Seraphim Academy 3: Fallen Kings

by Briggs, Elizabeth;

  “Am I?” My throat tightens, but I’ve been keeping this inside too long and need to get it out. “I have to admit, sometimes I have a hard time being just one of your many lovers too. I know it’s your nature and you can’t help it, and most of the time I’m fine with it, but sometimes it’s hard not having any kind of commitment from you. Raphael used to drop in, give me gifts and take me on fun outings, then vanish again for months while he was off visiting his other kids. I worry you’re going to leave too when you graduate, only stopping in now and then for sex. I can’t handle that kind of relationship. I’m sorry.”

  Liv turns me around and touches my face with compassion in her eyes. “That is not going to happen. You’re special to me. I know I can’t say the words you want to hear or make the kind of commitment you want, but I care about you a lot, and I’m not going anywhere, even after graduation. I promise.”

  I press a kiss to her lips, feeling better now that I got my worries out in the open. “Thanks. I love you, Olivia. I know you can’t say it back and that’s fine, but I want to say it anyway.”

  She nods, but ducks her head, and I get the feeling it bothers her. She’s been told for so long she isn’t capable of having a real relationship, but I know that’s not true. And I think I can make her change her mind.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Olivia

  Another week passes in a blur of school and research, and there’s no sign my mom and Eveanna are returning anytime soon. I’m starting to think we’ll never learn anything about destroying the Staff or the Order’s movements, when I spot Jeremy leaving for another meeting in his golden robes and mask.

  I quickly swing by Jonah’s dorm and pound on his sliding glass door. He made me promise to take him with me after the last time, and I agreed because I wouldn’t mind the company. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, yanks on a t-shirt over his pajama pants, and we take off.

  The night is still warm now that summer has finally arrived in the mountains, and it feels good to stretch my wings alongside my brother. Not that we have to go very far to get to the library. Without my necklace there’s a chance an Ofanim could see through our invisibility, so we hang back until we’re sure everyone is inside the attic and the meeting has started. Then we perch outside the open window like crows, straining to listen and get a peek of what’s happening inside without blowing our cover.

  “We’ve had a minor setback with the Staff,” the leader is saying. “However, the fae accomplice has been spotted in the Winter Court of Faerie, and we’re told she has the Staff with her. We have sent members to retrieve it, and we’re certain it will be in our grasp again soon.”

  Jonah and I share worried looks. Eveanna must have purposefully been spotted to lead them away from us, but the news that they’re in Faerie looking for her is troubling. I have to trust that my mom will keep them both safe. She is an Archdemon, after all.

  “You should have received your tasks by now,” the leader continues. “Many of you have been assigned to watch the half-demon and her associates. We know she is leaving campus regularly, but don’t know where she goes. We must uncover this information.”

  He suddenly glances back at the empty throne behind him, and then nods. Almost like he’s communicating with someone sitting there. Is it possible? Is there someone invisible on that throne? Is that why it’s always been empty?

  But who?

  They discuss the comings and goings of Marcus, Bastien, and Callan and report nobody has seen Kassiel in some time. Jonah is mentioned, along with everyone else who went with us on the rescue mission. They’re watching all of us and we don’t even know who most of them are. Lovely.

  Then they allow the white-robed initiates inside to accept their stolen offerings, and Jonah and I sit back so we can keep an eye on them but still talk.

  “Who do you think the new leader is?” Jonah whispers.

  “I bet it’s Simiel.” I shudder a little. “He’s always giving me these creepy looks.”

  “Possibly. Either way, it sounds like we need to be extra careful from now on.”

  I scowl. I hate that the Order is spying on us and tracking our movements, but it’s nothing we didn’t expect. “We’re always careful.”

  “It can’t hurt to warn the other’s we’re being watched.”

  I nod, and then we watch the initiates for a few minutes. “What did you steal? For your first test.”

  He chuckles. “I stole a piece of Hilda’s Valkyrie armor.”

  “No way.” I don’t know if I should be impressed or should smack him for being an idiot. Hilda’s Valkyrie armor is thousands of years old and has been coated in much demon blood. She told us all about it in class. “If she found out, she would’ve murdered you.”

  “I took a piece from the gauntlet that wasn’t super obvious. Either she’s a part of the Order and never found out or they got it back in time.” He shrugs and stretches out his legs. “What about you?”

  “I stole a forbidden book from Uriel’s private library.”

  Jonah coughs. “That’s even more dangerous than what I took!”

  “Probably, but it worked. It got me in the Order after all.”

  “Grace stole something from Uriel too,” Jonah says, with a sigh.

  It’s a shock hearing her name from his lips. Jonah’s avoided talking about her this entire time. “I’m sorry about what happened with her.”

  Jonah picks at a small hole in his pajama pants. “I thought we were in love. I stayed loyal to her during my entire two years in Faerie. Now I see it was never real. She manipulated me the entire time. And not just me.” He turns toward me, his face pained. “Did you know she slept with Marcus after I left?”

  “What?” I ask a little too loudly, then cover my mouth with my hand. The meeting continues below us without interruption and after a minute I lower my hand. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, Marcus told me after we got back from Faerie. Grace came to him one night, crying over how worried she was about me, and she started kissing him, and one thing led to another…” Jonah shakes his head. “Marcus was seriously torn up with guilt over it, but I forgave him immediately. It’s obvious to me that she manipulated him too. She wanted to see if I’d contacted the Princes at all, and to learn how much they knew about my disappearance. She never cared about either of us. She just wanted to get the Staff.”

  I hate her even more now than I did before. “She lied to me too. So many times. We all thought she was our friend, but everything she did had an ulterior motive behind it.”

  “That’s the worst part of all this. I feel like such a fool. How could I not have seen it?”

  I lean against him. “None of us did. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

  “I didn’t even know her real father was Azrael.” His mouth twists. “Sometimes I stay up all night questioning everything she ever told me. Was anything she said true?”

  “We might never know.” I take Jonah’s hand and give it a squeeze. “What I do know is that none of this is your fault. Grace tricked and used us all. Even her best friend, Cyrus.”

  He sighs and looks down at our joined hands. “At least it brought you here. That’s the one silver lining to all this.”

  My eyes tear up a little at the sincerity in his voice. One of the best parts of this school year is being able to spend so much time with my brother openly for the first time in my life. But even when we were little kids, when our relationship had to be kept secret for my safety, he was there for me. He even spent two years in Faerie to keep me safe. I’d die to protect Jonah, and I know he would do the same for me.

  I rest my head on his shoulder. “I love you, big brother.”

  “I love you too, little sis.” He puts his head against mine for a second, but then we hear the Order members approach the window out of the attic. Our sibling bonding moment ends abruptly as we jump into the air and fly away, then giggle like little kids at how we almost got caught.

  I sober up again as we hover
outside the dorms. “Hey, Jonah. We’ll make Grace pay for what she did somehow. I promise.”

  “A long stay in Penumbra prison would do her some good. Even Azrael couldn’t get her out of there.” He runs a hand through his messy hair. “Either way, I’m over it. I’m ready to move on.”

  For Araceli’s sake, I hope that’s true.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Olivia

  The next morning is Sunday and I sleep in a bit. When I finally roll out of bed, nobody is around. After a shower, I head to the cafeteria and take my breakfast to the Princess Lounge.

  To my surprise, Callan is there. He freezes with his hand reaching out toward the table in the small kitchen area. “Oh. Hey.”

  “What are you doing here on the weekend?” I set my breakfast, a bagel and packet of cream cheese, on the table.

  “I was dropping this off for you.” He holds up a tiny blue jewelry box. “I didn't mean to get caught, honestly.”

  I eye the box with curiosity. “What is it?”

  “Just something I saw in a shop window.” He hands me the box and then steps back and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I don't know. I thought you might like it.”

  I pop open the jewelry box and find a necklace inside with a silver crescent moon inlaid over a gold sun, almost like an eclipse. I pick it up and thread the chain through my fingers to examine the charm. It doesn’t look like something cheap he just happened to pick up in a shop. It looks expensive, and I know he got it because it symbolizes my two halves.

  “It's nothing big,” Callan mumbles. “I thought it suited you.”

  “It’s perfect.” Emotion makes my voice tremble a little. I walk around the table and rest my hands on his strong chest, then look up into his stormy blue eyes. “I love it. Thank you.”

  “You do?”

  I nod and hold out the necklace. “Put it on me?”

  He takes it and I turn around, then feel the light touch of his fingers as he moves my hair to the side so he can put the gift around my neck. Somehow this small act feels more intimate than anything we’ve done before. When he finishes, he rests his hands on my shoulders and buries his face in my hair from behind.

  “I lied,” he says, as he presses a soft kiss to my neck. “I had it custom designed.”

  “I figured.” I lean back against him and close my eyes. For once we’re not fighting, and it feels good.

  “I wanted to show you that I accept both sides of you. Angel and demon. Day and night. Light and dark.” He turns me around to face him. “I love it all.”

  The word love makes my heart stutter, and to save myself from answering, I slide my hands around his neck and pull him down to me for a kiss. His arms enclose me in a tight embrace as he kisses me back, his mouth tender as it moves against mine. This is our first kiss that isn’t fueled by anger, lust, or hatred, I realize. This one feels like it means something.

  “Do you forgive me?” he asks as his mouth moves across my jaw to my neck.

  I close my eyes and tilt my head, giving him better access. “I suppose.”

  A loud blaring noise makes us both jump, abruptly ending our tender moment. We stare at each other for a second, and then Callan shoves me behind him. “It’s the school’s alarm. We’re under attack!”

  “Do you think it’s the Order?” I ask, and we both glance at the closet where the Staff is hidden, still glamoured to look like a broom. With Eveanna gone, Araceli makes sure the glamour gets renewed and never fades. But we always knew that was only a temporary solution.

  “Probably.” He storms across the space to the cabinet under the TV, touches something on the side, and the whole thing slides open to reveal a secret compartment full of weapons. Whoa. Did not know that was there. He grabs two large swords. “I’ll defend the Staff. You fly to your father’s house.”

  I reach for my daggers, then frown. The one time I happen to leave them in my room, and this happens. “What? I’m not leaving you or the Staff here!”

  He tests each of the swords in his hands. “This is the protocol we developed in case of an attack. Half of us guard the Staff, while the other half guard you at Gabriel’s house.”

  “And was anyone going to tell me about this plan?” I ask, annoyed again. I should have known my tender feelings for Callan wouldn’t last long.

  “No. We knew you wouldn’t like it.”

  I let out an annoyed huff, then move to the closet and grab the Staff. It shimmers the second I touch it as the glamour fades, and I feel a wave of power as I wrap my hand around it. This is the first time I’ve held it, and wow. What a rush. “Your plan sucks. We should both go to Gabriel’s and take the Staff with us.”

  Callan considers for a moment. “Fine. I don’t want you going anywhere on your own.”

  Araceli suddenly lands on the balcony, drawing our attention. “The humans have breached the gates!”

  I breathe a little sigh of relief hearing it’s not the Order, but the relief is short-lived as a drone follows Araceli to the bell tower. Callan blasts it with a beam of burning light, and it explodes on our balcony in a flash. We all duck and cover our heads, until the smoke clears.

  “Let’s go,” I say, as I rise up again.

  “Uh, Liv, you probably want to leave the Staff here,” Araceli says. “I’ll glamour it again. You guys go help the others. They’re fighting at the gates and the humans have guns. Be careful.”

  I hold the Staff out to her, but then I’m reluctant to let go of it. It’s so powerful, and I could use it in this battle. Why should I give it up?

  “Liv?” Araceli asks.

  I shake my head to clear my thoughts and hand her the Staff. Shit. I should probably stay away from that thing.

  “I don’t like the idea of you fighting out there,” Callan says, as we walk onto the balcony.

  “Too bad, because you can’t keep me in a bubble all the time. Besides, the Duskhunters aren’t after me.”

  “That’s the only reason I’m letting you go.” He grabs my arm and pulls me in for a scorchingly hot, possessive kiss. “Besides, I know you had the best combat teacher.”

  “Yeah, Hilda is great,” I reply with a wink. He rolls his eyes as we take off.

  As we launch into the air, we immediately see more drones up ahead, and Callan zooms toward them. He’s faster than me, but I’m right behind him, ready to end this battle quickly before the humans hurt anyone. The Duskhunters haven’t attacked in about a year, but we’re ready for them this time.

  Before I reach the gates, someone grabs me around the waist from behind and tugs me back. At first I think it’s Callan, but no, he’s in front of me. And it’s not one of the other guys either. This isn’t a protective grip, but a dangerous one—I’m being dragged away against my will. I open my mouth to scream as I fight back, but then a hood goes over my head and everything goes dark and silent.

  “Callan!” I scream. “Help me!”

  The person holding me is flying away, and no one stops them. We must be concealed somehow, whether through darkness, like a Fallen, or light bending, like an Ishim, I can’t tell. All I know is that I’m being kidnapped, and no one is coming to help me.

  I scream and fight, using every move I can pull from the training sessions with Callan and Tanwen, but nothing works. It’s like I’m fighting an invisible enemy. No matter how hard I fight, I can’t get my arms free or even hit the person holding me. I can feel the steel grip on my arms and my back pressed against them, but when I try to hit them, I pass through thin air. How is this possible?

  Grace. It has to be. She did something like this to Callan when we fought her at the farmhouse. Intangibility must be her Archangel power.

  Panic and rage war for control inside me as I try to do something, anything, to escape. I create a burst of light, but it’s not much and wouldn’t do much to Grace anyway. I do have another trick though. I let loose my seductive powers, silently willing Grace to desire me and bow to my will.

  It works, but only barely
. Her grip loosens for a second, and I’m able to wiggle the hood free enough that I can see the trees under us. Grace tries to yank the hood back down, but I struggle and twist in her arms. That’s when I realize it’s not Grace holding me, but a man.

  A man with black and white wings.

  I manage to scream and flail harder, directing more of my power at him. For a split second, my fingers grasp skin and feathers, before he goes intangible again. I try to wiggle away, but it’s like struggling against a boulder. He’s not going to let me go, no matter what I do. Damn it, I wish I could teleport like my dad!

  Below us, I spot the arched trees with the secret doorway to Hellspawn and know that if I can just get to them, I’ll be safe. Once on the other side, I can find Baal or someone else to help me. Please let me make it there somehow.

  And then, without any reasonable explanation, I’m free.

  I’m standing in front of the archway, with a fistful of black and white feathers. Up above me by about twenty feet is the angel who kidnapped me. He’s ridiculously handsome with shortly cropped hair the color of spun gold and those striking wings that remind me a lot of Azrael’s. In fact, other than the hair he looks a lot like Azrael, minus the scary black eyes.

  He spots me below and starts to lunge toward me, but then Callan yells, “Liv!”

  “I’m here!” I call out, just as Callan flies overhead.

  When I look back at the other angel, he’s gone. He either disappeared into thin air, or he went invisible.

  Callan lands beside me, still wielding his twin swords. “What happened? I looked back and you were gone. Are you okay?”

  I throw my arms around him. “I’m fine. Someone kidnapped me, but I got away.”

  “What?” he roars. “Who?”

  “An Ishim, I think.” I glance down at the feathers in my hands. Who was that man? Was he working with the Duskhunters? Or for the Order?