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“As good as you could expect, I guess. She’s terrified. It doesn’t help that they announced the Gods’ Challenge date this morning.”
Apparently, because there was no preliminary competition for us to go through, the admins had decided to move up the date of the challenge. We would all be entering the godly realm in just a few days.
“Aye.” Lach grimaced. “That was some kinda shite. I can’t believe no one else sees through this fuckery.”
“I’m sure moving it up is another way to sabotage us,” I murmured under my breath. “All the people who have been just going through the classes, not worrying about extra training are going to walk right in there and be the first ones to be picked off.”
The cafeteria was louder than ever as we made our way toward the table where Eden sat. Wesley was bragging in one corner of the large room, his voice cutting over the general hubbub. Plenty of people were gathered around him, hanging on every word he said and talking loudly about how well they expected to do in the competition. Others sat stone-faced, staring off in space and completely ignoring all the excited people around them.
I felt bad for them—both groups, honestly. They had no idea what was coming.
Lachlan and I sat down, and I nudged Eden with my shoulder. She glanced at us, then went back to eating her cereal. Or, more precisely, picking up a spoonful of cereal, staring off into space, and then dropping every last piece back into the bowl before doing it all over again.
Fuck. This is awful.
For a moment, I regretted telling her any of the stuff I’d learned about the Gods’ Challenge. Maybe if she didn’t know the gods actively wanted to kill us, she wouldn’t be so damn terrified of being forced to compete in their realm.
But isn’t it better that she does know? That she can at least be prepared?
I turned to my other side, leaning closer to Lach to speak near his ear. “There’s gotta be a way we can stop this. A way we can get people out of it.”
He sipped his coffee, glancing around, keeping an eye on everyone as he responded in a low voice. “I fuckin’ wish, lass. But I can’t think of anything. I’ve been thinkin’ about it all night, runnin’ it over with Merrick and Trace, but in the end, we had nothin’. If we refuse to go, all we’re doin’ is given’ them an easy excuse to exterminate us anyway.”
“Yeah.” I attacked my breakfast with a vengeance, taking out some of my frustration on my eggs. “I learned a long time ago that sometimes the only way to get out of a fight is to get through it. But this? This isn’t a fight. It’s an ambush. And nobody even knows it.”
Despite the worry that still burned in his eyes, Lach’s lips turned up in a devastating smile. “Ah, there’s the lass I know and love. I’m not surprised to hear ye say ye don’t back down from a fight.”
I laughed and leaned over to kiss him, but as my lips met his, an idea sparked in my mind. I froze, and he drew back a little, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Ye alright?”
“Yes.” I blinked, my mind still whirring. My chest squeezed with worry as I glanced at Eden again, but the idea was solidifying in my mind.
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It would be dangerous. Possibly even incredibly stupid.
But it might give us the only advantage we would have against the gods.
On the day of the challenge, Eden knocked on my door in the early afternoon. Even her knock seemed tentative, as if she hoped that I wouldn’t answer the door. That maybe we could skip this whole debacle, go raid the kitchen for comfort food, and pretend there was no such thing as the Gods’ Challenge.
When I opened the door, she was breathing heavily, her gray eyes a little too bright. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and a pair of green cargo pants were tucked into her black boots. She also wore an athletic shirt and a jacket.
“Is this too much?” She pulled at her shirt nervously.
I shook my head. “No, it’s smart. I never knew what the challenge was going to be like. The last two times I’ve done it, it’s been hot, but that just means we’re in for a change, I guess. And you can always take layers off if you need to. It’s perfect.”
She seemed pleased with that answer, and the two of us stepped into the hall, joining the rest of the students as they headed out of the school and across the lawn to The Hill.
As if drawn to me by some kind of magnetic force, Lachlan, Trace, and Merrick found me in the throng, gathering tightly around me as we neared the top of the slope and stepped onto the pavilion.
“You ready for this?” Merrick asked. I had told all three of the men my plan, and although none of them were a hundred percent on board with it, they had at least agreed that there were no other options.
“Yeah.” I squeezed his hand as Eden looked up, shooting me a sharp look.
“Ready for what?” she asked, worry infusing her tone.
I hadn’t shared my plan with her, mostly because I’d been worried it would freak her out more. But she was practically vibrating with anxious energy, and I didn’t want to risk making her head explode.
