Surviving Year One (Grim Reaper Academy 1)

“I’ll get over it. I liked him, he didn’t like me. I’m too smart to fool myself this will ever change. Anyway, he’s Pazuzu fucking Eremus, the son of Satan. He was engaged to Pandora and cheated on her all the time. He would have done it to me, too, sooner or later.”

My heart sank. I wanted to tell her so badly. I felt like I should have told her. It was only a kiss, though. Nothing more. Is it worth upsetting her about a kiss when we’re just about to be friends again? I swallowed hard.

“And… there’s one more thing, then I don’t want to talk about this ever again.” She turned to me and looked me in the eye. “If you want to be with him, I’m fine with it. No hard feelings.”

“Oh my God, Patty! I don’t want to be with Paz. I’m with GC. And we’re doing great! He’s so sweet, his parents like me… even after the clusterfuck at the Yule Ball…” My voice trailed. I still didn’t know what to think of it.

“Yes, I heard. What a bitch!” I involuntarily tensed, and she sensed me because she immediately added: “Lorna! Lorna was such a bitch.” I nodded. “Do you… Do you know if what she showed everyone was real?”

I shook my head. “It can’t be real. I know who my parents are. She either lied intentionally, or maybe she’s not as powerful as we all think she is, and she got everything mixed up. Either way, I just want to forget about it.”

Patty nodded, and we were silent for a while. On the one hand, just being with her was nice, but on the other hand, long moments of silence like this were uncommon between us.

“So, what are you reading?” She leaned over to take a look at my book.

“About all sorts of demons. I realized I know nothing about your abilities, and the worst part is that this is just volume one, and I’ve barely managed to grasp that you all seem to have unique powers. Or skills. I don’t even know what to call them.”

“You’re reading about succubi.”

“Yeah. I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“This is just a feeling. I haven’t yet found anything in here to confirm it. But, is it true that you have some sort of telepathic abilities?”

She smiled, looking at me from behind those long, lush lashes of hers. “Good catch. Yeah, we do. The spawns of Hell are all telepaths to some extent. Now, that doesn’t mean we can read everyone’s thoughts. It’s more like we get glimpses of impressions and emotions. Not all the time. It depends on how open the person we want to make a connection with is, or how much we actually want to use our abilities. Knowing what someone feels and thinks, no filters, is not pleasant. I, for one, don’t like to prod people’s thoughts too often.”

“Wow! I knew it!”

“So, when I say that Pazuzu has feelings for you, you should believe me. And I know…”

She looked at me intensely, and my cheeks suddenly turned hot. I felt my palms starting to sweat on the book in my lap. Could I block her? But why would I? It wasn’t as if I had anything to hide.

“We kissed,” I blurted out. “I mean, he kissed me. I didn’t want it. He grabbed me and…”

“You didn’t want it at first.”

I gulped. She was right. I didn’t initiate it, but when it happened, I enjoyed it. No! It had been more than that. I’d wanted more, I’d wanted it to last longer, and it had taken all my strength to push Paz away.

“I’m sorry. I meant to tell you.”

“You just told me.”

“No, before. Like… right after it happened.”

She smiled, and it broke my heart when I realized that her smile was genuine. “Mila, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. We don’t choose who we fall in love with.”

“Who said anything about love?!”

She rolled her eyes. “I can sense your confusion, so okay, fair enough. You’re not in love with him, or you haven’t figured it out yet. But he is. In love with you.”

“No, he can’t be. I’m with GC.”

“That doesn’t change anything.”

“Well, it should. It will. I’m not available, and he’ll have to accept that.”

She shrugged, already bored with the conversation. “None of my business. I just told you what I know, because you’re my friend.”