A Demon's Wrath: Part I (Peachville High Demons) by Sarra Cannon Page A

going to hurt you.”
    I rubbed the spot where the blade had dug into my
flesh. “You could have fooled me,” I mumbled.
    “Again?” he asked.
    When I looked up at Aerden’s face, black
smoke swirled around him like a tornado. I swallowed, narrowing my
eyes at him.
    “You sure you’re alright?” I
asked.
    “I’m fine,” he said through
clenched teeth. Where his form usually looked clear and distinct when
we were sparring, today he looked like he was cloaked in shadows.
Dark smoke swirled all around him in fast, uneven circles. “Are
we going again or not?”
    He was definitely not fine.
    “I can’t,” I said. “I
don’t want to be late for the rehearsal.”
    He kicked a rock at the edge of the water and it
burst into flames so hot, it melted and oozed over the side.
    I’d never seen him act like this before, but
the closer we’d gotten to the day of my engagement ceremony,
the more his attitude had soured. Whenever I tried to talk to him
about it, though, he refused to talk about it.
    I bent down to collect my shirt and weapons and
happened to look up just as Aerden lifted a large black rock. He
reared back and threw it at me with even greater speed than he’d
thrown the fireball.
    I barely shifted in time to avoid a major
concussion.
    The rock passed through my shadow and I pushed
through the air toward him, anger surging through my veins.
    “What the hell was that for?” I asked,
reforming and getting up in his face.
    “What do you mean?” he asked, meeting
my gaze with a look of steel.
    “I mean, I told you I was done for the day.
You’ve been in a crappy mood all morning,” I said. “Do
you want to talk about this? Or are you going to keep pretending you
don’t care?”
    He turned his face away and walked over to where
we’d left a few canisters of spring water.
    “Fine,” I said, turning my back on
him. “Don’t talk to me about it. I’m done.”
    He raised his canister above him and guzzled down
half the water in a few seconds. He didn’t even look over at
me.
    “Aerden, I’m serious about this,”
I said, not wanting to leave things like this between us. “I
didn’t ask to be chosen for this. I’ll gladly hand it
over to you if that’s what you want.”
    He cut his eyes toward me, his lip curled up in a
grimace. “That’s not how it works and you know it.”
    I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms in front
of me. “So I was right. You are upset about this,” I
said.
    He turned away again, but this time, I grabbed his
shoulder and spun him toward me.
    Aerden pushed my hand off of his arm and stood,
taking two angry steps toward me.
    “Get off me,” he said. His breath was
heavy, his chest rising and falling rapidly with each inhale and
exhale.
    “Hey, don’t put this on me,” I
said. “If you’re jealous, you’re going to have to
either talk about it or learn to deal with it. You might have
centuries before I take over as king, but you only have a few hours
until it’s too late for me to say no.”
    His head snapped toward me. “You think I’m
upset about you becoming king someday?”
    I stepped backward. “What else would you be
so mad about?”
    His face softened and he looked away from me,
avoiding my eyes.
    I shook my head, trying to make sense of his
anger. What was really going on here?
    I walked toward him and rested my hand on his arm.
“Listen, I don’t want to fight with you. You’re my
twin brother,” I said. “You’re the most important
person in the world to me. I don’t want this to come between
us, but if you don’t tell me what’s eating you up, how
can I understand?”
    Aerden’s mouth fell open and he sucked in a
nervous breath.
    But just when I thought he might finally open up
to me, small arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me backward.
    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before
turning to Lazalea.
    “Hey Lea,” I said.
    She giggled and lifted her face to me, her green
eyes bright and shining with happiness. “Hi,” she