“Morning,” Poppy squeaks, and I chuckle.
“How was your shower this morning?” I question, knowing full well Mossy would have been messing with his shit. Finn glares at me before he searches the room with his eyes.
“Where is your little friend?” he nicely asks.
“I honestly don’t know,” I sweetly reply. “Is that why you’re here?”
“I’m here to tell you to be downstairs in five minutes. The fifty-one remaining students have been split between the teachers for the next six months. I will be personally training you and preparing you for any tests that do arise,” he answers and fixes his gaze on me. “Do not make me regret choosing you. I’m speaking directly to you, Daesyn.”
“Never,” I say with a wink that only serves to piss him off more.
“Five minutes,” he growls, and in seconds, gold dust smothers his body and he is gone.
“If he could just do that, why did he use the lift?” Poppy asks, going back to her food.
“Maybe it’s considered rude in godtown to just pop in,” I suggest.
Poppy snorts. “Godtown. I love it.”
I laugh with her, feeling a tiny bit more relaxed than I did this morning when I woke up. I didn’t have a weird ass, nearly-killed dream again, so I am taking that as a win. Maybe it was just a one-time thing. Either way, I’m pushing it to the back of my head as another one of the many things I hide back there that are shit scary. After I finish my coffee and grab my cloak, Poppy is ready to go, and we head down in the lift. Stepping out of the small entrance hall at the bottom of the tree, I nearly bump headfirst into a girl I recognise from Hell.
The bitchy one.
“You’re not dead yet. I’m not sure if I should be happy I get to kick your ass before you die or not,” I say, humming to myself.
She sneers down at me. “When I’m queen, I’m going to lock you up for just talking to me.”
I chuckle, the very thought that this girl could beat me at anything is just hilarious. Poppy drags me away, and we stop at the front of the group of ten. I eye Sebastian and Ryker in the middle of the group, and they both look my way. I turn my gaze back as Torfinn commands the space, stopping a few feet away and slowly looking at us.
“You are aware of who I am,” he starts off, the self-entitled asshat that he is. “But you are not aware of why I chose you for my group. I picked each one of you for unique qualities I have seen in the tests, and I plan to push you to your limits to bring out those qualities. What makes you different will make you succeed as a student at this academy. Are we understood?”
“Yes,” rings out from the crowd. I cross my arms, knowing Poppy is shouting yes for the both of us, and I’m not shouting that loud. He is a frigging demi-god, it’s not like he needs hearing aids.
“Follow me and keep up. If I see anyone”—he pauses and looks at me—“being a disappointment, they will be sent to the queen for judgment and most likely killed.”
Ouch.
So much for us being friends.
Finn starts jogging away, wait, running, and the group moves right after him. Poppy and I stay near the back, keeping close as we run. I’m surprised when Sebastian and Ryker slow down until they’re right in front of us, and Ryker looks back at me.
“Looking beautiful today, ladies,” he says.
Poppy giggles, and I shake my head at her. She seriously needs to spend more time around guys.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“You need to work on your charm, brother,” Sebastian casually comments.
Ryker laughs, and it’s a sexy laugh that does have an effect on me, but like hell am I telling him that. “Dae just needs to stare at my body a little more. It will charm her all on its own.”
Sebastian laughs while Poppy looks so red-cheeked I’m surprised she hasn’t turned into a tomato.
“All guys brag they have something big to look at, but turns out that’s usually not the case,” I tell Poppy. Her eyes widen.
Sebastian can’t stop laughing, and Ryker spins around, running backwards, and waves his hands down his very, very nice body. “Dae, you only have to ask and you can see how big I am.”
I know I shouldn’t, but I laugh, and Ryker’s smug grin makes me shake my head. We all keep running for a good half an hour before getting to a large concrete clearing that is the size of a football field. We all circle around Finn in the middle, and after everyone is still, he speaks.
“Today, I want to see your individual combat skills,” he tells us. “No magic or weapons are allowed, and first one to draw blood wins. Avoid killing your partner if at all possible.”
Poppy looks at me, and I swear I see the fear in her eyes like dancing penguins. “You got this. Remember what I’ve been teaching you.”
“O-okay,” she mumbles, but from her tone alone, I know she is freaking out.
“Sebastian and Daesyn, you’re up first,” Torfinn announces. “Everyone else waits at the sides. Both of you, start when I blow the whistle.”
“Good luck,” Poppy whispers to me and rushes off. Sebastian cracks his knuckles as we both stand apart in the middle of the clearing while we wait for everyone to move.
“You look worried, little vixen,” he taunts.
“I hate nicknames,” I warn him, and he smirks, spreading his arms wide.
“Come and tell me off then, vixen. I want to see how you play,” he counters with an amused tilt to his lips. I’ve beaten plenty of pretty boys who think they are everything before; a prince will be a new conquest. Finn blows the whistle, and Seb, the cocky prince that he is, doesn’t move as I run at him. The urge to use my powers is high, but I play by the rules and swing my fist at his neck. Seb catches my fist mid-air and swings me over his shoulder. I slide across the concrete, wincing at the pain that little trick caused as I roll into a crouch. Fuck, he is strong. Knowing that attacking him head-on isn’t going to work, I pause for a moment as he waves me over with a smirk on his lips. The second time I run at him, I don’t lift my hands even as I get close. He tries to grab my shoulders, and I duck, elbowing him hard between his legs. I spin around his back as he groans, and I kick him hard, knocking him onto the ground. He rolls over and jumps up, looking pissed off.
“Naughty little vixen. Can’t you play fair?” he asks.
“As if you’ve played fair in your life, cocky prince,” I counter. I don’t wait for his response as I run and jump at the last second. He dodges my kick to his face, grabbing my ankle and pulling me down on top of him. As we fall, I grab the collar of his shirt and headbutt his face as hard as I can. It hurts me too, and we both fall as he groans and my head spins a little.
