knelt before the demigod for me. “Please just ask him to stop. He’s killing her. She won’t last long.”
“Yield, Marigold. Now,” Paxton command.
“Fuck you, pig!” I answered.
I knew that insult to the demigod would do me in. Who the fuck cared? I’d call him whatever I wanted.
“We should call off Jack, sir,” Cameron said urgently. “That stupid, bull-headed girl will never yield.”
“Please, sir,” Marie said. “I don’t think it’s in your best interest to kill her off so soon. I believe she’s learned her lesson.”
“Jack,” Paxton called, a regretful note in his voice, “you can—”
His mercy was the last fucking shit I’d take. And hearing the emotion in his voice only sent me right to the edge.
Something primal and savage in me was suddenly set loose.
I roared my black rage.
A wave of energy blasted out of me in light and shadow, tearing Jack away from me and tossing him to the arched ceiling, as if he were a rag doll.
The concrete dented at the impact.
Jack screamed before he plummeted to the ground in a corner. He didn’t move again.
One strike and he was out.
“What a pussy,” I murmured.
“What the hell was that?” someone asked in alarm.
I struggled to rise to my feet. Once I got there, I swayed but I remained upright. “That’s called never surrender, bitches,” I said, spitting out a broken tooth along with a flow of blood.
Then I flipped both middle fingers at the Demigod of Sea as my stare fixed on him. “You’ll never bend me. You’ll never break me. And you’ll never get the best of me. So why don’t you get your demigod head out of your ass, since all you’ll ever get is the nightmare version of me, dickhead.”
“No one has ever called me that many nasty names,” he growled. “I can squash you like a bug with a snap of my fingers.”
I chuckled to deride him.
Damn! It hurt to move any piece of any muscle.
“Whatever,” I said. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m not afraid of death.”
“There are worse things than death, Princesa.” His tone was dark, but there was weariness to it, as if he knew what he was talking about. Like I gave a shit at this point.
“Bring it on, motherfucker,” I said. “You marked me as your enemy, and today I also marked you as my foe.”
“We’ll see about that,” he said, muscles twisting in his jaw and storms wheeling in his purple eyes. “We’ll see how you make me your enemy.”
I spat. I wished he was closer so I could spit my blood into his cruel fucking face.
“Even if I can’t strike you down,” I smirked at him, “I pray that Lucifer will do it for me one day.”
That was the ultimate blasphemy. But I wanted to defy him down to my every bone, and I wanted him to know it before he impaled me, murdering me with his power. He could easily summon an ice spear from the air and pierce my heart.
To my shock, my undiluted hatred for him made him flinch.
“However,” I said. “Patience isn’t my strong suit, so I won’t wait for Lucifer and his legion to beat your ass.” Despite the excruciating pain throbbing through me, I remained articulate.
I threw up my hands, calling for my awakened magic.
My energy blast had probably sent Jack to the netherworld, so it should do some considerable damage to the asshole who stood six yards away from me.
“You dare to fight me, Marigold?” he asked lethally, remaining every bit in control.
“Not to fight you,” I said softly. “To kill you.”
My blood boiled inside me at the call of war.
Twelve runes rose to my skin, twirling up on my neck and slithering up my face.
“It’s impossible,” Cameron said. “She’s got all twelve powers.”
Nothing was impossible. I’d just proved that.
“Calm down, Marigold,” Marie called. “Please calm down. Don’t do anything you’ll regret later. Let’s talk about this.”
“Talk? After all this, you want to fucking talk?” I laughed without mirth. “And regret isn’t in my vocabulary.”
I could feel my eyes glowing. The last thing I wanted was to calm the fuck down.
“Let her come to me,” Paxton said. “Let’s see what she’s got.”
My power rose.
It wasn’t lightning, water, air blast, or any of the powers from the twelve houses of the Olympian gods whipping around me.
A sheet of dark crimson fire, more like hellfire, surged toward the demigod.
“Burn him to Hell!” I howled.
Solid ice walls formed around Paxton and the rest of the class. The demigod sent the storm of