by Eva Ashwood
I felt… limp. Boneless. Completely sated.
But more than that, I felt connected.
As deeply and truly connected to the three men who shared the bed with me as it was possible to be.
They had fucked me like they meant it.
And it had meant everything.
Chapter Ten
I woke up the next morning with purpose burning in my veins.
It wasn’t hard to get out of bed, despite the fact that I hated leaving the warmth and comfort of being wrapped under the blankets with three warm bodies.
There was shit to be done.
A fight to be won.
And I knew exactly what I was fighting for.
I wasn’t going to sit back and allow the lies and secrets of Magic Blessed Academy to sit in the shadows any longer. I wasn’t going to stand solemnly in front of the wall of remembrance, watching it grow larger and larger every year.
One way or another, I was determined that this Gods’ Challenge would be the last one ever.
My body was pleasantly sore as I showered quickly, and by the time I stepped back out into Merrick’s room, I found all three men awake and waiting for me.
“Morning, beautiful.” Merrick caught me around the waist and pressed a kiss to my lips. His amber eyes gleamed as he stepped back, scanning me with a pleased expression. “You look wide-awake and vibrant.”
I grinned and nodded. “Yeah, well… I happened to have a pretty good night last night, and it renewed my confidence in what I’m doing. I’m not afraid of it anymore. I’m not scared to continue moving on the path that’s been set.”
“Hell fuckin’ yeah,” Trace piped in, tugging me from Merrick’s arms to give me a kiss too before we all headed for the door.
“We don’t have a lot of time.” I glanced at the three of them as we strode down the hallway. “Training is going to be the number one thing for everyone. The four of us have had the luxury of knowing just how hard we had to train, and we’ve been doing it since the first time we competed in the Gods’ Challenge. But there are a lot of people at this school who have absolutely no idea.”
Trace rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Then I guess we have an idea of what we need to do. We need to get the entire school as well prepared for this fight as possible. We need to gather all the supporters we can. And the ones who won’t join with us…” He shook his head. “Well, we need to know who they are so we can watch out for them.”
Lachlan scowled, his shoulders tensing. “We already know one person who’s against ye. That fuckwad Wesley still hates yer guts, and he hates ours too. He won’t talk to me”—he grinned viciously—“he’s too fuckin’ terrified. But he happened to have a few words for Trace yesterday before he headed out to The Hill.”
I shot Trace a look, raising my eyebrows. “I didn’t hear about this.”
Not that it was all that surprising. A lot had happened yesterday.
The dark-haired man groaned as we reached the stairs. “It wasn’t worth repeating. But by this point, I’m pretty sure Wesley would put himself in mortal danger before he’d take your side in anything. The gods have basically brainwashed people at this school to believe we owe all our magic to them, and Wesley drank the Kool-Aid and went back for seconds.”
“Personally, I think he hates you because you’re a woman who’s stronger than him,” Merrick put in, anger flashing in his eyes. “He uses the excuse that he’s pissed at you for disrespecting the gods, but we all know it’s a lot more fucking petty than that. Normally, I would say don’t worry about him; he’s just a little rat who will get his in the end.”
“Little rat is right,” Lachlan grunted. “He was lucky to win the challenge last semester. Had we actually been looking for the gem, he would’ve had his arse handed to him six ways from Sunday.”
Merrick nodded. “True. But he honestly doesn’t see that. He thinks he won fair and square, and it’s making him overconfident.”
We stepped off the stairs on the first floor, and I found myself suppressing a grimace of frustration. “He also doesn’t understand just how dangerous it is, whether you’re siding with the gods or you’re against them. When it comes down to it, he has wild magic just the same as the rest of us. The gods will never fully understand him or accept him—even if they spare his life.”
“I really don’t give a shit about Wesley.” Annoyance laced Merrick’s tone. “We all know who he is and what he’s after. We know he hates us. And we know he’s going to do his best to be on the gods’ side because he thinks that’s the winning side. There’s nothing we could do about any of that. What we can do is prepare ourselves and do our best to help the other students here train and ultimately survive a confrontation with the gods.”
“Agreed,” I said fervently. “That’s why I’m going to spend the day trying to connect with the other students.”
I cringed a little at the thought. I wasn’t exactly a people person, and I’d almost rather go up against the gods right now than have to campaign for people’s trust. But if it needed to be done, I was at least going to try.
Trace nudged me with his shoulder, redirecting me toward the school’s large front entryway instead of toward the cafeteria. “We thought you would say that. And there’s good news on that front. Eden stopped by the room while you were in the shower. Instead of you just wandering around approaching people, she set up a meeting on The Hill.”
“The people who are going to be there either are curious about what you have to say or are already on your side,” Merrick added. “Eden said she did a little campaigning last night and convinced a lot of people to come and hear you out. People are scared, and while some are taking sides without thought or explanation, others want to make the best decision possible.”
Nerves exploded in my stomach. Oh gods, there should be a law against having to make big speeches before breakfast.
But it meant a lot to me that Eden had done this, and I knew full well that my men and I needed to take advantage of any leg up we could get.
“Great. Then let’s get on it,” I replied, picking up my pace.
As I crested the top of The Hill, I could see quite a few students gathered on the pavilion talking quietly, all looking nervous and uncomfortable.
Trace cleared his throat, drawing their attention. “Hey, if everybody can quiet down, Aria is here to talk to you guys. Let her explain what she knows, and if you have any questions when she’s done, we’ll answer if we can.”
I stepped forward, trying to give off an aura of casual confidence. I wasn’t much of a public speaker. But it hardly mattered, really. Everyone here had come to hear me talk, and I wanted to make sure they fully understood the situation.
“Um, thanks for being here. I appreciate you guys coming to hear me out. I want to start out by saying that in no way shape or form did I lay down my challenge to the gods on a whim. I thought about it from every angle I could see, trying to figure out what choice presented the best chance of survival.”
“And this is what you came up with? A suicide mission?” a voice yelled out from the back of the crowd.
I shrugged. “Low odds are better than no odds. Especially if we train hard, strategize, and stick together. If we do that, we’ll have a chance in this fight.”
A third-year named Delaney tilted her head as she spoke. “But why fight at all? Why did you challenge the gods like that?”
Okay. Here goes. Truth time.
I swallowed hard, then met her gaze and held it. “Because we can’t trust the gods. We’re all in danger because they don’t want people like us to exist. The version of history we’ve been taught is a lie; the gods never gave us our powers. No one knows where our magic comes from, not even them.”
A babble of shocked murmurs broke out at that, people turning to each other and talking in hushed voices.
My gaze shifted around, watching the crowd’s reaction. There had to be close to sixty people gathered, which spoke to the persuasiveness of
Eden’s earnest, sweet personality. Eden herself stood at the front of the crowd, glancing around nervously as she tried to gauge their reaction too.
“The gods don’t think we should exist,” I continued, raising my voice over the chatter. “And they’ve been using the Gods’ Challenge as a way of thinning our numbers. A way of picking some of us off.”
A few students at the edge of the crowd shook their heads and walked off, letting me know exactly where they stood. I wondered if they truly didn’t believe me or just didn’t want to believe me. Not that it really mattered, in the end.
I braced myself for more students to walk away, to head back to the school building as they shot me a metaphorical middle finger.
But the rest of them stayed.
Fear was the most easily distinguished emotion on their faces, but there was also curiosity in some and anger in others.
I held my hands out in front of me, hurrying on before anyone else could change their mind about being here. “I have to ask that you try to trust me. Teamwork is essential. We are all magic users—and more to the point, we all possess wild magic. Because of that, we’re also all in danger. As I already said, we can’t trust the gods under any circumstances. They do not have our best interest at heart. In fact, Omari would be happiest if none of us existed at all.”
A stocky second-year in the front of the crowd looked a little sick. “So… the gods want us all to compete in the challenge this semester so they can kill more of us?”
“That’s my best guess,” I replied, keeping my voice calm and even. “They were gonna try to kill us whether I challenged them to face us themselves or not. Now you’ve got two choices. You can either side with Wesley and keep pretending nothing is wrong, that this is all perfectly normal. Or you can train with us and be as prepared as possible to face the challenge.”
Delaney raised her hand. “What do you mean, train?”
Merrick clapped his hands together and smiled at me. “I got this one. Trace, Lachlan, and I are setting up multiple times for anyone who’s never competed in the challenge before to train. Even if they have competed, they’re welcome to come work with all of us. We need to find out what everybody’s strengths and weaknesses are, and the best way to do that is through controlled sparring.”
“Do we start that today?” Another student, Mitch Doherty, lifted his chin hopefully
I nodded, pleased at his question. “Hell, yeah. It will be hard, and you’ll have to push yourself. But we’ll do what we can to make sure you’re ready to take on the gods when the time comes.”
I thought I saw flickers of excitement gleaming in a few people’s eyes. It was dim, but it sure beat the pure fear that’d been there earlier. Sweeping my gaze over the crowd again, I added, “Please pass this message along to anyone you think will listen. Anyone who wasn’t here today. Bring your friends with you to train. If you can’t do it today, do it tomorrow. I don’t care if you’re bringing someone new to the last training before we walk through those portals, or even as we’re walking up to the portals. Better late than never. Okay?”
There were nods amongst the crowd.
The guys and I answered a few more questions before we led the delegation back toward the school. It was a small group, but it was a start. I just hoped that in the coming days until the Gods’ Challenge arrived, we could form ourselves into a somewhat cohesive group. We would need to work together if we were going to stand a chance.
As we stepped back through the double doors, our new recruits trailing behind us, grim determination filled me.
Slowly but surely, we’re coming for you, Omari.
Chapter Eleven
Have you ever tried to organize and train a ragtag army in just five days?
Well, let me tell you, it’s not fucking easy.
Classes went on as usual, but it hardly mattered. No one was really paying attention to the professors’ bullshit lessons anymore. The school had been divided into two factions, and all anyone could focus on was the upcoming challenge against the gods themselves.
Lach, Merrick, Trace, and I spent every waking minute working with the students who had agreed to fight alongside us. Eden helped too, and she was a surprisingly good leader. Her sweet, bubbly attitude hid a spine of steel, and she was so nice and approachable that people felt comfortable coming to her when they were struggling.
She would then pass that along to me, and the guys and I would help whip that person into shape.
It was actually a surprisingly effective system. We were like the good cop and bad cop of leadership.
But would it be enough?
I wasn’t sure we’d have a fighting chance against the gods if we trained for months, let alone a handful of days. Not that we had any choice.
The following Monday, a pall of tension hung over the school as we all trooped silently down the stairs and out the front doors. Very few people spoke as we made our way up to The Hill, where the portals always delivered the competitors to the godly realm for the challenge. Today, instead of gathering in the stands, all the students would step onto the pavilion, and all of us would walk through a portal into another realm.
Eden reached out and squeezed my hand as we neared the pavilion, and I gave her a squeeze back. I fucking hated that she’d been dragged into this, just like everyone else had. She had agreed to lead a team of her own in the challenge, and although I respected the hell out of her for it, I couldn’t help but worry about her.
I’d never had any siblings, but Eden felt a little like a younger sister to me, and unfamiliar protective instincts rose inside me at the thought of her getting hurt.
“Ye did what ye could, Ari,” Lach murmured to me as we joined the throng of people on the pavilion. There were a few hundred students at Magic Blessed, so the pavilion was crowded as fuck, all of us wedged together like sardines. “We all did. We’re as ready for this shite as we can be.”
“And a lot of the stronger magic users sided with us,” Trace noted. “They’re not weak, and they’re not followers, unlike half the people Wesley turned against us. We can do this.”
He sounded like he actually believed it, and I was grateful for his optimism.
We truly had no idea what we would face this time. The rules had remained the same. One of us had to retrieve the gem from the playing field in the godly realm, and if we managed to do that, we would win.
Except this time, we weren’t playing against deadly traps or monstrous beasts. We were playing against the gods themselves, and they wanted to slaughter every last one of us.
“Why don’t they just do it?” Merrick murmured. When I glanced at him, his amber eyes burned with anger. “Why don’t they just kill us outright if they want to end us so badly?”
We’d talked about this before, but it was a question I kept coming back to as well.
“They don’t want to risk upsetting the general magic population,” I said quietly. “It’s the only reason I can think of. If they’re seen slaughtering a bunch of innocent magic users, how long do you think people will keep building those shrines? They’ll lose their worshippers, their supporters. They don’t want to risk that. But if we all die in a challenge, in a game? Well, that’s easier to write off and brush aside.”
Merrick opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, Dean Frost stepped onto an elevated platform that had been set up at one end of the pavilion. Normally, she would’ve stood in the center of the pavilion to address the crowds in the stand, but now that the crowd was all on one level, the admins had clearly had to improvise.
“This semester’s challenge will be the truest test of your mettle yet,” she intoned gravely, sweeping her gaze over the crowd. “The gods chose to have all of you participate in the challenge, which in itself would have raised the level of difficulty in what you will face. But since some of you”—her gaze somehow snapped straight to me, finding me in the sea of bodies as if I were glowing like a beacon—“saw fit to throw down a gauntlet to the gods t
hemselves, you will now face an even greater test of your abilities.”
Gods, this fucking bitch. She was a good damn liar, I would give her that. She made it sound like I had betrayed my fellow students, like I’d thrown them under the bus in a bid for more glory for myself.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. And Dean Frost knew that.
But it didn’t change the rumbling of low murmurs in the crowd as people reacted to her statement. Several people nearby, members of Wesley’s faction, scowled at me. I wanted to shake them, to force them to see that I was trying to save their stupid asses, but I couldn’t make them believe that.
They would only truly understand once the competition began.
I just hoped that understanding didn’t come a half-second before they were slaughtered.
“As in previous competitions, there can be only one winner. You must find and pick up the gem that’s been hidden in the godly realm. When you do, every other student will be transported back to the earthly plane, and you, as the winner, will be transported to the palace of the gods.” Her sharp features were a mask as she scanned the crowd again. “In previous challenges, winners have won the right to an audience with the gods after they finish their training at Magic Blessed. But given the changes to the competition this year, it’s been decided that the prize will be rewarded immediately.”
“Great,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “So the winner can be killed off by the gods right away. How fucking efficient.”
Eden’s grip on my hand had become bone-crushing, and when she turned to look at me, I saw tears in her eyes. “I know you want it to be you, Aria. That you want to be the one to get the gem. But please, please, don’t do anything stupid.”
