by Eva Ashwood
His sleepy gaze sharpened as he regarded us, his brows pinching together. “I thought you two were studying,” he told the other two men. Then his gaze shifted to me. “What’s up?”
I pushed into his room, shaking my head. “Are you alone?”
“Really?”
He raised an eyebrow at me, and I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine. Dumb question. I just need to know that what we’re saying is between us.”
“Of course.”
I could see concern replace the teasing smile on Merrick’s face, and he allowed the other two to step in. I waited until Trace had shut the door behind him, then squared off with the three of them, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I was walking down the hallway just now, and I overheard voices whispering around the corner. They were talking about how a bunch of students are going to team up against us, how they’re planning on sabotaging us at the preliminary competition. I’m so livid. Apparently, they didn’t like the fact that we teamed up for the last Gods’ Challenge. They thought it was cheating, just because no one else has ever done it. Even though it’s not against the rules.”
“What the fuck?” Lachlan said angrily.
“You’re a better person than I am, Ari.” Merrick ran a hand over his chin, scowling. “I would have told them exactly where they could shove that.”
Trace didn’t say anything. Instead, he did his usual, pulling me into his lap as he sat on the bed and calming me a bit. I could feel the tension knotting my shoulders release and my anger dissipate a little.
I loved and hated that he could do that. That his touch soothed me like that. It was very strange to me. A foreign sensation.
“So, I think we need to figure out a plan,” I said as my anger dissipated even more. “We need to get back to the godly realm. We can’t afford to be thwarted by our own people. These idiots have no idea why we’re here. They have no idea that someone is trying to kill us off.”
Merrick nodded, irritation sparking in his eyes. “They have no idea that we’re trying to save them from it. Assholes.”
Trace pulled me a little closer, his hands roaming possessively over my body. “So how exactly do we do that?”
Lachlan shot him a feral smile. “We give them exactly what they’re looking for. We make it look like the sabotage worked at first. We make it seem like we’re splintered completely. They’ll think we’re weakened, and we can use that to our advantage.”
I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek. “That’s a good idea. They don’t have any idea we know about their plans, so we can get the jump on them. Give them a taste of their own fucking medicine.”
Lach’s gaze caught mine, and he grinned at me. “You’re a little bit scary, Aria. And I fuckin’ love it.”
Chapter Nine
The sound of the trumpets blaring woke me up on the morning of the preliminary competition.
It wasn’t my normal groggy wake up or a gradual rolling out of bed. Instead, I was instantly awake, alert and on-edge. Excitement buzzed through my veins, making me feel both determined and giddy. I wasn’t thrilled to go put my life on the line, but I was ready to show the other students that we wouldn’t cave under their sabotage. And I was desperate to find out the truth. To delve deeper into the world of the gods and find out why they were trying to kill off the strong magic users among us.
On top of all of that, I’d been itching for a good fight. It had been too long since I was able to get a little wild and put my survival instincts to the test. It wasn’t quite the same as fighting in the ring, but it would still scratch the itch.
I met up with Eden in the hallway, and we joined the crowd of students heading downstairs.
“Well,” she said quietly, “today’s the big day.”
I shot her a sideways look. “Are you excited to compete?”
The blonde girl rolled her eyes. “Not really. Honestly, I’m just mad that they’re making me do it. The rules last year were that you could compete if you wanted to, not that you had to. And I don’t want to win. I don’t want to have to go to the godly realm and compete in the challenge. I saw what happened last year, and we both know my magic isn’t strong enough to survive something like that.”
I smiled at her, putting my hand on her shoulder. “Hey, I get why you feel that way. There’s no judgment here. In fact, it’s probably the smartest way to look at it. It’s dangerous in there, more dangerous than you could believe. The shit I saw…”
Eden turned to me with a perceptive look on her face. “Sure. But you want to go back, don’t you? I know you want to win.”
It was a statement, not a question. Eden knew me far better than I’d thought she did. I took in a deep breath and nodded.
“I guess I do.” I grinned. “You know me, I’m the kind of girl who loves competition, and since the admins said there are no rules against me competing again, I have to go for it. I could win another audience with the gods, and the way everyone talks about them, that’s worth its weight in gold.”
I figured that was the best answer to give her; I certainly couldn’t tell her I wanted to win so that I could infiltrate the godly realm and dig for answers. It would only be dangerous for her to know more than she had to, and I didn’t want to drag her into this until I had a better idea what was going on.
“Yeah.” She pulled a face, and I could practically feel worry radiating from her. “Well, just be careful, okay?”
“Always.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder in a quick hug. I wasn’t much of a hugger, but Eden definitely was, so I hoped it would soothe her a little.
As we rounded a corner, I saw all three of the men standing there talking to some of the other Magic Blessed students. They barely glanced at me as Eden and I passed, and I didn’t let my gaze linger on them either.
The two of us headed down the hallway toward the common area.
“Hey, I’ll see you in there, okay?” I said, slowing my steps.
“Sure.”
With a final worried look, Eden went ahead of me, and I slipped into an empty classroom, using my magic to put a glowing star on the outside of the door, hopefully one that only the guys could see. I hadn’t been able to practice that magic much, but I was pretty sure it worked.
Within a few minutes, the door cracked open, and Trace’s head appeared in the gap. He opened the door wider when he saw me, letting the other two men slip in behind him.
Trace dusted his hands together as if wiping them clean. “I knocked the star off just in case someone else could see it.”
I nodded in thanks. “I just wanted to confirm with you guys one last time before the competition starts. So, we’re splitting up at the beginning to make it look like we’re fractured, and then we’ll use that ruse to help us take out our competitors. Do you all know where you’re supposed to go?”
All three of them nodded. Fire burned in their eyes, and I could see the tension in their bodies. They were as ramped up for the upcoming fight as I was. My gaze shifted around to each one of them, and I let out a long deep breath.
“All right, let’s get this over with. The sooner we get to the end of this, the sooner we can reach the godly realm.”
Lachlan nodded once, then pulled me toward him with an arm around my waist, pressing a hard kiss to my lips. He released me, and Trace caught my chin in his hands and kissed me too. The second we split apart, Merrick spun me to face him. For a moment, he just gazed at me. Then he slid his hands through my hair and angled my face, kissing me long and slow and deep.
Holy fuck.
My legs actually went a little weak. I had been with each of these men, and they each lit my blood on fire. But I hadn’t been kissed by them in quick succession like this since our interrupted tryst in the cave in the godly realm.
It was fucking incredible.
Shit. Focus, Aria.
Wrenching my attention back to the upcoming challenge, I cleared my throat. “Stay safe. Be smart.”
“Aye, lass. An
d ye.”
Each one of us left the room individually, making sure none of us were seen together. We headed out into the cool air, and I let the chill sharpen my concentration even more. The preliminary competition would be held on the grounds outside of the school. There was a large, open-air stadium that led to a massive maze. Just like last time, the maze would contain a variety of challenging tests.
But unlike last time, the stadium stands were almost entirely empty. Apparently, the gods’ messengers had demanded that all students participate in the preliminary competition. We’d missed that part of their conversation when we had eavesdropped at the window, but I assumed it was their command, because the day after their visit, Dean Frost had made the announcement.
The Gods’ Challenge preliminaries were no longer voluntary.
A lot of the students around me seemed nervous as fuck—understandable, since they didn’t want to be doing this in the first place—but my nerves were calm. I knew that whatever I was going to face in the maze would be dangerous. Everything out there would be trying to take us down, including our fellow classmates. Hell, even the few people in the stands were probably plotting against us.
But it didn’t matter. The guys and I wouldn’t let any of them stop us.
Dean Frost gave her usual speech, which I tuned out. When the maze finally opened, I glanced over at Lachlan, who gave me a knowing look. With a deep breath, I stepped into the massive maze.
Immediately, the four of us moved, splitting up as we’d planned.
If I had learned anything from the year before, it was that you didn’t want to stay in one place. You couldn’t even get a bearing on where you were until you were out of the initial clog of students. I sprinted forward, straight into the thick white fog that I remembered from last time. We would all be transported to a separate part of the maze, but with so many students competing this semester, I was sure I wouldn’t be alone wherever I ended up.
As the fog broke, I caught sight of Lachlan in my periphery, but I ran in the other direction. Several other students had ended up in this quadrant of the maze too, and as the students around me began to break away from each other, I jumped over a large rock and landed in a crouch.
I cast a look around and caught sight of Merrick and Trace too. We had all ended up in the same quadrant of the maze, which would come in handy when we were ready to pool our strength again.
But for now, I had to pretend I wasn’t on their team.
I could see each of them going after the people we had determined were the ringleaders of our detractors, which meant that everything was going to plan.
Well… almost everything.
From behind me, I caught the sound of a low grunt. As I looked back, Wesley took off after me, hurling a blast of magic.
Fuck!
My feet dug into the ground, and I shot forward, ducking and diving around the magic he was throwing at me. They exploded like grenades all around me, throwing dust and dirt into my face. To my right, I could see Trace running along the edge of the jungle-like maze, watching Wesley with angry eyes. He was supposed to draw Wesley’s fire so that the others could take him down, but Wesley was coming after me, and he was hell bent on blowing me up with his magic.
I whirled around, throwing a chain of energy at the dickbag on my tail. As soon as it wrapped around his waist, I yanked and then released the magic, watching him as he stumbled sideways. Before he could hit the ground though, he got his footing and took off again.
Dammit. He’s better than I thought.
Wesley was a giant asshole, but I couldn’t deny that he was a decent fighter and quick on his feet. But whatever. I could handle him.
With swift movements, I dodged back and forth, finally leaping up and standing on the top of a large jagged stone. From this vantage point, I could launch my own attacks on Wesley. But as I turned, the smile on my face faded as I watched Merrick, angry as hell, run straight at Wesley.
“Godsdammit, Merrick, you’re abandoning your position,” I growled to myself. He was supposed to be targeting another student, not Wesley.
Try telling that to Merrick though.
He launched himself into the air, tackling Wesley, rolling head over foot across the hard ground. Wesley cursed, screaming for backup.
Motherfucker.
Merrick had given away that we were working together too soon, and now all of Wesley’s followers were going to come after us at once.
“Trace! Lachlan!” I bellowed, leaping off the rock and diving into the fray.
I wrenched Wesley away from Merrick, but a second later, two of Wesley’s buddies descended on us. One grabbed me around the waist, and I shot out a bolt of magic to break his hold on me.
“Fuckin’ hell! So much for our godsdamn plan, eh?” Lachlan grunted, joining in the fight. Trace stepped in a second later, but as soon as he did, five more of our competitors circled around us.
“This fuckhead was going after Ari,” Merrick growled, still eyeing Wesley with rage in his eyes. They had broken apart, but Wesley was obviously looking for another opening, bolder now that he had backup.
Fuck it. We couldn’t afford to get locked into a fight with these assholes. We were outnumbered, and even if we won the fight, what we really needed to win was the competition. We couldn’t afford to blow this.
“The trees!” I yelled. “Get up high! We need to get out of here.”
Without waiting to make sure the guys knew what I was getting at, I demonstrated, throwing out a rope of magic that wrapped around the trunk of a strange metal-like tree nearby. It attached to the tree about twenty feet up, and I wrapped my hands around the magic rope, using my power to shorten the line and lift me toward the tree.
Before I even landed on a branch, I could see other lines of magic extending up to nearby trees, and I knew the three men had figured out what I was doing.
Of course, so had the other competitors.
Luckily, not all of them had the magical ability to do what we’d just done, so only a few of them were able to follow us. I sent a burst of magic at Wesley as he swung through the air, knocking him back. Then the guys and I shot out new ropes, swinging away to other trees. We moved fast, and I felt like a magical version of Tarzan as I swung from branch to branch.
Once we were well away from Wesley and his groupies, I used my magic to climb higher up one of the thin metallic trees that were placed all around. I looked out over the land, trying to get my bearings.
Down below, one of the girls who had wanted to take us out of the competition scampered by. Trace growled and threw a string of magic down at her, wrapping it around her body and flipping her upside down as if she was in a cocoon. He wrapped the magic around the tree limb and let her hang there. Then he turned back to me and grinned.
“That ought to keep her out of commission for a while.”
I grinned back. “Let’s go.”
After I jumped down, I gazed up at the girl for a moment, my top lip twitching. Then the guys all landed beside me, and we moved quickly across the forest floor. The landscape around us was strange and wild, and I had noticed something particularly odd when I’d looked around from the vantage of the tall tree.
Doors.
There were several freestanding doors arrayed around the forest, seemingly leading to nowhere. But I knew better than to assume that in a place like this. Magic was most definitely a part of whatever these doors were here for.
I pointed at one of the random doors that was sitting out in the open. “I think we need to take one of these.”
Trace nodded. “Agreed. They must be here for a reason, right? By my guess, we need to take the ones with the stars on the corner of the door. It’s actually the same star that you put on the door for us to meet you.”
My forehead wrinkled. “Well, that’s not strange or anything.”
Trace shrugged. “From what I’ve heard, they create the playing field based on the ideas and thoughts of the people that are competing. I guess it does
n’t make sense to the others, but for you, it makes perfect sense.”
“All right.” I nodded. “Stay close.”
We approached the door with the glimmering star on it, but before I could grab the handle, several people burst out of the foliage around us.
Wesley and his crew had caught up to us.
“Dammit! Go, go, go!”
I yanked open the door, and the men dived through after me. Lachlan closed it hard the second he was through, but there was no way to lock it. Seconds later, our pursuers were on us again.
And they weren’t the only ones out for blood.
Everywhere we went, there was some kind of strange animal trying to kill us. There were beasts with spikes down the backs of their heads and along their large flailing tails. There were manlike creatures that had no eyes in their sockets—but despite being blind, they were capable of throwing magic darts with almost pristine precision.
The magical creatures slowed our human attackers, but several of our competitors still found chances to lob blasts of magic at us. Anger and adrenaline poured through me. Our plan had unraveled at the fucking seams, and now we were improvising for our lives.
“The next door!” Trace yelled, skidding to a stop next to a large golden door with a star imprinted on the left corner. “Come on!”
He didn’t wait for us, just jumped through the door. We all went through as soon as we reached it, fighting off our pursuers. We had lost Wesley at least, but several other Magic Blessed students were still on our heels.
I was the last to pass through the doorway, and as I leapt through it, my throat closed in panic.
There was nothing for my foot to connect with on the other side.
I was hurtling through empty space. Falling through an endless black abyss.
Holy fuck. Maybe this door idea was all wrong.
My arms pinwheeled as I cursed the fact that we’d been running blindly, fueled by panic and adrenaline.
Then I caught sight of something in the blackness. A small, shimmering scroll, just like the one I had nabbed during the preliminary competition last semester.