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Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, I leaned toward her. “So, I’ve given this a lot of thought. And I don’t think we have any other choice. The gods want to kill us, and this is how they’re gonna try to do it. So I’m going to call them out.”
Eden’s eyes widened, a squeak falling from her lips. “Wait, did you just say you’re going to call them out? As in, reveal that you know the truth? As in, let it all fly to the whole school?”
I pursed my lips against the smile that tugged at them. Eden was scared shitless, and she wouldn’t appreciate me laughing at her. But her way of summarizing my plan made it sound like I was planning on stealing the gods’ underpants and stringing them up the flagpole.
“Yeah,” I told her. “Basically. We can’t stop this, and we can’t fight it. So what we need to do is change the game.”
By the time everyone had gathered on the pavilion, my heart was thumping hard in my chest, adrenaline surging through my veins. I was nervous, but ready.
Or as ready as I was ever gonna be anyway.
Dean Frost stepped up onto a small platform at one end of the pavilion.
“Welcome, students, to the Gods’ Challenge,” she said with a dramatic flair.
The entire crowd was almost silent. A few idiots and assholes cheered, but most people were too were scared out of their minds to do more than watch her quietly as she continued.
“Every semester, we hold these challenges as a way of rewarding our best students and honoring the gods who granted us our magic. The challenge is not only sacred, but a valuable opportunity to use your magic in a real-world scenario. Today…”
“Ready?” Lach murmured to me as the dean continued to drone on.
Licking my lips, I nodded.
He joined Trace and Merrick in elbowing students out of the way, leading me up toward the podium where Dean Frost stood. I walked halfway up the steps to the small stage, and Trace raised his hand, sending a small burst of magic toward me.
I felt it hit my throat, and a little tingle spread over my skin as I cleared my throat, the sound rising up over the large crowd of gathered students. The guys all stood at the base of the stairs, their gazes cutting back and forth between me and the audience. I knew they were ready to jump to my defense at any moment if needed.
Dean Frost broke off, turning to stare at me with narrowed eyes. “What are you doing, Miss Banks?”
“I don’t mean to interrupt you, Dean Frost,” I said, my magically amplified voice seeming to fill the air. “But I believe what I have to say is extremely important.” I turned to face the crowd. “This is for all of you—for those that have never been here before, and for those who are unaware of what’s going on around them. This is also for the gods themselves, if they’re even listening.”
By now, everyone in the place had gone silent. I couldn’t even hear an echo of a whisper or cry. They were all staring at me, wondering what in the world I was talking about.
Hell, I didn’t really blame them. Most of them hated me, and the rest barely even knew who I was. Winning the Gods’ Challenge had gained me a bit of notoriety at first, but after Wesley won last semester, he’d sucked up the spotlight, reveling in the attention and jealousy of the other students.
But it didn’t matter. They didn’t need to like me to listen to me.
“They took away the qualifiers from all of us,” I said, speaking quickly before Dean Frost could have me physically hauled away from the stage. “They’ve required that every single one of us march into the godly realm today. Am I the only one who finds that unfair? Am I the only one who looks around at those who never had any intention of fighting and wonders how they’ll stand a chance in that wild, dangerous place? Does anyone else think this whole situation is lopsided? Leading a group of magical students into a realm full of creatures and threats that could kill us?”
There was a murmur among the gathered students. Wesley and his hangers-on were glaring at me, but some of the other kids were nodding fervently.
“I’m going to have to ask you to resume your place, Aria,” the dean snapped as she gestured to the crowd, her voice echoing across the pavilion.
I ignored her, lifting my chin and spreading my arms. “The entire school has been commanded to participate in the Gods’ Challenge. And here we all are, ready to compete. But if we’re going to be challenged by the gods themselves, the competition should be against the gods themselves, not their creations.” My heart slammed against my ribs as I curled my hands into fists. “So if any gods are listening, hear this: fight us yourselves, you fucking cowards.”
As the words left my mouth, a wave of silence washed over the pavilion, as if every bit of oxygen had been sucked from the atmosphere.
Then a loud crack split the air.
Chapter Eight
The air in front of us seemed to split in half.
It was like a portal, only there were no swirling magic sparks—just a rift in the ether, right there in front of all of us. It was a big rift, allowing a cadre of gods to emerge out onto the field. They stepped through, and the gathered students drew back instantly, bodies squishing together as they all crowded away from the gods in their midst.
My stomach twisted so violently I thought I might throw up. But there was no backing out of this now.
I’d thrown the gauntlet down, and the gods had heard me.
