Saving Year Three (Grim Reaper Academy 3)

“Me too,” Pandora confirmed. “Good luck, Mrs. Morningstar,” she patted me on the back mockingly. “See you around.”

“Fuck you,” I mouthed. She ignored me.

She’s doing Mabon to piss of Valentine, maybe get me in trouble. We’re not friends.

Lorna wasn’t as easy to convince, or approach for that matter. Since Valentine had made her share her notes with me that one time, she’d been avoiding me like the plague. He’d made her feel like shit and, of course, she was blaming me for that. That might have been the first time in her entire life when she’d been humiliated by someone who was more powerful and important than her.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you? Stop following me around.”

I’d caught up with her in the RDC tower, and so far, there were no Unseelie around. I’d been trying to talk to her for the past two days, but the dining hall was always guarded by the Unseelie, and the VDC and the RDC didn’t have any classes together this semester. Eventually, I decided Mabon was more important than a few worth points, and I followed her to the RDC dorms. If a guard caught me there, he’d take me to the Headmaster, and the Headmaster would assume I was visiting someone in their dorm. Why else would I be in the Righteous Death Cabal’s tower? This year, Mabon meant rebellion. It had to happen.

Corri was flying above my head, her wings making that buzzing sound I hated. Like an oversized fly. Lorna was about to round a corner, and I was pretty sure there was a guard there.

“Okay, I’ll help,” the pixie sighed.

“You don’t have to…” It was too late.

Ropes materialized out of nowhere and wrapped around Lorna’s torso. She yelped, and she would have screamed if Corri hadn’t snapped her fingers and made a ball gag appear in her mouth. With a flick of her wrist, she made Lorna float toward us. I opened my mouth to say something, but since nothing came out, I gave up. This was wrong. So wrong. To tie up and ball-gag a powerful mage like Lorna… I was asking for trouble. She hadn’t tried to kill me in almost a year, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t start plotting my death again.

“That room is empty,” Corri whispered. She flew down to face the doorknob and blew inside the keyhole. I heard a click.

“Thanks.” I opened the door and waited for Corri to push Lorna inside. “Corri, you’re risking so much by helping me.”

“Don’t worry about it. This is just simple magic.”

“What if Lorna tells on us?”

“She won’t.” Corri landed on my shoulder and giggled. “Telling on you would mean admitting in front of the Headmaster that she was ball-gagged by a pixie. She’s too proud for that.”

“Let’s hope so,” I sighed. I stepped up to Lorna and took hold of the black ball in her mouth. Her blue eyes were throwing daggers at me. “Promise you won’t scream, okay? Also, give me a break with the

death glare. You actually look hot right now.” An idea popped into my head. I almost did a happy dance when I realized just how fucking smart I was sometimes. I stepped away and pulled out my phone. “Say cheese, honey.” I snapped three pictures from different angles, then showed them to her. “See? I told you. Hot.” For someone who was into BDSM, that was. I bet a lot of students here are.

“Oh, you’re evil.” Corri’s almond eyes grew wide. Lately, I’d been doing things she’d never thought me capable of. I didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Now, seriously. Don’t scream, okay?” I removed the ball gag.

Lorna dragged in a breath and licked her lips. She fixed me with her blue gaze for a long minute, probably trying to decide whether it was a good idea to kill me right on the spot or wait for better circumstances.

“Delete those.”

“Don’t think so.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. It was obvious I was going to keep the pictures just to make sure she behaved. If she did anything stupid, they would go right into a couple of Inboxes, from where I knew they’d spread to everyone’s phones. Sometimes, one had to fight fire with fire, and Lorna was an active fucking volcano.

“Okay, you have my attention.” She struggled against the ropes, but since Corri’s magic was just as strong as hers, she had no luck loosening them.

I thought for a second. Actually, this is a great opportunity for a real talk.

“How does it feel? To be tied up and moved around without your consent?” She pursed her lips and kept silent. “Without being able to do anything to stop it,” I went on. “How does it feel, huh? To be overpowered and made fun of? To be at someone else’s mercy? And we’re not even in public. No one is laughing at you. Can you imagine how it must feel to go through all… that,” I motioned at the ropes around her torso and legs, “in front of the whole Academy? Students and professors. Maids and kitchen staff.” I held her gaze and let her take it in. Even though she was stubbornly silent, I knew she knew what I was talking about. Year one, semester one. “Maybe I should ask Corri to take you outside and make you float up into the clouds until you can’t see the ground anymore.”

“Okay, I get it. You want to make me feel how you felt. I don’t like it, fine? Now, let’s get this over with. What do you want?”

“I’m not done, Lorna.” I stepped closer. The subtle threat in my tone must have alarmed Corri, because she flew off my shoulder and flappity-flapped around the room, too agitated to land again. “Tell me how you feel. Helpless? Powerless? Like you don’t matter? Lost? Like no one is going to come to your rescue because you don’t deserve it?”

She scowled at me. “That’s how you felt, dumpster princess. It has nothing to do with me. You want to know how I feel? I know who I am, and the fact that you caught me in a weak moment this one time doesn’t mean a thing to me. I’m still Lorna Chiaramonte, one of the most powerful mages in the world, and you’re a nobody who recently ran into a good name and a fortune. Take Valentine Morningstar out of the picture, and you’re back to being you. Mila Lazarov, the human. No powers, no influence, no friends. Take anyone and anything away from me, and I’m still me. Does that answer your question?”

Oh, she was feisty! No, that didn’t answer my question. In fact, it made me angry. I dangled the phone in front of her.