Page 58 of Deadly Games
Kore
As I looked up at the Academy gates, a wave of nostalgia came crashing over me. So much had changed since I’d first stepped foot inside those ivy-covered walls. The Underworld wasn’t the only thing that had transformed, and now that our three-month sojourn was at an end, it was finally time to get back to normal.
Hades would still have to return to the Underworld every couple of months, until he and the others graduated. I still had another two years to go, but I had been granted special permission from the Headmaster himself to return with Hades and continue my studies remotely for what worked out to be six months out of the year.
Not a bad arrangement, all things considered. Of course, there had been some fighting over the room and board situation now that we were back at the Academy, but there was bound to be some conflict. The makeup sex was too good to complain.
“Come on,” Loki said, draping an arm around my shoulder. “You’ve already got enough of a reputation without being late for the first day of class.”
I nudged him playfully with my hip as Dionysus, Fenrir and Hades caught up with us. If anyone had told me one day I’d be walking into school with them willingly, I would have laughed in their faces, but life had a way of turning things on its head. Especially my life ever since I’d come back from the dead.
The moment we walked through the doors, all the chatter in the packed hallway died down. Everyone turned to stare at us, and for a second, I found myself wondering if I was in one of those awful dreams where I went to school without wearing pants. I even glanced down, but nope. Uniform skirt on, not even tucked into my panties or anything. That meant they could only be gawking about the fact that I’d just breezed into school with my one-time mortal enemies, but if I could get used to it, so could they.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Odin scolded, walking down the hallway. “Everyone get to class or you’ll be staying late and cleaning the alchemy lab.”
That cleared the halls in record time. I hadn’t actually spoken with Odin in person since giving my testimony to Kunzite before the OSTF, and I could tell from the stern look he was giving me that not everything about this school year was going to be different.
“Lord Hades,” Odin said, nodding to the young god. I was sure it ate him up to have to defer to someone a fraction of his age, but he must havereallybeen dreading my impending coronation. Lucky for him, Hades and I weren’t tying the knot officially until after we’d both graduated. Of course, we’d gotten a good head start on the honeymoon.
“Ms. Ademone,” Odin said, forcing himself to look at me. “Welcome back.”
“Guess we’re chopped liver,” Loki said wryly.
Odin gave his son a weary look, but if nothing else, at least things seemed to have improved between them. As hard as it had been for Odin to accept Thor’s betrayal, he really hadn’t had a choice once all the facts were laid out for him. To his credit, he was logical even when it came to matters close to home.
“I’m not even sure what to call you three, let alone what the proper term of address is,” Odin scoffed.
“‘The future Queen’s lovers’ does have a nice ring to it,” Fenrir taunted.
The scowl on Odin’s face made it clear he didn’t find the suggestion amusing. “This may be too much to ask, but I expect this school year to be unremarkable and, at the very least, not to end with half the Academy being reduced to rubble.”
He was looking right at me as he spoke that last bit, and I mean...fair enough. “I’ll try to keep the mayhem to a minimum, sir.”
It was hard to keep a straight face while trying to pretend like his son wasn’t grabbing my ass. The moment Odin turned to walk away from us, I turned and slugged Loki in the arm. Fondly, of course.
“Save it for the bedroom,” Fenrir snapped, shoving into him.
“Please. I’d be surprised if you pigs had the restraint to make it to the broom closet during lunch,” Dionysus quipped, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. He’d adapted to the barbs and roughhousing quicker than I expected.
“Yeah, right. You can pretend you’re civilized, but you’re as horny as the rest of us,” Hades said, ruffling his hair.
Dionysus shot him a venomous glare, but their bickering was always short lived. And when it wasn’t, I had some tried and true go-to methods of getting them all back on the same team.
“Come on. We really are gonna be late for class,” I warned, rounding the corner that led to the alchemy lab.
I collided with a girl and her friend walking in the other direction and winced as a stack of her books spilled to the floor. “Sorry,” I said, kneeling down to pick them up. When I lifted my head, I almost dropped them again.
“Jazzy?” I cried, looking over at Baylor next to her. I blinked a few times to clear my vision, but they both remained, dressed in matching new uniforms. “What the fuck are you two doing here?”
“Getting concussed by a clumsy bitch, apparently,” Baylor quipped, planting a hand on her hip. The mischief glimmering in her eyes was something I hadn’t even realized I’d missed until now.
“Who are these girls?” Hades asked defensively, clearly missing the sarcasm in her voice. To be fair, the way we’d always showed affection to each other probably seemed pretty vicious from an outsider’s perspective. My communication style hadn’t really changed all that much.
“Jazzy and Baylor,” I answered, throwing my arms around their necks and squeezing tight. “Remember the nymphs I told you guys about?”
“You mean your girl gang?” Fenrir asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jazzy laughed, slipping her arm around my waist. “Ride or die, bitches.” She smirked, looking Fenrir up and down with a predatory gaze I knew all too well. “So, which one of these morsels are you fucking?”
