Page 101 of The Blood of Gods and Monsters

“Kiera.” Ruen’s hand comes down on my shoulder, disrupting the memory and pulling me back to reality. My eyes pop open and I’m met with the dark burning blue flames that are his irises. “Are you okay?”

I jerk my head in a nod even though I’m not entirely sure why I reacted so viscerally. “I’m fine,” I say, hoping the words aren’t a lie. “I think we need to leave the Academy.”

Fine lines bracket Ruen’s lips, but he doesn’t immediately refute my words. That, in itself, is telling. “Where would we go?” he asks.

I consider it. We could go to the Hinterlands—it’s truly the only place known that the Gods wouldn’t go to. As far as I’m aware, no one truly knows why the Gods never went into the dark woods that make up the ancient forest, but I’m grateful for the fact now. It gives us at least somewhere as a safe haven while we figure out the rest.

I open my mouth to make the suggestion when the sharp toll of the Academy’s bell tower chimes. The sound reverberates through the empty classroom, echoing through the windows on the far side and slipping through the cracks in the door as if it’s a living thing. A beat passes and then the sound of doors opening in the corridor beyond reaches us. Students talking. Footsteps approaching and passing by.

Midnight eyes meet my own. “The arena,” he states flatly.

My breath catches in my throat.

The Gods have already made their decision.

Chapter 43

Theos

Sweat slicks over my spine as the stands of the arena fill, bodies crushing together, the scent of dread mixed with excitement. The Gods have called us all here for a reason and as those of the academies fear them, they, too, also worship their sires.

Not everyone, though. Not my brothers or me. Not Kiera.

I turn my head, seeking her out amongst the crowd, but I don’t yet see her.

“There are no Terra.” Kalix’s low voice is nearly drowned out by the chattering of classmates and Lower Gods, but I hear it.

“What are you talking about?” I glance his way and then gesture to the front of the arena, the head Terra, Dauphine and Hael, are both present. Their dull features are prominent in the sea of Divine Beings and Divine offspring that surround them where they’re both positioned on either side of the U-shaped ring of the stands.

I lift my arm and gesture towards them. “Look, there they…” I drift off, though, because another pass around the area reveals that, other than the two head Terra, there are no servant Terra in the vicinity. None standing alongside their Mortal God wards. None with offerings of extra cushions or drinks. Just those two, their backs ramrod straight and their faces drawn and pale as if they aren’t servants but sentinels standing guard before prisoners being led to the gallows. I lower my arm back to my side.

“We have not been summoned here for battle.”

I’m not so sure he’s right about that, but in terms of Academy normalcy, I doubt that today is a day for the sands to be drenched in Mortal God upon Mortal God bloodshed. Battle, however, can have different meanings.

The sight of a familiar head of silver hair being led by an equally familiar head of dark hair through the throngs of people gives me a modicum of comfort. The sight of Kiera’s face with dark circles mimicking the shade of bruises beneath her eyes and the jut of her chin, forced up and forward as if she’s trying to maintain a careful facade of calm destroys my relief. My lingering rage towards her abates, though not gone, I can tamp it down and compartmentalize it now that we’re faced with a monster none of us truly knows how to handle.

Put swords in our hands and give us an opponent and we can take it down. But this? This collection of dire circumstances with Gods and their presence constantly watching us as we struggle and try to hide away secrets that will get us killed should they be revealed … this is too much. They’ve brought us here for something, and though I don’t believe all Gods are truly cruel, too many of them are complicit in the cruelties of their brethren. Even—as much as I hate to admit it—Caedmon.

Ruen and Kiera join us where we usually sit. Neither of them say anything. Kalix and I shuffle and allow them to take their places to our left with Kiera on the inside and Ruen guarding her other side. Trained though she might be, the protective instinct we feel toward her will not abate and it’s more natural to take up positions as knights might around a Queen of old. An action we can’t seem to help nor, does it appear, that any of us want to change.

I scan the arena and the stands further as the students settle into their seats and the patience of the Gods begins to wane. In a sudden rush, silence descends upon the crowds as Tryphone takes a step towards the lip of the Gods’ balcony and lifts a hand out, palm up and facing the rest of us. Dolos hovers to his side, the shroud of darkness that converges upon his unseen body rippling in what I have always assumed are visual representations of his emotions.

What is he feeling now? I wonder. Fear for the God King or anticipation?

My stomach churns with unease and I lean my head to the side before crossing my arms over my chest. Turning my body the slightest degree, the heat of the body next to me—Kiera’s—permeates the fabric of my clothes and delves into my flesh.

The God King’s power surges out, pressing into not just me, but those surrounding our little party as well. The sensation of weight upon our shoulders is felt in mass waves. Grinding my jaw, I remain steadfast in my determination to keep my head up and my eyes forward.

In my periphery, there are plenty of students who gag and cry out. Some even slump over where they sit, passing out at the heaviness of his presence and power.

What the fuck is this? I want to demand. A ploy to remind us who’s in charge?

Without shifting my head, I continue my perusal of the arena. I see several familiar Gods situated in their usual positions, but when I come upon Caedmon’s usual seat, it remains empty. I scowl. “Where’s Caedmon?”

Kiera shifts next to me, the action drawing her heat away. I grit my teeth and force my arms to remain locked in place, refusing to allow them to bring her closer again.

“I don’t see him either.” It takes me a moment to realize that it’s Ruen who’s answered me.

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