“Well, I’m a mage.”
I wanted to say that no one had asked him, but I fought the urge. So far, he’d been nice to me. All the other candidates had been throwing me weird looks since I got here, and I even heard some insults on my way to the spot I’d been assigned to. We were all supposed to start in the woods, and the first part of the test would take us up a ladder, high in the trees, and from there… God knew where. I had no
one to ask, and the professor who’d brought me here, Mrs. Morgan, hadn’t said a word to me. I wasn’t the best at climbing, I had never even gone to an adventure park, I was pretty sure I was afraid of heights, and this sucked. This sucked balls.
Klaus was a mage. Whatever. I didn’t even know what that meant. All I knew was that all the other girls and boys seemed to have advantages I couldn’t even dream of. So many of them had wings, that I already knew I would fail this stupid test. How was I supposed to climb up the wobbly wooden ladder, jump around from one tree to the next, and God knew what else, when I wasn’t even secured with a harness, carabiners, or whatever?!
“Hey, you’re alright,” Klaus said.
He reached out and brushed my arm with his fingers. I took in a sharp breath. I didn’t like being touched by strangers. But it might have been worth getting close to him, if he allowed it. If he didn’t think I had the plague just because I wasn’t supernatural, like all the other candidates seemed to think.
“So, we climb up there… what next?”
“Oh, I don’t know. They keep these tests secret, and they come up with new ones for every generation of students.” He lifted himself on his tiptoes and looked up through the trees. “Seeing where the first platform is, and the direction of the cable, I’d say we might end up over the edge of the cliff at some point. I don’t know the geography of this place too well. So many secrets, right?” he smiled. “But, anyway, if they set it up the way I think they did, then there are two twin cliffs east from where we are, and we might have to, somehow, jump over the chasm between them. I mean, don’t worry. It’s not a big deal. It should be one hell of a view with the waves crashing below and all.”
I blinked in disbelief. “That’s not funny. Why are you smiling? It’s fucking terrifying!”
“Oh.” Klaus gave me a sheepish look. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”
“That I’m human and it might be a little bit harder for me to pull this off?” I breathed in and out while looking up at the ladder, the trees, and the cable Klaus had mentioned. It was okay. I could do this. It was okay. “They’re not allowed to use their wings, right?” I tipped my chin toward the closest winged girl. “It would be cheating. And you’re not allowed to use your magic, or whatever you do, either. Right?”
“Err…” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
I fixed him with my harsh blue gaze. “Right?”
He shook his head apologetically. “We kind of are allowed. I mean, not kinda’. We can use our powers and skills. It’s up to each of us to make it to the end any way we can. There’s no… cheating at Grim Reaper Academy. I mean… yeah, you know… We’re training to become Death. Literally, Death. By definition, Death doesn’t cheat.”
“I’d like to know where you read that definition,” I mumbled.
I couldn’t focus on Klaus anymore. He said something else, but I didn’t hear him. My head was buzzing, my stomach was doing one hell of a mad dance, and my bladder was ready to give up on me. I was pretty damn ready to give up on me, too. This was insane! All the other candidates were angels, demons, vampires, mages, and fuck knew what else, and they were all allowed to use their powers. I was probably going to be the only one who would actually climb the ladder, one rung after the other. They would fly, jump, teleport… The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I didn’t belong here at all. What the fuck was I thinking? Running from home without even saying goodbye to my mother, spending all the money I had to get here… What in the actual fuck was I thinking?!
I took one step back, then another.
“Hey, it’s about to begin. Where are you going?”
I was starting to hyperventilate. A woman’s voice announced somewhere in the distance: “Three minutes. Take your places.” I took another step back.
“Mila?”
Oh, would you look at that? Klaus sounded like he cared about me. Or, maybe he wanted me to climb up there so I could fall to my death. At least, I’d get to see one of those infamous Grim Reapers up close.
“Hey, come on, sister. You can do this.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me back. “I got you.”
My eyes snapped to his. Sister? No one had called me that since Korina had left the state with her family. I opened my mouth to say something, but a girl bumped into me on purpose, almost knocking me down.
“Watch where you’re going,” I hissed, rubbing my shoulder.
“Or what, scum?” She crossed her arms over her generous chest and popped out her hip. Oh, she was beautiful. And deadly. Long, black hair gathered up in a thick, neat braid that hung on her back all the way to her tiny waist, sparkling green eyes accentuated by a perfect wing of eyeliner, ruby red lips, and a body to die for.
“Give her a chance, Lorna,” a sweet voice came from behind me. “Let’s see how she does before we kick her flat ass back to the dumpster she crawled out from.”
His face was angelic, his voice was dripping with honey and nectar, but his words… his words came from the deepest pits of hell. Who was this guy? Probably Lorna’s boyfriend, from what I could observe. Or, maybe she thought he was her boyfriend, because he simply took his place in front of the ladder next to mine and didn’t spare her a glance, although she was fawning all over him. He was tall, perfectly built with long, strong legs, wide shoulders, and lean muscles, his hair was blond, not a single strand sticking out of place, and two big, feathered wings protruded from his back, the tips almost brushing the ground.
“Don’t mind him,” Klaus whispered in my ear. “Sariel. Archangel, Defender of the Heavens, and major pain in the ass. Just focus on what you came here to do.”
Sariel turned to Klaus, a scowl on his face. “Sadly, the rumors were true, I see. Since Headmaster Colin has taken over, the Academy has really lowered its standards. More like… its standards are in the gutter, now. Colin is accepting humans and gays.”
Klaus pursed his lips. He’d gone livid, but instead of defending himself, he turned away and pretended he was strategizing for the test ahead. I blinked in confusion. What century was this? Okay, so I was the only human here, whatever. I didn’t belong. But making fun of gays was still a thing?