Ares' Shield

ARES SHIELD HALFLING ACADEMY BOOK III EMBER-RAINE WINTERS Copyright © 2023 by Ember-Raine Winters All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Also by Ember-Raine Winters 1 The tray clangs as I drop it on the table and take a seat. The cafeteria is full this afternoon, and everyone happily ignores my foul mood. Raven drops into the seat across from me with a raised brow. “What is your problem?” she asks. “Just watch,” I say, pointing to Jayden. He’s finishing up getting his food and I would bet money that he will end up sitting at his own table all alone. He’s the only child of Hades so he gets a table all to himself. Only he rarely sits at it. He almost always sits with us. Until recently. Until Draven threw a damn tantrum. Now, he rarely sits with us in the cafeteria and barely even speaks to me. I’ve had enough. Jayden finishes up at the buffet line and our eyes lock. His brows pinch in a frown as he glances at my table and then back to his empty one. He shakes his head and walks over to his table and sits down. “See?” I ask, throwing up my hands. “Yeah, but he’s been doing that a lot since we got back from the underworld.” “That’s my point. We were fine while we were in the underworld, then Draven spouted off at the mouth and I seriously want to zap them both.” I pick up my sandwich and take a huge bite. “He’s a moron.” Raven shrugs. Dax waves at me from the Ares table and I sigh, but wave back at him. He’s still on my shit list for the problems he’s caused, but he’s gotten better about acting like an asshole and trying to fucking kiss me. Thank fuck for that. “He’ll get over it,” Raven says around a mouthful of her sandwich. “It never should have been something he needed to get over.” Movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention and I turn to glare at Mia as she slinks over to Jayden at the Hades table. “B?” Raven waves a hand in my face. “That bitch just won’t give up, will she?” I snarl. Raven turns and her eyes widen at the sight before us. Mia runs her fingertips over Jayden’s shoulder and he flinches. “What are you doing, Mia?” Jayden yells. “You looked so lonely over here, so I thought I would keep you company,” she says with a pout. She scoots closer to him and my hand clenches into a fist as lightning crackles beneath my skin. The lights in the cafeteria flicker and all eyes turn to me. “I told you, Mia, I don’t want you and never have. You’re just embarrassing yourself now.” Jayden pushes her away from him. Taking several deep breaths, I do my best to calm myself. He pushed her away. He is always pushing her away. I unclench my fist and grab my sandwich as I continue to watch Mia’s humiliation unfold. “Even after what Draven said, you still want her,” Mia screeches. This girl has fucking issues. I move to stand, but Raven grabs my arm across the table and shakes her head in warning. Strangling the idiot is not the answer. “It’s not just about Beth. Your desperation is kind of disgusting,” Jayden says. “Ouch,” Raven says with a giggle. “That was fucking brutal.” Jayden turns his glare on Raven and then glances at me before storming from the cafeteria in a huff. “I’ve had enough of this,” I say and push myself up out of my chair. Is he pissed at me because of Draven or is there something else going on? I can’t help it if entitled assholes in this school refuse to take a fucking hint. I’ve been as subtle as a semitruck. He can’t go all possessive alpha and then fucking ignore me like this. I’m over it. He’s going to talk to me. I’m not giving him a choice this time. The doors to the cafeteria fly open as I push through them into the bright sunshine. Students sit in small groups around the quad, chatting. It’s one of the few times since I’ve been at the academy that it’s been calm like this. “Argh,” I growl as I storm across the quad toward Jayden. I don’t understand what’s going on with him. Things are better than they’ve been since I got to the academy but he’s still distant. I’m over it. If this is about stupid pouty Draven, I’m likely to scream. We need to stop letting other people and their opinions get between us. “Jayden,” I shout. Whispers fill the air from the students that dot the quad. I ignore them, my glare firmly on the stubborn-ass son of Hades. Jayden glances at me over his shoulder and groans. “Not now, Beth.” “Yes, now, Jayden.” I cross my arms over my chest and tap my foot. My uniform skirt flutters in the breeze, bringing Jayden’s gaze down to my legs. He can stare at me, but he won’t talk to me or tell me why. Boys are stupid. “What is it, Beth? I’m kind of in the middle of something.” He tilts his head back to the sky. Adrian nods to me over Jayden’s shoulder and shrugs. He’s not