Alek's sword heavy in my hand. A chest full of death energy. Life force flowing through me. And those things I'd learned I could do—things I thought weren't possible, that shouldn't have been—tingling in my fingertips.
My godblood was so hot.
It felt like it was surging through my veins.
Half-mortal that I am, there's only so much divinity my body can handle until it flies from my fingertips.
I still don't know exactly what I did to Ares that day, how it is that the sword in my hand pierced his flesh. But I don't mention that to his sons as I slowly pull my bottoms up, taking care to make it as seductive as possible, to raise their hot blood and anger them towards me.
"My mother and I are special. Different. We have these abilities." Smirking at them, I tie my pants closed. "Do you know who gave your father that scar? The one he claims is from battle? That no one knows details of at all?"
Octavia warns one of her brothers, "Keep your sword in its sheath."
"But she's saying..."
I stare them down, enjoying the anger I see on their faces. This next part is true. "I gave the God of War his only scar. And when I go into that arena, I'm going to do it again." Placing my hands on the Ares gold cuffs on my wrists, I drain their death magic and let them fall, enjoying the consternation on the faces around me. "Your father doesn't stand a chance against me. I'll slice him open and watch his guts spill. But not to worry... I'll spare all of you. Unless you have his tiny cock."
In the arena, I feel it happen. A shift in the sand. A ripple through time and space. Swallowing, I keep the fear from my face, not wanting anyone to see me weak. I sweep Octavia's sword up in my hand, put a confident expression on my face, and saunter towards the open doors with as much chutzpah as possible.
Glancing to the viewing box, I see Bacchus leaning over the rails, a smirk on his face, his robe open. There's Nike beside him with her golden wings at her back. An elemental celestial or two, one who might be Night, another who must be Aether.
There's anger at my back.
And in front of me, standing in the arena sands, the God of War himself. Impossibly tall—never seven feet, but proportionate—he has dark golden hair as burnished as a shield, a bright red cloak that drips with blood, a sword that dips towards the sand in one hand, and a shield forged by Hephaestus himself. His chest is bare, rippling with muscles, red cloak fastened at his shoulders, sandals on his feet. Light drags from his form; bright searing energy like the heavens themselves.
A white, raised scar twists across his chest from abdomen to clavicle.
His eyes burn with anger and light.
Looking at them is like staring at the sun.
I wonder how I ever thought he might forget what I did to him. Seeing it now, I realize it was never just a little scar. It was an omen. A promise. My mother must have pledged herself to him to save my life—and I repaid her by turning my back on all that she is, all that we both are. There's no way I'll survive facing Ares in battle a second time, so no wonder she hasn't shown her face here to watch her only daughter die.
Might as well face my death with confidence. Maybe I'll be lucky, and my last-minute subterfuge works. One more moment to really work at it.
"Time to fight." I wink at Octavia as I hold up her sword. "Bet this will cut his tiny cock off no problem."
She scowls, finally feeling something.
I stride forward into the sand without looking back.
My heart is in my throat.
Power surges within me, but not enough, never enough. I feel the eyes of the gods on me. Bacchus whoops in excitement, chalice in each hand, wine sloshing over their rims.
For a moment I think I'm going to have to just do it. Fight Ares. As my half-freed godblood surges in my veins, hot and slightly painful, I wonder if I have it in me. If I've gathered enough power to at least go out dignified.
I've lived a long life. Death comes for all of us in the end. Que sera sera.
"Mortem OfDeath." Ares' voice is like a roar in the air. He lifts his sword tip, and gestures behind him, where one of his sons waits to ring the gong. "It has been too long."
"Has it? I don't remember. What happened last time we saw each other... hmmm..."
"I've been waiting for this moment." A cruel smile breaks out on his face. "Before, I could not face you without risking breaking an agreement with your mother. But now... now you are in my prison. My purview. Kept from me initially, much to my chagrin. I should've found out the instant you were brought here. No matter—now I know. Now you're here. I'll destroy you, cleave you in half, feast on your entrails, then kill until I'm sated. We will face off in three rounds, the first two of which I will of course win, followed by your death. Do you have any last words?"
I shrug. "I do have one question."
"Yes?" Impatience from the God of War.
"What is it like..." Glancing up towards the viewing box, I see Bacchus is leaning over, and pitch my voice for all to hear. "What is it like, trying to fuck with that tiny dick of yours? Do you have to use a penis extender to get mortal women pregnant? Or do you turkey baster your cum out of your little bitty cock?"
He twitches.
And at my back, I hear it: a roar of rage. A son of Ares, completely out of control. One of them is going to try to kill me for this.
I don't turn to face him, don't defend myself at all. Instead, in a voice pitched for Bacchus and the others to hear, I shout, "I forfeit the first round!"
And I throw my sword on the ground.
Just as the hotblooded warrior leaps onto my from behind.
Grabs my hair.
Pulls my head back.
Then slashes his knife across my throat.
* * *
The action continues in Demigod Fighter, available for preorder now!
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Read Next: Cain University
Want humor, steam, action, mystery, and an adult level paranormal university? I’ve got your next read! A complete series.
I'm Ellen Arizona, and I'm a murderer.
I know you've heard my name. They're all talking about what I've done. But no one really understands why I did it. And no one understands me.
Except for the other killers at Cain University.
The Cain graduate program for killers is the only safe place left for me. But it comes with a catch: leave, and the consequences are deadly.
I need to stay. I have powers to train, and someone to kill next: the man who murdered my mother in cold blood. To get him, though, I'll need to survive the first year program.
Easier said than done. Especially when I find out the four men I loathe, who hunted me and petitioned to kill me, are somehow connected to my powers. If we don't learn to get along, it could spell doom—for them and for me.
First Kill is a brand new university-age first in a series, similar to The Magicians and Villain Academy. It has blood, gore, mature scenes, laugh out loud comedy, and a reverse harem enemies-to-lovers romance that will scorch off the pages. For readers 18+ only; please read the trigger warning inside.
Read First Kill (Cain University 1) Now!
Read Next: Phoenix Academy
If you like sassy heroines, paranormal romance, and a lot of humor, check out my Phoenix Academy First Years series!
I’m just a girl trying to survive. Dying? Unexpected. Coming back to life? Even more so. Now these four snarky demons are haunting me. Shirtless.
It turns out you can die and live again. At least I can.
When a night out goes murderously wrong, I chose leaping to my death over getting tortured. Except it turns out I don’t die like everyone else.
I’m a phoenix — or so they tell me. Apparently I need training at the Phoenix Academy.
What I really need is to get rid of the four demons haunting me wherever I go, showing up when my heart is beating fast — whether I’m nervous, afraid, or well... other th
ings.
But I also wouldn’t mind learning how to light things on fire with my mind or take out a man twice my size with my bare hands. All things the instructors at the academy want to teach me... if I can survive long enough.
Because there’s something deadly lurking in these halls, and it’s coming for me next.
Welcome to the first year at Phoenix Academy, a place where the paranormal lives — and dies — and lives again.
* * *
Excerpt:
It all started with a severed dick.
Not in the way you’re thinking; I’m no Lorena, poor thing. I wasn’t the one slicing and dicing. If I had, I would’ve picked a nice julienne, really gone to town on the thing until it was unrecognizable ribbons of flesh. Leaving it whole, swinging bits and all, just seems... cruel. Especially when the dude it was attached to was still (mostly) alive at the time to see his family jewels get taken and dangled in front of his face. What a last image to have seared into your retinas as you die.
Not that he didn’t deserve it. Richard was like the worst version of your shittiest ex-boyfriend. Imagine an actual pile of garbage given human form.
And his nickname was Dick, after all, so the demons were clearly going for something when they took his actual dick from him. It would’ve been funny if it hadn’t been so incredibly fucking disgusting. Demons do have a sense of humor, apparently.
I just wish they hadn’t killed me too.
Coming back to life was a real bitch.
Read Phoenix Academy: Awaken now!
Also by Lucy Auburn
Phoenix Academy
The First Years
Phoenix Academy: Awaken
Phoenix Academy: Unbound
Phoenix Academy: Forged
Phoenix Academy: Reborn
Phoenix Academy: Freed
Blue Phoenix
Phoenix Academy: Madness
Phoenix Academy: Mayhem
Cain University
First Kill
Kill or Be Killed
Final Kill
Godblood Prison
Demigod Captive
Demigod Fighter
Demigod Ruler
Coleridge Academy Elites
The Snake in the Grass
The Pawn
The Knight
The King
Selena Pierce
Fae Like Me
Hell Sucks
Godspring
Seven Trials
The Black God
Wild Heart Chronicles
Primal
Feral
Savage
or… get all of the above as the
Wild Heart Bundle (free!)
Standalones
Three for a Witch
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About the Author
Lucy Auburn is an urban fantasy/paranormal romance writer who lives in the Southwest. She loves writing interesting stories about strong women. Some of the writers who inspire her include Patricia Briggs and Sarah J. Maas.
She values her privacy and does her best to keep her online life and her real life separate.
Catch up with her…
www.LucyAuburn.com
LucyAuburnBooks@gmail.com
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