Trace shook his head. “I don’t know the names, but it’s clear that there’s a hierarchy amongst the gods. That one must be incredibly powerful. He seems almost like some sort of leader to everyone else.”
With my face hidden in the sea of mages, I watched as the god barked orders, made sweeping, languid gestures, and seemed to dominate the other gods. To his right was a small group, all looking at him with admiration and love. But not all the gathered gods seemed to feel that way. Others seemed to dislike him. They still obeyed his orders, but there was a sullenness to their expressions as they looked at him. It was obvious that they followed him out of fear, not out of admiration.
Huh. Interesting.
I hadn’t expected the gods to be plagued with the same sort of petty jockeying for power that humans dealt with on a daily basis. But apparently, some things were universal.
The entire room looked almost like an enormous beehive. The gold robes of the gods glistened while messengers dressed in blue robes circulated throughout the court, serving the gods whatever they needed. There was wine and food everywhere, and the laughter and voices of the gods echoed through the chamber.
This place is so huge. We need to poke around and get the fuck out quick, before we get caught.
I turned to the guys, keeping half of my attention on the room around us.
“I don’t want to do this,” I muttered in a low voice. “But I think that we need to split up. This place is way bigger than I expected, and we can’t waste time or risk drawing attention sneaking around as a group. If we spread out through the crowd, we may be able to learn something about Magic Blessed Academy, why the gods started creating new magic users, and why they’re trying to kill some of us off. We’ll meet back up here in an hour, and if anything goes wrong, just bail and wait for the rest of us on the hill outside the city.”
Merrick took in a deep breath, and for the first time, he looked nervous. “Are you sure about this, Ari?”
His amber eyes burned with emotions I was too terrified to name, but I felt them down to my very core. My heart gave a little squeeze in my chest, and I reached out to catch his hand before dropping it quickly.
“Yes. But be safe. No matter what else, be fucking safe. If anything goes wrong, or you’re worried someone is on to you, just get out. Don’t be a hero.” I glanced at the other two men. “That goes for you too.”
Very carefully, I clasped hands with Lachlan and Trace too, and then the four of us turned away from each other and split off. I kept my head down, wandering through the crowds to the side of the large court, trying to hear what the leader was talking about. Slowly, I drifted closer to his raised dais, trying to look like I had a purpose for being there. I was almost near enough to hear what he was saying when someone grabbed my arm.
My head whipped up, and my gaze caught on one of the gods, a rather unattractive man with wavy brown hair and broad shoulders. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and shook his head, pulling me along behind him. “Woman, what are you doing in here? We’ve been waiting for you. The palace is not meant for concubines to wander freely.”
He tossed me into a smaller room, coming in behind me and closing the door as I stumbled and caught my balance. The space was smaller than the main court, but it was still large. Half a dozen other human women, all scantily dressed, moved about the space, carrying trays of cheese and other strange looking foods. They all glanced over at me curiously and then back to the gods in the room.
Motherfucker. The god had mistaken me for one of these concubines. Anger began to rise in my throat, the urge to kick someone’s ass building inside me. I hadn’t signed up to be some god’s plaything. I stepped forward, ready to fight my way out of the room if need be. I wasn’t going to betray the three men who had risked their lives to help me get here by fucking some god.
But before I could do or say anything, the gods behind me began to talk.
“Omari is in fine form today, I see,” one of them drawled.
His friend, a god with features so sharp they looked deadly, pulled his lips back
in a sneer. “It’s ridiculous. We are all supposed to be leaders, yet he amasses more and more power, luring others to his side with empty promises.”
My ears pricked. I had no idea who this Omari guy was, but I could hazard a guess that he might be the one who’d been sitting on that almost throne-like chair in the large court. Did other gods oppose his rule? How had he risen to power? What was he promising?
Suddenly, I was no longer in a hurry to leave the room.
Several of the gods at the edges of the room had women draped over them, and soft sighs and low, wet noises reached my ears. I swallowed back my disgust. Hey, I liked sex as much as the next girl, but I wasn’t really into prostituting myself for the gods’ pleasure.
But I couldn’t leave yet.
Some girls were just serving food and drink though, and I could definitely do that. Quickly, I shucked the robe I had stolen, along with my boots, pants, and shirt. When I was left in nothing but my bra and panties, I stuffed my clothes behind a screen in the corner.
As I stepped out from behind the screen, a few of the other girls glanced at me again, giving me odd looks. The gods, however, the ones I was actually worried about, paid zero attention to me. Keeping my ears open, I grabbed a pitcher from a small serving table and began filling cups as I walked closer to the men who were speaking to each other in low voices.
“Our fearless leader,” the brown-haired god said sarcastically. “Although I don’t remember agreeing to let him lead.”
Another one of the gods let out a low laugh. “You’re not the only one, Cassius. Ryker chafes at Omari’s ‘leadership’ more every day.”
“Personally, I don’t care who holds the chair, but all of this unrest is causing strife between the factions,” Cassius replied. “We can’t afford to be splintered and divided. We’re facing a grave threat, and this discord is only holding us back from reaching any solution.”
My mind was completely wrapped up in what the gods are saying, curiosity burning through me. Still clutching my pitcher, I stepped closer, wanting to hear everything they had to say.
A solution to what? What is the problem?