Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
sinner
Who the fuck did they think they were? They spoke to her like I didn’t even exist. Or like I was an accessory that came along with her.
Like I wouldn’t fucking murder anyone who even thought about touching her that way.
Athena was mine.
They could long for her all they wanted, but she would never be theirs.
I’d been putting up with the stares and the whispers for days now. Since the moment Willow mentioned the claiming group with Athena, I’d been on edge.
How dare they even consider taking what was mine?
Even with the shields suppressing my powers, my phantoms purred at the thought of her.
They wanted to claim her—fully claim her—but not just in that way.
They wanted to wrap their smoky tendrils around her.
They wanted to possess her. They wanted to make sure nobody else could even consider claiming her.
They wanted to mark her. Own her.
I couldn’t let them out—not with the power of the shields working overtime like this.
But there was one thing I could do.
I marched over, my eyes never leaving her as the crowd in the cafeteria split for me, without stopping, and cupped her perfect, pale face in my hands.
Then I brought my lips down on hers. Hard.
Excitement stirred in my gut as I moved my mouth against hers, tasting sweet jasmine and vanilla. God, I missed this. I missed her.
I was done sitting back, allowing everyone in the fucking barracks to gawk at her.
She froze, her body stiffening, but she didn’t pull away. So I deepened the kiss. I wouldn’t back down. Not with every person in this cafeteria staring at us.
Not with Alexander, who’d just been eyeing her up and down like she was a prize to be won, sat across from her.
Athena. Was. Mine.
I slipped my tongue between her lips as I slid my fingers into the hair at the back of her head for more leverage.
And then—like a blessing from the cursed god above—she fucking kissed me back.
Really kissed me.
She matched my energy, her body surrendering to my touch. Our lips worked together in hungry tandem, fire blazing in my veins and adrenaline sending my heart rate skyrocketing.
I’d wanted to do this for days now. Fuck—I’d wanted to do this every fucking time I’d seen her for weeks.
Could she sense it? How real this was for me?
Or did she still think this was a show? Did she still think I was pretending to care about her?
Groaning, I poured every ounce of passion I had into our connection.
This kiss was an explosion of everything I couldn’t say, of everything I was too terrified to admit, even to myself.
Fuck. For a second, I forgot we weren’t alone.
A breathy sigh escaped her, and my knees grew weak.
I pulled back just enough to look into her face. “Mine, New Girl.” I gave her hair a soft tug, which forced another gasp from her now swollen lips. Fuck. “All mine.”
I stayed there for a second, drinking in how wild, how unhinged, she looked. She scanned my face, and I half prepared for her to slap me.
But she didn't. Though her expression turned to one of shock and bewilderment, there was a hunger there, too.
She may have hated me, but we had a connection, and she was tired of fighting it. She’d all but admitted it to me.
I was the asshole who continued to push her away.
I pushed everyone away.
What the fuck was wrong with me? Athena had no idea how obsessed with her I was. She had no idea she had every single fucking cadet in here sweating the second she walked in.
It had nothing to do with the potency of her power.
Athena was…well, she was spectacular.
And she was mine. All mine.
I leaned down and nipped her bottom lip one more time, then stood and released her.
“Easy, tiger,” Alexander muttered. “We get it. You two can’t keep your hands off each other.”
The others laughed. Athena didn’t. Her eyes were still glued on mine.
“Care to join us?” Karlyle asked politely.
I hated to admit it, but the guy wasn’t half bad. How he put up with Alexander, I had no clue.
“I’d rather not,” I said.
“Oh, come on,” Alexander teased. “You kiss her like that and don’t even sit with us for lunch?”
Discomfort washed over me. He was up to something. Frankly, I hated the guy. I sure as hell didn’t trust him.
Especially around Athena.
After what I’d just overheard, I actually didn’t want to leave her.
“Fine. I’ll stay.” I swung my leg over the wooden bench, straddling the seat. Facing Athena, I looped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move, and she didn’t pull away.
Could she feel my heart racing?
Could she sense how acutely she affected me?
Willow—who I no longer thought of as the nice, polite girl—cleared her throat. “We were just talking about the war games.”
I grunted a laugh, even as irritation hit me. “Of course you were.”
Athena diverted her attention to her tray of food, but the corner of her mouth twitched.
I tightened my grip on her hip.
Her body fit flush against mine now, and the phantoms suppressed deep in my chest were going absolutely wild.
Alexander watched on, not bothering to hide his stare. His hungry stare.
A petty thrill zipped through me as I considered how to handle him.
Fighting a smile, I pulled her even closer to me and slid my free hand up her thigh.
She let out a tiny surprised gasp.
“Willow’s right,” Karlyle continued, unfazed. “The games are just around the corner, and after that we’re headed straight into combat.”
“Combat for what, exactly?” Athena asked.
I dragged the hand on her hip up an inch, slipping it beneath her shirt, my skin hot against hers.
She straightened a fraction at first, but then leaned deeper into me. “Are we supposed to simply attack the earthlies because someone in the Ministry told us to?”
“You’re supposed to do whatever it takes to survive,” Alexander said.
His demeanor had changed. He was no longer flirting and smiling.
He was jealous.
Satisfaction filled me. He could be jealous all he fucking wanted.
I saw the way he looked at us—at her. His attention darted to where my hand was still hidden beneath her shirt. I slid it farther, flattening my palm against her stomach.
We were supposed to be obsessed with each other, right? Unable to keep our hands off each other?
Had they forgotten that she was mine?
Athena pretended not to be affected, but her tone was breathy. “You can’t possibly believe that,” she said. “You’d kill them for your own safety?”
“What do you mean by them?” Karlyle asked. “The earthlies?”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” she replied.
I could barely hear a single fucking thing they were saying over the roaring in my ears. My body was still reacting to Athena, still reeling from our kiss.
But I was intrigued by the conversation for once. So I focused on deep breathing, steading my heart rate and tuning into their words.
Karlyle smiled softly and shook his head. He seemed like a nice guy. Really. How he’d gotten stuck with Alexander was fucking beyond me.
Still. If he was willing to slaughter earthlies just because the Ministry told him to, he was fucked in the head.
That, or he had been brainwashed into believing there was a good reason for it.
“Respectfully, Athena,” he said, “you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She cocked a brow. “Then enlighten me.”
I held my breath, and Alexander quit eye-fucking Athena. On her other side, Willow leaned in, her expression full of curiosity.
We all waited for Karlyle’s answer.
“Go on,” I said. “Answer her.”
She didn’t need me to back her up. She’d proven more than once that she could fight her own battles. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make every single fucking man here bow before her.
That didn’t mean I would show an ounce of mercy to Alexander, Karlyle, or anyone else in this godforsaken place. Friendly or not.
Karlyle sighed, like he was bored with this conversation. “The Ministry has been fighting this battle for longer than you realize. Since long before the official war began. Since before there was even a division between the earthlies and the mystics.”
“That can’t be possible.” I frowned. “The mystics have never lived in peace with the earthlies.”
“You only think that because of the propaganda being spread,” he replied. “The earthlies aren’t as defenseless as you might believe.”
“God,” Alexander sighed, collecting his tray. “I’m tired and we still have an entire afternoon of magic training left. How about we finish these boring conversations another day?”
Willow made a sound of agreement, but Karlyle rested his forearms on the table, moving in closer. “Rumor has it, the earthlies are looking to eradicate the mystics. All of us. The Ministry has simply been fighting back in order to keep us alive.”
Alexander shot him an annoyed look—a look that warned him to shut the fuck up.
“There’s no way that’s true,” I said.
Karlyle shrugged. “Believe what you want. You’ll find out soon enough. Once the games are over, you’ll see what is really going on.”
“What’s with these games, anyway?” I demanded. “If that’s the truth, why do we have to prove ourselves like that in order to fight for our lives out there?”
“It’s not just about proving ourselves,” Karlyle continued.
Alexander stood abruptly and picked up his tray. “Teatime is over, mates. Let’s wrap this up.”
“But—” Athena stood, too, taking her warmth with her.
“Another time, sweetheart,” he promised. “You’ve barely touched your food. You need to eat before training.” He zeroed in on me. If looks could kill, I would have been fucking dead on sight. “You both do. We’ll talk later.”
He gave Karlyle another hard look, and finally his claimed stood and followed him out.
My mind raced as I watched them leave. Had Alexander shut him up on purpose?
What else did they know?
Clearly, we hadn’t gotten the whole story.
And my gut told me Karlyle knew more than he’d let on.
Willow followed after them, scurrying out of the cafeteria without another word, as if her work here was done.
When it was just the two of us at the table, Athena spun to face me. “What the hell was that?”
Her hair was a mess, partly from training and partly from when I’d had my fingers buried in it.
I smirked, lifting my chin. “What was what?”
She exhaled loudly. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. All of—” She waved a hand. “—that.”
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
Her brow furrowed. God, she was fucking sexy when she was pissed off.
Especially when the taste of her still lingered on my lips.
I pushed to my feet, towering over her. Eventually she tipped her head back, glaring at me again.
“Mine, Athena. Nobody else can have you,” I reminded her.
I was monotonous. Annoying. Jealous.
I didn’t give a fuck.
If I had anything to say about it, the other cadets would not sit around here and talk about her like she was available.
She was anything but available.
And I’d remind them over and over if I had to.
“I’ll see you in training. Don’t be late.”
I gave her a once-over, noting the flush in her cheeks, then sauntered out of the cafeteria and back outside.