Finally, he let me go. Not entirely, though. He held me at arm’s length and fixed me with his intense blue gaze.
“Look at you! So beautiful. You look just like your mother.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “But what did you do to your hair, Mila? Why this fake blue when your natural color is the purest shade of blond I’ve ever seen? Just like your mother…”
“S-stop.” I swallowed heavily. “Stop talking about my mother.”
“Katerina. Such an exquisite beauty! And you’re following in her footsteps.”
“I
never knew her.” Also, saying I was following in her footsteps when we both knew she was a sex worker… I almost expected to hear Sariel whisper “kuchka” or “kurva” behind me. Then I remembered he’d recently turned from my bully to my protector. Or something.
“I will tell you all about her,” he whispered, and for the first time, I thought I heard some emotion in his voice. On the other hand, he might have just been a good actor. “At dinner. We’ll catch up at dinner.” He leaned in, closed his eyes, and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.
I shuddered. His lips were cold against my heated skin. When he finally let go of me, I let out a heavy sigh of relief. I stood there, still frozen in shock, as he waved at Headmaster Colin, grabbed his scythe, and rushed out of the classroom at the same speed he’d rushed in.
“I held Valentine Morningstar’s scythe,” Paz said as he looked at his own hand. He exchanged a glance with GC, who seemed to have fallen into a sort of awed admiration toward Paz. Just because he’d touched Morningstar’s scythe. “Did you see that? He let me hold his scythe!”
I would’ve rolled my eyes if I hadn’t been so shaken. Everyone was staring at me. Now, more than ever, I felt vulnerable and exposed. The only girl in a room full of men. I took a deep breath in, centered myself, and walked back to my desk. Before I could sit down, Headmaster Colin stepped up to me, reached out to close my textbook, and looked me in the eye.
“You’re excused for the rest of the class, Mila.”
I blinked. Did I want to be excused? “I… uh…” I hazarded another glance around me. The VDC guys were still staring at me as if I were some sort of alien who’d been in their midst for more than a year, and they were just now becoming aware of my true nature. Yes, in fact, I did want to be excused. “Thank you.”
“Let’s make it the rest of the day,” he changed his mind. “See you at dinner.”
“Y-yes. Thank you.” I gathered my things as quickly and as silently as possible and tiptoed out of the classroom. On my way to the north tower, I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder every two minutes. I wasn’t being followed, and I was being silly, but it sure felt like it.
He knows who I am. He found me. But why now? I could almost slap myself over the head. He’s always known who I am. Then why hasn’t he made contact? “I’ve missed you so much, Mila!” Yeah, right. “I think about you every day.” Bullcrap. He wants something from me. But what? Something I couldn’t have given him before. Nineteen years, and he’d never thought about showing up. Because I held no interest to him. Not as a common human with no powers and no perspective. Now that I was a student at Grim Reaper Academy – in the Violent Death Cabal, no less, – and now that I was in year two, which meant I’d survived year one and had a chance at finishing my studies and becoming a Grim Reaper… Now, I did hold interest to him. A lot of interest. Does he know about the prophecy? Oh shit! What if he knows about the prophecy? But the most pressing question was: did he believe in the prophecy?
* * *
As I walked into the dining hall, I could feel all eyes on me. And I mean all. Word spread fast at the Academy. Apparently, boys were just as gossipy as girls. As I walked toward the VDC table, I heard Pandora whisper something in Kitty’s ear. Two stunning redheads, heads close together, talking about me. Fabulous! Soon, all the girls at the Neutral Death table were whispering amongst themselves, but what surprised me was that there were no giggles or laughs. None of that. They all seemed so serious. The Righteous Death table was just as active, with Sheba and Sammy whispering over each other, while Lorna sulked in a corner. The Merciful Death table was the most silent one. I figured Klaus had made them behave.
I spotted GC and Paz, and made to sit next to them. As one of the other VDC guys made room for me to get to my boyfriends, Valentine’s voice rose over the incessant chatter.
“My daughter! Come sit with me.”
What now? But he was sitting at the professors’ table! I couldn’t possibly…
“Mila, we have so much to talk about,” he insisted. He stood up and beckoned me over, which put me in a position where I couldn’t refuse. “Come.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I exchanged a glance with GC and Paz, and they encouraged me to go.
“And then tell us all about it,” GC said, beaming at me.
Oh, great! They’re more excited about my father than I am.
“Go, go, go,” Paz shooed me.
“I can’t,” I mouthed silently.
“Mila, you have to,” Paz said in a serious tone. “He’s Valentine freaking Morningstar!”
“And you’re his daughter,” said the VDC guy who’d stood up to make way for me. There was so much awe and respect in his dark brown eyes that I was taken aback. “I can’t believe you’re Valentine Morningstar’s daughter. Oh my God!”
“What’s your name again?” And I felt so rude for asking…
“Raziel.”