take it anymore.”
The clique shot me dirty looks and climbed the stairs with vigor. The other two outsiders followed closely behind them, showing their strength as well.
Nat and Yelena paused beside me.
“C’mon, Marigold,” Yelena offered. “Let’s go. You can lean on Nat and me.”
“Get moving, Marigold,” Cameron said, his voice back to harsh and threatening. “You nearly got my rank stripped with that hair-dragging stunt. No more hassles, or you’ll be very sorry.”
I started to wonder if he had bipolar disorder.
“And the answer to lending you my boots is a big no.” Marie chuckled. “Your feet are the least of your concerns now. You don’t want to keep getting on the bad side of the demigods.”
I sighed in dismay as I climbed the stairs with Yelena and Nat. We were the last row. I could no longer stall.
“Even if the ritual doesn’t kill me,” I murmured to myself, “someone here will murder me eventually.”
“You bet,” Cameron said. “If you don’t keep your mouth shut.”
We reached the top of the stairs. The ritual building’s steel and glass double doors opened in invitation.
I took a deep breath and stepped through the door, the famous phrase echoing chillingly in the back chambers of my head. Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
CHAPTER 6
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The Hall of Olympia was the most majestic place I’d ever seen. Man, even the columns were made of gold. The high ceilings were painted with murals depicting the war of the gods.
Didn’t they say that the winners wrote history?
Twelve Olympian gods’ statues stood close to the four walls, surrounding us. On the rising dais sat one large throne flanked by four smaller ones. All of them were adorned with rare gems, gold, and diamonds.
The biggest throne likely belonged to Ares, the God of War, who was leading Earth’s army against Lucifer and his demon hordes. The rest of the thrones were there for the four demigods.
One could easily tell which throne belonged to which demigod by the symbols carved into each one’s arms and high back.
Six initiates stood to the left side of the door, and the other six had been positioned on the right side with me. High-ranking Dominion officers lined up in two columns from the dais all the way to the door. A few elite students from the seniors, judging from their uniforms, were mixed into the ranks of the Dominion officers.
I bet they had already been selected as future leaders of Dominion of the Gods, which granted them the privilege of watching the show—seeing who lived and who died.
The initiates were as tense as me,