Wrath of the Gods (Magic Blessed Academy 3)

But worry was eating a hole in my stomach lining, and not even a good, long fuck would solve the problems we were facing. So before things could progress any more, we all climbed out of bed, got dressed, and went downstairs.

The first order of business was to check on our prisoners. Dean Frost was practically spitting with anger, and I gave her a heftier dose of the knockout spell before shifting my gaze to Miss Avery and the others. None of them seemed to want to share her fate, because they all hung back, watching me with wary eyes.

Okay. So Frost was definitely the leader of this

operation.

It made me hate the woman even more, something I hadn’t thought was even possible. But it was good, in a way. As long as we kept her out of commission, the odds of the others trying anything stupid were much lower.

I instructed another student to go get some food and bring it back to the makeshift holding cell, then asked a second-year guy named Mitch to set up a watch rotation so we could keep eyes on the dean and her lackeys at all times.

Only when Mitch scampered off to do as I’d instructed did it occur to me that, whether I had ever wanted this or not, I had become the de facto leader of the remaining students at Magic Blessed.

The thought made my stomach pitch, a combination of nerves and distaste rising inside me. This wasn’t what I had ever wanted. I wasn’t the kind of person who craved a leadership role, who wanted to be in charge. But I was the kind of person who liked to get shit done, and who hated to see bullies win—so if this was what it took to make that happen, then so be it.

We had lost almost twenty people to the carnage of the Gods’ Challenge, and another dozen hadn’t returned from the godly realm when the game ended. Wesley was among that group, and I cringed a little to think of his body rotting on the ground somewhere in the desert or the dry forest of the playing area.

The majority of us had made it back alive though, and that was what I needed to focus on now.

In the mid-morning, about thirty students met in a large training room on the first floor. I noticed that Eden and Nadia were right up at the front, and I felt a flash of pride for my friend. Eden was sweet and bubbly, a pacifist if there ever was one. But even she was ready to step up to a leadership role in this fight.

“Okay,” I said once everyone was mostly settled. A lot of students were still recovering from the Gods’ Challenge, and we had lost nearly forty people yesterday. “We know where the shield came from now. And we know that unfortunately, it won’t hold forever.”

A ripple moved through the crowd around me, murmurs and panicked whispers filling the space.

“But,” I continued, plowing ahead, “it gives us time to prepare. Time to get as ready for this fight as we can possibly be. You all are here because you know something bad is coming, because you understand that the gods want to wipe us out. There are a lot of students at this school who are still scared to admit that. So the way I see it, every moment from now until the shield breaks down, we need to be focusing on two things. One: training. Two: convincing anyone who’s still on the fence that, as shitty as it may be, this is our best chance. I sure as hell wish we had a better set of options, but right now, it’s looking like our two choices are fight or roll over and die. And I know which one I choose. Every damn time.”

“Agreed.” Eden stepped forward, catching my gaze and giving me a small, encouraging smile before turning to face the others. “I say Aria should be in charge of training us. She’s the strongest magic user here, and she’s faced off against the gods more than any of us. Professors who are willing to actually start teaching us instead of just trying to hold us back can help us with magical theory and stuff. And we should start thinking about the strategic entry and exit points of the school building. If it comes down to a fight, we’ll want to know where our weak spots are.”

I shot her a look, impressed.

Eden had seriously changed since the first day I’d met her, and I was proud as fuck to call her my friend.

The other students all nodded and murmured their agreement, and I saw Lachlan shoot me a wink. Then the burly Irishman stepped forward, rubbing his hands together as a feral smile broke out on his face. “Then what the fuck are we waitin’ for? Let’s get ready to kick some godly arse.”

The next week and a half seemed to simultaneously drag and fly by.

Every day was packed full of training and preparation, arguments with other students who were still resistant to the idea that the gods would betray us, and strategy sessions with the small group who had stepped up to lead.

By the time my head hit the pillow every night, it felt like I might fall asleep and never wake up. And yet, every morning I was jolted awake by a fresh wave of worry that today would be the day Ryker’s shield gave out. Today would be the day the gods came for us.

We resumed “classes” in a sense, but first, we threw out the entire curriculum. Instead of the half-assed lessons we had been taught before, the few professors who had solidly sided with us—Professor Wist among them—pushed us to our limits, stretching our powers and abilities in ways we had never experienced before.

Holy shit, I thought to myself on the tenth day of our training as I watched Eden and Mitch spar in the middle of the large classroom. What would it have been like if our training had been like this from day one? How powerful would we all be now?

I had seen all of my classmates, and even the three men I’d fallen in love with, improve dramatically in their skills since we’d all started training hard. Even I was improving, and now that I was no longer holding back at all, the scope of my powers was obvious to everyone around me.

Students looked at me with awe when I passed them in the hall, but at least the mistrust had begun to fade from their eyes. More and more of students who had been on the fence or unwilling to commit to a fight had started showing up to our training sessions, and it felt good to see the school’s student population coming together as a mostly united force.

I’d considered keeping part of what Ryker had told me a secret—namely, the fact that I was his daughter and part god.

But I was sick of secrets, and I had known there would be no way to disguise my power if I truly trained as hard as I could. People could judge me or hate me or fear me or do whatever the hell else they wanted, but I wasn’t holding back anymore. I was going to use the full force of the power available to me to protect my school.

Eden and Mitch finished their fight, both breathing heavily but looking pleased with themselves, and everyone broke up to head to dinner.

“You coming?” Eden nudged me, swiping her sweat dampened hair away from her face. “I want you to give me some pointers on that trick you do where you use your magic like a springboard, to launch yourself into a jump.”

I grinned. “Not something I ever would’ve thought I’d hear you say.”