Gift of the Gods (Magic Blessed Academy 1)

My pulse didn’t slow, even though I was no longer sprinting. I kept peering out into the hall, certain Dean Frost was about to come tearing around the corner to… do what?

What would she do if she knew what I’d heard?

A cold fear washed over me.

Well, I know murder isn’t out of the question.

That’s what she and Miss Avery had been talking about, after all. The cold-blooded murder of Magic Blessed students, covered up by the excitement and drama of the Gods’ Challenge.

My suspicions had been wrong.

There was something very, very wrong with the games. But I’d been overlooking the obvious in thinking it was a mistake. Shane and Brielle’s deaths had been purposeful.

It had been orchestrated by the gods themselves.

What the actual fuck?

I chewed a hole in my lip as I waited for the guys to get out of their final, and the second their class was over, I poked my head out of the small nook I was hiding in. I caught Merrick’s eye, and he stopped the other two. With a glance behind them, they hurried over, and I practically hauled them into the small space with me. It was probably dangerous to talk about this on school grounds at all, but I had to tell them.

“What’s up, Snow? If you wanted to get us all this close together, I could suggest more pleasant ways.” Trace grimaced as Lachlan elbowed him, trying to fit more of his large body into the small space. Then he caught sight of my expression, and his teasing tone dropped. “Wait, what’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“What is it, Ari?” Merrick’s voice was tight, worry creasing his features.

Fear and determination fought for dominance in my chest as I swallowed hard. As usual, determination won out. I might be scared shitless, but that wasn’t going to stop me.

“Do you guys have my back?” I whispered. “No matter what?”

“Always.”

Lachlan’s answer came without hesitation, and the other two nodded. For once, I believed it with my whole heart. It’d taken me a long time to get here, to trust three people unconditionally—and it was a good thing I did.

Because I was going to need their help.

“The Gods’ Challenge is rigged,” I said quietly, my hands clenching into fists. “It’s meant to kill students. I don’t know why or how, or if it’s always been like this, but I plan to find out. Next semester, I’m entering the Gods’ Challenge again, and I hope you guys will enter with me. The only place we’re gonna find answers is on the godly plane. We have to go back.”

The men’s faces froze. I could see them trying to make sense of what I’d said, and their faces slowly moved from shock to understanding to anger.

And finally, just as I had, they settled into grim determination.

“We’re with you, sweetheart,” Lachlan reiterated, nodding once. “Always.”

A small bubble of relief rose up through the morass of worry filling my chest. I wouldn’t be alone in this.

Lies and secrets infected the halls of Magic Blessed Academy, something much darker than I had ever imagined.

And it was time somebody dug up some answers.

To Be Continued…

Secret of the Gods, book two in the Magic Blessed Academy series, is coming soon!

Nothing is ever as it seems. Especially when it comes to the gods.

It’s official: there’s something super messed up about this school.

And I want to know what it is.

A smarter, saner woman would keep her nose out of it, turn a blind eye, and just focus on enjoying the three insanely hot men who’ve agreed to share her.