“Oh, Tanner.” I’m not sure whose jaw is lower to the ground. Mine, Ty’s or Kier’s. None of us could have predicted that she’d burst into tears and throw herself into Tanner’s arms. I have to admit, as platonic as they seem to be with each other, it still makes me jealous to see him holding her when I should be the one doing it.
Okay, so I’d probably let Kier or Ty comfort her too, but I’d rather it was me.
I have to do a double take as I watch her pat Tanner on the back and murmur words of comfort to him. “Am I missing something here?” I whisper yell to Ty.
His reply is hesitant, “Yeah, I’m not sure what’s going on either.”
“She thinks I sacrificed the girl I was in love with.” Tanner pushes her away until she’s at arm’s length, “You’re misunderstanding. We don’t sacrifice the person. There’s a ceremony where we make them forget us. That’s why no human is able to tell anyone what really happens here in the school. We build bonds with the humans and once our powers awaken, we sacrifice the love we feel for them by making them forget all about us. The theory is that if we were to leave them remembering us, we’ll slowly lose our powers and become human ourselves. It’s the only way to kill a God.”
“Why would you do that?” She doesn’t give any of us a chance to answer, “Is that why you wanted me as your Human Liaison? So you could forget me?”
Not one of us has an answer to that. We all knew that we’d have to make her forget us, but we still chose her.
“Get out.” Her words are barely audible but then she repeats them, “GET OUT!”
“Ryxa-.”
“Get out! Get out! Get out!” She runs into the closest bedroom, slamming the door behind her with so much force the clock on the wall crashes to the floor, shattering into almost as many pieces as my heart.
NINETEEN
ERIC
Ares agreed to help me but instead of doing what I wanted him to do, he practically handed her to those three assholes. The plan we made was simple, Ares was supposed to stage an incident, have her punished by sending her to the kitchens fulltime and I’d be there to offer her a shoulder to cry on. He was not supposed to set her up to become their human.
I’m so pissed I can’t even think straight.
I find myself standing outside Nyssus’s room. My entire body shakes as I raise my fist to knock.
“What have you done?” Her screech is loud enough to make my ears bleed as she drags me into her room. “You will do everything I say from here on in. There’s only one way to fix this now and I will not have you interfering. If you so much as breathe in her direction, I’ll kill you both!”
What have I done?
TWENTY
RYXA
It’s been three days since those assholes took over my life. Not that they’ve done much. I’ve been avoiding them, even going so far as to skip classes and hide out in my room until I know they’re too busy to come searching for me. I’ve spent most of my time hiding in the secret passageway, sneaking into it from Tanner’s room when he goes to do the teacher thing in the mornings.
I’ve managed to be out of the room for all the normal times they’ve shown up; breakfast, lunch break, right after classes and dinner time. Thankfully, my exploring has given me a bit of a heads up when it comes to locating the three of them. There are spy holes throughout the entire tunnel system and from what I’ve found so far, it can take you anywhere within the castle grounds without being seen.
The best part about hiding in here is that I’ve also managed to avoid running into any of the full Gods, Tanner included. I can’t believe they willingly sacrifice the minds of those they care about. Knowing that they will have to give the person up, never seeing them again… That’s not love. I don’t care what they say. There is no way you could ever convince me that they truly love someone if they are capable of doing that to them.
Until this very moment, it didn’t even occur to me to try running away. Finding a way out of the castle grounds and escaping. But now that the thought has crossed my mind, it’s all I can think about. I want to escape, with my memories intact.
I mean that is why I decided to come here without fighting too hard to begin with. Find out the truth, then leave and expose it all. The problem is, I have no idea how to get out of here and even if I did find a way, how do I stop the Gods from tracking me down?
I really wish Eric wasn’t so hung up on becoming a part of their world, I could really use his help right about now. I’ve seen him a few times now, always hanging out with that Goddess with blonde hair. I think her name is Nyssus, but I can’t be sure. He follows her around like a lovesick puppy and after what the guys told me, I now understand why.
“I’m such an idiot.” I growl to myself as I make my way up to the rooftop garden. “Even if I do manage to escape, I’d be leaving Eric to his fate of complete memory loss.” I pause with my hand on the door handle of the garden. “I can’t let them get away with this.”
From everything I know about the process, the Gods will go into their slumbers sometime this year. I’m curious if it’s the day they were born or if there's a significant event that triggers it. I know I wont get any answers avoiding everyone, but I’m not ready to face them all again.
With a sigh, I push the door open and step into my hidden oasis, only to come face to face with the last people I want to see.
“Ryxa Day, are you avoiding us?” Kier asks, grabbing my arm. Ty moves to block the door while Seth closes in on my other side.
I can see Tanner standing beside the pond at the end of the path with his arms crossed over his chest. “Did you really think you could hide from us forever?” He asks.