My heart beat against my ribs like a drum, and panic began to claw at my throat. Then, finally, a small scroll appeared in the darkness below me. My whole body tensed, and I reached out, straining from the tips of my toes to my fingers as I fought to move through space.
My hand wrapped around the slim roll of paper, and I felt a strange pop.
Everything went white, and when I opened my eyes, I was back in the amphitheater. Back on solid ground. The few people in the stands were cheering, and several students were gathered in a cluster off to the side, nursing injuries that ranged from mild to severe as the school healing staff tended to them. They must’ve bailed on the challenge early, or been disqualified.
The dean cleared her throat, looking at me and the three men standing next to me. Wesley stood on my other side, a scroll clutched in his hand, and beyond him were a few other people who had teamed up with him to try to take us down.
My blood boiled. We’d had a fucking plan to deal with these assholes, but Merrick had gone after Wesley and given our game away too early. Now the asshole and his asshole buddies would be competing against us in the Gods’ Challenge.
All because Merrick couldn’t control himself.
“The preliminary competition is complete!” Dean Frost’s voice echoed through the stadium. “These are your champions.”
Lachlan shrugged, leaning down to whisper in my ear, “Hey, at least we made it here. Now we can move on to the next part of our plan.”
My jaw clenched.
Sure, we had won, but I was angrier than hell at Merrick.
As soon as each of our names was called and Dean Frost finished her speech, I stormed out of the amphitheater toward the school building, anger turning my veins red-hot. Merrick split away from the other men, but I threw a bolt of energy straight at him as he tried to follow me.
I didn’t need a godsdamn babysitter.
Chapter Ten
Fuck!
If I could have slammed my feet down harder on the ground, I would have. It took everything in my power not to turn around and just knock Merrick right out. I was so pissed at him, more than I’d ever been before.
Why couldn’t he have stuck to our plan? Why did he have to go after Wesley? I’d had it under control.
The fact that he thought even for a second that I wasn’t able to defend myself, that I was some damsel in distress who needed rescuing, was absolutely enraging. He knew me better than anyone else there. Better even than Lachlan and Trace in some ways, since I had actually known Merrick long before coming to Magic Blessed Academy.
He, of all people, should have known that I didn’t need someone’s help. If I did, if I truly thought my life was in danger, I would have asked for it, but instead he took it upon himself to break rank, basically ruin our plan, and come try to be a shining knight to save me.
He could’ve gotten himself killed, but since he hadn’t, I was about three seconds away from doing it myself.
“Slow down,” Merrick said roughly, reaching out for my arm as I raced toward the school.
I pulled my arm away and gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “Don’t touch me. Do not. Touch. Me.”
His forehead wrinkled, and he looked furious. My lips pressed together.
As if he has any right to be angry.
“I don’t know why you’re so pissed, Ari.” He shook his head, running a hand through his blond hair. “It’s fucking stupid. I couldn’t let Wesley go after you like that, and I know what I did wasn’t part of the damn plan, but it all worked out in the end. We all won. We’re all moving on to the Gods’ Challenge.”
I skidded to a stop at the foot of the steps to the school and stared at him with wild eyes.
“You don’t know why I’m pissed? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because we had an entire plan, and you fucked it up within the first three seconds? Or maybe it’s because you think I’m a weak and defenseless little girl who can’t defend herself against some idiot who thinks he’s bigger and better than me. What did you learn in the time we knew each other in Boston? What did you actually think I did for a living? I faced stupid boys in the ring all the time who thought they were stronger than me just because I’m a woman. And I’ll have you know, I took down every single one of them.”
Before he could say anything else, I started up the steps toward the door. He grabbed me by the arm and spun me around. I snarled and jabbed him in the shoulder with my finger.
“Touch me one more time. Go ahead, do it. I will lay you out so fast your head will spin.”
Something gleamed in his amber eyes, and he stepped closer, pressing against my finger. “You’re being so dramatic, Ari.”
Heat radiated from him, and my body’s response to his proximity only made me angrier. I didn’t want to want him right now. I just wanted to be pissed at him.
Turning, I headed up the stairs to the front door and flung it open, trying to hit him in the face with it. Unfortunately, he caught it, barely breaking stride as he followed me into the academy building.
“I put my life on the line to help save you from that asshole Wesley, and you’re the one who’s pissed,” he argued. “I could’ve gotten killed. And you’re mad because I tried to help you.”
I shook my head as I stalked down the hallway. “Wesley is an idiot, and there’s no way he would’ve killed me. He’s better than I thought, I’ll give you that, but I had him. I was handling it. I did not need you to come rolling out of the jungle, leaping through the air like you were fucking Rambo. I don’t need a man to protect me. When will the three of you get that through your head? We are a team, not three guys trying to save the helpless little girl.”
I was getting closer and closer to my room, hoping to make it there and lock myself inside. But when I was about two paces from my door, Merrick grabbed my arm again and whipped me around.
Shoving at his chest, I broke his hold on me, ignoring the feel of his muscled pecs beneath my hands.
“You better not pull any shit like that when we’re in the godly realm, or you could get all of us killed,” I hissed.
Merrick scoffed and shook his head. “Oh, we’re a team, are we? You might want to send yourself that fucking memo, Ari. Because you don’t act like we have a team. You act like you’re a lone wolf who got forced into a pack against your will.”
His words stung. Partly because they felt true, and partly because I knew they weren’t true. These three men meant more to me than anyone had in my life, and I trusted them—something that still felt strange to me.
But I needed Merrick to understand that he wasn’t allowed to be my savior. My rescuer. He needed to have faith in me to handle myself.
Just as I reached the door to my room, I turned around and grabbed Merrick, using my magic to brace him. With one swift move, I lifted him up and slammed him down on the floor on his back. I followed his body down to the floor, straddling him and pinning his arms to sides. I let my face stop just inches from his, angry breaths heaving in my chest.
“I’m going to tell you this one last time,” I said quietly. “I don’t need you, Trace, Lachlan, or anyone else protecting me. I’m no weak little girl.”
For a moment, he lay still beneath me, staring at me with his too-damn-handsome face and his striking amber eyes. Our faces were so close that I felt the whisper of his breath on my face as he murmured, “I don’t think you’re weak, Ari. And I don’t think you’re a girl. You’re the strongest fucking woman I’ve ever met. But in case you haven’t noticed, we care about you. We’re going to protect you if we can. And you just need to learn to deal with that.”