Knox’s black and yellow eyes flashed with violence.
They squared up to each other, equally matched in height and muscle, warriors bristling with barely constrained energy.
The forest appeared darker.
Sinister.
Abruptly, Knox’s features smoothed out, and he held his hands up in the universal gesture of surrender. “Of course, I meant no offense. My mistake. I didn’t realize we had been going at it for hours.” He stepped around Scorpius and looked at me. “Don’t get discouraged. Most people earn their wings when they’re younger and have spent their entire lives preparing to fly. We’ll figure it out.”
He smiled.
Too late, I was way past discouragement. We were entering manic breakdown territory.
Everything is going to work out great. Just have positive thoughts and keep trying. Blah. Blah. Blah.
I’d show him how positively deranged I could be.
John stepped forward and blocked me as I flipped off Knox with both my hands. The angel missed the gesture.
I punched him in the gut. “Move out of my way."
He punched me back, with far less force, then the forest blurred as he swung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
I was too tired to stop him.
“To the bunk beds.” He pointed an imaginary sword dramatically and ran down the path.
“You’re so fucking stupid,” I said between laughs. “I hope the ungodly kill us all for being loud.”
The world tipped again, and I shrieked.
Head swinging upside down, it took me a moment to process that John held my ankles in his hands with his biceps extended above his head.
He held me upside down behind his back so I was perpendicular to the ground.
Since we were almost the same height, my head was close to the ground and enveloped in warm steam.
I shrieked and tried to kick free. “Put me down right now, you idiot.”
“Nope.” John ran forward awkwardly as I pushed against his calves.
“I’m going to trip you,” I threatened.
He flexed and straightened his hands so I was hanging higher off the ground.
In this ridiculous position, he ran past the rest of the group, who were walking on the path like normal individuals.
Sadie slapped my ass as we passed.
John almost tripped at the loud crack and then said in his most serious tone, “Touch my wife’s ass again and I’ll remove your hand.”
“What did you just sssssay to her?” Cobra hissed.
Before we could die via snake, Luka appeared out of nowhere and blocked us protectively. There was a loud shhhhhk that signaled Xerxes had pulled out his knives, and suddenly Orion was standing beside Luka creating a wall.
“Later, suckers!” John shouted as he continued running down the path.
Sadie yelled after us, “I fucked her first!”
John stumbled but caught himself and resumed running awkwardly with me hanging behind him.
“Be fucking quiet and stop breaking protocol,” Rina snarled angrily, and Sadie replied, “That wasn’t very quiet of you.”
They were getting far behind us, and I barely made out Rina saying some choice swear words that were mixed with the words grounder and idiot.
Abruptly, we burst into our barracks, and John dumped me.
I was lying in an undignified heap on the floor of our room. Out of breath from laughing and general exhaustion, I could do nothing but lay immobile and gasp.
John grinned down at me proudly. “That was fun.”
I kicked him in the back of the knee, and he crashed down beside me.
“You’re so stupid,” I said. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”
Before I could catch my bearings, he was straddling me as he smothered me with a pillow that he’d somehow procured.
“Be silent, witch,” he said dramatically as he pressed harder and actually asphyxiated me.
I kneed him in the balls and threw him off.
He moaned as he rolled over, cupping his junk like a wuss.
I ripped the pillow away from him and slammed it down into his face as hard as I could. There was a crunch because I’d accidentally made the fabric icy.
I grinned with satisfaction.
“She’s killing me. Someone help!” he wailed dramatically.
I hit him harder.
The crunch was louder.
“What the actual fuck is wrong with you people?” Vegar snarled from where he was lying on Zenith’s bunk, and from the way the covers moved, he was also lying on top of Zenith.
At this point, all the demons did was nap and yell at us.
Frankly, I respected their lifestyle.