Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Jackie strode forward, leaving the group of new students a safe distance behind. Choosing to confront Elyon directly, she came to a stop a few feet away from the end of the bridge and the puddle of muddy water the trio had made.
“What are you doing here, Elyon?”
“They aren’t welcomed here,” he said in a haughty tone, flinging a hand out toward where the group of new students waited. “Send them back through the portal.”
She sighed heavily. “All of them are enrolled here, whether you like it or not. I checked them in myself.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Elyon sneered. “Do you know who is coming here this year? The fucking son of the devil, that’s who. If we keep letting all of these evil bastards in, they are going to totally corrupt our school. That’s why we’ve decided to kick them all out. Aegis Academy will no longer be accepting demons or their ilk. So, tell them to get the fuck out of here.”
The fact that the Prince of Hell was attending their school that year was information he shouldn’t have, but she wasn’t surprised someone on the faculty had told him. Or it could have come directly from the headmaster since he’d been the one who’d delighted in spilling that secret to Jackie. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from bragging about having Lucifer’s beloved son on campus as if he had somehow managed the feat himself, when it was clear to Jackie that it had been the prince’s decision.
“You decided?” she asked, her voice all but dripping with disdain. This sort of bigotry wouldn’t be tolerated. “And who are you to be deciding such things? Are you the headmaster now? Of course, not. You aren’t even the next-in-line of your own kingdom, so don’t declare things that are far beyond your authority.”
That little barb had obviously been a direct hit.
His face turned bright red with anger. When several of the demons began to snicker, Elyon lost it. Unable to control his temper, he lashed out and shoved a wave of heated air at them with enough force it would have scorched skin and sent the entire group flying backward. Thankfully, she had been prepared for some sort of attack, though it still surprised her that he had been stupid enough to do something to an entire group of new students.
She felt the scorching heat slam against her palms even as she raised her hands to create a barrier of icy air to block the attack and protect the supernaturals behind her. She healed the burns on her hands at the same time she manipulated her icy barrier and wrapped it around his magic to trap the heat and send it back at the trio in a horizontal tornado. The strength of the combined magic had Elyon and his friends diving out of the way even as they threw up their own shields to protect themselves from the onslaught of ice and heat.
She had learned how to combine fire and water magic by practicing with Ramsey, although they had perfected that particular move by aiming the cyclones at objects and not people. The magical tornado might have looked impressive, but it was actually a very controlled assault. As long as the funnel didn’t strike someone directly, it wouldn’t cause too much damage.
Still, it was strong enough to make a statement…like a magical bitch slap.
“You frigid cunt!” Elyon snarled.
Jackie didn’t bother rolling her eyes. Like she hadn’t heard that insult or some variation of it a thousand times before. Making sure she sounded bored, she said, “Go home, Elyon. You’ve caused enough trouble here already.”
“Fuck you, ice queen.”
“Not even if you were the last male in the six realms.”
In response, he created two large fireballs and sent them flying her way. She waved her hand and blocked the flames with another icy wall of air, but this time the force of the attack was strong enough to push her back a few steps.
He wasn’t just being stupid now.
Elyon was actually trying to hurt her.
As her own temper flared, she lost enough control for the atmosphere around her to rapidly cool. A thin sheen of ice started forming on the stone bridge beneath her feet, and the pool of water at the end of the bridge from the melted ice and snow immediately froze over again. The sudden drop in temperature had several of the new students stepping back while others just shivered in reaction.
Jackie’s breath plumed out in a cloud of vapor. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Elyon stood facing her with his fists clenched and his legs braced apart. His chest was heaving, making him look like an enraged animal ready to charge. “You dare to challenge me? You are the one who is out of your mind,” he scoffed. “Your magic is nothing compared to mine.”
“Want to test that?” she countered before she could stop herself.
“Gladly,” he sneered at her.
“Princess,” Dillion warned from behind her.
“Stay here and protect them,” Jackie ordered.
“Dillion will stay. I’m with you,” Andrea countered as she stalked forward.
Not wasting time arguing, Jackie threw up a thick wall of ice between them to protect the group of new students. A barrage of fireballs was flung at her by Elyon and his friends, but Jackie and Andrea expertly blocked their attacks, meeting fire with ice.
Wanting to direct the line of fire away from them, Jackie took a running leap and launched herself off the railing. She landed on the frozen pond, using her magic to make her boots stick to the ice.
Trusting Andrea to make sure Elyon’s two friends didn’t interfere, Jackie focused on Elyon as he sent flaming arrows made from broken tree branches at her. She waved her hand, creating her own protective shield around her before she used a different spell to instantly pulverize the jagged pieces of wood into sawdust that rained down on the ice.
Deciding it was time to go on the offensive, she called the water from the pond to her. Large droplets rose up through the cracks to form icicles. She waved her hands in a circular motion, spinning the icicles in the air before shooting them straight at Elyon in a barrage of deadly missiles.
The way both fae wielded magic with ease was to be expected since they had both been trained from early childhood, but Elyon’s vicious attacks became increasingly erratic as his rage grew. Although Jackie countered everything he threw at her, she wasn’t actively trying to kill him. She was merely biding her time for the perfect opportunity to end the fight and knock his ass out.
Before she could, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone was coming at her fast from the side. Unsure if he was friend or foe, she reacted on instinct. Flinging out her magic, she completely encased him in ice from his neck down to his feet before she’d even got a good look at him. It was only after he was already frozen in place that she turned and saw that he had large black wings which clearly indicated he wasn’t one of Elyon’s lackeys.
Fuck, she had just iced a dark angel.
He was a massive supernatural, with a powerful build and an even more impressive aura. The thick, corded muscles of his outstretched arms were visible since he was only wearing a plain black T-shirt and jeans, and his booted feet were hovering a few feet above the ground.
His black hair was gathered up into a small bun on the top of his head, and a few strands fell loose around a face that had been carved by generous gods. With thick brows, high cheekbones, and a chiseled jaw, he was the epitome of masculine beauty. But nothing stood out more than his bold blue eyes.
His gaze was direct and piercing. Completely focused on him, she began to feel something strange. It was almost as if she were being drawn closer to him against her will, but she couldn’t afford to be distracted by him at the moment. Although he was encased in ice, he didn’t seem the least bit vulnerable. And when the cocky bastard shot her a smirk, she frowned back at him.
Batboy was lucky she hadn’t iced his whole body.
The reality of the situation suddenly struck her, and a terrifying thought flickered through her mind. Jackie really hoped she hadn’t just attacked the Prince of Hell. If she had, she was pretty sure she just might end up on the endangered species list.
“Umm, I’m sorry about that. I—shit!”
Before she could finish, Elyon flung more magic at the dark angel. His hate and anger were making him reckless, and she had to rush forward to defend her captive. Fed up with his shit, she created a whirlwind of super-cooled air and used it to propel her forward at him. She led with her fist, breaking through Elyon’s protection shield and landing a solid blow in the center of his chest.
As he flew back into the thick trunk of a tree with a satisfying crunch, she grinned. Served the fucker right. How dare he attack her dark angel? And he was hers. She’d felt it the moment she’d jumped in front of him. He was her mate, and she would defend him against all threats.
Even if it meant causing a Fae Realm civil war.