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  MAGIC TRIALS

  Half-Blood Academy # 1

  Meg Xuemei X

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Magic Trials

  Prologue

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  Author’s Notes

  SNEAK PEEK: A COURT OF BLOOD AND VOID

  More Books by Meg Xuemei X

  About the Author

  Half-Blood Academy 1: Magic Trials © 2019 by Meg Xuemei X

  Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  The novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence. Novel intended for adults only.

  Cover art by Jay R Villalobos

  Edited by Jax Garren

  Proofread by Jane Beyer

  Half-Blood Academy 1: Magic Trials

  The demigods can’t decide if they want to screw me or kill me.

  My name is Marigold. I’m a hunter living in the Great Merge—Lucifer has brought Hell to half of Earth, and four demigods rule the other half.

  The smoking-hot Demigod of War rounded up my team to enroll them in Half-blood Academy, aka Half-death Academy, due to the survival rate of the students.

  When he sees me, he wants no one else but me. So he offers to spare my team if I go in their place. Problem is, no human outside the bloodline of the gods can survive the magic trials. The demigod insists I’m anything but human, and he’s willing to risk my life to find out what I’m made of.

  I’m not the weakest link, even though all the bullies in the Academy mock me. I’m nothing anyone has ever seen before, and when my forbidden power awakens, the demigods will regret they ever tried to make me their bitch.

  Magic Trials is the first book in the Half-Blood Academy series, a medium-burn reverse harem fantasy romance packed with heart-pounding action, suspense, lust and romance.

  Prologue

  The Demigod of War

  The green-eyed human girl fought like a fiend against a large, vicious gang.

  Her ferocity was the most stunning thing I’d ever seen.

  But I didn’t come for her. We came for the two supernaturals on her team. Rogues weren’t allowed to roam the demigods’ territory unchecked. They either joined the Academy or were put down.

  Wrap it up, I ordered Cameron, the lieutenant of the Dominion of Gods, with a gesture. These soldiers had survived the Trial of the Blood Runes because they had gods’ blood in their veins.

  The fight in the street ceased abruptly as Cameron’s men marched into the battlefield, gunning for their targets. The other combatants stepped back, fear of the Dominion soldiers sinking in their eyes—all except for the human girl.

  She stepped in front of a teenage wolf shifter and an underage witch, blocking Cameron and his soldiers.

  “Marigold, they’re the Dominions. We can’t fight them off,” the shifter whispered, trying to pull her back to protect her, but she shrugged him off.

  “Like Hell I’ll let them take you!” she said, her hands twitching, ready for violence.

  She was still running on adrenaline. I smelled her dark fear, though it was no match for her fury.

  Cameron’s jaw clenched. He hadn’t met a civilian who dared resist an arrest or recruitment. And no one cursed in front of a Dominion soldier without suffering the consequences.

  The lieutenant and his men were more than zealous to impress me, as a demigod rarely accompanied them on an enlistment mission.

  “I don’t give a fuck how pretty you are, chick,” Cameron snorted. “Get the fuck out of my way, or—”

  The girl attacked.

  She planted a boot into Cameron’s chest and kicked hard. At the same time, she nocked five arrows, letting them fly in blurry succession.

  Her every aim hit true, but she was up against the well-trained Dominion warriors in armor that no human weapon could penetrate.

  Our forces surrounded her. The girl yelled for the shifter and witch to run, but instead they pressed their backs against hers, ready to fight to the death with her.

  I chuckled.

  “Fun’s over, little minx,” I said, peeling myself from the shade and stepping into the battlefield before my soldiers terminated the trio.

  My demigod power coiled, ripping the fabric of the air.

  Every knee—the soldiers’, the civilians’, and the gang members’—dropped to a battlefield strewn with shells of bullets, bits of concrete, animal fur, and blood.

  Yet one pair of knees refused to go down.

  A flick of surprise flashed through my eyes. That was a first.

  The girl braced her feet apart and glared at me, the fire of fury burning in her eyes, their color so vivid it was greener than any forest in any universe I’d passed.

  A flame lashed out like invisible lightning, striking the icy, steel walls that encased my careless, ruthless demigod heart.

  Instantly, my cock hardened.

  What the fuck?

  The beast roared in me, awakening, as did my primal need.

  I reined in the beast with effort so I wouldn’t drag down that female, push her to the ground, and mount her from behind, right there.

  I prided myself in not being a savage demigod, but without a mirror, I knew my eyes glowed molten gold with a crimson ring around the pupils.

  My power increased, unleashing at the girl’s challenge. Violent wind charged from me, wheeling and slamming into everything in its path.

  The buildings within the scope of my power rumbled, glass shattering.

  The wolves, hybrids, and humans whimpered as they were thrown backwards, including the young witch and the shifter who knelt behind the human girl.

  She swayed before steadying herself.

  Kneel, I commanded her.

  Her lavender hair spread wildly, whipped by the electrifying power in the air. Beads of sweat dotted on her cute little nose. Fear and rage spoke volumes in her eyes as she endeavored to resist my power.

  Her legs buckled, revealing her human weakness, and I waited for her to drop to her knees to pay me respect, like everyone else.

  My faint smile wilted from the corners of my lips when she straightened her back and straightened her legs.

  No human or supernatural could withstand my compulsion, except for the primordial Olympian gods and Lucifer. Even my demigod peers had to put on their armor and shield themselves against me with their power.

  But this mere human girl stood her ground.

  As if that wasn’t infuriating enough, she flipped me
the bird.

  It was the first time anyone had ever given me that. She didn’t know she was courting violence, then death.

  My soldiers’ gasps were audible, even over the gang’s and her companions’. Hushed quietness resumed at my snarl.

  Everyone waited for me to strike down the insolent human girl.

  The minx smirked, the brightest, most gorgeous thing on Earth, and every predatory cell within me swirled alive.

  A thrill coursed through my veins.

  My cock grew hard, jerking forward and rasping painfully against the fabric of my pants.

  I clenched my teeth, willing myself to keep control and stay put, no matter how badly I wanted to claim this female now, over and over.

  Fortunately, instead of tight armor, I wore a leather trench coat, which covered my erection.

  My gaze roved over her sinfully enticing body before peering into her eyes to search for her secrets—how could a human oppose me?

  What was she?

  I stalked toward the deadly, beautiful creature, hands in my pockets as if I were strolling in the park. Despite my casual manner, another wave of whimpers from the soldiers and gang members indicated the effects of my rippling power.

  The girl tensed at my approach, the knuckles of one hand white on her spear and her other hand ready to, I assume, pull out a gun from her leather jacket to turn on me.

  I held her blazing gaze, daring her to try.

  Her fear blended with hate and fascination, wheeling in her fiery jade eyes as she kept glaring at me.

  The minx wasn’t entirely immune to me and my power, after all.

  I held back an amused chortle. It was rare anyone could still amuse me, even though I was the youngest demigod walking Earth.

  And I had never been so aroused.

  She didn’t back off but held her chin high and puffed up her chest, which drew my gaze to her perky breasts.

  I strode around her, studying her as if she were a prickly kitten I’d cornered, and she wheeled accordingly, never showing her back to me.

  When I’d annoyed her enough, she gave in, breaking the silence.

  “What the fuck do you want, demigod?” she demanded. “And which demigod are you?”

  Such attitude. Outlaws always hated authorities.

  Everyone else held their breath at her lack of self-preservation. I would have squashed the offender had it been anyone less interesting.

  I didn’t bother to conceal a flick of surprise.

  Everyone else knew who I was. She must be terribly isolated in this forsaken town. Yet she knew I was a half-blood.

  I tilted my head and sniffed. A discovery made my eyes brighten, and I smiled. She wasn’t the human she presented herself to be.

  Yet she wasn’t like anything I’d encountered.

  This close, I could sense potent power in her bloodstream, but it was veiled.

  She didn’t even know, or she’d have fought with her magic instead of rudimentary bows and daggers.

  Some force held her magic captive.

  Then her scent hit me fully in the face, and waves of heat rushed inside me until they all gathered in my groin.

  A firestorm of lust burned in my veins.

  That instant I decided what she would be for me.

  She was the puzzle I needed to solve.

  A wilderness to tame.

  A treasure I’d found.

  A rare jewel I would possess and lock in the most guarded vault.

  And a female I would ride every night, savoring her cries as she begged for the ecstasy I could give her. This girl I would claim as my mate.

  The mystic wind passed between us, and she widened her stunningly green eyes as if she’d seen the most brilliant sunlight flooding the forest for the first time. She’d taken in my scent as well, and I watched her reaction in satisfaction.

  Her soft, full lips parted with shock. She’d fight me with every ounce of her strength if I told her now that she was mine and her future belonged with me.

  She recovered faster than I’d thought any woman could.

  But then, she wasn’t just any woman. Not even close.

  “We’re law-abiding citizens, mister. You won’t take any member of my coven,” she shouted, then swept her spearhead toward the werewolf gang she’d fought. “But you’re more than welcome to round up those up-to-no-good scumbags! They should fight the demons in the frontier at your Dominions’ command instead of harassing innocent small-town people.”

  The werewolves snarled, but stopped the instant Cameron shot them a harsh look.

  “They’re too old,” Cameron said, thrusting his chin toward the werewolves before training his hard gaze on the girl. “Only the teenage wolf and witch will be enrolled into the Academy. We came for them, so I suggest you step aside if you don’t want any more trouble.”

  He was nicer to the girl, though wary, after she’d put up a fight against me.

  “No way!” the girl said. “Everyone knows Half-Blood Academy is actually Half-Death Academy. Less than half of the attendants survive the first ritual, and I won’t let my people try their luck.”

  “How dare you!” Cameron hissed. “That blasphemy alone shall get you hanged.”

  I raised a hand to stop Cameron from cursing the girl further and quirked an eyebrow at her. It’d be interesting to see how the fiery minx survived her first day at my academy.

  “I’ll spare your friends under one condition,” I said with a charming smile that every woman ate up.

  She narrowed her eyes, but I could feel her pulse spike.

  Her every reaction provoked mine, exciting me.

  The girl arched a long, elegant eyebrow, relaxing a little and ready to bargain.

  “And what is your condition, demigod?”

  “You go in their places, Marigold,” I said.

  CHAPTER 1

  Marigold

  I burst through the twisted trees in the dim forest, stealth no longer necessary or possible.

  Jasper, the nineteen-year-old shifter in his white wolf form, had flushed out our prey and driven a pair of shimeras toward me.

  Though we all preferred a rabbit’s tender meat to roasted shimera, we were thinking long-term. The shimera grew in number, faster than any other mutant beasts. We couldn’t afford to let them move out of the forest and overrun the blocks where Jasper, Circe—a seventeen-year-old witch—and I had taken up residence for the last three years.

  The old, warded library building had been our last frontier, ever since the age of the Great Merge, when the world fell and was divided between the demons and four demigods.

  Their unceasing war afflicted nearly every earthling and every corner of Earth.

  We were lucky to have this town, called Crack, which the hordes of demons and the Dominion army of the demigods neglected or had forgotten while they were busy fighting for richer land.

  That was why Jasper, Circe, and I had stayed here, and we stuck together to survive.

  The shimera pair swiveled in my direction, their fur gray and fangs sharp. The species had a bull’s shape and a kitten’s size. But only idiots were fooled by their small form. They were some of the most vicious beasts in the jungle.

  The pair leapt my way, mouths open to toast me. The little beasts’ fire was deadly within seven feet, hence Jasper had kept his distance while driving them in my direction.

  “Watch out!” Circe warned from my left flank, moving to cover my back, her boots stomping on the dried leaves and twigs behind me.

  I winced at her novice mistake, but then I had to cut her some slack. She’d just started hunting with Jasper and me. My young witch friend had begged me over and over, claiming that she was old enough to join our hunt and promising to be useful.

  “I’m only two and half years younger than you and one and half younger than Jasper,” she had said crossly. “You aren’t my mother! If you want to protect me, you’ll need to prepare me for this fucked-up world. And don’t treat me as the weakest link amid the
three of us.”

  But she was the weakest among the three of us.

  She’d seemed to read my thought and raised her chin. “I might not be as fast and strong as you, Marigold, but it won’t always be that way.” She’d even put a hand on her hip to emphasize her point. “You’re only a human, but I’m a witch. I have way more magic than you can ever have. I’ll be more powerful when I reach your age.”

  Jasper had shot her a glare. He was a peaceful wolf shifter and didn’t like any discord among us. “Be grateful that Marigold took us in,” he’d warned.

  “I’m not being disrespectful.” Circe glared back at him. The two always argued when they didn’t have anyone else to fight with. Circe was in a teenage rebellion stage, despite that she loved me. I hadn’t had the luxury, though, to go through that same phase. She kept going. “I was merely stating a fact. Marigold can deal with truth. If anything, she always appreciates honesty.”

  I’d finally caved in. No matter how much I wanted to shield her, we lived in a dangerous world, and she needed to have all sorts of survival skill sets.

  I was older and led the pack, but as they were supernaturals, soon their powers would surpass mine. Our hierarchy was going to change irrevocably when that happened.

  Would I be a follower and let one of them lead?

  Being a follower wasn’t in my blood.

  I shook off the thought of what our future would become and focused on the game.

  I assigned Circe to be my shadow. Her role was to confuse bigger predators by sending our scent in the opposite direction with her homebrew spells.

  A rapid stream of fire poured out from between the shimeras’ serrated fangs.

  I’d underestimated the beasts’ speed. Though we’d hunted them for a while, the shimera, being mutants, had upgraded.

  Jasper, the wolf, rushed toward us from behind the beasts, yelping in warning.

  I was in the direct path of the beasts’ fire.

  If I’d hunted alone, it’d be easy to sidestep the shimeras’ fire stream, but Circe was right behind me. If I lunged or ducked, the fire would hit her.

  I threw myself backward, slamming the young witch to the ground with me. At the same time, I sent my arrows flying, three of them at once. Each hit a shimera’s eye.