Gift of the Gods (Magic Blessed Academy 1)

Honestly, I didn’t want him to admit to them either, because they scared the fuck out of me.

So, hatred would have to do instead.

“Well,” I said evenly, “if you look at the seal, it tells us exactly where to go.”

I held the seal out for everyone to look at. It was in the shape of a compass with the needle pointing southwest.

Merrick’s expression tightened. He was obviously annoyed that I’d been the one to make the discovery.

For fuck’s sake.

“Ugh. I’ve seen your dick, Merrick. Hell, I’ve ridden your dick. And as much as I hate to admit it, it’s a damn nice one. So stop with the fucking penis measuring already. Like you said, we’re supposed to be a team, right?”

Merrick blinked, a flush crossing his cheeks as a spark of heat flashed in his eyes. Then he rolled his shoulders and nodded at the others. “Right. Let’s go.”

Lachlan chuckled, a low, deep sound of amusement that sent a shiver of satisfaction up my spine.

Still not quite willing to stop vying for control of the group, Merrick stepped into the lead. I dec

ided to let him have this one—for the sake of the team.

Trace and I fell into step behind him, and Lachlan brought up the rear as we headed out. We were all wary of each other, gazes constantly darting around, but it was what it was.

I still might ditch them later, but there was no point in splitting off at the moment—we all knew the clue and were headed in the same direction.

Toward water and fire.

Whatever the hell that means.

Chapter Fifteen

Watching Trace fight an eight-foot-tall, three-armed beast like something out of a movie, I had to admit I was a little impressed.

And maybe a little turned on too.

Not by the creature. Fuck no.

It had large black scales and jagged fangs. Its arms were long, so long that its fingers almost touched the ground.

But Trace? He had it on lock down.

He didn’t have the same kind of practical fight skills that Lachlan and I did, but he was way better at using his magic to fight than I was.

As the beast lifted its head to the sky to let out a mighty roar, the dark-haired mage did a move I had never seen before. He held his arms out, allowing his magic to surge out of him in tiny little balls that circled around his body like armor. And as he pulled one hand back, creating a magical blade of sorts, the balls lifted him from the ground, thrusting him up and forward like a surfer riding a wave.

His magical blade sliced across the monster’s exposed neck, severing it completely.

As the beast’s head rolled across the ground, the forest quieted again. Several other monstrous bodies lay scattered around the clearing.

The four of us were covered in sweat and gods only knew what else. Panting, I staggered over to a fallen tree and sat down, still staring at Trace.

“How the hell did you learn how to do that?”

He pushed his sweaty black hair back out of his face, his blue eyes gleaming with pride. “I had a lot of practice, even before I arrived at Magic Blessed Academy. I think it took Oberon and his team a while to track me down after my magic started to come out.”

“What do you mean?” I wrinkled my brow. He and his little squad had found me the day after my magic had exploded during the fight in the alley.

Trace shrugged, wiping a large smear of blood off his arm and revealing the tattoo ink underneath. “From what I’ve heard, most people at the academy manifested their magic within the blink of an eye—no magic one minute, and a shitload of it the next. But it wasn’t like that for me. Mine just kind of slowly trickled in. At first, I was freaked out, but then I started to play around with it and I learned how to do the whole bead thing.”