“What do you mean?” I parted my hair to the side.
“You don’t want to call him your boyfriend, but it’s obvious you two are together. Don’t you think you’re fucking with his feelings?”
“I’m not.” I felt my stomach drop.
“He was really messed up when you were in the infirmary,” Marcus said quietly. “It was rough seeing him like that. And with this back and forth between you two, it kind of seems like you’re leading him on.”
“I would never.” To consider that hurt my soul.
“But you are, whether you want to admit it or not,” Marcus said. “Don’t you think if you really wanted to be with Charlie, you two would’ve agreed on something by now?”
My heart ached. “I’m a chosen one. My life’s more complicated than that. The closer Charlie gets to me, the more danger he’s in.”
“But we’re all in this now,” Marcus pointed out. “We’re all helping you figure out what being a demigod means. Doesn’t that put us all at risk?”
“You don’t get it. If Charlie is too close, he’ll take unnecessary risks. You saw what he did to Digger today. What would he do if I made him something more? He’d put his life on the line day after day just to protect me.”
“He’s not gonna stop, Ava. That’s what you need to understand. He’s already too far in.”
I let out a harsh breath. “Don’t you think you’re being a little hypocritical?”
Marcus lost a bit of color. “What do you mean?”
I smacked my head. “Kallie!”
“What about Kallie?”
I was tired of him playing dumb. “Marcus, she likes you! What is the fucking problem?”
“Theproblem?” he snapped. “Theproblemis that Ikilled my last girlfriend, Ava.”
“Not on purpose!”
“Yeah, and it could happen again,” Marcus insisted. “Kallie could get too close, I could lose control, and she could end up just like Anya. I’m better off alone.”
I scoffed. Marcus was being a giant hypocrite. “So you’re saying that you won’t date Kallie because you’re scared of your powers, but that it’s okay for me to date Charlie, even if what I’m involved in could get him hurt?”
“You have no proof the prophecy will get Charlie killed. My magic already murdered someone,” Marcus said.
“By accident,” I whispered.
“So?” Marcus’ tone was harsh. “Doesn’t matter if it was an accident or not. Anya’s still dead. And I’m not going to let the same thing happen to Kallie. Just drop it, Ava.”
Marcus crossed his arms, a sullen expression written across his face. As fate would have it, Kallie came walking down the hallway.
“Hey. What’s wrong with you two?” Kallie asked, looking between us.
“Nothing. Let’s just go,” Marcus grumbled. He jumped off the statue and pushed the hidden door in the wall open. The piece of the wall swiveled in place, and the three of us walked down the stairs and into bleak darkness.
The more stairs we descended, the louder the noise became. It was pounding, screams and shouts that shook the very walls of the basement. It was a crowd, hungry for blood.
A doorman waited at the end of the stairs. He was big, had a scar across his face, and was mean-looking. His lip rose to bare his teeth as he grunted, “Passes?”
We showed him the tickets Charlie had given us earlier, and he let us in. We stepped into the wide space, the roar of the audience swelling over us. The basement was packed with hundreds of people— mostly guards, but some students. There was a giant boxing ring in the middle of the room, surrounded by metal stands. The ropes on the ring looked worn, and blood stained the floor.
A balcony ran around the edge of the room, which guards leaned against to watch the fight from above. Little Fortune Fairies, which resembled small balls of glowing light, hovered above the area, blinking all kinds of different colors. I smelled popcorn coming from somewhere, and heard the sound of bets being called as money was passed around. It was dark in here, dank, and smelled of sweat.
My heart went straight to my gut as the three of us took empty seats as close to the ring as possible. I wanted to be near Charlie, in case something went wrong and I had to help, even if it was against the rules.
