Seraphim Academy 1: Wicked Wings

by Elizabeth Briggs

  “Oh, this?” I touch it again. “It was my mother’s.” This is one of the first things I’ve told her that isn’t a lie.

  “I see.” She looks skeptical, but lets it go. “As I said, everything will be emailed to you. All you have to do is show up at the school next week. If all goes well, I’ll see you in three years when you come work for Aerie Industries.”

  She walks out of the room, and I finally drop the clueless act. I lean back on my pillows as a satisfied smile spreads across my lips. I did it. I got into Seraphim Academy, and they have no clue what I really am or who my parents are. My fists tighten around the sheets in my lap as I’m filled with resolve. I’ll find you, Jonah. I promise.

  When I get back to my apartment, Father is waiting for me. Of course.

  I close the door. “I should have known you’d be here.”

  “This is a real mess you’ve gotten yourself into,” Father says as he stands in the middle of my miniscule studio apartment between my bed and my TV, looking completely out of place. He’s wearing a perfectly tailored gray suit with a crisp white shirt that stretches across his muscled chest and broad shoulders. “One I’m not sure I can get you out of.”

  “I don’t want out of it.” I drop my bag beside the bed. It didn’t take much convincing to let me leave the hospital since I was physically fine, but traffic was so bad it took me forever to get home and now all I want to do is collapse.

  Father pinches the bridge of his nose. If anyone saw us together, they would never think we were related. His hair is soft brown, his eyes are bright blue, and his face is smooth and impossibly handsome in a way that makes you want to trust him immediately. He looks thirty, thirty-five max. He’s much, much older. “Why exactly are you doing this?”

  I head into the small area that barely qualifies as a kitchen and pour myself some coffee, then heat it in the microwave. It’s a day old, but coffee is coffee, and this addict needs her fix. “I’m going to find Jonah, and I need to attend Seraphim Academy to do that.”

  He follows me across the room. “I want to find your brother as much as you do, but this isn’t the way. I’ve already got my best angels looking for him. Let me handle it.”

  I turn back and meet his eyes. “And where has that gotten you so far? It’s been three months, Jonah is still missing, and we’re no closer to finding him.”

  He crosses his arms and sets his jaw. “What makes you think you can succeed where I have failed?” His tone challenges me, but I do things my own way. What can I say? Stubbornness runs in the family.

  “I have a different set of skills. The ones Mother taught me.” A sinful little smile crosses my lips. “You know how persuasive she can be.”

  “Don’t remind me.” He sighs, and for a second the weight of an immortal life rests on his shoulders before it’s gone again. “Going to Seraphim Academy is a bad idea. It’s too dangerous for you. Your mother and I have worked hard to keep you hidden from our world for all these years. I know it’s been tough sometimes, but you were safe. Now you’re throwing all of that away.”

  I suck down the rest of my coffee and refill my mug before popping it back in the microwave. It’s hot pink and reads, I’m a fucking angel. Jonah got it for me for my twenty-first birthday, and it makes Father’s eye twitch every time he sees it. “I’ll be fine.”

  His eyes narrow. “I’m not sure you understand the implications. There’s no turning back from this. Now that the angels know you exist, you have no choice but to attend Seraphim Academy for all three years. Unless they find out the truth about you, they’ll make sure you attend each term. And if anyone finds out what you really are…” He trails off wearily. “I don’t want you hurt.”

  “Don’t worry. I plan to keep it hidden. As far as they know, I’m half human.” When he still looks concerned and unwavering, I add, “I won’t tell them who my father is either, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “No, of course not,” he says, although there’s a slight hesitation that I can’t help but catch. I’m his biggest shame, and though he cares for me in his own detached way, I’ll never be the child he wanted. Jonah is, and now he’s gone. He clears his throat and straightens his tie, obviously uncomfortable. “Although it’s probably best if you did keep that information to yourself.”

  “You got it.” I give him a mock salute with my mug. “Anything else I should keep in mind?”

  “Just be careful.” He rests a hand on my shoulder, and I’m filled with a comforting warmth at his touch. Sunlight streams through the window nearby, hitting his slightly curling hair and framing his silhouette, and in that instant, I can almost see the outline of his silver wings. I’m awash with a wave of his power that feels like basking in the glow of the sun. I can’t help but crave more of it, along with his approval, but then he takes his hand away. “Promise me.”

  “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  After giving me a long look, he disappears in a flash of light. One second there, the next gone, leaving me feeling like the conversation was only half finished. Teleportation seems like overkill when you can fly too, but that’s one of the perks of being an Archangel—they have powers the rest of us don’t.

  I glance around my apartment. I still have a lot to do, but everything is going exactly as planned. I’ve dreamed of attending Seraphim Academy ever since Jonah told me about it, and soon I’ll be there. I just wish he could be there with me too.

  Jonah is my half-brother and a year older than me. He should have been starting his second year at Seraphim Academy next week, but he disappeared at the end of last year’s term and no one knows why. Father’s been searching, but he hasn’t found any leads. If there’s something going down at that university, only another student will be able to uncover the truth. That’s why I have to infiltrate the school and find out what happened to Jonah. Luckily, I can be very persuasive. And if I have to, I’ll tear the place down with my bare hands to find my brother.

  I just have to make sure no one finds out what I really am. Angels and demons have lived in an uneasy truce ever since the Earth Accords, but my very existence breaks all the rules. If anyone learns my true identity, I won’t just get kicked out of Seraphim Academy—I’ll be killed.

  Chapter Three

  Olivia

  “What’s it like at Seraphim Academy?” I asked, trying not to let my jealousy show. Jonah started at the school a month earlier and wasn’t visiting me as much ever since. I missed him already. I hadn’t seen Mother in two years and Father wasn’t exactly a common visitor those days either. I was pretty sure they both wished I didn’t exist. Jonah was my last connection to the non-human world…and my only real family.

  He lounged on my bed beside me while he threw a baseball in the air and caught it. He had our father’s light brown hair, and at that moment it was a little long and curling up around his ears. He was handsome in that guy-next-door way, with the kind of face that made random strangers spill their entire life story. “It’s like a normal college but everyone has wings.”

  “Smart ass.” I rolled my eyes. “I wish I could go.”

  “It wouldn’t be safe for you.”

  I sighed. “I know. It’s just frustrating that everyone else can attend, while I have to pretend I’m human and hide what I am. I want to learn to use my powers too. I’d even settle for going to Hellspawn Academy.”

  He snorted. “You’d be in even more danger there with the demons.”

  “Maybe. At least I could feed openly there.”

  Jonah gave me a warm grin. “Yes, but at Seraphim Academy you’d have a big brother to look after you.”

  “Ugh, I don’t need looking after.”

  “Sure you don’t.” He chuckled softly. “But it really is a shame you can’t go to the academy too. I could introduce you to all my friends. I think you’d like them. Especially my roommate.”

  I sat up a little and arched an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

  “He’s something of a lady’s man. A new
girl every week. You two have a lot in common.”

  “Sure, except he does it for fun, and I do it for survival. And if he knew what I was, he would probably try to kill me.”

  Jonah wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’d never let anyone hurt you, sis. Never.”

  I punched him in the arm. “Don’t get all corny on me.”

  He laughed and sat back. “Sorry, I know you hate that shit.”

  I didn’t though, not really. I wish I’d let him know how much it meant to me that he was the one person I could be completely myself with—who knew what I was and loved me anyway. Especially since I only saw him two more times before he disappeared, and then it was too late.

  It’s four days later, and I’m on my way. I’ve given up my job, my apartment, and most of my meager possessions, but it feels good to start fresh, without the weight of my past holding me down. Just about everything I need should be provided by the school anyway, or so I’ve been told.

  It’s a long drive from Los Angeles to the northern-most part of California, but I follow the directions that were emailed to me and head into the mountains, then take an unmarked road that leads higher and higher. The trees grow taller and older as I climb toward the sun, and the road becomes narrower and more treacherous. I nearly turn back—I’ll admit I’m not the best driver—but the thought of my brother keeps me going, and I finally make it to my destination.

  Seraphim Academy sits at the top of a tall mountain, isolated from the rest of the world by its location and a large stone wall covered in ivy. I stop in front of a black wrought iron gate with a winged logo and the letters S and A. The gate opens, and I take a deep breath. All my planning has led me to this moment. After months of waiting for Jonah to appear or be found, I’m taking matters into my own hands.

  I park next to a pretentious-as-hell red convertible and nearly ding it—oops—then look for the print-out of the map I was sent…and can’t find it. Of course. I try to load it on my phone and get no signal. Seriously? No cell service up here in the mountains? How do people survive? I’ll have to ask someone for directions to the dorms so I can find my room and get settled in. I don’t have much, just a few boxes in the trunk and backseat of my car with my clothes and a few other things I couldn’t leave behind, like my mug from Jonah.

  I climb out of my car and take in the school grounds. Seraphim Academy is beautiful, with a lush green lawn, tall redwood trees, and white stone buildings beside a lake that sparkles under an endless blue sky. We’re surrounded by thick forest on every side and so high up that the sun feels a little closer and the air is crisp and warm. Angels get their powers from light, and the introductory email explained that this area in Northern California is one of the sunniest places in the world.

  A few other students walk toward the stone buildings or the lake, and it all looks so perfectly normal you’d forget this is a school for angels—until someone flies overhead, blocking the sun for a second with their large, outspread wings.

  After taking a deep breath, I head toward an imposing building that looks like a gothic church made of pure white stone. It’s got the arches, the buttresses, the towers, the works. All it’s missing are the crosses or other religious symbolism, although a huge stained-glass window depicts an angel with shining wings and light emitting from his palms. Above it, the roof forms a point over a steepled bell tower—where three large, muscular men stand on the edge and stare down at me, as if unaware of the dangers of falling such a great distance.

  Angels love to be up high, looking down at everyone else like the arrogant creatures they are. And I’m pretty sure those three men up there are the worst of them all, because they’re the sons of the Archangels.

  They’re also my brother’s best friends.

  And my main targets.

  Chapter Four

  Callan

  I cross my arms and gaze across the campus grounds like a king overlooking his domain. I can see everything clearly from up here in the bell tower, from the lake to the headmaster’s house to the parking lot. A few angels dart across the sky, but most of the students hurry across the lawn while carrying books, boxes, and other assorted things to the dorms. You can always tell the newbies because they’re scared to pull out their wings.

  Our second year at Seraphim Academy is about to start, but this time it’s all wrong—because one of us isn’t here.

  I turn back to Bastien and Marcus with a scowl. “It’s been months. Jonah should be back by now.”

  Marcus raises a shoulder in a shrug, his body lazily draped over the black leather couch. “Maybe he doesn’t want to come back.”

  I shake my head. “Don’t be ridiculous. He wouldn’t miss the start of the new school year. Something’s gone wrong. Have you foreseen anything, Bastien?”

  “As I said the last three times you asked, no, I haven’t,” he replies dryly from the armchair he’s sitting in, without looking up from the old book he’s reading on fae magic. “None of my contacts have heard anything either.”

  I let out a growl as I start pacing on the stone floor. “Demons must have found out what he was doing and taken him. It’s the only explanation.”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Bastien says. “There is no evidence of that.”

  “There’s no evidence of anything! Jonah is one of us. The fourth member of our group. Practically a brother. Why am I the only one upset by this?”

  Marcus runs a hand through his dark hair. “We’re all upset. You think I want to go back to my dorm and see his empty bedroom? No, I really don’t. But I have faith he’ll be back soon, or we’ll find a clue as to why he’s been gone so long.”

  “Statistically speaking, the chance of finding anything at this point is low,” Bastien says. “It’s been three months. The case has gone cold.”

  Marcus reaches over to punch Bastien in the arm. “You’re not helping.”

  I turn away from them and pinch my forehead. As much as I hate to admit it, Bastien is right. We’ve spent the last few months waiting for Jonah to return, or at least send us a message letting us know he’s okay, but it’s like he completely vanished. The Archangels have been looking for him too, without any success. Something must have gone wrong and stopped him from completing his mission and returning. I fear we might have lost him forever.

  Through the open window, I spot a car I don’t recognize as it enters the parking lot. It’s a silver Honda Civic so ancient I’m impressed it’s still running, with no less than three dents that I can see from this distance. The driver is a woman, though I can’t make out too many details from this angle, and she drives slowly as she searches for a spot. She finds one—next to my car. Where no one else dares to park. I cringe as she barely misses my bumper, and she pulls into the space so crookedly I’m sure she’ll fix it, but she doesn’t. Whoever that woman is, she definitely needs to be kept far, far away from my car. Or off the road entirely.

  She gets out of the car and shakes out dark brown hair that cascades down her shoulders in thick waves. I can’t see her face, but she’s wearing tight black jeans with an ass so fine I almost forgive her for her terrible parking job.

  She grabs a messenger bag and shuts the door, then glances around the campus like she isn’t sure where to go next. Another first year, no doubt. After a few seconds she begins walking toward the lawn with a confident step, but as she gets closer and her features come into focus, every muscle in my body tenses up. She’s easily the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but that’s not the problem.

  The problem is that I recognize her.

  “It’s her.”

  “Who?” Marcus gets up and moves to my side. His gaze follows mine out the window and he lets out a low whistle at the sight of the woman. She’s nearly below us now, on her way to the building we’re on top of, and we’ve got a clear view of her cleavage from the low V of her tight red shirt. She definitely knows how to wear clothes to accentuate those curves, and it’s hard to look away.

  “T
he woman in the photo.” I take out my wallet and pluck the photo out. Bastien is on the other side of me now too, and he glances between the photo and the woman. She’s younger in the photo, but there’s no doubt it’s her. Same wavy dark brown hair. Same intriguing green eyes full of secrets. Same red lips begging for a kiss.

  “Are you sure?” Marcus asks.

  “I’m sure.” I shove the photo back in my wallet. “She’s the one Jonah warned us about.”

  Bastien peers down at her. “That’s the new half-human. She just Emerged last week. How is she connected to Jonah?”

  “I don’t know,” Marcus says. “What are we going to do about her?”

  I clench my jaw. “We’re going to do what Jonah told us to do.”

  Marcus frowns. “Do we have to? It seems extreme.”

  I give him a stern look. “She can’t be here at Seraphim Academy.”

  Bastien strokes his chin as he looks down at her. “We’ll have to make her leave.”

  “How will we do that?” Marcus asks.

  The woman catches sight of us, three large men standing at the edge of a bell tower looking down at her. She stops in her tracks to stare up at us and something in her eyes feels like a challenge. Now I’m even more intrigued.

  “We’ll do whatever it takes,” I say.

  Bastien nods. “Even if it means making her miserable.”

  “I don’t like it,” Marcus says. “It’s a shame to make someone that hot leave so soon.”

  I give him a sharp look. “Quit thinking with your dick for once and remember our promise to Jonah.”

  Marcus lets out a dramatic sigh. “Fine.”

  “We have to do this.” I step onto the ledge and let my wings unfurl with a harsh smile. “Now let’s welcome her to Seraphim Academy.”

  I hear the snap of the other men’s wings flaring wide, and then we descend upon the unsuspecting woman.