So far, none of us had gotten what we wanted.
And summer break was blowing by way too fast. We’d need to head back to school soon, and I didn’t want to step foot through the doors of Magic Blessed Academy until I knew I had a handle on my powers.
After the insane last few days of the spring semester, the guys and I had been eager as fuck to leave the isolated grounds of the school. We’d headed to Boston, not even debating or questioning whether we would all stick together for the break.
Of course we would. The guys had my back, and I had theirs. We’d danced around the thing between us long enough, and I could finally admit to myself how much I needed them. The relationship we’d developed was real and solid, and I trusted these three men more than anyone in the world.
Merrick had rented a house on the outskirts of the city, with a big open field out back and lots of privacy. We had spent some time with Lachlan’s biker club, letting them meet the other guys. But mostly, my boyfriends had sat around and watched me transport from here to the godly realm and back over and over and over again. Sometimes, I would come back completely fine, just a little bit disoriented. Other times, I would come back to earth beat up, scraped up, or half-conscious.
They never knew what they were gonna get when I popped out of the ether into the living room.
Lachlan stood up, stretching out his shoulders. The fabric of his t-shirt strained over the muscles of his chest and biceps. He was the biggest of the three men, built like a truck with a fighting spirit to match. I fucking loved it.
“Well, I’m makin’ an executive decision. It’s time for a wee break. If ye don’t take a bit of time off, ye’re goin’ to run yerself ragged. And we’d like to keep ye alive, sweetheart. My cock would never forgive me if I let ye go.”
“Aw, Lach. You’re such a sweet talker.” I grinned, sticking my tongue out at him. He knew I liked dirty talk, and I could hear the worry buried underneath his joking words. “Yeah, okay.” I nodded. “I’ll take a break.”
“Good.” He strode over and pulled me to my feet. “First, we’re gettin’ some food in ye. Then we’ll go out. I got word from some of the blokes from school that there’s a gatherin’ of magical people—not just from Magic Blessed, but from the wider magical community—about twenty miles outside the city. I figured we’d go check it out. If we hate it, we can fuck off and come back here.”
I shrugged. Anything to lighten my mood or give me motivation. “Sure. I’m down.”
Merrick pursed his lips. He came from a business background, and he was usually the most serious of the three men, the most cautious. But after a moment of consideration, he shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Why not? It’ll be one of the few times we’ve actually done anything this summer.”
I made a face. “Hey, I’ll have you know I did a lot this summer.”
“I know.” He pulled me up from the couch, wrapping his arms around me and gesturing with his chin to the other two men. “I meant us. We’ve just been sitting around waiting for you, wondering if you were going to come back piece by piece, or one whole body.”
“Ooh. You like my body all in one piece?” I waggled my eyebrows and ran my fingers down the strong muscles of his back, infusing my voice with dirty innuendo.
But Merrick’s face remained serious, his eyes shining like twin flames as he tightened his hold on me. “I like you in one piece.”
I let him pull me in for a kiss, feeling Trace come to stand behind me as my tongue tangled with Merrick’s, my fingers sliding through his white-blond hair. As Trace’s lips found the back of my neck, brushing my hair aside, I melted into their touch.
Still, I couldn’t stop a tiny part of my mind from floating back to the fight I’d had with the rhino-bull in the godly realm. It’d been a much more even match than it would’ve been a few months ago.
But if I’m truly a god, shouldn’t I be more powerful?
After Lach cooked and the guys excitedly watched me eat an entire steak, we all headed out to the SUV Trace had rented and drove over to the event.
It was on the outskirts of Bos
ton, on an old fairground. It had the atmosphere of a fair too, except that I didn’t see any regular humans around. Everyone we passed by had the telltale glowing aura that identified them as a magic user. I was so used to it that I barely ever noticed it on the guys or my friends from school anymore, but when looking at a magic user and non-magic user side by side, the aura would become glaringly apparent.
The four of us made our way through the crowd, glancing around at the sights as we passed. There were games and food, and I could see bursts of light emanating from the crowd as people used their powers.
It’s like some sort of magic carnival.
As we moved toward the back of the crowd, my feet slowed, and I put my hand out stopping the guys. “Is that… a shrine?”
Merrick lifted an eyebrow. “Huh. Yeah. I think it is.”
A spark of fury lit in my belly, and I cast my gaze around at the crowd again. “Fucking hell. All these magical users—they have no idea. Even the ones who don’t serve the gods still worship them. And the gods think we’re all shit beneath their boots. It makes me so fucking pissed.”
Trace draped an arm around my shoulder, his warm, rich scent teasing my nostrils. “It’s interesting to me. Humans can be the same way… except it’s not always about their gods. There were fans of mine when I was touring with the band who would build shrines to me. They’d put all kinds of shit on it, and people would visit it, cry over it.” His words could’ve sounded boastful, but instead, he just sounded bemused. “People are so fucking weird. They didn’t even know me. Just like the gods, I could’ve been some psychopath.”
Lachlan sighed. “Personally, I feel sorry for these fuckers. They don’t even know what they’re praying to.”
My jaw tightened, and I leaned into Trace’s comforting touch, trying to let it soothe the rage bubbling up inside me. I couldn’t even decide who I was mad at, the gods or the fools who worshiped them.