Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)- Meg Xuemei X Page 0,40

symbolizing the powers of the twelve major gods—swirled on my torso like a star chart of the galaxies.

I felt everything inside me—ice, wind, firestorms, lightning, harvest, death, birth, and darkness—racing to the surface.

It was chaos, then order, then chaos again.

I threw my head back as I pounded against him mercilessly.

Claim me. Take all I have.

I felt new. I felt like a whole new universe.

He stared at me in utter shock with his remarkable, sapphire eyes.

His sensual lips parted. “Marigold, what—”

A magical wind swept by, tearing me off him right before I climaxed in waves of wild passion.

“Marigold, wake up,” someone called urgently.

CHAPTER 10

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“What the fuck?” I flashed open my eyes and pushed down my flying fist before it rammed into Yelena’s worried, kind face.

I groaned. “Damn, girl.”

She’d just dragged me away from the sexiest man and hottest action with her terribly timed wakeup, and I’d been one breath away from having the first and best orgasm of my life.

Yelena’s gray eyes stared down at me. “Class starts in twenty minutes, Marigold! You need to get up.”

I sighed. She cared. She was a good friend.

“You go, pip,” I told her. “I’ll sleep just a little longer.”

“Are you crazy?” she squirmed and flashed the class schedule in front of my one squinted eye.

8:00 AM: Cardio and weight training

9:30 AM: Olympian glory and history

10:30 AM: Combat techniques

12:00 PM: Lunch

1:30 PM: Weapons training

3:00 PM: Magic training

I was so not looking forward to any of those classes, especially after the dream I’d had. And for crying out loud, why should I give a damn about the Olympian gods’ glory? Weren’t they full of themselves?

“Our first class starts at eight,” Yelena repeated. “It’s seven-forty now. You don’t want to leave a bad impression and start off on the wrong foot in a military academy, believe me.”

What if I just missed a few classes? What was the big deal?

What could they do to me?

Kick me out of the Academy?

Peachy! That would be like a dream come true.

Thinking of dreams, I wanted more than anything to return to the one I’d been torn away from.

“Don’t worry, pip.” I lied. “You go, and I’ll catch up with you. I’ll get up in ten minutes, and I’ll run all the way to class.”

“Do you even know where the class is?”

“Like a map on the back of my hand.”

She gave me one last uncertain, worried look. “Your face is all flushed. Are you okay?”

I pulled the blanket over my cheeks.

Yelena’s footsteps retreated, and I glanced around to find that all the other girls had left before her.

Please, let me go back to that dream, I prayed to an imaginary higher force. Let my dream lover wrap his black, silky wings around me one more time, and I’ll promise to be on my best behavior for a week.

I snuggled my nose deeper into the pillow.

Dream now, I commanded and hoped for the best.

I’d try anything to go back to him, to finish what we’d started, even though we’d have to say goodbye eventually.

I didn’t find him.

I don’t know how much time had passed when an icy dampness sank into my bones. Chunks of ice floated above my face, and the air was cut off from my water-filled lungs.

This wasn’t the dream I sought.

I fought to breathe, to wake up, only to have more cold water pour into my mouth and down my throat.

Shit! Shit!

I snapped open my eyes, and to my horror, water flooded my bunk, encasing me like an ice coffin. This wasn’t merely a bad dream.

Ice cubes floated above my face.

How could this happen in reality?

Was this an aftereffect of the ritual? I’d experienced the burn of the fire. Now must I freeze to death to finish the cycle? That ritual was a bitch!

I yelped for strength, threw the drenched covers off me, and leapt out of the soaked bed.

Then I realized I was completely naked, standing on my bare feet on the wet, cold ground.

I usually slept naked. Clothes irritated my skin.

“Now you’re swift,” Paxton said lazily, savoring the moment.

It all clicked.

Only the Demigod of Sea could pull this amount of water out of nowhere and force the currents to fly through the air like that.

I swept my furious gaze around the room and spotted him leaning against the column of a bunk. He wasn’t wearing armor but dressed in a gray button-up shirt with black pants.

The Demigod of Sea might be sexy as fuck in the early morning, but I saw red, even though lust still lingered in