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Gasping, I flailed for something to hold on to, but there was nothing there. Everything went wild and fuzzy in my vision, and I shut my eyes tightly. I felt like I was falling from a fucking skyscraper.
Suddenly, my feet landed again, and I stumbled, rolling across a hard floor. Very carefully, I opened my eyes. My equilibrium was slightly off, and I stumbled like a drunk, putting my hand up on the wall. Steadying myself, I stared at the wall beneath my palm, realizing that it wasn’t one of the normal stone walls within the school.
But it was familiar.
I was staring at one of the gleaming white walls of the gods’ palace.
Chapter Twenty-Four
/> I blinked hard.
What the fuck? How did I end up in the godly realm?
Shock flooded me, but there was no denying the truth right before my eyes. I could feel the cool marble wall against my hand, and everything was so white and sparkling it hurt my head. Somehow, some way, I was standing back in the palace.
The last thing I remembered was storming into my room after nearly killing Wesley.
What could have possibly thrown me straight back to where I needed to be?
Instantly, I began to think about all the ways I could’ve gotten here, but before I had a chance to organize my chaotic thoughts, voices met my ears.
My head shot up, and I realized for the first time how exposed I was. Drawing my magic to my palms, relishing being able to use it fully for once, I swirled it around me, creating a cloak that should hide me from any watchful eyes.
That is, if any of my magic will actually work on the gods themselves.
Panic filled me at that thought, and I darted down the hallway I had appeared in, slipping behind a large marble column a few yards away. As I peered around the column, two gods came barreling around the corner.
I froze in place as the one I recognized now as Omari stopped only a few feet from me. My heart skipped a beat, and I held my breath, hoping like hell they couldn’t see me.
The god with Omari was nearly as tall as the white-haired man was, and I assumed it must be Ryker. Not just because the power radiating from him seemed to match Omari’s, or come close to it anyway—but because he seemed furious with Omari, which fit what I’d heard from the gossiping gods while I had poured their wine.
Glancing around, I tried to get a bearing on where I was in the palace. It was obvious that I was far away from the court, possibly in a back area of the palace. I saw no other gods, and no servants, messengers, or concubines either.
“You need to step back, Ryker,” Omari boomed angrily. “We’ve had this discussion multiple times. We shall continue as we have been. This plan will work.”
Ryker slammed a fist against the wall, and I swore the whole palace shook. “You useless old fool. You’re wrong. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t approve of this, and I’m not the only one.”
Omari let out a noise like a growl and stormed off down the hallway before I could hear much more of what they were saying. I grabbed the cloak of illusion magic, pulling it tighter around me as I hurried after them.
They walked so fast and with such long strides that I practically had to run to keep up with them, and I moved carefully to keep my footsteps silent as I went.
I found them in an open air pavilion somewhere deep in the palace. There was a door that led out onto the pavilion, and I eased through it quickly and slid behind another pillar off to one side.
Ryker glanced up, but the door had already shut behind me. Still, his brows pulled together slightly, and my heart thudded against my ribs. Fuck, that was too close.
Shaking his head, the dark-haired god turned back to Omari. The two men were both staggeringly tall, but they were the opposite in almost every other way. While Omari had flowing white hair, Ryker’s was jet black. Ryker appeared younger as well, although I had no idea what that meant to gods.
“You’re wrong, Omari,” he ground out. “You’ve been wrong for far too long. I’m not afraid of you, and I’ll do everything I can to stop you.”
Omari scowled. “You have no solution, and you expect to rally followers behind you? I know how to handle new magic users. My tactics have been subtle and effective. The Gods’ Challenge is the perfect way to rid ourselves of those who grow too powerful, too fast. Those who present a threat to us.”
The other god spat on the ground, a gesture that was so un-godly that it took me aback. I barely collected my focus in time to hear his next words. “The only thing you’re afraid of is losing your power. You hold up the ‘threat’ of these wild magic users as a way to control your followers.”
Omari stepped forward, his voice lowering dangerously. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset about this, Ryker. You act as if these humans are your children. They’re not. They belong to none of us. We didn’t gift these humans their magical abilities. It was not in our control. Don’t you understand the danger in that? It. Shouldn’t. Be. It is against the laws of magic for ordinary humans to suddenly begin manifesting their own magic themselves. It’s a threat. A threat to all of us.”
What?
My throat tightened, and I put my hand to my stomach, feeling it flip-flop wildly. All the students at Magic Blessed were taught that the gods had given us our powers—it was one of the only pieces of magical lore and history we were taught. And it was a lie?
