Saving Year Three (Grim Reaper Academy 3)

“I’ll talk to my grandfather about nephilim. He’s the original Golden Calf from the Bible, so he probably knows more than I do.”

“You can do that?” I knew his grandfather had long retired somewhere in the Himalayas. Whether he had gotten bored of immortality or the world, GC hadn’t figured out yet.

“I’ll try. I’ll teleport there soon. Haven’t visited him in centuries! It’ll make him happy.”

“You guys should learn how to teleport on your own. This isn’t fair.”

“Doesn’t bother me. The teleportation device works just fine,” GC shrugged.

“My father taught me this summer. I can try to teach you.”

“And I can help,” Klaus chirped.

“Oh, shut up. You should have been able to teleport by now.” Mages could do it naturally, but it did require some interest on their part. Klaus was the laziest mage I knew. He could kind of teleport, but only to very short distances. Like he’d done at the beginning of year one, at the entry test. He’d teleported across a chasm, from one cliff to another. But they hadn’t been that far away.

“Your knowledge and my skills,” he tried.

“Oh, come on,” GC complained. “Let’s not turn our super-secret underground meetings into teleportation classes.” He turned to Paz. “Am I right?”

Paz shrugged. “I’m fine with using the pin.” He tapped the teleportation pin attached to his uniform jacket.

“Okay, fine,” I sighed. “So, use it next time. Let’s not do this sneaking around the Unseelie shit again. The stress took ten years of my life. And I’m human, remember?”

“Relax,” Paz chuckled. “You’ll be a Grim Reaper in a few months, and then you’ll be granted immortality.”

“For two hundred years. Thanks. That’s not immortality. Some new generation Reaper will replace me, and I’ll wither and die.” I’d thought about it, of course. Once a student graduated and was named Grim Reaper, he or she was granted two hundred years of perfect health, high energy, and immunity to basically all kinds of deadly threats, no matter what species he or she belonged to. Once the two hundred years were up, all these perks were taken away, and if the Reaper belonged to an immortal species, awesome, if not… tough luck.

“What’s Francis going to do?” GC asked.

“I’ve already done the most important part: provided the secret meeting place.”

They argued for a while, but I ignored them.

“You know what we should do? Throw a Mabon party.” They all looked at me like I’d gone insane. “What? Don’t tell me you’re not bothered by the ‘no parties and celebrations’ rule. Fuck it. And fuck Morningstar. He can’t tell us we can’t have parties. Mabon, Halloween… I bet he’ll cancel Yule Ball, so let’s take what’s ours. We always have a Mabon party.” I hadn’t particularly enjoyed the first one, since it coincided with Sariel’s and Lorna’s first attempt at murdering me, but I had fond memories of the second one.

“So, you’re going to organize it on your own?” Patty asked.

“No. Klaus will help. And I’ll ask Pandora, Kitty, and Sheba. Maybe even Lorna. She can help us sneak out unnoticed.” I grinned at Klaus, who looked most unhappy and mumbled something unholy under his breath. I really didn’t want to ask Lorna, in fact. I doubted she’d want to help. I wanted to make Klaus get off his lazy ass and practice his mage powers. Having to rely on Pazuzu’s telepathic abilities because Klaus couldn’t brew a potion that had more than five ingredients in it had not made me a happy camper. “Everyone wants a Mabon party, and it will do us good. Forget we’re practically in jail.”

“Just be careful and don’t get thrown into solitary,” Patty giggled. “I know you’re the Headmaster’s daughter, but I wouldn’t put it past him.”

It was almost midnight. Patty and Joel sneaked out without any problems, since they both worked in the kitchens and were allowed to go anywhere they liked. Klaus teleported into his room, and I remained alone with Francis, GC, and Pazuzu. As Francis tended to the candles, I pulled GC aside. Paz shot us a longing glance, but he knew it was GC’s turn to be alone with me.

“What’s up?” he asked, pulling me closer. He had a satisfied grin on his face. I could tell he liked having me all to himself when Paz and Francis were just a few feet away. He leaned in for a kiss, and I kissed him back briefly. “What’s on your mind, my goddess?”

“I told Pazuzu something, and it’s time to tell you, too.”

His blue eyes darkened. “How many secrets have you kept from us?!”

“This isn’t a secret. I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while, but… it doesn’t matter. I’m telling you now.” There was no point in trying to explain myself. Why had it taken me so long to say the three words? Because after they’d bullied me all through the first semester of year one, it had taken me a long, long time to trust them. Again, no use in stirring shit from

the past. Bygones. “I love you.”

His mouth opened and formed a cute, silent “o”. His eyes were as big as saucers. I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck. I promised myself I wouldn’t care if he didn’t say it back. The silly expression on his face was enough to make my heart flutter.

“I… I love you, too.”

He said it back. I bit down on my lower lip, then rose on my tiptoes and kissed him passionately. He parted his lips, allowing me entrance, and our tongues danced for a minute, the kiss leaving us breathless. He caught my lower lip between his teeth and pulled playfully. I giggled.