by Eva Ashwood
Maybe a little time away from this place will help me see it with fresh eyes when I get back. Help me see what I’m missing.
I met up with the guys as we headed to our second final of the day, in Combat.
“How’d you all do on your first exam?” I asked, glancing around at them as we made our way down the hall.
Merrick made a check signed symbol in the air with a grin. “Way better than I thought I was gonna do.”
Lachlan shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, ye know, just killin’ it as usual. The combination of learning all that stuff in the competition and then crammin’ when we got back made for an easy A.”
Trace shook his head glancing over at me with a smile. “I did well. I know you think Merrick’s the nerdiest one of us, but I’m a pretty good test-taker.”
I grinned, poking him in the side. “A rock star nerd. That’s fucking hot.”
He growled and leaned down to kiss me, not even breaking stride as he walked beside me. “You’ve got weird taste, Snow. But I like it.”
A flush worked its way through me, and I walked a little faster, chasing his kiss even as he pulled away. The fucker loved to tease me. We hadn’t had a repeat of that amazing night when I’d gone to his room—thanks a lot, finals—but he still found little moments to touch me or kiss me. All the men did actually, and although I still saw flashes of possessive jealousy flare in their eyes when they saw one of their friends touch me, it was always accompanied by a smoldering heat.
The Combat final was a guaranteed A for all of us, and I actually had a blast. We fought back and forth, using blocking spells and non-lethal or non-injuring offensive spells. There was magic flying all over the room, and though it wasn’t as strong as it had been in the godly arena, it felt good to let the electricity surge through my body.
We had to split up again afterward, the men heading to a Practical Magic final while I headed to the library to kill a couple hours until my next exam.
“Godsdammit,” I muttered under my breath, stopping midway down a hallway and glancing around. I’d taken a wrong turn, and instead of heading toward the library, I’d ended up in the administration wing. “I really should get a damn GPS to navigate this place.”
I’d been spoiled by spending most of my time with the guys. They all knew their way around a lot better than I did, so I could tune out the twists and turns and still arrive at my intended destination. Left to my own devices? Not so much.
I turned around to retrace my steps, but as I passed by a closed door, muffled voices slipped out.
The words “Gods’ Challenge” pulled me up short.
Glancing quickly up and down the empty hallway, I veered off course, pressing my back to the wall near the door. I didn’t dare stand in front of it in case someone opened it in a hurry, but I wanted to get as close as I could.
My previous experience with eavesdropping in this place had taught me not to tune out whispered voices, so I pressed my ear against the wall, straining to hear whatever I could.
“They aren’t happy about how it went.” A female voice spoke. It was hard to tell since the words were muffled by the door, but it sounded like Miss Avery. “They expected far more from us than this.”
They?
Fallon and that teacher had said the same thing. But who the hell were they?
Someone let out a long, exhausted breath, and when a new voice spoke, I recognized it as Dean Frost. “We’ll make sure it goes better next semester. This whole thing has been a PR nightmare, although luckily most of the footage made it hard to tell exactly who was present for the final sprint to the gem.”
“True,” Miss Avery said. “But still, those who were there know. And there was footage of the fight in the forest, before they were slowed down by the gem’s defensive aura.”
“I know.” Frost sounded annoyed, as if Miss Avery was telling her something she’d already thought of a dozen times. “I just don’t understand it. If they wanted the death count higher, why not kill the ones who were trapped in the cave? Their deaths would’ve been much easier to explain.”
“Well.” Miss Avery chuckled, although there was no humor in it. “You know what they say. The gods work in mysterious ways.”
There was a shuffling sound, then the sound of chairs scraping. My heart flew into my throat, and fear almost rooted my feet to the ground, but I shoved away from the wall and sprinted as silently as I could down the corridor.
I didn’t look back to see if either of the women had caught sight of me. I didn’t even slow down until I made it to the Practical Magic classroom. It would be too suspicious if I burst into the room and dragged the guys out, so instead, I found a little nook in the hallway and hid myself away in there.
My pulse didn’t slow, even though I was no longer sprinting. I kept peering out into the hall, certain Dean Frost was about to come tearing around the corner to… do what?
What would she do if she knew what I’d heard?
A cold fear washed over me.
Well, I know murder isn’t out of the question.
That’s what she and Miss Avery had been talking about, after all. The cold-blooded murder of Magic Blessed students, covered up by the excitement and drama of the Gods’ Challenge.
My suspicions had been wrong.
There was something very, very wrong with the games. But I’d been overlooking the obvious in thinking it was a mistake. Shane and Brielle’s deaths had been purposeful.
It had been orchestrated by the gods themselves.
What the actual fuck?
I chewed a hole in my lip as I waited for the guys to get out of their final, and the second their class was over, I poked my head out of the small nook I was hiding in. I caught Merrick’s eye, and he stopped the other two. With a glance behind them, they hurried over, and I practically hauled them into the small space with me. It was probably dangerous to talk about this on school grounds at all, but I had to tell them.
“What’s up, Snow? If you wanted to get us all this close together, I could suggest more pleasant ways.” Trace grimaced as Lachlan elbowed him, trying to fit more of his large body into the small space. Then he caught sight of my expression, and his teasing tone dropped. “Wait, what’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“What is it, Ari?” Merrick’s voice was tight, worry creasing his features.
Fear and determination fought for dominance in my chest as I swallowed hard. As usual, determination won out. I might be scared shitless, but that wasn’t going to stop me.
“Do you guys have my back?” I whispered. “No matter what?”
“Always.”
Lachlan’s answer came without hesitation, and the other two nodded. For once, I believed it with my whole heart. It’d taken me a long time to get here, to trust three people unconditionally—and it was a good thing I did.
Because I was going to need their help.
“The Gods’ Challenge is rigged,” I said quietly, my hands clenching into fists. “It’s meant to kill students. I don’t know why or how, or if it’s always been like this, but I plan to find out. Next semester, I’m entering the Gods’ Challenge again, and I hope you guys will enter with me. The only place we’re gonna find answers is on the godly plane. We have to go back.”
The men’s faces froze. I could see them trying to make sense of what I’d said, and their faces slowly moved from shock to understanding to anger.
And finally, just as I had, they settled into grim determination.
“We’re with you, sweetheart,” Lachlan reiterated, nodding once. “Always.”
A small bubble of relief rose up through the morass of worry filling my chest. I wouldn’t be alone in this.
Lies and secrets infected the halls of Magic Blessed Academy, something much darker than I had ever imagined.
And it was time somebody dug up some answers.
To Be Continued…
Secret of the Gods, book two in the Magic Blessed Academy series, is coming soon!
Nothing is ever as it seems. Especially when it comes to the gods.
It’s official: there’s something super messed up about this school.
And I want to know what it is.
A smarter, saner woman would keep her nose out of it, turn a blind eye, and just focus on enjoying the three insanely hot men who’ve agreed to share her.
Unfortunately, sanity isn’t really in my wheelhouse.
We barely escaped the last Gods’ Challenge with our lives, and not everyone who competed was so lucky. It’s dangerous as hell to go back, but I know that’s where the answers lie.
With my men by my side, we’ll risk the dangers of the gods’ realm again.
But this time... we won’t be playing by their rules.
Let the games begin.
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Thank You For Reading
Thank you so much for picking up Gift of the Gods! Reviews make such a huge difference to authors—if you enjoyed the book, please take a second to leave a review!
You can also try my dark high school romance, Lost Boys, or my college-age bully romance, Who Breaks First.
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Books by Eva Ashwood
Slateview High
(dark high school bully romance)
Lost Boys
Wild Girl
Mad Love
Clearwater University
(college-age enemies to lovers series)
Who Breaks First
Who Laughs Last
Magic Blessed Academy
(paranormal academy series)
Gift of the Gods
Secret of the Gods
Wrath of the Gods
