“Better safe than sorry.” He pulled me against his chest, and to my own frustration, I couldn’t fight him. Not yet. He placed his chin on top of my head. “I don’t like this place. Makes me uncomfortable.”
I laughed. “I had no idea the great GC Apis even knew what uncomfortable is.”
“I didn’t… before you. I mean, before you broke up with me. Now I feel uncomfortable all the time. At least we’re in the same cabal and I can make sure you’re safe in class, but then classes end, and you just vanish.”
He melted my heart. He was very good at it, too.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I whispered. “I can take care of myself. And anyway, I’m in no danger at all. Everyone has stopped bullying me a long time ago.”
He shook his head. “No one from the Academy will ever touch you. They know better. But year four is coming to an end. He knows you’ll go after him after graduation. What if he decides to make sure that never happens, and comes after you first?”
“Valentine can’t hurt me. You know that.” I placed my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. Oh, how I missed this! How I missed GC, how I missed all my four guys!
“Are you kidding me right now?” He held me at arm’s length and looked me in the eyes. “He killed you once. He gave the order, and the Unseelie killed you.”
I frowned. Our frugal, intimate moment had been more pleasant when he wasn’t freaking out and being paranoid.
“I’m a revenant,” I whispered between gritted teeth, looking around to make sure no one heard me. “He can try all he wants. But he won’t, because he knows it’s impossible to even hurt me now. It’s a stalemate.”
GC’s voice turned into a plead. “Mila, please come back to us. We can protect you. I miss you so much. We all miss you so much.”
I swallowed hard. I got too close, walked right into his emotional trap. I didn’t need this right now. I shook my head firmly.
“I’m sorry, GC. I’m not ready.”
“You said you needed a break. Did you change your mind? Are we done for good?”
Fear flashed in his blue eyes when he said the last words.
“I don’t know. I need more time…”
“For what?”
“It’s personal.”
I walked away and left him standing there, in the middle of the field, alone. I caught up with the VDC and saw Pazuzu staring at me. He’d watched the whole exchange between me and GC, and probably heard most of it, too.
“Mila!”
He tried to stop me. I walked faster, determined to catch up with Mrs. Maat. If I stayed close to her, no one would bother me. It was stupid, but keeping away from them was so challenging that I’d resorted to sticking close to the professors and sitting in the front of the class to make sure they didn’t initiate anything. Naturally, Merrit and Raziel thought I was the teachers’ pet now. He grabbed me by the arm and spun me around. I had the physical strength to break free if I wanted to, but we’d already caught Caspian’s and Raziel’s attention, and I had to pretend I was still a helpless little human.
“Let go of me.”
He furrowed his brows and pulled me away from the group. His green eyes were rimmed with red.
“We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t. I told you I need a break.”
“The break is over.”
“You don’t get to decide when…”
His lips were on mine, hot and demanding. I hit him in the chest, feebly, and I knew my body didn’t want to push him away even when my mind screamed in protest. I wasn’t going to get back with them on their terms. And especially not now, when Yoli and I had managed to map out so much of the parallel dimension network. We were close, I could feel it. Soon, all this would be over, and I could allow myself to love again. Maybe I could even convince myself that I deserved it.
I responded to his kiss eagerly, threading my fingers through his raven black hair, pulling him closer and closer, until I could feel his hard cock through his uniform pants. I was wet and needy, and if we weren’t in a public place, I would’ve thrown all my doubts out the window and gave myself to him then and there. With a groan, I pulled away and took a few steps back. We actually did have an audience. Two giant girls were watching us like they were watching a telenovela.
“Don’t do that ever again,” I breathed out. “Don’t try to manipulate me like that.”