Secret of the Gods (Magic Blessed Academy 2)

As we sat around the fire, chewing our rations as slow as possible to make them last, a strange sense of peace settled over me. Yes, I was in a deadly and threatening realm where the gods ruled. Yes, those same gods seemed determined to kill at least a portion of the people they blessed with magic, for unknown reasons. Yes, I was exhausted and still hungry.

But I was with my men.

Firelight reflected off their faces, each so different and yet so breathtakingly stunning. Sometimes it was impossible to believe that a year ago, the only one of them I had known was Merrick—and I’d been dead set on avoiding him, terrified of the feelings he elicited in me.

Now, my life was completely different. It didn’t resemble my old life in any way.

Well, except for the fighting. Maybe that part will never change.

As if Merrick could read my mind, he polished off the last bite of his rations and brushed off his hands, leaning back against a large boulder on the cave floor. “I have to say, if you’d asked me a couple years ago where I thought my life would lead me, I wouldn’t have predicted this. Not even close.”

Trace huffed a breath. “Same.”

Lachlan and I murmured our agreement, although none of us sounded bitter about it. I knew I wasn’t.

Merrick’s gaze moved around our little circle. “When you all manifested your magic, how did your friends feel about it?”

I shrugged, shifting to the side to lean my head against Trace’s shoulder. Lachlan, never one to be left out, scooted closer on my other side, and I rested my hand in his lap, threading my fingers with his.

“I really never had that many friends,” I admitted. Then I squeezed Lachlan’s hand. “But I do know that Lach lucked out. Over the break, I got to meet the guys in his motorcycle club, and they were super accepting. They asked a question here and there, but they didn’t act any differently toward me or him. My trainer at the fight ring couldn’t even look me in the godsdamn eyes after he found out I was a magic user.”

From the looks on the other two men’s faces, they hadn’t had the same good luck. Trace turned his head slightly, pressing a kiss to my hair. It was such a simple, unconscious gesture of affection that it made my heart squeeze.

“I thought everything would be fine at first,” he said quietly. “Especially given the kind of people that I was around. But as soon as my bandmates, or my former bandmates now, found out about it, they got really standoffish to me. It was the same with most people I told. It was awkward as fuck, and they all told me they felt for me, didn’t know what to say, or told me they’d be there for me… and then I never heard from them again. Shitty as hell.”

Lachlan glanced across the fire at Merrick. “What about ye? Ye still got people that back ye up?”

Merrick gave a wry smile, shaking his head. “Besides you guys? No. Most of my old friends and acquaintances, honestly, don’t even know. When I found out about it, I was too afraid to find out what their reactions would be. Most of the people in my circle were people I’d known my whole life, and I wasn’t prepared to face the possibility that they would turn on me. So when Oberon and his team showed up to collect me, I asked if I could go with them immediately. They had to pull some strings to get me into the academy ahead of the semester start, but it kept me from revealing my new magic to my friends and family. Oberon was happy with that. I think the fewer people who know, the happier the school admins are. At least, the fewer non-magical people who know.”

“Yeah.” I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the chilly air in the cave. The fire was beginning to warm the space, but it couldn’t banish the trickle of fear that ran down my spine. “There are so many secrets and half-truths that surround Magic Blessed. I fucking hate it.”

“Same.” Trace grunted.

“What about you, Ari?” Merrick’s voice was soft, and when I looked up, my gaze caught on his. The firelight danced in his eyes, making the amber hue of his irises shine as if the flame burned inside them.

Apparently, my initial attempt to shift focus to Lachlan and his club instead of going into my whole story hadn’t worked. I should’ve known. These men knew me way too well by now.

“Well.” I shrugged, laughing lightly, even though my chest tightened a little. “I think I still have you guys all beat. Sure, none of your friends know because you didn’t tell them. But none of my friends know or flipped out about me developing magic because I never really had any good friends to begin with. Besides Vin and the other guys from the fight ring, and none of them dealt with it well.”

Lachlan made a low noise in his throat, like a wolf growling a warning, and I had a sudden suspicion that if Vin were here right now, all three of the men would have some choice words for him. I grinned a little in spite of myself, then glanced at the blond man across the fire again.

“It’s okay. I’m a big girl, I can take it. And it was mostly my fault. Merrick knows. I’ve never been a person you’d describe as friendly. I guess I kinda just push people away because it’s easier that way. I know what it feels like to lose somebody you love, and I know what kind of effect it has on you for the rest of your life. I guess somewhere in my brain, that turned into a mantra that I started to live by. A belief that I was better off alone.”

Silence fell as my words died, covering the cave like a blanket. I shifted uncomfortably, not liking this feeling of being laid bare. I had no fucking problem with nudity, and would’ve happily stripped down in front of any—or all—of these men. But peeling away the layers of my carefully constructed facade was terrifying. I was letting them see me. All of me.

The men all glanced around the fire at each other, and no one said a word at first. Finally, Merrick spoke up.

“Yeah, you were kind of a bitch back when I knew you in Boston. Still are.” He grinned. “A stone cold bitch—and I fucking love that about you.”

“A-fuckin’-men,” Lachlan said.

His laugh vibrated through the connection between us, and Trace reached an arm around my waist to tug me a little closer to him.

“We like you just the way you are, Snow. You’re a badass.”

Warmth ballooned in my chest, and a strange feeling, almost like butterflies, filled my stomach.

These men knew me better than anyone I’d ever known. Better than I’d ever allowed anyone to know me before. And they liked me for exactly who I was.