Page 19 of Ares' Shield
Raven steps up next to me, startling me. “Is this really happening?”
“Are you asking if two boys are going to fight over me while one is drunk? The answer is yes and this is stupid.” I throw my hands up in frustration.
I shouldn’t be surprised. This fight has been coming for a while, but Draven wouldn’t normally pick a fight with Jayden.
When Dax did that, he ended up with the healers because of Jayden’s hellfire. I’m just glad Dax learned his lesson and isn’t trying to help Draven.
“It must be nice to have boys fighting for you.” Raven grins.
“No, it’s not.” I step forward but Jayden puts out a hand to block me.
“Stay back, Beth,” he growls.
The silence that’s descended on the lake is nearly deafening until someone yells. “Marcus?”
I turn on my heel to seek out the voice yelling for Marcus to stop. He’s a son of Athena that I haven’t met or talked to much.
“What’s going on?” I ask as I race toward the screaming girl.
“There’s something wrong with him. His eyes turned glassy, and then he just started walking into the forest,” the girl shouts.
“Shit.” I scan the forest in the direction she’s pointing.
A large guy walks straight for the trees and out of sight.
“That wasn’t like him at all,” the girl cries.
“No, something weird is happening here.” I pat the girl’s shoulder.
I don’t tell her that Marcus is heading for the wards. That would just freak everyone out. I’m not about to cause a panic.
“Shouldn’t someone go after him and find out what’s wrong?” she asks, chewing her lip.
Raven steps forward. “There’s no point.”
I shoot her a dirty look. She needs to shut up. She’s going to have everyone rioting.
“What do you mean, there’s no point?” The girl takes a step toward the forest.
“Callie, stop,” Raven says, grabbing her arm. “You really want to go wandering through the forest at night?”
Callie hesitates, and then her shoulders slump. “No, that’s a terrible idea.”
“Right. I’m sure Marcus will be fine.” Raven wraps an arm around her and leads her back over to the fire.
Fuck, I spin back around just as green magic is lobbed at Jayden. I totally forgot about the fight in the midst of Marcus leaving.
Jayden dives out of the way and the magic hits the tree behind him. A dryad screeches as it catches fire.
“Draven, stop. You’re gonna burn down the forest,” I shout and race over to them.
Jayden rolls up from the ground and shadows explode from his hands. Several people around him scream and dart away from the fight.
“Stop this, Draven,” Jayden says calmly, but there’s an edge of steel in his tone.
“Raven, we need water.” I point to the lake.
She grabs a bucket that is sitting by the fire and races away to the nearby lake. I turn back to the fight at hand.
