by Eva Ashwood
“Lachlan! Oh, Gods…”
I hadn’t expected to come again so fast, but the demanding force of his thrusts and the need I could feel in every one of his movements drove me over the edge. My arms and legs tightened around him convulsively as waves of pleasure swept through me. He pulled me down on his thick shaft one last time, his body shuddering in my embrace as he followed me over the edge.
His cock jerked inside me as he bathed my insides with his cum, and the feeling of incredible, overwhelming fullness made me whimper as I buried my face in his neck.
We went still, breathing hard against one another, our sweat-dampened skin clinging together.
Holy shit. That had been so much better, so much more than I had expected.
I trusted Lach to keep holding me up, because I wasn’t ready to move yet. I wasn’t ready to let go of this incredible feeling yet. As we stood like that, my arms and legs still wrapped around him, the other two men stepped closer. Soft hands caressed my bare skin, warm lips kissed and worshipped me.
I could feel it in the way they touched me, in the almost reverent silence that now filled the cave.
This had changed everything. Not just for me.
For all of us.
Chapter Eighteen
My pack felt heavier and heavier with every step I took.
In actual fact, without much food and only a limited supply of other items, it really wasn’t that full. But at the moment, I could’ve sworn Trace had packed it full of rocks this morning as a practical joke. Not that he would do that—I was pretty sure he liked having his balls.
So. Much. Hiking.
If I never had to walk again for the rest of my life, it would be too damn soon, as far as I was concerned.
After our incredible night in the cave, we’d traveled for another day and a half, unsure whether we were even going in the right direction. Outside the playing area, there were no clues, no hidden packs, nothing to help us along. Beyond the normal creatures lurking in the forest, no one had come for us, which made me think either the gods didn’t know we were here, or they were playing games with us.
“Shit.” Trace’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I looked up to see him gesturing me closer from the top of the hill he and Lach had stopped on. “You gotta see this, Ari.”
I huffed out a breath, digging my boots into the soil as I climbed up the hill just beyond the tree line of the forest. Merrick held out his hand and helped me up the rest of the way, then the men and I stood side-by-side.
Immediately, I knew what Trace had been talking about. It was impossible to miss. From our high vantage point, the four of us stared out at a huge, breathtaking settlement in front of us.
“Holy shit. The city of the gods,” I whispered, unable to keep the awe from my voice. I didn’t want to be impressed by anything the gods did, but it was impossible not to be dazzled by the sight before me.
It was massive, stretching as far as my tired eyes could see. The beautiful white stone buildings were elaborately structured, with what seemed to be hand-chiseled details, statues that reached toward the sky, and a glistening glow to it all that almost hurt the eyes. The streets that ran between the large ornate buildings looked like gold, but there were no cars driving on them, only masses of people, all dressed in similar robes and walking in groups.
Trace motioned to the right, where the hill sloped down into a divot surrounded by large purple and blue flowering bushes. It was hard to move from the spot where I stood, entranced by the beauty of the city in front of us. But as I tore my gaze from the glimmering city, I noticed a group of what looked like guards making their way around the outskirts of the city.
Fuck. Last thing we need is to get caught when we’re so damn close.
Quickly we all ducked and headed down into the gully, allowing the large plants to hide our presence.
Dropping into a crouch between Merrick and Trace, I glanced around at the men. We had made it to the outskirts of the city, but that was only the beginning.
“We need to get through the city gates somehow,” I murmured quietly.
Lachlan carefully pushed back several branches of the bushes and looked down at the city. “Those people below—the ones enterin’ and exitin’ buildings in perfect formation. They’re not gods, are they?”
Merrick glanced over Lachlan’s shoulder. “They can’t be. I think we’d feel the power coming off them even from here if they were gods.”
“Are they more of those messengers?” Trace asked. “Like the ones who came to Magic Blessed just before the preliminary competition?”
“Probably.” I peered over Lachlan’s shoulder, his whiskey and ginger scent tickling my nostrils as I leaned close to him to get a good look at the city in the distance. “It makes sense. We already know that mages live in the realm and serve the gods.”
Trace shook his head, wrinkling his nose. “I heard they’re more than just messengers. They do everything. They’re servants, concubines, and house staff. They pretty much take care of everything in the city while the gods rule everything from the main palace building.”
Lachlan sat back, wiping the dirt off his hands. “We’re goin’ to have to go in disguised. From the looks of it, there are only two choices here. We either go in as gods, or we go in as servants.”
I shook my head. “There’s no way we’re gonna pass as gods. I’m sure they can sense it or something. It would be much safer if we went in as servants. We just have to figure out how to get our hands on their uniforms.”
Slowly, we began to make our way around the city, scoping out the gate that surrounded it and the activity inside. After about thirty minutes of walking through the brush in a low crouch, Merrick held up a hand to stop us. Then he jerked his chin toward the city of the gods.
“There. That gate up ahead—there are no guards there. It seems to be some sort of private servant entrance and exit.”
Biting my bottom lip, I peered through the leaves and branches, staring down at the gate he had indicated. It was much smaller than the larger gate we had seen earlier, which I’d assumed was the main entrance to the city. The guys all gathered close, and we watched as mages, all dressed in similar uniforms, walked in and out of the city through the small gate. They wore long, dark blue cloaks with gold emblems on the front and the hoods shading their faces. I could barely see any of their bodies.
Merrick pointed down at the group. “Those are the servants of the gods. Their messengers, like the ones they sent to visit the academy. They’re the ones that are closest to the gods themselves. I think that’s definitely what we need to take aim at.”
The other two men agreed, and so did I.
“Well, it’s pretty early in the day,” I whispered. “We can either take our chances and spend the night here, or we can try to intercept some of the messengers as they head out of the city and steal ourselves some mage robes. What do you guys think?”
The three of them looked at each other, then Merrick nodded. “I say we do it. There’s no reason to wait any longer.”
Trace dipped his chin in agreement, and Lachlan shot me a slightly feral look. “So how are we doin’ this? Are we usin’ magic to disable them, or are we goin’ to smash some heads?”
I laughed softly, sliding my pack off my shoulders and hiding it underneath a bush so that if we actually made it back out of the gods’ city, I would be able to find it. Merrick did the same, setting his pack next to mine.
“I think we should use magic,” I told the burly Irishman. “I’m pretty sure smashing skulls is going to catch the notice of at least one or two guards.”
Lachlan looked highly disappointed, and I patted his shoulder as we began to make our way down the hill, sticking to the cover of the bushes as we headed toward the city. “Don’t worry, big man. I have a feeling there’ll still be plenty of chances to fight.”
I just hope we can win those fights.
I shoved down the worry that tightened my stomach. We were all powerful and good i
n a fight, but there was no doubt in my mind that the gods were stronger than all of us. But there was no point dwelling on that or letting fear paralyze me.
After we reached the bottom of the hill, we waited for several long minutes, barely daring to breathe. Finally, a group of four mages emerged from the servant door and walked along a small path that would bring them close to the shrubs we hid behind. We were out of view of the guards posted at the main entrance, so this would be the best chance we’d get.
Trace whispered a spell as he held his hand out, palm up, and blew on it. A burst of sparkling magic fluttered from his hand and up around the mages’ faces. One of them let out a low grunt of surprise, but before they could do anything more than that, all four of us leapt on them. Trace’s spell had slowed and disoriented them, and it gave us the opening we needed to gain the upper hand. I managed to wrestle my target to the ground, wrapping my legs around his neck in a chokehold and squeezing with my thighs until I felt his body go limp. I let magic pour out of me as well, wrapping around him and binding him tight.
By the time I was sure he was out, the men had taken care of their mages as well. Just like the ones who had come to the school, the four messengers we had disabled practically oozed magic. If we hadn’t taken them by surprise, I wasn’t sure we would’ve been able to take them out at all.
That was a good sign though. It meant that perhaps the gods’ city wouldn’t be too closely guarded. They clearly considered themselves safe from any threat in their own realm. The messengers had been relaxed, not on alert.
I grabbed the man’s ankles and pulled his body into the bushes. The men did the same with their targets, and we began to take their robes. We needed to move quickly, before they woke up.
Once we’d removed their garments and slipped them on, all four of us combined our magic to create bindings to hold them. I was sure it wouldn’t immobilize them for too long, but it was the best we could do.
Straightening the stolen robes, which were just a little too big on me, I looked around at each of the men. “Alright, let’s go. If we get separated and can’t find each other, we meet back at the hill crest where we first saw the city. Whoever doesn’t show up, we’ll come back for you.”
All three men nodded. Their gazes burned intensely, and I could practically feel their muscles bunching and shifting beneath their robes. I could tell they were on guard, and I didn’t blame them. My body vibrated with a fight-or-flight impulse too.
We had come all that way though, and I wasn’t turning back without answers.
Decked out in our robes, pulling the hoods as far forward as possible to shield our faces, we rose from the bushes and headed back toward the city. No guards stopped us, and no other mages seemed to question our presence as we passed through the servants’ city gate. We didn’t speak to each other, just walked in formation, doing our best to keep our heads down and blend in. It was hard not to look at the city though. The place was unlike anything I had ever seen before.
The buildings appeared even more enormous from the ground, and everything looked spotless, as if they polished each stone every single day. We turned the corner onto the main thoroughfare leading to the large palace. As we did, the men slowed, and I glanced around at them.
Merrick leaned toward me, whispering. “Look ahead and to your right.”
Keeping my head tilted down, I shifted my gaze up and to the right and saw two men, taller than everyone else, draped in golden robes in an opulence that rivaled the city around them.
Gods.
Holy fuck. Those were the gods, walking the streets of their city followed by an entourage of mages.
With my head still angled down, I talked quietly, just loud enough for the guys to hear me. “Coming from behind and to our left is another god. There are at least twenty servants behind him. As they pass, we need to fall in behind one of the groups.”
I could see the slight movement as my men nodded, and we waited patiently as the gods passed with the mages trialing in their wake. We instantly stepped to the side, picking up our pace to match theirs. No one seemed to notice that we fell in, which was perfect.
My heart thudded hard and fast in my chest, and I did my best to keep my steps steady and even. As we walked, I picked up snippets of murmured conversation between the mages in front of me.
“Did you bring your offering to him?” one asked.
The other mage gave a nod. “Of course I did. He’s our god. They’re all our gods. It is my privilege and duty to give of myself for them.”
I looked slightly to my left, catching Trace’s gaze. His brows pulled together as he frowned.
This is so fucking weird. The mages voices were reverent, worshipful, and awed. They served the gods in this city, and apparently, they worshiped them too. The way they talked about their offerings and duties was almost cult-like.
Ugh. I better remember not to drink any Kool-Aid here.
The mages continued talking, but their voices grew too soft for me to hear as we made our way through the city and toward the back, where the enormous palace structure stood. That one building alone took up probably a quarter of the city.
Without warning, as we entered the grounds of the palace, the mages began to break off in different directions. They moved as if they had done this a hundred times. The four of us kept moving, not wanting to look awkward and weird or draw attention. We walked quickly through the crowds toward a large door where we could see many of the mages entering and exiting the palace.
“That must be the service door,” Merrick whispered.
We kept our pace, moving in unison straight for the service area. But as we approached, a guard stepped in front of us and put out his hand. “Symbols.”
I froze. What?
Keeping my head down, I glanced from side to side, wracking my brain for anything about symbols that I might’ve read in the books in that hidden room in the library.
Nothing.
“Show me your symbols,” the guard repeated, his becoming harder and more demanding.
Ah, fuck.
Chapter Nineteen
Panic rose up in my chest, my hands unconsciously curling into fists as I prepared to fight—my bodies instinctual reaction to danger.
“Well?” the guard demanded.
I peeked at him through my eyelashes, careful not to reveal much of my face. He looked annoyed and bored, but not suspicious. Maybe not having these “symbols,” whatever they were, hadn’t automatically labeled us as outsiders. Intruders.
Shoving down my nerves, I turned toward Trace, injecting the same annoyance I’d heard from the guard into my tone.
“Yes. Where are they?”
Trace jerked slightly, obviously surprised by my reaction.
Please, trust me, Trace. Just trust me.
I caught a flash of his bright blue eyes beneath his hood, and I saw the moment that understanding sparked.
“Oh, I, uh…” He spread his arms slightly, giving a helpless little shrug. Even his voice had shifted, becoming a nervous stammer that was so different from his usual smooth tone. “I forgot them.”
“You forgot,” I drawled. Then I heaved a sigh. “Of course you forgot. I should’ve known better than to ask you to remember anything, much less something like that.”
The guard huffed a breath that was almost a laugh, obviously somewhat entertained by watching someone he considered an underling being berated for an oversight.
Grabbing Trace’s arm, I pulled him aside, away from the service door and the guard that blocked it, still chastising him under my breath. The other two men followed close behind us, their postures tense beneath their robes.
The guard didn’t stop us or call us back, and the knots in my stomach slowly began to unwind as we moved away from him.
“Fucking hell, Snow.” I could hear the awe and gratitude in Trace’s voice. “That was some damn quick thinking.”
“You too,” I murmured, glancing up at him. “Thanks for playing along.”
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“That was smart, Ari. You probably saved our lives,” Merrick added. Lachlan grunted his agreement.
We stood in a sheltered little alcove for a few moments, glancing surreptitiously around to get our bearings, trying to figure out what to do next.
Merrick cocked his head slightly, staring up at the palace from beneath his hood. “We still need to get in there somehow. But that guard is probably going to be on duty until the end of the day, so we can’t go back to the service entrance. He might’ve even alerted the other guards to keep an eye out for us. It’s good that we got away when we did. But that doesn’t solve our problem.”
Trace chewed on his full lower lip, narrowing his eyes a little. “I think the best way for us to handle this is to go back out to the city. There should be some sort of entrance or exit concealed within the city.”
Merrick wrinkled his nose. “Is this going to be one of those things where we have to wade through god shit in order to get into the castle?”
Trace just shrugged, and I groaned. As we started following the ex-rock star back out toward the city, I leaned close to whisper to Merrick, “If it is, I’ll make you a magical bubble so you don’t get any shit on you. But you have to do the same for me.”
Merrick let out a quiet laugh. “It’s a deal. Besides, it would be a dead giveaway anyway—walking through the palace smelling like a fucking septic system.”
We headed out down the paths, through a garden area and then out to the city. When we were far enough away from the palace, we slipped down one of the darker alleyways, we began to search in earnest for a way in.
Finally, Trace held up a finger, cocking his head. “Do you hear that?”
I stopped and turned to face him, my ears pricking. “What?”
“Water.”
Now that he said it, I could hear the low rushing sound.
“Yeah. What is it?”
“Water ducts, I’m hoping,” he said with a grin. “And if they aren’t completely underwater, they should have tunnels that lead toward the palace. I can’t imagine there’s anyone down there guarding the aqueducts.”