Though I still felt lost at Axel’s departure, rage rose in me right away at hearing the sea demigod’s voice.
“Why don’t you just get the fuck out of my face?” I said.
“Careful, little girl,” hissed Paxton.
Every team leader and all their students ceased their practice and turned to us again, since Axel was no longer here to snap at them. All of them, except my friends Yelena and Nat, were eager to see Paxton and I get into another fight.
“The demons that Héctor and I slew called me ‘little girl,’ just like you did,” I said, pulling my lips back to bare my teeth. “They tried to eliminate me, to finish off the job you failed to do, and they didn’t succeed either. The only difference between you and them is that you still have your fucking head attached to your neck.”
The training room became deathly quiet.
Even Zak blinked.
I was obnoxiously bold, and right now I was mad as hell. I lashed out at the Demigod of Sea because I didn’t know how to handle my fear and worries for Héctor and Axel. The devil had sent out two archdemons to fight them.
A windstorm wheeled around Paxton, ready to stamp me out.
“You dare to threaten a demigod?” he asked. “Not even Lucifer has threatened me.”
Cold menace rolled off him in spades, whipping the air.
The students dropped to their knees. Theodore bent his knees at an awkward angle.
I stood my ground, puffed up my chest, and summoned my hellfire. I let it surface just a little, barely noticeable. If shit went down, my hellfire, despite its despicable origin, might be the only thing that could save me.
Zak stepped in front of me, lightning sparking off him in abundance.
“Cool off, Paxton, or get out,” he said. “We’ve talked about this.”
“You aren’t on the receiving end of her offenses,” Paxton hissed.
“I don’t care,” Zak said. “No matter what she says or does, no matter how provocative and aggressive she is, Marigold is off-limits. Either you suck it up or get out of our contract. Touch her in any way without her permission, and you’re dead. I might not be able to take you down alone, but I assure you, the three of us won’t allow you to breathe if you hurt what’s ours.”
“Who said I wanted to hurt her?” Paxton snarled. “Stop making me the villain.”
“No one’s making you one when you are already one,” I said. “So, why don’t you—”
Zak wheeled toward me. “You can lay off a little, too, Rosebud.”
Paxton snorted. “Those pet names—Rosebud, Lamb, Cookie, etcetera—are utterly ridiculous and inaccurate. She’s everything but those things. Have you seen how she bares her teeth? Give her a predatory, carnivorous pet name, if you must pick one. She definitely bites.”
“Yeah, like your pet name for me is spectacular, Pigston,” I retorted. “I’m everything but a ...princess.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asked. “If you don’t want to be a princess, I can call you she-devil shark, or she-bulldog. Either seems fit.”
Dark amusement shone in his violet eyes.
Then I realized I was having a conversation with the asshole in the form of verbal jabs. That was what he wanted. He wanted my attention, even if it was negative. He couldn’t stand that I ignored him.
Seeing through his tactics, I decided not to give him another inch of satisfaction.
I wrapped an arm around Zak’s waist and turned him away from Paxton. Zak had made his point about me very clear, so I didn’t think Paxton would attack me from behind. Even so, I didn’t totally relax. I called my fire to rise in case an attack was coming.
“Shall we learn somemagic, Zak?” I asked sweetly, smiling at him.
I needed to bypass my fire magic and find something else that was equally powerful. I’d proved that I had more than one kind of magic, though nothing other than my hellfire had showed up again since my last faceoff with Paxton.
Zak looked stunned by my smile, but he recovered the next second.