Half-Blood Academy 5: Magic Flame: a Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance

by Meg Xuemei X

  If we crossed paths with Ares again, it would be a fight to the death.

  Lilith narrowed her silver eyes at Axel. “Ares isn’t even in the equation of my consideration. The trial had nothing to do with your father, but everything to do with my daughter.”

  “Really?” Axel’s voice dripped with disbelief.

  “I’ll have a few words with you, too, Queen Lilith,” Paxton chimed in, also looking displeased. “What made you think I would choose any woman other than Buttercup? I shouldn’t have been put on the same level as Axel. He was a notorious playboy before he met my mate and then turned a new leaf. I am the only one who hasn’t completely, truly mated Buttercup. I’m still on probation in this relationship, to a degree. Do you even know how long it took her to warm up to me? Your suspicions toward me were unfounded. I know how to keep my dick in my pants. The only thing you achieved by sending your succubi after me was cause Buttercup untold amounts of anxiety and pain.”

  And then all of my mates tossed harsh words at Lilith, expressing their exasperation and frustration.

  She rubbed her temples and looked at me wild-eyed.

  “Are they always like this?” Mom asked in dismay.

  “When all of them are together and around me.” I shrugged and popped a strip of crispy bacon in my mouth. “You’ll get used to it.”

  When they weren’t around me, they were barely verbal. They usually just issued commands and exacted punishments when necessary, or traded fists and crossed blades with one another.

  Yet at Mom’s words, all my mates quieted down. I think they suddenly remembered what Paxton had warned them about driving me away with their dominant personalities.

  A thought sparked in my mind.

  “If Héctor beds you, will you truly make him immortal?” I asked. “Can you really do that, Mom?”

  “Don’t even think about it, Lamb,” Héctor hissed. “I won’t have anyone but you.”

  Lilith rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I’m powerful, but I’m not that powerful.”

  “You lied?” I glowered.

  If Héctor had chosen to fuck her, he would have gotten nothing in return.

  “Yeah, it came out easily,” Mom said shamelessly and bit into a strawberry dipped in white chocolate with whiskey drizzle.

  “I can’t even look at you right now,” I said, frustrated with her. “We’re leaving as soon as we have dessert!”

  “My dearest,” Lilith said in a soothing voice. “There’s still hope for your mortal. I wouldn’t have taunted him without a sound reason, and I’m not going to let my daughter’s heart break over his final demise. You need to go see your father. The King of Light, Fire, and Power will know how to restore Héctor’s immortality.”

  I sighed. I hadn’t yet decided if I wanted to pay a visit to Daddy in prison, but now I didn’t have a choice. I’d sworn to find a way to restore Héctor’s immortality, and if going to the Titan prison was the cost, I’d gladly pay it.

  “Mom, now this is serious and super important,” I said.

  Lilith looked at me expectantly, her long lashes fluttering.

  “I said what I’m going to say is serious, Mom!”

  “I’m all ears,” she said, looking giddy.

  “You know about the Living Flame, right?” I asked. “It’s in me.”

  “Of course, dearest,” she said. “It’ll be a sight to see when it’s ignited.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about how it looks right now,” I said, my face flushing pink. “Right now, I need to mate.”

  All my mates snapped their attention to me, no longer bickering among themselves. Pure male desire burned in their eyes.

  “I mean,” I rushed to say, “Paxton and I must finish the mating ritual to get the fire going, but we haven’t had a chance or a suitable place to… you know.”

  Paxton shot to his feet, ready to answer my mating call with eagerness and desperation that could melt my panties. He couldn’t wait much longer. It took every ounce of his control to rein himself in, and it was slipping.

  If I gave him a nod, he’d pull down my pants and mount me right here, no longer caring that Mom was among us. It was that bad.

  I wasn’t faring much better, but I would never do it in front of Mom. I’d crossed a lot of lines, but I wouldn’t cross that one.

  So I tried damn hard not to hold Paxton’s heated gaze in case I lost my shit, too.

  “So?” Mom said lightheartedly.

  “So?” I glared at Mom, then let out a resigned, exasperated sigh. I had to lay this out for her. My cheeks flushed as I shot the words out all in one breath. “I need to activate the Living Flame in me by finishing the mating ritual with Paxton. The sooner the better, so I can use the Flame to defend my mates and myself since dangers lurk in every corner of the Void. I need you to provide a private room for us right now.”

  “Accommodation would be appreciated,” Paxton said, his voice gravelly from lust. “Point the way and I’ll carry her to a room.”

  Axel, Zak, and Héctor also pushed back their chairs and rose eagerly. They all knew that I’d ride them after Paxton, and then we’d go on and on until none of us could move. We all urgently needed release.

  “So many demands.” Lilith rubbed her temples again. “I’m not used to demands or requests anymore.” She peeked at me ruefully. “For my Belle, I’d do anything. However, my dearest, you can’t mate in my tower. Once you do, you’ll never be able to leave. You’ll be bound to this realm, just like all the girls here.”

  Paxton glowered at Lilith, his violet eyes going crimson for a fleeting second. He’d been pushed to the brink of madness by the mating fever. Then he slumped back onto his chair in defeat.

  “I’m cursed,” he said. “From the moment I was born, I was cursed.”

  “Unless you plan to stay in the Ivory Tower,” Lilith said delicately. “If you do, you will all be treated as royalty. The three demigods will be the princes of the Ivory Tower, mated to my daughter. Héctor will remain as a mortal until he dies peacefully in old age.”

  “That’s unacceptable.” I squirmed, trying to tamp down my own raging lust.

  Lilith sighed, sorrow shadowing her eyes, turning them dark gray. “Then you’ll need to be on the road as soon as you’re ready, Belle. I have all the power here, but even I can’t shield you. The Void will want to keep you. The longer your mates stay here, the weaker they’ll become until their demigod strength fades. And then none of you can get out.”

  I swallowed. “How do we get out of the Void if I can’t deploy the flame, Mom?”

  “The portal can be opened only in the Field of Forever—the edge of the Void,” she said. “You don’t need to use Living Flame to tear open a leyline and consume a tremendous amount of energy. The original Olympian gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—are coming soon. Try to slip out through the portal they open with their combined powers. I’m sure Zak will know how to get back to Earth from there. Hide from the sight of the original gods, daughter.”

  My mates traded a look at their fathers’ possible appearance, complex emotions and alarm wheeling on their handsome faces. Septum, the ancient elemental entity, had also warned me that the gods would never give up hunting me if any of them learned about my forbidden heritage and magic. In turn, my mates clenched their fists and nodded, an identical determined look hardening their faces.

  They’d fight their fathers to defend me if the gods came after me.

  But I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. I didn’t want to put my mates in a tough spot. For their sake, I’d be cautious and restrain from my usual ruthlessness.

  “Mom, could you draw us a map?” I asked.

  “You don’t need a map,” she said. “You’ll ride through the Eternal Prison to the Field of Forever after you see Hyperion. Don’t trust anyone except your father. Never let anyone toss you into the prison, or you won’t get out. And even if you manage to break out, it’ll be centuries later.”

  And Earth would be in a hot mess, and m
y friends would all be gone.

  A fleeting, haunted look in Mom’s eyes told me that she’d once been trapped in the Eternal Prison for centuries or longer. Was that how she’d met Dad?

  “I still need you to point us in the direction of the prison,” I said.

  “I have the convoy for you right outside the tower, as is proper for the Princess of the Void.”

  “You sure you don’t want to come with us, Mom?” I asked anxiously. I didn’t want to leave her behind.

  “Another life, another time. Don’t worry about me.” Mom kissed my forehead with a loving, sad smile and placed an archangel sword upon my palms. “Now, off you go, my beloved child.”

  The air rippled in the patterns of waves, and the Ivory Tower’s magic deposited my mates and me outside the golden, archangel gate.

  Mom wasn’t among us anymore.

  CHAPTER 10

  __________________

  I squeezed between Paxton and Héctor on the front seat inside a magnificent carriage made of gold, diamonds, and rubies, driven by over a hundred howling beasts. My hands rested on Paxton’s and Héctor’s thighs.

  Even my mates were a bit dazed at the grandeur.

  I’d once seen photos of the Diamond Jubilee State Coach designed for an English Queen, which had been the talk of centuries. Mom’s coach was a thousand times more spectacular.

  “Is this for real?” I asked, more to myself, and pinched Paxton’s and Héctor’s hard muscles to convince myself.

  “Yes, princess, it’s real,” the lead female guard answered. She directed a dozen Amazon-like warriors to drive the beasts over the broad plains. “This is befitting the Princess of the Void, daughter to the Queen of the Ivory Tower.”

  “Lilith does have style,” Héctor said in approval. “She understands my Lamb deserves the best.”

  I looked over my shoulder. My superior sight pierced through the mist and dust and spotted Mom standing atop the ivory tower, watching me. Her massive, silver wings unfurled widely behind her as if she wanted to leap off the tower and fly toward me.

  My hellhound stood by her side. Angel had chosen to stay with Mom and guard her instead of going on the journey with us. I respected his choice, though I wasn’t happy about parting with him.

  My pounding heart in my throat, I waited, wishing Mom and my hellhound could join me.

  Mom’s wings slowly folded, and the ivory tower vanished from the mist. Angel howled twice, and then I no longer heard him.

  A wave of sadness washed over me at the thought of never seeing them again. All good things must come to an end. I only prayed it wasn’t so with my mates.

  “Shouldn’t we be sneaky?” I said, dragging my thoughts to the present. “So we can pass by the prison quietly and move onto the Field of Forever and get the hell out of the Void? That was our original plan, wasn’t it?”

  “The Titans and their jailors will certainly detect our presence if they haven’t already, no matter what we do,” Héctor said. “They’re bound to the prison.”

  I crossed my arms. “This parade is just Mom being vain.”

  And weren’t vanity and pride the first sins that caused her and the devil’s fall? That was what the history book said.

  But then, Mom must have realized that we wouldn’t be able to leave the Void quietly, so she decided to go big and present my debut in a spectacular fashion.

  The beasts raced and snarled. The Amazon guards whipped them to go faster.

  Paxton cupped my face, demanding my attention, his violet eyes burning with unbridled desire that made my knees weak.

  “Pax,” I whispered, feeling the same heat arousing and coursing in me. I raised my face for a kiss.

  He closed his mouth over mine, and I parted my lips to give him all access. But instead of thrusting his tongue into my mouth, he pulled away.

  I opened my half-lidded eyes and peeked at him.

  “It looks like the carriage will be running for a while,” he said, his voice laced with lust. “Let’s go to the back seat, Buttercup. I need to ravish you.”

  Héctor gave Paxton a hard stare and murmured something in the ancient Olympian dialect under his breath.

  I swallowed, thrilling anticipation buzzing in my veins.

  Paxton wanted to fuck. He’d wanted me since he first laid his eyes on me, but there were always obstacles between us, starting with him screwing things up big time. And when we had last come together, our mating that was supposed to be epic came undone.

  The unfinished mating had him barely hanging in there. Now we had finally had an opportunity to get to it.

  “Okay,” I said. “We should—”

  He scooped me into his strong, eager arms before I could finish and hurried toward the backseat of the vast carriage. At one point, he nearly stumbled. I almost shouted for him to be careful. I didn’t want to be thrown out of the racing carriage because the sea demigod was too horny and lost control.

  Axel stood at the edge of the carriage, and Zak had parked on the other side, monitoring the security detail.

  “Make it quick,” Axel snapped at Paxton. “We’re in unknown territory. Anything can happen.”

  Paxton growled at him as he passed.

  Zak left his position and trailed after us. “I’d better monitor the process, just in case.”

  “Wait,” I called urgently, a sudden warning flaring in my mind. “I don’t think we should do it yet. I still feel the magic here. We’re still in Lilith’s realm, and she warned us that if we mated here, we’d be stuck here forever.”

  Paxton’s eyes went wild. “Maybe Lilith was saying not to mate inside the tower.”

  “It’s better safe than sorry, brother,” Zak said firmly. “You’ll just have to hold off until we’re completely out of Lilith’s realm.”

  “How do we know where the border of her realm is?” Paxton bared his teeth at Zak.

  “I think I’ll be able to feel it,” I said, biting my lip.

  I wanted to fuck Paxton more than anything. I even debated the risk of being stuck here, but the idea of Héctor dying in this realm didn’t sit well with me.

  “Put me down,” I said, “so I can concentrate.”

  Paxton slouched onto the sofa near the back of the carriage with me on his lap, his huge erection pressing against my butt through the fabric. He gazed at me wildly as lust rode him hard and harshly, his large hand kneading my breast.

  “My cock has been hard all the time, Buttercup,” he whispered.

  “I know. I feel your pain, but we have to wait—”

  Suddenly, the landscape shifted. Magic rippled, stuttered, and faded beneath our feet.

  “We’re out of Mom’s realm,” I shrieked. “We can—”

  Three vast domes suddenly loomed before the carriage, surrounded by barbed wire fencing. Double-edged blades stuck out of the knotted mesh and chain link.

  “What the fuck?” Axel called in alarm.

  “You’ve arrived at the Eternal Prison,” the leading Amazon guard offered in a cheerful tone. “It’s been an honor to escort you, Princess.”

  She whistled and whipped the beasts brutally, her team following suit.

  The beasts made a sharp U-turn, the carriage spinning violently. Paxton held me tightly in his arms, his feet planted firmly on the floor, and my other mates rushed to guard me.

  Before the spinning stopped, the beasts hurled the carriage back toward the Ivory Tower. I hadn’t even registered how we’d gotten off.

  The beasts, the riders, and the carriage vanished from the sight.

  Paxton and I shared a tormented, lust-filled look in front of the vast, menacing gate to the Eternal Prison.

  “I’m cursed, Buttercup,” Paxton said. “There’s no doubt now.”

  CHAPTER 11

  __________________

  “We need to come up with a plan,” I said, eyeing the gate and the razor-sharp fence. My stomach felt heavy as a rock, and the little hairs on my arms stood on end. What was Mom thinking by dumpi
ng us right in front of the prison that held the Titans?

  I took a deep breath as I studied the structure. Maybe her succubi guards held a grudge against me for keeping them from bedding my mates and had intentionally tossed us out of the carriage like trash.

  Either way, we were too exposed and vulnerable.

  “Let’s detour to the side entrance,” Héctor said.

  Zak nodded. “That’s the best we can do under the circumstances.”

  Switching to a sneaky approach might be pointless now, but that didn’t stop us from trying. We jogged toward the side fence, but the formidable gate suddenly slid open from the middle.

  A power I could feel but not see surged toward us. The next moment, we were lifted in the air, struggling against an invisible vice-like grip.

  I screamed and swore profusely, stretching my hands toward my mates, and they roared my names, kicking in the air to try to get to me.

  “Let my Lamb go!” Héctor bellowed. “I warn you, Tartarus!”

  The unseen force pulled us through the open gate. It closed behind us with an ominous clank. The magic holding us afloat disappeared, and I fell to the ground, my boots thudding in the hard, packed dirt. My mates rushed to me, shielding me in a protective ring, their swords drawn.

  A company of immortal guards wearing armor of interlocking plates surrounded us, each holding a spear and a shield. We hadn’t spotted them from the carriage.

  Zak relaxed his knees and lifted his broadsword, ready to charge. Paxton, Axel, and Héctor followed suit, their expressions grim and fierce.

  “Zak, cover the left flank. Axel, the right,” Héctor barked. “I’ll watch our back. Paxton, protect my Lamb.”

  “I can fight. I’m good at it, especially after I fought in the pit,” I barked back. The months in Hell had honed my skills. “I’m an excellent swordswoman. I’ll pair up with Héctor.”

  I’d watch his back. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust my other mates, but they would focus on protecting me instead of him. I couldn’t afford to lose Héctor. One fatal wound and he’d be done.

  The giant guards leveled their spears at us, the spearheads looking very sharp. They raised their metal shields that must have been made by Hephaestus, the God of Metalwork.