Excerpt from The Scepter of Marahuyo:
“Stop that,” Ethan whispers. He’s one of the participants and the best male mage we had in Marahuyo.
“Stop what?” I ask.
My eyes are still on Axel as he stands on attention. He has simple clothes on, leather pants, and a cotton blue shirt. His brown shoulder-length hair is tied up to appear neat on such an occasion. He looks tall and even in the distance, he exudes a strength that I will think twice to come over and ask him for some kind of remembrance. Perhaps, a small token to remind me that I stood on the same ground that this amazing man graced. Damn, if only I have that much courage. I never had an issue coming over to him when I was a kid.
“God, you’re drooling over our superstar here.”
I blush and finally look at Ethan. “Shut up.”
“I warned you before. When we became sixteen, I told you to lose it, to experience it. But you, my friend, are very stubborn.”
“Lose what?”
“Your innocence,” he leans closer and whispers, “your virginity. That guy is out of your league, you know, and you don’t exactly have the skills or the merch.”
I widen my eyes at him, to warn him and to hopefully shut his mouth.
But he continues, “Now that I’ll win this, you’ll never get the chance to receive my training.”
“Can you please just focus?!” I fire at him. Yes, he’s the best mage, but if that’s the only requirement then I would never reach the finals. Also, I will not be here as one of the facilitators since my blessing, or rather, my magick, as most people call it, is not the explosive type that could win challenges.