Seizing Year Four (Grim Reaper Academy 4)

He smirked. “I wasn’t manipulating you. Just taking what I want…”

“You don’t get to take what you want. Not from me.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Does that mean I can go find someone else?”

I pursed my lips and held my head high. He was just trying to piss me off, force my hand. I wasn’t going to fall for it. Not even when my heart ached with jealousy. An image of Paz and Pandora back together flashed before my eyes, and I almost doubled over in pain.

“Do whatever you want,” I managed.

His eyes, redder and angrier than ever, turned to slits.

“Say that again,” he challenged me. “Tell me I am free to fuck whoever I want.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. God, he was cruel!

“Fuck you, Paz. I’m out of here.”

I walked past him, hitting him hard with my shoulder. He grunted in pain, which gave me some satisfaction.

There wasn’t much to see in the Colossi Valley. The giants didn’t live in houses, but in some sort of tents that rose like mountains around us. They were vegetarian, and the few animals that had accidentally managed to cross into their pocket universe were kept as pets. They were a simple, rural people. Not even rural. More like prehistoric. They communicated with each other through signs, facial expressions, and grunts. Peaceful and harmless – as long as they stayed in their world. There were stories about giant bones having been found in South America thousands of years ago. Now I knew there was truth in them. I could only imagine how badly it had ended both for the giants and for the humans who’d happened to be in their path.

“Cutting a giant’s string of life can be tricky,” Professor Maat said. “I believe next week you will talk about it in Anatomy of Souls. Please do your best and not skip that class.” She shot me a look that said a thousand words. She wasn’t happy that I’d started this trend. Now, besides me and Lorna, some VDC students had started skipping classes, too.

It was fine. I had no intention to skip another class or fail another test. I was working hard to recover after my worth score had found itself in the gutter in semester one. I was doing a good job of it, too. If my calculations were right, by the end of the year, I’d be in top ten at least.

“This has to be the most boring field trip, am I right?”

I looked at Francis as if he’d grown another head.

“Are you trying to make small talk?”

He gave me a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry about Paz. He’s been out of his mind lately. There. Not making small talk.”

“Good, ‘cause it doesn’t suit you.”

“Are you alright?”

“Of course I am.”

“He was a little rough back there.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay. I mean…” He scratch

ed the back of his neck. “I do worry about you. A lot.”

I sighed. “Well, don’t.”

“I don’t know what to do, Mila. I’m sorry about the ritual, I’m sorry about my family. I don’t know how else I can apologize. I’ll do whatever. Just tell me… what do I have to do for you to forgive me?”

The vise grip around my heart squeezed harder. It had been there for a while – the dreadful thing that had turned my poor ticker into its personal squeeze toy.

“Francis, that’s not the reason I needed a break. I mean, it was one of the reasons, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m over it. I know you’re not responsible for your family and their stupid actions.”

He looked into my eyes. These guys… Ugh! These guys were making it very difficult for me to stay focused on my problems. Problems that had nothing to do with them.

“Then come back to us, my love.”