I was the only one who stood a chance.
No matter how powerful the other students and my men were, none of them held the power of the gods at their fingertips.
“Motherfucker. Aria, look out!”
Merrick’s yell made my head snap up, and cold fear washed through me. A new kind of magic was pouring from Omari’s hands, something that looked almost like a dark blue smoke. As I watched, the tendrils of it billowed up to the broad shield the men and I had created—then the smoke began to spread, creeping around the edges of the shield and drifting quickly toward us.
“Shit!”
I didn’t know what the smoke would do when it reached us, but given the power I could feel radiating from it, I didn’t care to find out. Dropping the shield entirely, I used my magic to create two long ropes, spinning them in front of me so fast that my dark hair floated around my head as if from a strong wind.
The ropes caught the smoke, pushing it away and dispersing it. But before it was even entirely gone, Omari was already summoning more magic. Most of the gods with him had gone outside to fight the others, and it occurred to me suddenly that my men and I were the only ones left to hold off the leader and his top cronies.
Super. If this is one of the “perks” of being a demigod, I want my money back.
Shoving away the thought, I yelled, “Cover me!”
All three of the men around me unleashed massive bursts of magic toward the gods. Trace’s little blue orbs swarmed a redheaded god’s face, making her shriek in dismay. In the chaos and confusion, I sprinted forward, simultaneously performing two spells at once.
With one hand, I sent out a burst of magic toward the floor in front of me, and with the other, I gathered all my power into a blade that protruded from my fist. During my training with the guys, I had realized that the closer I kept the magic to my core, to my center, the stronger I was able to make it. Whips or blasts of magic that I threw across the room could be powerful, but they would never match the strength of the magic that was an extension of myself.
And I needed all the extra strength I could get right now.
As I raced toward Omari, I pushed off hard with my back foot, leaping onto the ball of magic that I’d thrown at the floor. The thing worked like a springboard, launching me into the air, and I hurtled toward Omari, my fist raised and magic sparking along the magical blade that protruded from between my knuckles.
Omari’s eyes widened, and for the second time in my life, I saw a flash of fear cross over his face. Then he ducked to the side, moving with lightning speed.
He wasn’t quite fast enough.
My magic blade caught his arm, slicing cleanly across his bicep as I flew through the air. He hissed in pain, and I hit the ground hard a second later, rolling to absorb some of the momentum from my fall. By the time I scrambled to my feet and wheeled around, Omari was storming toward me.
Lachlan sent a blast of magic toward the god’s back, but Omari batted it away like it was nothing. Then the other god attacking Lach redoubled his efforts, forcing the Irishman to focus on him or be killed.
Omari thrust out a hand, sending more of the blue smoke toward me, and I threw myself away from the creeping tendrils.
I was too slow though. One tendril of smoke brushed against my face, seeping up my nostril. It felt like someone had poured flame directly into the inside of my skull, and I screamed in agony as the poisonous smoke continued to invade my body.
Then there was a loud crash, and suddenly, it stopped.
The burning pain in my head died as the smoke evaporated, and I coughed and choked, blinking watery eyes open to look up as a deep voice called across the destroyed entry room.
“Omari! End this. Now!”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ryker.
The god who had declared himself to be my father strode across the debris strewn room, looking more powerful and imposing than I had ever seen him in his rage.
For a terrified moment, I thought he was ordering Omari to end me, to bring a stop to the fighting by killing me. But then the dark-haired god’s gaze slid from his rival to me, and the expression I saw on his face made a dozen undefinable emotions crash through me.
He was worried.
Afraid for me.
And furious at the god who had attacked me.
“This ends now, old man!” Ryker shouted, his voice so loud and booming that I swore it rattled the stone walls almost as much as the blasts of magic had.