Page 77 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate?
Winston followed up with, “Never had a case like that before. Everyone had at least a little mana in them.” He paused as if remembering something. “Except, there is one case after all.”
Samuel shook his head, chuckling. “Oh yeah, there is one all right.” He smirked at me. “The Demon Lord.”
Oh.
“A mage platoon got close enough to cast the spell on him to know his strengths and potential weaknesses,” he continued, watching me. “Either he resisted the spell multiple times, he had a way to counteract it entirely, or it wasn’t really him they were casting a spell on, maybe an illusion; either way, it wasn’t successful on him.”
Maybe the Demon Lord was more like me than I ever thought.
This was taking longer than I needed. “I have to fall in line with the other students.”
“Not like you need to,” Samuel retorted, gesturing to the whole of me. “You have an Earth affinity, same as mine. I’ll never forget that. I’ll jot it down in your student file myself.”
“I can’t get special treatment like this. I’m already overstaying here by conversing with three professors and the Prince. A baron’s daughter! I don’t want any more rumors.”
“You’re the Caregiver,” Winston smiled, standing straighter. “Best be reminded of that. In fact, make sure everyone is reminded of that.”
Not again.I wanted to give him a piece of my mind when a staff member approached our group. “I am very sorry to interrupt, Your Highness. The Champions’ attention is swiftly needed.”
Winston glanced at the man briefly. “Speak, professor.”
But the man, who I now knew as one of the many professors, looked at me pointedly and nudged his head, in a gesture meant to make me leave. A little rude, but I was waiting for this chance.
Of course Samuel held my upper arm this time. “Stay.” Read like a fucking book.Ugh.
“Go on,” Winston urged the man, who kept glancing between me and Samuel, gulping as he did so.
He eventually conceded. Dammit. “The Priestesses, Prince. They need the Champions right now. They’re having a new Vision was their message.”
“Prepare our portal then,” Winston coolly replied as the man bowed and left. He fixed the cuffs of his tunic and his collar, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the Prince was actuallynervous. I had never thought he was capable. “Claude!”
The Hero appeared almost in an instant as Elias trailed after him. “Yes, boss?”
“I told you not to call me that,” Winston sighed just as Claude placed his chin on my shoulder. “The Oracles are waiting for us. You, Samuel. With me.”
“The entire gang has to go when there’s a Vision, huh?” I jeered, not really feeling great with these men hanging out with a bunch of priestesses. Yes,I know, that was very hypocritical and annoyingly territorial and utterly ridiculous, but I was just a normal girl with normal feelings.
“You’re actually jealous,” Claude exclaimed in disbelief, stepping in front of me with a huge grin on his face as I struggled to form words at his conclusion. “Heavens above, Bea’s jealous!”
“I’m not,” I lied, hands on my hips, but I knew it was futile since my face gave everything away.
A glance at Winston confirmed it; there was that smug pleasure hiding behind his gentle smile. Couldn’t hide that twitching of his lips though, as if he wanted to smile even wider.
Definitely smug.
“We’ll be gone for the rest of the day, so don’t wait for us,” he informed the other men around us. “In the meantime, you’ll be pleased to know, princess, that we have found the bastard. Confession and all.”
My heart sped up at the information. “Thank you.” But I was unsure if I wanted to know more. I knew I didn’t need more complications, and if that bastard somehow knew something about me bad enough to have me kidnapped, it would make things even worse.
“Let’s deal with it later,” Elias whispered to me, placing a hand on my lower back. “Don’t stress over it for now.”
“You’re right.” Swallowing my nerves, I turned to the Champions, smiling. “Let’s talk about the bastard later. Focus on your mission as Champions.”
“Good girl,” Samuel smirked, before discussing this class’s lesson plan with Uriel and Derrick.
I hated how that simple phrase affected me regardless of context. He didn’t mean anything by it, but it hadthateffect on me regardless. I bit my lip to fight the imminent blush.Eli’s hand pressed harder against my back as he inhaled deeply. Uriel’s eyes suddenly turned to Eli, even as Samuel talked to him.
Oh, my god.Uriel Strom was reading Elias’s mind, and I knew, as he was a dragon shifter, that Eli could smell my arousal. Confirming my suspicion was Uriel’s gaze traveling down my body, my heart speeding up again.
