Wild Hunt: A Paranormal Academy Bully Romance (Academy of the Gods Book 2)

by River Ramsey

  With that, she left the field and they watched as the other students milled about in their defeat. One girl with fire powers raised her hand to melt the ice, freeing the other students. A big jock shoved the kid who’d used his explosive powers to such great effect, reassuring me that there was no leaving hard feelings at the door when it came to the Games. Not even the preliminaries.

  This time, the Valkyries weren’t the only ones glaring at me. It seemed that performing well in the Game was going to put even more of a target on my head than being the Rabbit had.

  Whatever. If anyone had a problem with that, they could take it up with me on the field. I still didn’t know was coming next, and planned use every moment I had to catch my breath.

  Dionysus came over to us, still panting even though his portion of the race had been done with minutes ago. “That was amazing,” he said, looking between us. “Both of you!”

  I couldn’t help but smile, trying not to think about the fact that his praise meant more than winning. “Wish I’d thought of that earlier, but I guess it worked out. Any idea what’s next?”

  “Probably disc throwing,” said Daphne.

  I grimaced. “Okay, well, I’m definitely not winning that one.”

  Daphne laughed. “Leave it to me.”

  “Hey, what is your gift, anyway?” I asked. She was the one student who never used her power in class, at least as far as I knew.

  Daphne winked. “You’ll just have to wait and find out.”

  Chapter 10

  Kore

  When the time came, choosing Daphne as our team representative for the discus challenge was a no-brainer. She lined up with the others and I found myself watching in a combination of curiosity and anticipation to see what she was capable of.

  She was up against Ingrid, who I knew would pull out all the stops. There were markers set up at every ten-yard line, and the goal was simple: throw as many discs as possible as far as possible. Then again, when you had magic powers in the mix, nothing was ever really simple, and when Artemis announced that the challenge had begun, it immediately became clear whose powers were suited for the task. I recognized the girl next to Daphne as Miriam from alchemy class, and her power of superhuman strength proved especially beneficial.

  It didn't take long to realize what Daphne's power was. The gust of wind each time she threw one of her discs made it nearly impossible for the others around her to get a clear throw. Discs went flying everywhere, but hers sailed true, over the field as far as the eye could see. Miriam was the only one catching up, only because her powerful throws gave the discs too much momentum to be affected by the wind. Soon enough, the others stop trying.

  Both competitors looked exhausted, but I could tell neither of them was giving up anytime soon. Artemis finally had to call time, and my heart pounded as we waited to see what the final result would be.

  Artemis gave the command to her assistants to run out to measure the results. When they finally returned, they handed her two scrolls.

  Artemis unrolled the first scroll, and her eyes widened, as if she was impressed with what she saw. It took a hell of a lot to do that. "Miriam came in with forty-nine discs at an average of one-thousand meters."

  Dionysus and I exchanged a wary look. That was nothing short of amazing, and it was hard to imagine anything that could top that, despite the impressiveness of Daphne's performance. We watched with bated breath as Artemis unrolled the second scroll.

  She looked up at Daphne, her eyes glimmering. "Daphne came in with fifty discs at an average of nine-hundred and eighty meters."

  "What does that mean?" I asked eagerly. "Who won?"

  "It's a tie," Artemis remarked. "You're equally matched competitors with slightly different strengths."

  The crowd went wild. For a moment, there was so much electricity in the air, it almost felt like the actual Games were in progress. And for the first time, I actually had hope that we could win.

  When Daphne came over to us, I dove to throw my arms around her. "You're amazing!" I cried.

  She seemed surprised by the gesture, and even more by the praise.

  "You really were," Dionysus agreed, grinning from ear to ear.

  Daphne smiled sheepishly. "It was just a tie."

  "Yeah, against literally the strongest student in school. Credit where credit is due."

  "Now I really feel useless," Dionysus sighed.

  I gave him a playful nudge. "There's still plenty of time."

  "I wonder what the next event will be," Daphne mused. None of us had to wonder for very long. Artemis announced that we were moving to a special arena, and I could only imagine what that meant.

  We were all instructed to form a circle in the center of the field. My foot hit something, and I realize there was a wire embedded in the grass. I followed its path, winding in a great circle around us in strange patterns I couldn’t make out. It was only when the wire began glowing with pale blue magic that I realized it was some sort of sigil.

  Before I even had the time to blink, I was standing at the beginning of a stone path tightly hemmed in by hedges so tall they blocked out the sky.

  "Daphne?" I cried, looking around the corner. "Dionysus?"

  I’d barely taken a few steps before some unseen force pushed me back to where I had been originally standing. A disembodied voice made me jolt, but I soon recognized it as Artemis’.

  "Alright, everyone," she called. "This phase of the preliminaries is called the labyrinth. While this isn't quite as straightforward as the other challenges, I think you'll find the theme is similar. Get from point A to point B while using your powers as you see fit. Whoever makes it to the end of the labyrinth first is our winner, but be warned: You may discover it's more difficult than you think."

  I had a feeling may was an understatement. Whenever it came to any tests at the Academy, there was always more than met the eye. At least this challenge was literally in my element. I reached out to brush my fingers against the hedges and allowed the energy from the lush greenery to sift through me, painting a cerebral picture of all the twists and turns. I could see the path to the finish, but even knowing what was ahead, it would still be difficult to make my way through the maze.

  Even so, it seemed a bit too simple. There had to be a catch. I was tempted to make the hedges part like the Red Sea and walk straight through, but something told me not to. Whatever it was Artemis had warned us about, it was obvious this was an exercise in stealth and careful planning rather than mere brute force.

  I hurried through the path I knew to be up ahead, but the moment I rounded the corner that should've split into three equal paths, I found it had split into seven.

  That shouldn't have been possible.

  I reached out to touch the hedges again, convinced I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere. I soon realized it wasn’t my initial mapping that was off, but rather the fact that the entire labyrinth had changed.

  Was it adapting to me? Or just changing randomly? I decided the only way to find out would be forging ahead, but a strange sound caught my attention.

  It must've been one of the other students, but how had I not run into anyone already? Was the labyrinth really that big? If so, that meant we each had our own path to the finish line. If they intersected, I could be in for a battle of powers as well as wits.

  The rumbling sound grew stronger, and I realized it wasn’t another student at all. I froze in my tracks and felt my chest tighten. The hedges rustled up ahead and I braced myself, prepared to fight.

  "Fenrir?" I asked hopefully.

  I watched in horror as a black shadow emerged from the bushes with glowing red eyes, a far more terrible creature than even he had been in his beast form. I turned and ran back the way I'd come, only to find that the route had shifted again, blocking me off.

  I could hear the beast’s footfalls pounding heavy on the stone path, and my heart raced. My vines were good in distance combat, but not this close range, and I’d certainly never fought somethi
ng like that before. He was closing in and I was trapped, panicking with no option other than to force the hedges to part and push my way through.

  I fell out onto the ground on the other side of the labyrinth, and found myself being watched by the crowd, teachers and all. Loki and Hades were near the front, and I could tell from the light of mischief in their eyes that they'd had a role to play in this.

  Once the shock of my unexpected emergence wore off, Artemis came over with a bewildered look on her face. "Kore is disqualified," she announced, loud enough for the crowd to hear before lowering her voice. "What on Earth are you doing?"

  I staggered back to my feet, my palms and knees bruised from the sudden fall. "That thing tried to kill me!" I cried.

  Now Artemis was looking at me like I'd lost my mind. "What thing?"

  "The beast," I answered. I looked over at Hades, who was still smirking as he stood on the sidelines, reveling in my humiliation. "You did this.”

  "Calm down," Artemis said with a heavy sigh. "Now, tell me exactly what you saw."

  At least half of the other contestants had finally emerged from completing the labyrinth the right way, and Dionysus was among them. He watched me worryingly as Daphne came over to stand aside.

  I turned back to Artemis, my panic giving way as I realized the beast wasn't following me out. That raised more questions than it answered, though. "It was a huge black wolf... thing," I said, feeling ridiculous even before the words left my mouth. "It was solid black, like a shadow, and it had glowing red eyes."

  Artemis stood staring at me, speechless. "That's impossible," she finally said.

  "Did you hear that?" Hades called, loud enough to get the crowd's attention. "Kore thinks she saw a hellhound in the maze," he said, his voice quivering with laughter. Loki covered his mouth beside him and doubled over as the crowd lost it.

  My cheeks burned with humiliation and rage. "I'm telling you the truth. I know what I saw."

  Dionysus looked mortified on my behalf, which just made it all the worse. I turned back to Artemis, desperate. "I swear, I'm not making it up!"

  She gave me a wary look. "Kore, no one has seen a hellhound in thousands of years. They were banished to the Aether along with Ares."

  I grimaced at the mention of the man I'd only recently learned to be my father. That name just kept fucking me over. My head was spinning, and the laughter was making it worse. The adrenaline that had rushed through my veins when I thought was going to be ripped apart by some monster that apparently didn't even exist anymore was still coursing.

  "Here's an alternate theory," said Hades, casually sauntering over to me. "Little Kore knew she was going to lose and couldn’t handle it, so she made up a scary story."

  "What a loser," one girl muttered.

  Another boy snorted. "She really is crazy. Guess she couldn’t take being the Rabbit for this long.”

  Before I could tell them off, Artemis blew her whistle again. "Enough! It's time to announce the winners," she said, giving me a stern look that screamed "not another word out of you." She walked over to the others, leaving me in dismay. "First place goes to Ingrid," she announced, immediately followed by the cheers of the Valkyries and their fans. "Dionysus placed second, but as I'm sure you all know, first is the only place that matters in the Games."

  On that inspiring note, she announced that there would be a recess before the final round of the preliminaries. I gave Hades a filthy look before going over to join my teammates. Even facing them was hard after the scene I’d just inadvertently caused.

  "Congratulations," I said, giving Dionysus a tired smile. Second place is amazing."

  "You heard Artemis, first is the only one that matters," he said with a heavy sigh.

  "That's bullshit," I muttered once I was sure she was out of earshot.

  "Are you all right?" he asked, his gaze softening in concern.

  "Yeah," said Daphne, looking me over. "That was... something else."

  "I'm fine," I lied. "I have no idea what happened, but I know what I saw."

  Daphne glanced over and I followed her gaze to the Triad. Fenrir had joined them, even though he was usually scarce at school events. Or in class, for that matter. "I think someone was playing a trick on you."

  She was probably right. I could see that now that terror wasn't clouding my thoughts. I still didn’t want to believe it. Maybe it was delusional, but I'd thought Fenrir and I shared something of a bond after the garden.

  I guess that meant nothing.

  "Come on," Dionysus said, draping his arm over my shoulder. "Let's get ready for the next round."

  "I'm afraid that won't be necessary," Artemis said, coming out of nowhere. I jumped at her sudden appearance, still a bit twitchy from the labyrinth.

  "What do you mean?" asked Daphne. "We've done as well as the Valkyries."

  "And your team will continue on to the final round, and is guaranteed a place in the games," Artemis answered. "But Kore has been disqualified."

  "That's not fair," Dionysus blurted out.

  "Headmaster's orders," Artemis said, giving me a stern look. I scanned the crowd, but there was no sign of Odin. Then, I saw it. The raven perched in a tree, watching everything with a keen black eye. The moment I looked at it, it took off into the clear blue sky.

  "She didn't do anything wrong," Daphne protested.

  "It's fine," I said, not wanting the situation to escalate and risk getting us all thrown out. I forced a smile. "You guys go on without me. I'll be cheering you on from the bleachers."

  They both looked unsure, but Artemis had already walked off and I knew there'd be no convincing her. I still wasn't sure how the Triad had managed to conjure the otherworldly beast that had tried to kill me in the labyrinth, but it was clear to me that they would stop at nothing to make me look crazy.

  It would be a miracle if I made it to the end of the semester without that becoming true.

  Chapter 11

  Hades

  “You’re an asshole. You know that, right?” Fenrir said as we set in the VIP section, watching the final round. It was a battle royale style event, and whoever lasted the longest was the winner.

  It was no surprise that Artemis had disqualified Kore from competing. Like I’d planned, everyone was now looking at her like she was the resident nut job.

  There was plenty more where that came from.

  “You say that like it’s an insult,” I quipped.

  “Even you have to admit, her face was priceless,” Loki sighed blissfully. He took a sip from his water bottle, which was filled with contraband meade. “And you played your role perfectly.”

  Fenrir sat in stony silence, turning his attention to the competitors. I had to admit, Dionysus and Daphne had lasted longer than I’d expected. The latter was executing her role perfectly as well. I could tell she was gaining Kore’s trust. Maybe even becoming attached, which was fine by me. The more convincing she was, the more devastating it would be when I finally pulled the strings.

  And I wanted Kore to suffer. No one had ever defied me before, let alone humiliated me, and I intended to repay her a hundredfold.

  To break her.

  It had started out as a childish game, but now, it was war and she’d proven herself a worthy opponent.

  When all was said and done, she might even make a halfway decent queen.

  I watched as the games progressed and it came down to four contestants. Surprisingly enough, Dionysus was one of them. Guess there was more to him than met the eye, and he’d learned to be quite useful with a sword. He was up against Theo, whose brute strength should have been more than an even match for him, while Ingrid and Flora battled it out between their competing elemental powers.

  It was a rarity for the Valkyries to get through preliminaries with anything but a clean sweep. This year’s crop just wasn’t as talented, I supposed.

  That or Kore was a better judge of teammates than I’d given her credit for.

  Dionysus managed to dodge all of Th
eo’s attacks gracefully, but I could tell he was overexerting himself and unlike the behemoth in front of him, his powers weren’t suited to this kind of battle.

  A cry of frustration sounded through the arena as Flora crossed the line, thrown back by a powerful blow from Ingrid. The Valkyrie raised her head in triumph, but she soon turned her focus to the remaining challengers.

  Now that there were only three of them, it would be interesting to see who emerged victorious. My money was on Ingrid, and I was rarely wrong. Never, depending on who was doing the asking.

  It didn’t take long to realize what the strategy was: pick off the weakling. As soon as Ingrid joined the fight, she and Theo began targeting Dionysus in unison. It was all he could do to keep blocking the blows from her bo staff and his fists as they pushed him further and further back toward the arena’s boundaries.

  I glanced over and found Kore watching him on the edge of her seat. I felt a twinge of something and told myself it wasn’t jealousy. Not in any real sense. More like the inborn need to see her suffer.

  They were getting close. Sooner or later, I’d have to put an end to that.

  Theo closed in first. I almost winced as I saw him rushing Dionysus.

  I glanced over and realized I wasn’t the only one watching him in rapt attention. Loki was stiff and speechless for once, the unmistakable hint of a frown tugging at his lips. Was he actually concerned?

  He’d used and abandoned Dionysus more ruthlessly than most of his conquests, so that came as a surprise, but if there was any part of him that still cared for the young god, he had reason to be concerned.

  Dionysus was finished.

  And then, he did the last thing I’d ever expect. The idiot threw his blade and it was enough of a shock to take both his opponents off guard for a moment. Not for long, though. Theo threw a punch that could have shattered concrete and even though Dionysus caught it in his right hand, it staggered him almost out of bounds and even from a distance, I could tell he was in pain.