Seraphim Academy 2: Sinful Things

by Elizabeth Briggs

  My magic comes back the second my feet touch the stairs and we’re no longer on this floor. We go up and up the swirling stairs, until a door in unlocked on a random floor, and we’re brought into a prison cell. They shove us all in one and slam the metal door shut.

  Jonah’s not with us. He must be trying to explain to the fae what happened. I don’t see his fae friend either.

  I stare at the guards perched outside the prison cell, and then turn around to look at my friends. Araceli wraps an arm around Olivia, and they lean against each other, both exhausted. In one corner of the cell, Bastien is bleeding from one arm, but Marcus is taking care of it. Kassiel stands alone, staring at nothing, his gaze haunted.

  We wait there for at least an hour. None of us says much. What is there to say? We lost, and the Order won. Now Olivia’s at risk. Fuck.

  Food and drink are brought to us, and we all eat like we’re starving. I guess it’s been a long time since we ate, actually. I have no idea. Time is so odd in Faerie, and it’s impossible to tell anything in this damp, dark cell.

  I lean my head against the bars and close my eyes, trying to get a little rest so I’m alert in case we need to fight again. Olivia soft voice wakes me up, and I see she’s speaking quietly with Kassiel in the corner of a cell. Everyone else seems to be asleep, except for the two of them. As I watch, Olivia’s head drops, and Kassiel reaches up to touch her face. The moment looks so intimate, I glance away, feeling like I’m intruding.

  Then it hits me—is Olivia sleeping with our Angelic History professor? Is that why he’s really here? I’m not sure how I feel about that.

  Before I can figure it out, guards arrive, and everyone in the cell stands up. “Come with us,” one of the guards says.

  They lead us up the stairs and onto the main floor, and then we’re taken down a long hall with a dark green carpet decorated with red and orange leaves. All the guards wear bronze armor decorated in leaves as well. At some point we must have entered the Autumn Court lands, though none of us realized it.

  Tall double doors open up, leading us into a grand room. A long red and gold carpet leads us to a throne, upon which sits a man with long black hair and cruel eyes. He wears a large crown covered in gems and taps his long, sharp fingernails on the arm of the throne as he waits for us to be brought down to him.

  “Kneel before High King Oberon,” one of the guards orders.

  I grit my teeth, but go along with it, dropping down to my knees. A son of Michael should never kneel, but I’ve also heard of the power and brutality of Oberon, and since this is his realm, it’s best to play it safe.

  Jonah is led in next, with Eveanna at his side. He gives us a worried glance, before facing the king and kneeling.

  “Such interesting specimens we have found lurking in our basement,” Oberon says, as his eyes move down the line. “A child with diluted fae blood who should never have come to this world.”

  Araceli’s head lifts and she meets his look with hard eyes. She’s grown a spine somewhere in the last two years. Good for her.

  “A son of Uriel and a son of Raphael,” the king continues, and then smirks. “Who shared the same bed last night.”

  My eyebrows lift at that. How does he know? Jonah’s gaze jerks to Bastien and Marcus, clearly very confused.

  He pauses on me and a chill runs down my spine. There’s something very unnerving about him, and I’m not scared of anything. Then his gaze continues to Kassiel and Olivia.

  “And finally, a son of Lucifer and a son of Michael, both consorting with the daughter of Lilith and Gabriel.” He throws back his head and cackles. “How wickedly delightful.”

  My jaw practically hits the floor. Everyone’s head turns to Kassiel, whose brow is furrowed. Did Oberon just call him the son of Lucifer?

  Things quickly snap into place from the last twenty-four hours. His desire to come on this mission. His excellent night vision. His resistance to the cold. He’s not an angel, he’s a Fallen who’s tricked us all.

  My hands tighten into fists. That asshole kneeling next to me is the son of my father’s murderer. And he’s sleeping with Olivia.

  Olivia, who is the daughter of Lilith. The Archdemon Lilith.

  I knew she was half demon, but I had no idea she was the daughter of the most powerful succubus in the world.

  All of that goes through my mind while High King Oberon taps his fingers on the arm of his throne. He watches me like he senses my turmoil and delights in it. I want to burn this whole fucking room down.

  “We’ve guarded the Staff of Eternity for over thirty years, as part of a deal struck with Michael and Lucifer,” he says, finally ending the long silence. “Today the Staff was stolen, and shame has been brought upon our people. Needless to say, if any of you had different parentage, you’d be dead by now.”

  “Your majesty, I can explain—” Jonah starts.

  Oberon holds up a hand. “Silence. I already know what happened. Your half-sister and her friends came to find you, but one of their own betrayed them and stole the Staff.”

  I heard Oberon is wise, and that his power comes from the land itself, but he seems to know everything. Way too much.

  “All of you are responsible for this disturbance, and all of you must return to Earth and correct it. That includes you, Eveanna of the Autumn Court. You are henceforth banished from Faerie until the Staff is returned or destroyed.”

  The green-haired fae’s eyes are saucer-wide, but she lowers her head. “Yes, your majesty.”

  “Now go, I tire of looking at your faces,” he says, waving his hand in dismissal. “I’d forgotten how much I loathe angels and demons and their drama.”

  We’re escorted out of the throne room and into another room, where a fae in a bronze robe opens a portal. One by one we head through it, including the new member of our group, Eveanna.

  We emerge in the bell tower, and it’s pitch black. The sun is down. I wonder how long we’ve been gone.

  I switch on the nearest light, and look around for Kassiel, but he’s gone. Fine. Right now we have more pressing matters.

  I’ll deal with him later.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Olivia

  We’re all shell-shocked and exhausted, but we’re back and Jonah is with us. It’s not a total win, but it’s something.

  I throw my arms around him again, now that we’re on Earth and the danger has passed. He hugs me back hard, and then I’m crying into his shirt. Crying because I’m so relieved he’s alive. Crying for the two years we lost. Crying because Grace betrayed us.

  “I missed you so much,” I tell him, while wiping my eyes. “I never stopped looking for you.”

  “I should have known you’d find me, even in another world,” Jonah says, with that crooked grin I’ve dreamed about seeing for so long. His eyes are wet too.

  “Stubbornness runs in our family.” I release him and step back, then take a deep breath to steady myself. “We have a lot to talk about.”

  “No shit,” Callan says. “Where’s Kassiel?”

  He’s gone. Probably gathered darkness around himself to escape as soon as we returned. I don’t blame him. The others are going to have a lot of issues with the news about who and what he is.

  “Are you actually banging him?” Araceli asks, then sees the truth of it on my face. “Daaaamn, girl. I mean, I get it, he is crazy hot, but he’s also a teacher.”

  “He’s also the son of Lucifer,” Callan practically yells.

  Marcus yanks the couch back into the center of the room, since we pushed it aside for the portal. Then he plops down and grabs one of the pink unicorn stuffed animals I left for them. “Forget Kassiel, I want to know what the hell Jonah’s been doing in Faerie for two years.”

  “Yes, tell us everything,” Bastien says, pulling up his armchair.

  We all sit close together, and find some cheese, crackers, and wine, which we spread out between us. Eveanna sits stiffly to the side of us, glancing around in wonder.


  “Let me start from the beginning,” Jonah says, as he pours himself some wine. “I was recruited into the Order, along with Grace and the other Princes. We were just initiates, but Grace had inside knowledge because her uncle Nariel was the leader.”

  Was being the key term. We left him for dead in Faerie. Even though he led the Order, my gut still tightens at the thought of him being gone. He’d been my teacher for months now. He taught me a lot about my powers. And then he called me demon spawn and tried to kill me. It’s a lot to wrap my head around.

  Jonah continues, interrupting my thoughts. “A few years ago the Order found out that the Staff was being kept in Faerie, but everyone they sent to retrieve it ended up dead. Once my Archangel power emerged, Grace wanted me to volunteer to get the Staff.” He stares into his wine glass. “Grace was a true believer in the Order’s tenets. I should have seen her betrayal coming.”

  “We all thought she was our friend,” Araceli says. “It’s not your fault. She even passed Bastien’s lying test.”

  “Yes, using careful words,” Bastien says, his eyes narrowing. “I suspect she planned everything from the beginning. She knew Olivia would try to stop the fae being tortured, so Grace made sure she had no part in it, and then she knew we would go to Faerie and use the feather to find the Staff. All she had to do was come with us.”

  I close my eyes as I remember things she said, both this year and last. “She’s been manipulating us this entire time.”

  “Yes, I see it all clearly now,” Jonah says, with a sigh. He really loved her, so it must be killing him to know their relationship was all a lie.

  “Who is her father?” I ask.

  “Her father?” Jonah frowns. “An Ishim named Malcolm. He dated her mom for a short while, but otherwise hasn’t been in her life much. Why?”

  Curious. I’ll have to find out more about this guy, and why he might want the Staff. “Just something she said. Sorry, go on.”

  Jonah nods. “I knew if the Order ever got hold of the Staff, Liv would be in danger. They were going to keep sending people to get it, which is why I volunteered…with the intention of making sure they never got it.”

  “How did you manage to stay alive in Faerie?” Araceli asks. Then she offers her hand with a smile. “I’m Araceli, by the way. Liv’s roommate.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” he says with a warm grin. “I managed to fool the fae for a few days. Longer than I expected.” Eveanna rolls her eyes at this, but doesn’t respond. “But eventually they caught me and threw me in prison. I explained who I was, and why I was there, and they weren’t sure what to do with me. As the son of two Archangels, they didn’t want to kill me. They also didn’t feel they could send me back. Eventually I won over the High King and he let me stay in Faerie as long as I helped guard the Staff.”

  “You’re lucky the High King was amused by you,” Eveanna says.

  Jonah winks. “Everyone is amused by me. Even you.”

  I glance between the two of them. “Are you…”

  Eveanna wrinkles her nose. “Definitely not. I have no interest in men.”

  I hold up my hands. “Sorry, had to ask.”

  “No, I’ve been faithful to Grace, much good that did,” Jonah mutters.

  “Why didn’t you send word to us?” Bastien asks.

  “I was too afraid the Order would find out and know I was still alive. Or worse, be able to track me down somehow.”

  Tears fill my eyes again. “You have no idea how hard it was for all of us, not knowing what happened to you. If you were alive or dead. Your parents have both been distraught.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jonah says. “I never wanted to hurt everyone. I was just trying to protect you.” He glances at the other Princes and his eyes harden. “I even made my best friends promise to keep you away from this school, but that didn’t work. And now you’re sleeping with Callan?”

  “All three of us actually,” Bastien says, like it’s an obvious fact.

  Jonah’s jaw drops. “What the fuck?”

  "Sorry.” Marcus looks down with shame in his eyes. "It wasn't something we planned, developing feelings for your sister."

  "Feelings?" Jonah half yells. "What do you mean, feelings?"

  “Speak for yourself,” Callan snaps. “I only slept with her to protect her.”

  “You were supposed to protect her by keeping her far away from this school and from the Order!” Jonah says, shaking his head. “Now that they know what she is and have the Staff, Liv is in more danger than ever.”

  “What do you mean?” Araceli asks.

  Jonah runs a hand through his hair, but he looks anything but calm. “The Staff requires both an Archangel and an Archdemon to activate it’s full powers, but they have to work together. If they wanted to send the demons back to Hell, for example, they’d both have to agree to do that.”

  "That's good,” Marcus says. “That means Grace doesn't stand a chance of using it. Unless she has both an Archangel and Archdemon in her pocket, anyway.”

  “And no Archdemon is going to agree to send everyone back to Hell,” Callan says.

  Bastien rubs his chin. “No, but it also works for anyone with Archangel or Archdemon blood.”

  “Exactly." Jonah leans forward and meets my eyes. "Olivia, you have both."

  I have both. The idea sinks in slowly, leaving me reeling.

  I have both.

  "You understand now?" Jonah asks. "You’re the only person alive that can use the Staff by yourself. That's why I never wanted it to leave Faerie, and why I asked these idiots to keep you far away from this life. If nobody knew you existed, they couldn't try to force you to use the Staff."

  “Shit, Olivia is in more danger than we realized,” Callan says.

  “Yeah, especially since you exposed her as a half-demon,” Marcus mutters.

  “You did what?” Jonah asks.

  “We have many things to catch up on,” Bastien says. “But the most pressing matter is to figure out how to get the Staff back.”

  “Agreed,” Araceli says.

  I nod, trying to focus. “We need to look for Grace, Cyrus, Jeremy, and anyone else who came back. They could still be on campus, although I doubt it.”

  “If they are, I’ll find them,” Bastien says. “I need to speak with my father about all this too.”

  “We have a lot to do.” I stand up slowly. “But first, Jonah needs to see our dad.”

  The group splits up with a loose plan to look for Grace and the Staff. Marcus, Callan, and Eveanna are going to scour the campus for Order members, while Bastien consults with Uriel, and Araceli finds out what happened while we were gone from Tanwen. I have no idea what Kassiel is doing—probably reporting to Lucifer what happened.

  I want to join the hunt too, but family comes first. I take Jonah to the house in Angel Peak, where our father opens the door and drops the cup of tea he’s holding. As it shatters, Gabriel rushes forward to embrace his son.

  “You’re alive,” he says into Jonah’s hair. He looks up at me with proud eyes. “You brought him back.”

  Dad gestures for me to come closer, and I join their group hug, all of us holding each other tightly. Our little family, reunited at last. I may have failed in every way regarding the Staff, but at least I did something right.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Olivia

  Jonah sits beside me as we stare at the stage where all the graduates line up. Callan, Marcus, and Bastien stand tall in the front, wearing all white caps and gowns. I didn't go to the ceremony last year, and I'm surprised to find it's almost exactly like a human graduation. Uriel is in the middle of a speech, but he lost me about three minutes into it. My mind keeps drifting to the events of the past few weeks.

  We were in Faerie for two days in Earth time, but luckily it was a weekend, so no one was too worried about us. Tanwen managed to cover for us as needed, though she couldn’t stop the Order from coming after us. I think she feels guilty about it, because she’s announced she’
s staying in Angel Peak during break to help protect the town and the school from the Order or the Duskhunters. Some of the other Valkyries are staying too. They’ve offered to train some of the students who stay behind too, like me. Tanwen seems way too excited about that. She's going to kick my ass, but I suppose it'll be good for me.

  The Order should have had its final meeting and initiation for its new members a few days ago, but we never saw any hints of it by the lake, in the forest clearing, or in the cavern. With Nariel dead and Grace missing, I have no idea what the state of the Order is—and Jeremy and Cyrus aren’t talking. Cyrus is up there now, graduating and accepting Grace’s diploma on her behalf. My one consolation is that he and Isaiah broke up in the last week, as I predicted.

  “Does it bother you that you’re not up there?” I ask Jonah. He's not graduating since he missed an entire year of school. He talked Uriel into letting him test out of a few classes and double up on others. If he manages to keep up, he'll graduate next year with me.

  “Not really,” he replies. “Sure, it sucks that I’m not graduating with my friends, but I learned a lot in Faerie, things I never would have learned here.” He nudges me with his shoulder. “Besides, now I get to go to school with you for the first time.”

  “Lucky me,” I say sarcastically, shoving him back. “Who doesn’t want their overprotective brother following them around?”

  He gives me a pointed look. “It’s not being overprotective if you’re actually in danger.”

  I sigh and tug my jacket tighter around myself. My plan was to spend winter break searching for Grace and the Staff, but the Princes overruled me. For my safety, they want me to stay in Angel Peak with my dad while they investigate. Jonah gave me his puppy dog eyes and I couldn’t refuse, but we’ll see how long I manage to keep that promise before I go stir crazy.

  Eveanna will be going with them on the hunt. She’s staying with my dad at the moment, using glamour to make herself blend in. She leans over and whispers, “When do they prove themselves?”