The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 30

30

“Stop!” Flavia slapped the vial of nightroot out of my hands, her nostrils flaring. The glass shattered on the floor and the dark liquid hissed as it immediately burned into the wood. “Are you crazy?”

I stared at the black stain, confusion raging through me. “I don’t understand.”

The third-year sank down on a chair. “I can’t do it. I’m not letting another friend die.”

I could barely believe my ears. Flavia considered me a friend?

Astrid spluttered. “But how can we know Ylva had nothing to do with Oda’s death?”

“She just proved it to us.”

“She didn’t prove anything. You didn’t let her drink the poison.”

That little… I glared at my classmate, wishing I had the power to strike her down with thunder and lightning, right here on the spot. “What’s your problem with me?”

“You. You’re my problem. You’re stirring up trouble everywhere, but you’re always getting off scot-free.”

“What?”

“You stole the dusk wolves, and nothing happened. You got us all trapped in the bunker, but did you get punished? No. It’s always something with you. Disappearing off campus, hiding poisons, disrupting class—”

“Disrupting class? When did I do that?”

“Yesterday! You just had to show off that you could travel into the Veil and brag about Valhalla. Oh, I’m Ylva, I’m a Shadow Walker, I’m so special,” Astrid mocked, quotation marks flying all over the place. “I’m every teacher’s favourite student.”

So that was what this was about. Jealousy. Astrid was jealous.

I stared at her. “You ratted me out because I’m going to get better grades than you?”

“Puh-lease. As if.”

“Yes if. You always looked down on me, but now turns out I’m going to be a better Valkyrie. You hate me for it.”

“That’s bullshit.” Astrid’s voice quivered slightly, but she wasn’t ready to give up. “Why would I be jealous of you? You’re literally the outcast of the school. Nobody wants anything to do with you. So maybe you didn’t kill Oda, but who cares? It’s not like Flavia is going to trust you again.”

“Stop it.” Flavia cut through the conversation in a strangely calm tone. “Both of you.”

“But…”

“I said, stop it.” She rose from the table, her lips thin and tight. “Astrid, your quest for the truth is admirable. But I want you to actually help me, not just look for a way to ruin Ylva.”

The triumphant grin on my classmate’s face turned my stomach. I didn’t care that she ratted me out, I probably would’ve done the same thing if the roles were reversed. But I wouldn’t have taken pleasure from it.

Flavia circled the nightroot stain, which had burned deep into the wooden floor. “Ylva, next time you tell me the truth, you understand? I will not tolerate you hiding things again.”

I lowered my head. “I understand. I’m sorry.”

She frowned. “Why are you apologising?”

“Because… I did something wrong?” I trailed off. She was right, why was I apologising? It was against Wind Child custom. Apologies were empty and meaningless.

Maybe Ryoko was rubbing off on me more than I thought. She did a lot of apologising and now that I thought of it, so did all the other Dragons. I just hadn’t realised it had influenced me. In fact, I was feeling the need to apologise for apologising, which was absolutely ridiculous. Who did that?

I cleared my throat, clearing away my mistake. “It won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Flavia gestured to the two of us. “Now clear out, I don’t have time for this nonsense.”

“Hah,” Astrid’s triumphant scoff echoed through the room.

The third-year let out a long sigh. “Both of you.”

“What? But… I helped.”

“As it turns out, you haven’t. I’m disappointed in you, Astrid.” With a dismissive wave, she walked into the kitchen and left the two of us in the living room. The conversation was over.

I stared at Astrid, but my classmate refused to look at me. Coward. If there was anyone that needed to feel apologetic, it was her.

When it became clear that Flavia wasn’t returning until we were gone, I rose from the seat, dodged the nightroot stain on the floor, and got to the door.

“Ugh, get out of my way.” Astrid hurried after me and pushed me out of the way so she could exit first.

“Dude!” I could really use that thunder and lightning right now.

A bigger person would’ve just let her pass and go down first, but I wasn’t a bigger person. I charged after her in the hallway and caught up at the top of the stairs. With all my might, I shoved her aside and got in the stairwell first. Hah.

“What’s wrong with you!” she shouted.

She pushed me in the back and I barely managed to catch myself on the handrail. Anger flared up in my stomach, firing me up with the flames of righteousness. She could’ve really hurt me and if I didn’t stand up to her now, she’d keep doing this.

I charged at her and we collided in a heap of arms and legs. Her nails scratched my face, the sting only strengthening my rage. The wind sizzled through my veins, empowering my attacks. That was for her picking on me, for everyone bullying me, for all the mean looks and nasty whispers behind my back.

“Get off of me!” Astrid kicked me in the stomach, her shoe leaving a dirty print on my white shirt.

“Screw you!” I grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked it out of her head. I was going to pluck her like a chicken and she would deserve every second of it.

“I hate you!”

I sank my teeth into an arm, only to howl in pain as I realised it was my own. She struggled to free her legs while I tried to keep her pinned down on the ground. Her hand struck my face and I managed to punch her in the side. Kicking and screaming, we drew the attention of the entire hallway. Third-years opened their doors to see what was happening, only to find Astrid and me in a screeching mess.

We rolled and growled, cursed and howled. We were so busy hitting each other that we didn’t notice how close the stairs were. We should’ve paid more attention, but I was consumed with anger and pain. I’d been carrying these weights around since the beginning of school and all that frustration was finally coming out.

She shoved me away and gravity did its thing. I slipped past the first step and in an attempt to stop myself, I grabbed the first thing I could reach. Astrid.

The two of us tumbled down the steps like sheets in a drier. The sharp corners and ledges assaulted my legs, my back, my shoulders. There wasn’t a part of my body that wasn’t bruised or beaten when I collapsed at the end of the stairs and if there was, that was no longer the case after Astrid landed on top of me.

The overwhelming pain consumed me. Everything hurt worse than anything I’d experienced before, even worse than Var’s whipping.

Astrid’s weight on top of me was agony, but I didn’t have the strength to push her off. Instead, I just groaned and tried to stay perfectly still. Moving, even breathing, hurt.

“I h-hate you,” Astrid moaned, her voice strained from the pain.

I closed my eyes, trying to stop the dizzy feeling. “Just shut up.”

“You shut up!”

A pair of feet appeared next to me and I looked up to see a fuming Flavia. “Really?!”

“She started it,” Astrid and I said in unison, both groaning in pain as we untangled and had to move.

Flavia growled, her dark wings emerging from her back. “I don’t care who started it. You’re both going to the infirmary.”

“But, I’m fine,” I protested, testing my shoulders and dusting off my clothes. I’d be black and blue tomorrow, but nothing felt broken or sprained. I was lucky.

Astrid straightened her tie and pushed her braids to the side. “Yeah, I’m not hurt.”

“Did I say you two knuckleheads had a choice?” A gust of wind knocked the two of us off our feet and the murderous look on Flavia’s face was not one to mess with. She gestured to one of the onlookers. “You, tell Doctor Wagner they’re coming. And you, find a teacher. The rest of you, get lost.”

It took a moment or two for students to set in motion, but one glare from the Heir of the East and the crowd broke apart.

The mutters and whispers ebbed away as the others left, leaving me at the bottom of the stairs with Flavia and Astrid.

The former sighed as she put her hands on her hips. “I’m so disappointed in you two, fighting and squabbling like children. Look at yourselves! Are you not ashamed?”

Astrid looked the way I felt. Hair all messed up, shirt untucked. Her lip was busted, probably from the punch I delivered. One of her eye sockets was starting to darken and she lost a shoe. She wasn’t the only one that looked miserable.

I caught my reflection in one of the windows. My nose was bleeding and my white hair was all messed up. My tie had ripped, my knuckles were reddened. Pathetic.

Guilt washed over me and filled my stomach with burning shame. I was a disgrace.