Valkyrie 103

Chapter 3

The quickest way to fail school was to kill a teacher. Even if he attacked me and tried to rob me of my magic, that didn’t change the fact that Master Ryuga was no longer in the land of the living.

“Is he really dead?” Astrid asked, glaring at the pile of rubble and the dead Dragon. Even if I didn’t like my snooty classmate, she was right for asking.

Maybe he wasn’t dead? The lower half of his body was completely submerged under a tonne of debris and rocks, but maybe he somehow survived. Maybe—

“He’s dead.” Flavia nudged the Shinigami teacher. “Very dead.”

If she said it, it had to be true. She was a third-year and knew what she was doing.

“Great. That’s probably not going to help our grade,” Sim remarked. He grunted while picking up his broken scythe and limped towards the couches.

“This is not how it’s supposed to happen,” Ryoko muttered. She bowed deeply to the corpse, her dark hair cascading down. “Ryuga-sensei. I’m sorry.”

“He tried to kill me.” I looked at the Shinigami teacher, my feelings conflicted. As shocked as I was, I couldn’t push away the guilt and relief. Relief that he could no longer hurt me and guilt that I felt that way.

A man died and it was our fault. My fault.

Professor Brynhild was right. Shadow Walkers brought death to the people around them and Master Ryuga was the second person to fall victim to the rotten blight. The cursed mark might be gone from my forehead, but that didn’t change what I was. As much as I wanted to deny it, destiny was calling.

“Should we try and start digging?” I asked, gesturing to the pile obstructing the exit.

“Naaah,” Sim called from the couch. “I’m sure the teachers are already looking for us. Let’s just sit, relax. Chill a little. Flavia! Come sit with me.”

The blonde third-year rolled her eyes. “Fine, but only because there’s nothing else to do.”

Before she could walk away, Astrid caught her arm. “Are you really going to sit with a Reaper?”

“What are you doing?” Flavia shot lightning with her eyes and the other Wind Child quickly let go.

“Sorry... I just meant—”

“You know your introduction to my squad is just a trial. Do not overstep.” Without giving her a second look, she marched away and left me standing with my fellow classmates.

“Brutal,” I noted. Even if Flavia was no longer my friend, I still admired her. She was a force to be reckoned and nothing would change that.

“Shut up,” Astrid snipped. With her head in the air, she made her way over to the main area and sat down next to Flavia, ready to lick heels.

That just left me with Ryoko, who had gone to wringing her hands and pacing.

“Hey. Are you okay?” I touched her arm, but she didn’t react. “Ryoko?”

“There’s no moonlight in here. His soul will be forever restless if he can’t return.”

I pulled a face. “He tried to kill me. That’d serve him right.”

“He’s a Dragon, Ylva.”

“A Moon Dragon,” I specified.

“It doesn’t matter. Moon and Sun Dragons have lived together in harmony since the beginning of time. We are two sides of the same coin. I know he tried to do something wrong, but he needs a proper burial.”

I clenched my jaw. “It sounds like you’re on his side.”

Ryoko straightened her back, no longer shaking. “I don’t have to agree with him to show him dignity. He’s my kind, my kin.”

“I don’t know... I don’t think he deserves it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being kind. Besides, I wasn’t asking your permission.” She shot me a disappointed look as she joined the other three students in the couches.

Great. Stuck in a bunker with four people that all hated my guts. Now that was a dream come true.

I sighed deeply and with a last look at the dead teacher, I turned my back to Ryuga. I couldn’t look at him anymore without being reminded of the terror and fear.

A little reluctant, I decided to join my fellow students in the dirty couches. Hopefully, they’d take a break from hating on me. That’d be good.

“So... Do you really think we shouldn’t try and start clearing the entrance?” I asked, unsure in which couch to sit. Flavia and Astrid didn’t look like they were happy to have me, Sim was occupying a three-seater all by himself, and Ryoko wasn’t even looking at me. Not particularly a warm welcome.

“No, we don’t know anything about the structure of the building. It might collapse on us,” Sim replied.

While that sounded like a valid point, it also was a careful answer. For all we know, we could just dig our way out of here but not try because he was worried. He might’ve saved my life, but that didn’t make him automatically good at giving advice.

I turned to Flavia, looking at her expectantly. “What do you think?”

She exchanged a glance with Sim and then shook her head. “Let’s not risk it. Not until we’ve exhausted our other options.”

“So what do we do in the meantime?” I asked, deciding to occupy the seat next to Ryoko. She was too polite to tell me otherwise and where else was I going to sit?

I folded my arms and studied the four other students. The atmosphere was freezing cold and it wasn’t only directed at me. Sim and Flavia had their own weird tension going on. Flavia didn’t like Astrid nearly as much as the other way around.

Five of us entered, well, six if I counted Ryuga... But how many would leave?