My knees had resisted the demigods just fine, too.
“I’m not wearing boots today,” I said, “or I’d try to quake in my boot to boost your ego. Today I’m just a nobody in a dress. There’s no glory in trapping me here.”
“You aren’t just a nobody in a dress, cousin,” he said.
I laughed as I kept working on disassembling his spells. I couldn’t blast them away by blunt force, but if I learned enough about how his dark spells had been woven, I might tear a crack in the orb. I was a novice in the knowledge of all things magical, but I had strong innate powers that I didn’t know exactly how to command.
“What did you just call me?” I snickered after I dropped my mocking laugh. “I’m not a demon princess. Your captain gave you false information in order to get a big promotion.” I watched a flicker of confusion flit through his obsidian eyes. “I’m not some fucking Lost One—I’ve never been lost—and I bear the marks of the gods. So do yourself a favor. Leave the Academy while you and your fan boys still can.”
He laughed right back. “You’re fun. I’m going to enjoy your company. The Ninth Circle of Hell has gotten boring. Your godly heritage is only half of your makeup. Your other half shares the same bloodline as me and is equally potent and magical. By the way, you can call me Loki.”
He paused and sniffed the air.
Had I mentioned how I hated anyone sniffing at me since nothing good had ever come out of it?
“You smell darkly divine, my hybrid cousin,” he sighed in satisfaction.
“Pull your head out of your demon ass,” I sneered, though my throat felt so tight and parched it threatened to close up my airway, a sign of cold panic. “First, I’m not your cousin. I’m not the fucking Lost Princess, and the origin of my blood is as far from yours as the Earth is from the sun of another galaxy. I’m not a filthy demon.”
“Good metaphor,” he said, ignoring my insult. “There are only three superior beings who can detect that part of your heritage—the part we share. One of the three is Lilith—Lucifer’s sister, wife, and your mother. And of course, Lucifer, my father, can smell your veiled power miles away.”
“Shut the fuck up, you lying son of a bitch!” I snarled.
The revelation shocked me to my core, making my every cell shiver in cold dread. I really didn’t want anyone else to hear this dark piece of information. Even though it was a false accusation from the Prince of Lies, I’d still be put down like a rabid animal by any Olympian descendant if they believed his lie.
My panicked gaze darted to wild-eyed, terrified Brittney, who was being held by a mage at knife point.
I had a bad feeling that once she was free, she would go straight to the demigods to report my “true origin” and spread the news as fast as she could put her lips together.
Even the demigods wouldn’t allow me to live if they were convinced I had demon blood in my veins, despite their claims that I was their one true mate.
I can’t be the lost demon princess, I whimpered inwardly.I’m not a demon’s spawn.
“I can prove it to you, cousin,” he said with an amused, sadistic smile, as he spotted the devastated look on my face. “But probably not here. We’re running out of time.”
My breath hitched as panic and terror iced over my veins. He was going to take me. I pushed my fire harder toward the orb.
“I’ve showed you courtesy since you demanded a proper overture,” he continued. “It might not be easy for you to accept the new truth, but your life is going to change, I promise. I’m bringing you home, where you belong, Princess Celeste.”
“No,” I said.
I wouldn’t allow anyone to drag me anywhere I didn’t want to go. I wouldn’t allow him to take me. I was no one’s fucking prisoner.
I would break this cage or die trying.
I gave all I had and blasted at the orb, my fire raging against the barriers around me.
“You won’t take what’s mine!” A roar boomed, sending the trees, bushes, and shadows into a trembling fit.
The Demigod of Sea stepped into the path of the demon prince. Hard waves crashed into Loki and his dark mages as ice spears flew toward them from every direction.
At the same time, Loki’s hellfire, which looked just like mine, surged toward Paxton.
It was dark, terrifying, and beyond powerful, like a dark star exploding and raining down fire on Earth.
An unwanted connection snapped into place between Lucifer’s heir and me.
A cold dread settled in my stomach and churned. That was why the ancient element had warned me never to use hellfire.