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I could defend myself, but being a sex god would only help him to a point. When everyone stopped fucking, he’d still be in just as much trouble.
More, actually.
“Has anyone ever tried to leave?” Ben leaned forward and clasped his hands while his elbows rested on his knees. “And I’m talking permanently. What happens if we say we’re done here and reject their indoctrination into the ranks of the lesser gods?”
Jesse scoffed. “I don’t think that’s even an option. You’ve seen what they can do, the warding put on the school to keep us from contacting the outside world. I doubt they’d allow us to go roaming among the mortals now that we’re aware of what we are.”
I stiffened. Just like that, the night of the party played like a highlight reel in my mind. I was the perfect example of what happened when a goddess with no control over her ability went out into the world.
Bodies dropped.
I may not want to leave campus because of my apprehension over what would happen if we got caught, but an even larger part of me didn’t want to leave and come back with an even higher kill count.
Darrio had no idea why I’d suddenly gone rigid beside him, but he pulled me deeper into his side and his other hand came over to stroke my arm. In that moment, I made the decision to tell him. Soon. It was a weight I was learning to bear, but there was still the chance it would eventually crush me. I didn’t want him caught unawares if it did.
“Option or not, I wonder if anyone has tried.” Something about the way Ben said it made me think the idea appealed to him. Was he really thinking of leaving? What was so bad here–or so alluring out there–that he might be willing to take such a risk?
River shook her head. “I think if anyone had, we’d know. They’d have used them as a cautionary tale.”
“Maybe, but that’s only if they were punished. If they were released to live their lives without consequence, we’d never know.”
“Okay, Ben, but then why wouldn’t they have given us the option to leave when we got here? Or to decline their ‘invitation’ completely?”
“Jesse makes a good point, why not lay out the rules up front?” I would have definitely wanted to know if there was an escape clause.
“Because how many of us would have stayed? In this new place where they won’t let us leave to go into the closest town or associate with the families we’ve known and loved all our lives? I know I wouldn’t have. Would any of you?”
We all shook our heads in response to Ben’s question. No, if they’d told us from the outset, most of us never would have shown up in the first place.
“Well, either way, I’m not trying to leave forever, but I need another night off campus soon. I’m going stir-crazy here!” Rocky flopped dramatically back on the couch and let her hair fall into her face. Jesse rolled his eyes, but he was clearly amused by her.
“Trust me, you don’t want to leave campus without permission.”
We all whipped around—and I may have let out a little yelp, but that’s not important—when a voice came from behind me. Kate stood there looking excessively creepy with the light from the kitchen haloing her.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you guys.”
“Why not?” Ben asked.
“Because… it’s rude? I don’t know.”
“No, why wouldn’t we want to leave campus without permission?”
“No one has tried while I’ve been here, but I heard from some upperclassmen that, years ago, several people did. When they came back, they were different.”
“How so?” Rocky’s question was a whisper, lending to the feeling we were in the midst of a ghost story around a campfire.
“Withdrawn, mostly. They were restricted to their rooms and the library outside of class hours, but even their roommates said they didn’t talk anymore.”
“At all?”
“No, Jesse, not ‘at all.’” Rocky scoffed at her partner, but then her brow furrowed and she returned her gaze to Kate. “Not ‘at all,’ right?”
Kate shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. It’s kinda become an urban legend, so I’m sure it’s been twisted several times by now. The version I heard could be miles from the truth. All I know is it’s expressly forbidden, and there’s not a chance it would go unpunished.”
“Well, if no one knows what the punishment is, it can’t be that severe. Not to mention they would have used it to threaten us.” Ben argued.
“Not necessarily.” I could see his point, but I thought the method they’d already used was more effective. “Not telling us leaves our imaginations to wander. I’m sure we’ve considered things that are far worse than what the actual punishment is.”
