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Even though my blood felt like water, I kept my head high and my shoulders back. As the last one stepped through the portal, I counted ten imposing figures. Their raw power was almost overwhelming, and I could see a ripple in the crowd as they began to walk toward the podium, people shrinking back from the sight of them. They were majestic and terrifying, and far too perfect to belong to our world.
One of the gods, a bit older than the others with long white hair, gazed up at me.
“We have heard your call, human. And we have come to answer. The gods of the godly realm, creators of all magic and all things magical, agree to accept your challenge.” He smiled, spreading his arms as he scanned the crowd, looking for all the world like a king surveying his domain. “Due to the enormity of this challenge, the great leader of the gods himself, Omari, has come to negotiate.”
I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to hurl taunts at him. While everybody else was in awe of his stature and power, I had seen another side of him. I knew just how much of a coward he really was—that he was afraid of wild magic users like us.
But I also knew that fear made him dangerous.
Don’t poke the bear any more than you already are, Ari.
To his right, the god named Ryker stepped forward.
I recognized him immediately, and the sight of his angular features and raven-black hair made a thrill of fear run through me.
Omari scared me because of the conviction he had that wild magic users should be eliminated, violently if necessary. But Ryker scared me for a whole different set of reasons, not least of which was the fact that he had seen me sneaking around the godly realm last semester.
Did he recognize me from that moment? He’d only gotten a quick glance at me before I’d disappeared. I wasn’t even sure he had been able to see my face.
When he looked at me, his expression was inscrutable. It made me want to stare back at him, to dissect every micro-expression on his face, to try to pry off the lid and see what was hidden underneath. But instead, I quickly looked away. Even as my gaze left him though, I had a feeling he was still staring at me.
Trying to regain my footing, I looked back at Omari. The fucker was laughing.
Heat burned through me—the kind of anger that fueled my aggression in fights where my opponent had bragged about me being an easy win because I was a girl.
Fuck that shit.
“I find it hard to believe there’s humor in this situation,” I said, acid dripping from my voice, which was still magically amplified.
Omari dropped his head, his bright eyes finding mine. “I find humor in everything. Even you
r lack of intelligence.”
I gripped my fists tightly and clenched my jaw, trying to keep my cool. He was an asshole. Cocky and self-assured to the point to where it was going to make me reckless. The kind of pompous dickbag that needed a good punch to the face and a swift kick in the ass.
Fucking coward. I know you fear wild magic. Yet standing here on this pavilion, you act like we’re tiny insects and you’re ready to crush us to bits.
Omari just smiled more widely, looking around at the gathered crowd. “We welcome the challenge from strong new magical users. Don’t be too hard on this young lady, and don’t blame her for this. She just wants to show us just how powerful you all really are. It’s spirited, I’ll give you that.”
Wesley and a few other students actually preened at hearing the god call them powerful, and I had to choke back the bile that rose in my throat. Omari might act like he was impressed with us, but I knew better than that. I knew he had every intention of annihilating each person standing on the pavilion under the guise of his stupid fucking “competition.”
I cleared my throat. “Well? Are we going to negotiate? What are your terms?”
Omari spun around with his eyebrows raised, a broad, almost genial smile curving his lips. “Of course. As you demanded, we will meet your challenge. Each student’s goal will still be to find the gem hidden somewhere in the playing area. And we, the gods, will simply try to stop you from retrieving it.”
I wanted to look at the guys, but I kept my gaze firmly on Omari. All it would take would be a small flicker of the eyelid, a flinch, to show my fear—and I refused to give him that.
“So instead of meeting the monsters in the arena that you normally send us, we’ll be going up against you and your brethren,” I said. “Do we have your word that you will not send extra threats our way?”
Omari nodded, an emotion I couldn’t identify burning in his eyes. “Just us against you. Is it a deal?”
My heart thudded unevenly in my chest. I was half expecting Dean Frost to raise an objection, or someone in the crowd to yell out a denial. But no one spoke. So I dipped my chin once in a solemn nod. “It’s a deal.”
Omari’s features flickered again. Fuck, I wish I knew what he was thinking.
I had put him off-balance. I could tell that much, at least. The gods hadn’t expected this challenge to be thrown down, but since it had been, they’d been compelled to respond. But whether it ultimately favored us or them? Well, that remained to be seen.
“It’s settled then,” the white-haired god intoned. He shifted his gaze to the dean. “There will be a slight delay of a few days so that everyone may prepare for their new challenge.” His gaze found mine again, and I swore his next words were meant only for me. “I look forward to facing you on the battlefield.”
