When he drew back, his eyes were wild. “Ari! What the hell happened? Where have you been? We couldn’t find you, and we were afraid to ask around because we don’t know who the hell to trust here.”
I looked back and forth in the hallway, my chest rising and falling fast. “I can’t talk about it out here. We’ve got to go someplace private.”
The four of us ended up in a tall tower in the southwest corner of the building, an unused storage space that Trace had discovered. Every minute it took us to get there felt like an hour, and I could feel the men shooting me worried looks as we walked. As soon as we were safely inside, Trace wrapped his magic around the door, blocking our voices from any prying ears.
“Alright, lass. What the everlovin’ fuck is goin’ on?” Lach demanded, worry sparking in his green eyes.
I bit my bottom lip and took in a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I wanted everything I said to be clear and concise.
“After I left you guys before your last final, I went back to my room. But I never made it inside. Instead, I fell through a portal. All I kept thinking to myself when I walked away from you three was how I wished I could go back to the godly realm so I could find answers. When I went to walk through the doorway, I just kept going downward. My feet touched down and when I opened my eyes, I was back in the palace. I overheard Omari and Ryker having an argument.”
Lachlan’s mouth fell open. “Holy fuck.”
Merrick blinked. “Shit, Ari. How the hell…?”
Trace’s brows pulled together, a strange look passing over his face. I ignored it though, wanting to get out what I had to say.
“That’s not all. As they argued, I started to piece things together. The Gods’ Challenge is meant to kill off some of us. And the reason why they want us gone is because they didn’t give us this magic. They don’t know how humans are spontaneously developing power, but we’ve become a threat to the gods. At least some of them think so. Omari created the challenge to get rid of the strongest of us. The reason they did that instead of just killing us off outright is so they can keep the rest of the magical population appeased and in line. Omari wanted to get rid of us in secret so that they didn’t start a rebellion.”
Anger flashed across each of their faces, a reflection of the violent emotions that churned in my chest.
Merrick shook his head and put his hand out. “Wait. Then what does this Ryker god have to do with it? I thought he was against what Omari was doing.”
I nodded. “He is. I’m not saying he’s an ally, but he doesn’t like the fact that Omari is killing off humans. Apparently, there’s a good portion of the gods that don’t like it either. I don’t know how many people in the school are on Omari’s side, but this is why we’re here. They came up with this whole thing just to monitor ‘wild magic’ users and try to get rid of the strongest of us.”
Lachlan gritted his teeth. “Fuckin’ hell. I’ve never wanted to punch somebody straight in the face more than I do right now. That Omari, he deserves to get his arse whipped.”
I laughed humorlessly, but it turned into a choked noise as I remembered the end of my visit to the godly realm.
“There’s more. I fucked up. I used an invisibility cloaking spell while I was there so I could watch them. They started to move away from me and I wasn’t thinking—my mind was a fucking mess. I made a noise, and when Ryker glanced over, my cloaking spell had slipped. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but I know… I know Ryker saw me before I slipped through a portal back to the school.”
Merrick and Lachlan instantly reached out and grabbed my hands. The blond-haired mage looked absolutely terrified. “Did he follow you? Did anyone follow you?”
Lach shook his head. “Dammit. That’s it, sweetheart. Ye’re not leaving our sight. This could be really bad. We’ve got to figure out a way to keep ye safe if the gods follow ye here.”
Trace put up his hands, seeming to rouse from a stunned silence as he shook his head. “Hold on. Hold on just a second. You guys are missing one of the craziest parts of this. The most important thing we’ve learned.”
We all looked over at him, and I blinked. “What’s that?”
Trace stared at me for several moments before speaking. “We all use designated portals to travel to and from the godly realm, Snow. Even the messengers the gods sent arrived in the portal room. If you went to the godly realm on your own, that can only mean one thing.”
Lachlan dropped my hand, and so did Merrick. I looked back and forth between the three of them, my eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”
Merrick’s face was a mask of pure shock.
“Aria, you’re a god.”
To Be Continued…