Surviving Year One (Grim Reaper Academy 1)

Rhetoric was one fascinating subject. Apparently, a Grim Reaper sometimes had to have her words with her in case the one she was sent to reap wasn’t ready or thought they could fight the process. There were also those cases when people called on Grim Reapers to reap their souls when it wasn’t their time. That part of the lesson made me feel uncomfortable. I just hoped I’d never have to talk someone out of taking their own life. The professor said it couldn’t be avoided, and all Grim Reapers dealt with such cases almost on a weekly basis. Rhetoric was there to teach us how to handle them better than any help line could. We were forbidden to reap souls before their time, and it was our job not to let ourselves tricked into doing it.

Lunch break came sooner than I was ready. It was an open buffet again, so I thought I could just get my food and go eat somewhere else. My room wasn’t an option. It would take me forever to get there. But I guessed I could eat outside or hide in the bathroom, if the situation proved to be so dire. No such luck. None at all. GC caught up with me and renewed his offer. This time, when I said no, I pushed him away, too. My hand in the middle of his broad chest, I pushed all my weight into it, and shoved him as hard as I could. He knocked into another student, and growled at me, his eyes turning a dark shade of green.

“Fine. Suit yourself, normie. See if you survive today.”

He strolled away, and I let out a sigh of relief. Deep down, though, I had my doubts. A kiss wasn’t that much. It certainly wasn’t like I hadn’t kissed a guy before. And, if I were to be honest with myself, the thought of French kissing GC Apis for three minutes (at least) stirred something inside me. As I watched him walk away, I clenched my thighs, the familiar wetness in my panties making me feel uncomfortable and exposed. I looked around me and wondered whether any of the supernaturals in the hall had the kind of heightened senses I was used to reading about in urban fantasy books. Of all, Francis cocked an eyebrow at me, and I blushed to the tips of my ears. What was he? Sariel was an archangel, GC was a false god – and probably a shifter, too, seeing how his features changed all the time, – Paz was a demon, so what was Francis? He averted his gaze as he found his way to the VDC table, and the spell was broken. Spell? What kind of spell? I must be going crazy… But it was true. Every time I locked eyes with Francis, I felt like there was a connection between us. I felt like a bubble of magic descended upon us, and we were alone inside it, no matter how crowded the room was.

I snapped back to reality and headed to the door, food and drink in hand. I was determined to find a quiet place in the closed inner court of the Academy and turn it into my safe haven, where I could eat my meals in peace. If this madness continued any longer, I’d start losing weight, and frankly, I didn’t have any weight to lose. That was if I was fine with losing my boobs and my feminine hips. I was not. My stomach rumbled in approval. I hoped I wouldn’t have to resort to sneaking food to my room and stuffing my face at night, when my metabolism was supposed to rest. That would have the exact opposite of weight loss, and I wasn’t fine with it either.

I walked past Klaus, who tried to stop me, but I waved at him and motioned toward the door.

“Where are you...? Oh, okay.” He winked at me and left me alone.

I wanted to ask if he’d like to join me, but then I saw him meet up with his MDC friends, and my heart ached a bit. I still wasn’t sure Klaus was my friend. He hung out with me even after the cockroach breakfast incident, but he also had his own friends and activities. I could tell he liked spending time with his Cabal.

When I was sure no one was looking, I rushed through the door to my escape. And failed. To escape, that was. I bumped right into Paz, and by sheer divine intervention, I didn’t spill all my food over his chest. My drink of choice consisted of a bottle of sparkling water, so at least I’d been inspired in that department.

“Sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

What the fuck was wrong with me?! The Academy had already broken me. I was apologizing profusely to a jerk face bully who laughed at my suffering every chance he got. I guessed it was just the fact that I wanted to have a peaceful meal, for once. My first ever peaceful meal since I’d gotten here.

“Watch where you’re going, stupid! Oh, it’s you.”

His expression changed from anger to curiosity, maybe slight amusement, too. What now? What’s that look supposed to mean? He was studying me from head to toe, as if he was seeing me for the first time. Or, he was seeing me for the first time up close and realizing I was, indeed, of a different species.

“Where are you going?”

Shit. I tried to shrug nonchalantly. “Just… around.”

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dress

pants and cocked an eyebrow. God, he was handsome! A handsome demon, who would have thought? Sure, I’d seen enough movies and shows where demons were depicted as these swoon-worthy, panty-melting beings that could make you sell your soul to the Devil in a mere instant, but I’d never thought they were inspired from reality. I’d always been more inclined to believe movies like the Exorcist and The Evil Dead when it came to hell’s creatures. I’d been wrong, apparently. His olive skin, intense green eyes, and raven black hair made him look so deliciously exotic. And he smelled amazing, too. Like a rich fruit you only got to taste if you traveled far into the Middle East.

I shook my head to chase the offending thoughts away, then cursed myself for acting like an idiot. He probably thought I wasn’t right in the head.

“I’ll join you,” he said. And I thought I’d heard him wrong. “Here, let me carry that for you.” He grabbed my tray before I could protest and walked outside. What else could I do but to follow him obediently?

“Aren’t you going to… get something to eat, first?”

“I don’t eat much. Demons don’t actually require food.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

He smiled. “There are many things you don’t know, Mila. And even more things that you don’t know you don’t know.”

Did he just call me by my name? My name?! It felt weird, and… oddly exhilarating. But, wait. Something was wrong. This whole thing was wrong. Where was his fiancé, Pandora? Was I just walking into a trap? I stopped dead in my tracks and pondered turning around, getting another tray of food, and just sitting at the VDC table. If I was really walking into a trap, the consequences could have been worse than getting bullied and laughed at in the dining hall. At least, there were a lot of students there, and also the professors, even though I’d figured out by now that no one was going to stop the bullies from torturing me. There was Francis, too. I turned on my heels. It was better for me to be in the same room as Francis, then go fuck knew where with Paz.

“Where are you going now?” He seemed genuinely surprised at my bipolar behavior. “I thought you wanted to eat outside, away from them.”

I closed my eyes for a second, breathed in deeply, then turned to face him.

“I know what you’re doing. You’re luring me away, taking me some place no one knows, and then… then…” I threw my hands in the air. “Well, I don’t know what you’re going to do to me, but I know it won’t be pretty. So, no thanks. I’d rather eat with them.”

He blinked a few times, completely taken aback. Was it possible that I had read him wrong? No. He was just a good actor, that was all.

“That’s not at all what’s going to happen. Look, I know the others haven’t been very nice to you, but paranoia is not your friend. It’s going to hurt you, not keep you safe.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot impatiently.