I stopped as I noticed Demetra lead her clique toward me in a beeline.
“Incoming,” Nat warned.
I arched a brow in surprise. “They haven’t had enough of me?”
“One-eighth is worse than Jack,” Yelena said wearily. “She’s venomous, scheming, and fearless.”
I snorted. “I can be worse.”
And I needed a punching bag.
I was sexually frustrated after the demigods had drawn a line last night. Now the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that Zak and Axel were preventing Héctor from fucking me. If their rivalry game kept rolling, shit would go down.
“You hurt my friend, you psycho bitch!” Demetra fumed, approaching our table.
She hadn’t said killed. She’d said hurt, which indicated that Jack was alive.
“You mean Jackie?” I asked with a vicious smile. “How is he? I meant to ask you useless bunch of mean girls. You might not believe it, but I’ve missed him. I’d love to get into that ring with him again. If he can’t show up, you’d be a welcome, if less satisfying, replacement.”
Now that I’d hidden a dagger on my person, I was bolder. I’d never go anywhere without a weapon again. I couldn’t completely rely on my volatile magic, though it was impressively powerful when it worked.
“He can no longer attend the Academy because of you,” she shouted. “You should have died out there!”
“That’s callous and uncalled for, even from you!” Nat scolded.
Yelena glared at her. “Watch your mouth!”
Then all of her clique started screaming the B-word at us and throwing threats.
“Fuck off, viper,” I said lazily. “Now. Or I’ll show you what the word psycho really means. Come at me or my friends again while we’re having a meal, and you won’t be able to eat—or sit on the toilet for a few days.”
Fear flitted through her eyes, and Demetra stepped back. “Jack’s family won’t let this matter drop. They’ll come after you.”
“Anytime, bimbo. And I’ll take all of you bitches full-on,” I said. “But haven’t I told you to get lost? You want me to do a fucking countdown, or what?”
“You don’t belong here,” she said, but she scurried away. Her minions followed her as they shot me daggers, as if that would really kill me. “I’m more powerful than you can imagine, and I’ll make sure you don’t fit in here.”
“Someone needs to shut her up, or I will,” I said, shaking my head as I picked at my hash browns. “Fuck, these aren’t crunchy anymore.”
“Marigold!” Marie, the Dominion soldier who had frisked me and taken all of my weapons in the van, stalked toward me.
“Marie,” I said, half-grinning at her. “Can’t a girl like me at least have some peace over breakfast?”
When I was in the ring, she’d tried to help me. She’d tried to stop Paxton from going further and killing me altogether.
“That’s why they sent me,” she said, her careful gaze falling on the faint scars on my knuckles. After I’d drunk that elixir, most of my scars had vanished. “They bet you most likely wouldn’t throw those plates at me.”
She appeared genuinely glad that I was alive, but for the first time, there was uncertainty in her brown eyes, as if she wasn’t sure how to act around me anymore.
I spread my palms before I formed fists, then opened them again.
“Like my scars?” I smirked. “I like them, but I’m afraid they’ll fade. I had a free spa treatment last night, if you want to know how.”
It was the effect of the elixir that the demigods had forced me to drink.
“The headmistress needs to see you before class,” Marie said, making no other comments.
“Why?” I raised my voice. “Why does someone always want to drag me into trouble when I’ve done nothing seriously wrong?”