I jump guiltily and move back to the walk-in wardrobe just as Kier says, “Nope. I was just informing her of how things are going to be from here out. As per our plan.”
“Were you telling her, or explaining why and asking her if she agrees?” Tanner asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“He basically just dictated what is going to happen, there was no reasoning or asking.” I tell Tanner.
For a second I feel like I’m dobbing Kier in to a parent, but that slight guilt evaporates when he snaps, “I don’t need to explain myself.” And storms out of my room.
“What is his problem now?” Tanner asks, before shaking his head. “We talked about it last night, it’s too dangerous for you to wander around on your own or to spend the night by yourself, so to prevent Zeus, Ares or Poseidon from cornering you, they came up with a schedule to keep you with one of us at all times. They did include me for Sundays, but split the rest of the time between them, which I think is unfair.”
“Why can’t I just keep shadowing you? Wouldn’t that be easier?”
“You’re bonded to them; it’s expected that you will stay with them. That’s why they worked things out as they did.” He cocks his head to the side. “You going to wear that to class?” He nods to my towel and I blush realising I’ve been standing here practically naked while shouting at Kier.
“No, Douche-one distracted me from getting dressed. I’ll be out in a minute.” I turn my back on him and walk into the wardrobe. I poke my head back out and call out, “Thanks for explaining. Tell them I’ll agree to their terms but I’m not happy with them.”
Their plan does make sense; If the Gods can’t get me on my own, they can’t manipulate me into being their spy. I don’t understand why Kier couldn’t just say that instead of making it sound like he was trying to run my life.
They’re all in my kitchenette by the time I come out of my room, dressed in casual clothes of jeans and a plain red shirt, shoes on and hair done ready for the day. I stop short as I get my first glimpse of all of them together. Stunning is an understatement. They’ve gone all out, dressed to impress and it’s working.
“So you all wear uniforms?” I ask, bringing their attention to me. I regret it the moment they all turn. Seth’s white shirt fits him to perfection, showcasing his broad shoulders and six pack abs even through the material. Kier’s isn’t much better; his shirt looks like it’s going to burst at the seams if he so much as flexes those gorgeous muscles.
Okay so I’m exaggerating or wishing, not that I’d admit that out loud.
“They aren’t my idea of comfort but yeah, we’re supposed to wear them. We figured if we appear to be doing the right thing, then the assholes will have no reason to punish us or take you away from us.” Ty says pulling at the button-up shirt as though it offends him. “It’s all part of the plan.” He adds with a huff.
They all look miserable, I was going to tease them about looking like dorks, but now I don’t think I should.
“I really appreciate all you’re trying to do, but lose the ties, they’re far too tempting to choke you all with.” I smile to let them know that I’m joking, well, sort of. It is their fault that I’m in this situation in the first place.
As we make our way down to the first classroom of the day, I take notice of everyone else who is heading the same direction. I can’t believe how wrapped up I’ve been in my own problems. Not only did I miss that the other Gods-in-training all wear uniforms, but I’ve also missed the fact that not all the humans appear to be happy to be here. There’s two girls in particular who are following a Zeus look-alike. They flinch at every loud sound coming from any of the Gods-in-training.
I lean into Seth, who’s been walking beside me the entire time and whisper, “Do they all treat the humans poorly?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at those two.” I subtly nod my head towards the two girls and the Zeus look-alike. “They’re cowering as though they’re afraid of being murdered at any second.”
“Zane would never hurt anyone. He’s keeping them close to keep them safe from some of the Goddesses. From what he told us, Deite, Henna and Nyssus have been causing some problems with some of the female humans.”
When I just give him a “really?” look, he adds, “It’s nothing for you to worry about, Zane will keep them safe.” I swear I hear him mutter, “And that will keep him away from you.” But I don’t get the chance to react as we arrive at the classroom.
Mr Wolfe takes one look at me beside the guys and nods his head, “You four can sit together. No point trying to separate you when you’re already bonded.”
Four?I glance over my shoulder, only now realising that somewhere along the way Tanner left us. I’m not sure why I assumed he was coming with us, he’s not a student after all.
History and math go by without any issues at all, it’s not until we’re almost finished our lunch that I find a huge flaw in the guy’s plan.
“What do we do now?” I ask, as it dawns on me that the Gods-in-training have combat training while the humans are supposed to go to the class labelled as TGD on the schedule we were given on our first day.
I have no idea what TGD is. I’ve missed it every single day since I started here. At first due to shadowing Tanner and then because I was skipping classes, I’m not even sure where the class is located.
“What’s TGD?” I ask when no one answers my earlier question.
Kier is the one who finally gives me an answer, it’s not the answer I’m looking for though, “Doesn’t matter, you’re not going to it.”
Ty leans across the table and grabs my hand, “Ares teaches that class himself.”
“Isn’t skipping the class all the time just going to get me into trouble?” I can’t figure out why no one told me off for it before now. Although, I did do a pretty good job of avoiding everyone, including the Gods who run the school, so maybe it’s just that no one has managed to corner me long enough to tell me off for skipping. Or maybe the guys have been covering for me all this time.