Rejected Queen by Meg Xuemei X.
CHAPTER 12
Tessa
The building quaked and the windows rumbled.
Everyone jumped to their feet at once. Loki pulled me against him, then shoved me back to shield me as his hellfire lashed out and twirled along the perimeter as it sought out the threat.
Dux and Fayette rushed to flank me. Dux had his twin blades out, and Fayette flashed a laser gun. I gave Loki a look and pulled away from him, warning him not to treat me like glass. I was a warrior queen, and I fought on the frontline when battle came.
I pulled my sanjiegun from my boot as my ice magic coiled around me. I was in good shape as I’d mostly recovered from the poison.
The demigods positioned Marigold between them, and as a group, we rushed to the east side of the penthouse. Through the full window, we spotted that one-third of the tallest skyscraper was gone. Fireballs erupted from the gutted building, and plumes of smoke swirled into the blue-gray sky. Chunks of concrete, beams, and glass rained down amid clouds of debris, the thundering noise drowning out the screams and cries of the humans trapped inside the building.
“It’s a terrorist attack,” Marigold spat, her green eyes burning like a forest fire.
“Guard our mate, Axel,” Paxton said. “Inform Héctor if he doesn’t know already. We’ll secure the site and let him track down the fuckers who did this. He’s the best hunter among us.”
The sea demigod teleported out of the penthouse in a blink. A second later, vast sheets of water poured down from the sky as he tried to drench the fire engulfing the building.
“I can help too,” I said, my lips pursed at the destruction. “My ice magic can be useful.”
“There’ll be a battle,” said the Demigod of War.
“I’m a warrior,” I said. “I’ll stand with Loki and all of you.”
“You’re in the middle of the Bride Trials, Tessa,” Marigold said, fury marring her lovely face. “The fucking Wild Hunt has marked you. Expose yourself as little as you can. Preserve your energy, especially after being poisoned. And though my realm is burning, Earth isn’t ready to see the Demon King and the demigods working closely together. I’m confident that Paxton will get the situation under control. We’re just waiting for the villains to show up somewhere.”
Another wave of water poured into the building from every direction, putting out the remaining fire before the fire trucks arrived with their piercing sirens. The Demigod of Sea was very powerful.
“We’ll assist in any way we can,” Dux offered. “We have experience identifying gods from different realms, as we’ve travelled to all of their regions. We can track the gods if they’re already in this realm.”
Marigold and Loki regarded us. I looked at the cloud of dust twirling outside the window like gray snow. I didn’t want to hold his gaze as I wasn’t yet ready to tell him that he was the fire to my ice and the flame I’d been seeking all over the worlds.
The penthouse rocked again.
“It’ll hold,” Loki said, his arm wrapping around me protectively. “Mari, her demigods, and I set the ward around the building together.” He turned to his sister. “Powerful beings from other realms might have been roaming Earth. They could be the ones who initiated the attacks, including meddling with the Bride Trials. It’s possible they aren’t revealing themselves because they want to get us fighting each other again.”
Thunder rolled through the sky. A pair of massive obsidian wings blotted out part of the horizon, followed by several rescue helicopters.
“We have to go now,” Axel said, his amber eyes turning to molten gold. “Whoever did this will eat dirt before begging for a quick death.”
“Héctor, Zak, and their Dominions have come.” Marigold turned to me. “I’ll see you again, Tessa, but it’s best your team stays with me until you finish the final trial.”
Dux and Fayette clung to me. It was tearing us apart to have to separate from each other again. In the old days, even when we’d fought in the arena, we’d always been together.
“We need to go, love,” Axel urged.
“Go, sis,” Loki said. “Anything you need, send word.”
Axel and Marigold wrapped themselves in each other’s arms. In a sweep of wind and blue flame, they teleported to the smoking skyscraper and took Dux and Fayette with them.
“Live, Your Grace.” Dux and Fayette’s last plea shattered me.
My heart ached as I stretched my hands toward my vanished teammates.
And then worry for the humans hurt by the explosion twisted my stomach. I didn’t know them, but they were my kin’s people, so I cared.
Just Loki and I were left, watching the cloud of dust drift like gray snowflakes outside the window.
“I’m sorry everything went wrong again,” Loki said ruefully. “I promise our second date—”
“Don’t promise anything.” I put a finger to his lips. “I had a good time with you and I got to see Dux and Fayette. But if you still want to make it up to me, please teleport me to the top of the burned building. My ice magic can cool down the entire skyscraper.”
And we did that before Loki brought me back to his red castle in Hell.
