Seraphim Academy 3: Fallen Kings

by Briggs, Elizabeth;

  “No apologies required,” I tell her. I don’t trust my father either.

  “So we can’t trust anyone except the people in this room, but we need a larger force to attack the Duskhunters,” Marcus says. “How are we supposed to get that?”

  “Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong,” Liv says. “If we sneak inside, we don’t need large numbers. We have powers they don’t have. We can use them to get in and out quickly.”

  “Good idea,” Callan says with a firm nod. “Covert. Quick. And deadly.”

  It’s decided then. A stealth mission to rescue two missing people, retrieve the Staff…and save every angel and demon on Earth.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Olivia

  We land on top of the warehouse from Bastien’s vision, already invisible thanks to me, Jonah, and Gabriel. I admire the small force we’ve assembled as the July afternoon sun burns bright in the sky. We have a few hours of daylight left, and we’re not going to waste them.

  Dad sets Lilith down on the metal roof, and I can’t help but notice his hand lingers on her back. Tanwen carried Eveanna over, and they share a quiet moment before we begin. I’ve only ever seen Jophiel in a business suit before, but now she wears bronze armor and wields a spear. Remind me not to pick a fight with the CEO of Aerie Industries. Lilith’s changed too, no longer wearing her ballgown, but some jeans and a t-shirt borrowed from my closet.

  “Good luck.” I turn toward Callan and give him a hug. Our siblings are in there, and we must get them out alive. He clutches me tightly, while his mother eyes us with a frown but doesn’t say a word. She has bigger things on her mind.

  I give Kassiel, Marcus, and Bastien a quick kiss too, partly to take a tiny bit of their energy, and partly because we have no idea how this is going to go down. Then Araceli and I hug, and she whispers, “Don’t worry, we got this.”

  Eveanna bends metal to open the skylight, which is large enough for us to each slip inside. The third floor of the warehouse is below us, and we drop down onto the top of a large modular office. Once we’re all inside, we split into three teams, each with an Ishim for invisibility. Gabriel leads Lilith, Tanwen, and Eveanna around the back, toward the room Bastien saw in his vision. Their job is to rescue Lena from that cage. Jonah takes Araceli, Marcus, and Kassiel, who can help conceal them with shadows if light fails us. They’re tasked with getting the Staff and flying it to safety. Then there’s my team: Callan, Jophiel, and Bastien. We’re getting Ekariel. Somehow.

  Except when we move to the front of the third floor and glance down, we see splitting up wasn’t necessary. All the Duskhunters are gathered in one spot, standing in a circle, wearing gray hoods. A man with a beard stands in the center holding the Staff, while Ekariel and a chained Lena face him on either side.

  Oh fuck. They’re about to use the Staff. I turn to Callan with panic written across my face.

  “Time for plan B,” he says.

  Callan’s gold-tipped wings flare out as he drops down silently behind the group of humans, and he immediately snaps one of their necks. His huge sword is out a second later, cutting through two more nearby. Shit, he is not messing around.

  There’s no way I can keep him invisible like that, but he doesn’t seem to care, and neither does Jophiel. At the sight of her lost son she lets out a cry, then raises her spear and charges into battle.

  So much for stealth.

  It turns to pure chaos after that. Callan throws up a golden light shield when the humans fire guns at our group in quick succession. Other Duskhunters pull out weapons imbued with light and darkness and charge us. Tanwen immediately gets in the fight, cutting through the Duskhunters with her sword and blasting them with burning light. Araceli and Eveanna use their fae magic, while us Ishim try to remain invisible and focus on the reason we’re here. I slip through the battle using my invisibility and my new blinking power while heading for the group in the middle.

  I nearly stumble when I see my sister. Bastien was right. She looks like a younger version of me. I feel an immediate wave of protectiveness toward her and continue forward with renewed determination.

  “Do it! Now!” The man with the beard thrusts the Staff into Ekariel’s hands, and the angel moves closer to Lena. She hesitates, then lifts a hand to wrap it around the Staff with Ekariel, looking at him with devotion.

  That’s when my mother lets loose her succubus powers. It washes over the entire room of Duskhunters, making them pause. No one can resist her. Or disobey her when she commands, “Kneel!”

  The leader drops down to his knees, and Tanwen grabs him around the neck, lifts him up into the air, and sets him on fire with her burning Erelim light. “That’s for my mother, asshole.”

  Note to self: do not piss Tanwen off.

  The Staff begins to emit pulses of light and darkness. My mother’s power does nothing to stop Lena, who is immune since she’s part succubus, or Ekariel, who must be either ridiculously powerful…or in love. I had the same problem when he was holding me.

  I don’t know what to do, but I have to stop this. I run full tilt toward Lena and grab her around the waist, knocking her to the ground with me. She’s chained to the floor so we don’t go very far, and she lets out a yell and then shoves me off her. At least she’s away from the Staff.

  Callan’s fighting Ekariel for the Staff, but he’s careful because he doesn’t want to hurt his brother. Ekariel doesn’t have the same problem. He glares at Callan with pure hatred as he picks up a dark-infused blade off the ground.

  “Ekariel!” Jophiel’s voice fills the air, and the other angel freezes with the Staff raised. He turns toward his mother and something like recognition crosses his face, before Marcus grabs him from behind and makes him fall asleep. The Staff hits the ground, and Jonah rushes forward to grab it, while Jophiel runs to her son.

  “Mom?” Lena asks, and I turn toward the sound.

  Lilith’s holding the girl in her arms, stroking her wild hair, while they both sob. “I’ve got you, baby. Mama’s here.”

  I can’t help but stare at the two of them. Lena looks just like me, but her eyes are haunted and I can tell she’s been through a lot. My heart breaks for her, and I hope I can help her recover from this somehow. If nothing else, I’ll be there for her however I can.

  Eveanna comes over and breaks Lena’s light-infused chains, and I realize most of the fighting has stopped. The Duskhunters have all fled or are lying dead around us. Tanwen and Bastien finish off the last brave fools who try to take us down.

  As soon as she’s free, Lena throws Lilith back and crawls toward Ekariel, screaming his name like she’s in pain. It’s so shocking most of us don’t react fast enough, but then Araceli steps in and puts the poor girl to sleep.

  Lilith kneels beside Lena’s unconscious body, and Gabriel moves in to speak softly with her. His hand slowly rubs circles on her back, and then she stands and presses her face to his chest while he holds her close. Oh yeah, there’s something going on between them. Try as she might to deny it, I feel that surge of love between them, and know there’s hope for my parents yet.

  Kassiel pulls me into his arms for a fast hug. “I’m going to go with Lilith and Lena. They’ll need help, but I’ll return tomorrow to destroy the Staff. I promise.”

  “Thank you.” I appreciate him so much. He stayed close to my mom through the entire battle, and now he’s doing so much more. He gives me a quick kiss, and then moves to Lilith and shares a few words with her. She nods, and then he bends down to pick up Lena.

  “Thank you,” Lilith says to the group, with tears still in her eyes. She turns to Jophiel, and the two mothers share a shell-shocked look of understanding. They both have a long road ahead of them. I hope they can get past whatever issues they might have with each other to work through this together.

  Gabriel wraps his arms around Lilith, and then the four of them take off. Callan starts to pick up Ekariel, but Jophiel yells, “Don’t touch him!”

  Callan steps back with his
hands raised, while Jophiel takes Ekariel in her arms. Her copper wings flare out and she flies away, carrying him with her angelic strength.

  “We should quickly search the premises,” Bastien says. “We know they had fae relics and infused blades.”

  I nod, although I’m feeling so emotionally and physically drained my hunger is rising up in full force. Good thing it doesn’t take too long to search the warehouse and confiscate everything important we find. Then Araceli sets the entire place on fire, while Eveanna causes a localized earthquake to make the building crumble. No wonder the fae are so feared.

  Jonah’s still holding the Staff, and even through the exhaustion and my complicated feelings about Lena, I breathe a tiny sigh of relief. We’ve got it back, and now we can destroy it—once and for all.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Olivia

  “I can’t believe he’s alive,” Callan mutters. He looks utterly defeated, even though we won.

  It’s late now, and everyone’s gone home to recover from the day’s events. Tanwen and Eveanna are protecting the Staff tonight, while Bastien and Marcus are hiding the relics and infused weapons in the house in Angel Peak, with plans to go through them after the Staff is destroyed. I should head to bed myself, but Callan seemed like he needed to talk, so we decided to have a drink together in the bell tower.

  He takes a long swig of his beer. “I knew Ekariel wouldn’t recognize me, since we’ve never met or anything, but I didn’t expect him to try to kill me either.”

  I’m sitting next to Callan on the couch, and I lean against him. “He’s been living with the Duskhunters since he was four. It’s all he knows. But he’ll come around in time, I’m sure of it, especially with your help.”

  “I’ll try to help, but I’m not sure what I can do.” He wraps a muscular arm tightly around me. “At least Lena recognized Lilith. She wasn’t all gone.”

  “It’s going to be a long road to recovery for both of them. And Ekariel seemed to recognize Jophiel too, at least on some instinctual level.”

  “It’s got to be hard for him. He grew up without either of his parents around.”

  “True, although look how Grace turned out. Maybe it’s better he didn’t grow up with Azrael as his father.”

  “Maybe.” His jaw suddenly clenches. “Maybe that’s why I’m so fucked up too.”

  I sit up and turn around to face him, shocked by his words. He’s usually so arrogant. “What do you mean?”

  Callan stares into his empty beer bottle. “Michael wasn’t the greatest father either.”

  I blink at him. “I thought Michael was the golden boy, the perfect leader who could do no wrong, loved and respected by all.”

  “Yeah, in public.” He lets out a bitter laugh, then covers his face with his hand. “Shit, I’ve never told anyone this.”

  I rub his arm and keep my voice soft. “You can tell me, Callan.”

  He leans forward and sets the empty bottle down on the coffee table. “Everyone knew Michael had a temper. It’s common among Erelim. But in public he controlled it or directed it at our enemies. In private, he would get…angry. He had high expectations of me as his son, and when I didn’t live up to them it got ugly.”

  “Ugly how?” I whisper. “Did he hurt you?”

  Callan won’t meet my eyes. “Sometimes.”

  My heart breaks at the pain in his voice. “I’m so sorry. Did you mother know?”

  “I think she suspected, but she was in denial or something. She could never see Michael as anything but our glorious leader. And it’s not like she was winning any mother-of-the-year awards either. I barely saw her or my dad when I was growing up, unless they wanted to train me, show me off, or scold me for doing something wrong, which happened a lot. Failure was not an option, not for the son of two Archangels.”

  I think of how relaxed Gabriel and Ariel have always been with Jonah and bite my lip. “It shouldn’t have been that way.”

  “No, but that’s my legacy.” His eyes finally meet mine. “It feels wrong to speak of him like this when he’s dead. And even though he could be harsh with me, I still cared for him and wanted to please him. I still mourned his death and wanted revenge. Even now I hope he’s proud of me.”

  I take his hand and grip it tightly. “Michael wanted peace with demons. He made the Staff of Eternity and the Earth Accords. I’m certain he would be proud.”

  “Thanks,” he says, but he still sounds distant.

  “Callan, no matter what happened with your parents or what they did or said, you’re not them. You’ve risen above your past and changed for the better. I’ve seen it myself these last three years.” I touch the sun-and-moon necklace he gave me, which I always wear now. “You’ve become a much better man. One I care about a lot.”

  Callan gazes into my eyes and then slides a hand to the back of my neck to pull me close. His mouth slants over mine and kisses me softly, but the second his lips touch mine, my suppressed hunger surges. I grip his arms, digging my nails into them, as I devour his mouth while pressing my body against his. He tastes so good, so masculine and powerful, and I can’t get enough. I need more.

  He pulls back with an amused grin. “Whoa, someone is hungry.”

  “You have no idea. I could gobble you up and then have seconds with Marcus. Maybe Bastien for thirds.”

  Lust flashes in his eyes. “We might be able to arrange that.”

  He grabs his phone and sends off a text, while I slide my hands up his thighs, heading for the erection I see growing in his jeans. He tosses his phone to the side as I unbutton his pants and drop down to kneel in front of the couch. I wrap my lips around his bulging cock and suck him into my mouth fast.

  Fuck, he tastes amazing.

  His fingers thread through my hair as he groans. I swirl my tongue along the head of his cock, but then I hear something that makes me pause. The sound of wings.

  Bastien and Marcus fly into the bell tower, and I realize Callan was serious. He told the other Princes to head over here so I could have sex with all of them. Oh yeah, he really deserves this blow job. I give it to him good, while the other two men approach. Their lust hits me hard, and it’s obvious they like the show.

  “Enough,” Callan orders, pushing me back.

  I’m pulled to my feet by the other two men, and then their hands are all over me. Undressing me. Kissing me. Turning me between them so they can suck and pinch and caress. I reach for their clothes too, yanking them off. Callan joins us in our circle of lust, and soon he’s naked too. We all are.

  “Are you hungry enough for all three of us?” Marcus asks, as he squeezes my breasts.

  Callan’s hands reach between my thighs and he shoves a finger inside me. Then he pulls it out and holds his finger up. “See how wet she is? She wants us. All three of us.”

  “Yes,” I practically purr. My succubus side is going wild with all of them touching me. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

  “She’s going to need to feed a lot after today’s events,” Bastien says in his coldly logical tone, as he grips my ass. “But I’m certain we can sate her if we work together.”

  Callan sits on the couch and grabs my hips, dragging me down onto his lap, with my back to him. His intentions are clear. He’s the leader, and he goes first. But facing out like this, I’m free to give Bastien and Marcus some attention too. I pull Bastien toward me and slide his cock into my mouth, while I work Marcus with my hands. At the same time I flex my hips, which slides Callan through my folds. He grabs my breasts as his cock moves inside me, and I cry out at the sudden fullness. Just having him there gives me a rush of pleasure as I feel him deep inside, as deep as he can go.

  Callan bucks his hips, thrusting up into me, making me ride him. Someone’s hands find my clit, and others pinch my nipples, and I’m so lost in the feel of it all I can barely concentrate on pleasing my men. Not that they seem to mind.

  Callan wraps his hand around my neck and pulls me back, kissing me on the throat while
exposing my body for the other two. They both move in, Bastien sucking my breasts, while Marcus flicks my clit with his tongue, and then the orgasm floods me with pleasure. Callan pumps into me the entire time, and then he stops, just as I’m coming down from my climactic high.

  The guys get me back on my feet and change position, working together like they have this all planned. Bastien lies down on the couch and pulls me onto him, and I immediately straddle him and sink onto his cock. The need to be filled is intense, and oh so good once I scratch that itch, especially with someone as big as Bastien.

  Just as I begin riding Bastien, Callan moves behind me, and he grips my ass hard. I freeze as his finger begins probing my back entrance.

  He leans close and whispers in my ear, “I said I was going to fuck you here. Tonight’s the night. My cock in your ass, with Bastien’s in your pussy and Marcus’s in your mouth. Think you can handle it?”

  “Yes,” I whimper, as a second finger joins his first and he begins to stretch me. Preparing me for what’s to come.

  Marcus hands him some lube, and Callan smears it all over his cock, and slides some into me too. I bury my face in Bastien’s neck as Callan moves into position behind me, then I moan deep in my throat as something bigger than a finger presses at my tight hole.

  His cock feels impossibly big as it pushes inside. “That’s it,” Callan says, as he fills me slowly. “You can take it all.”

  I’ve had anal before with some of the men I’ve been with, and I enjoyed it a lot. I’m a succubus, after all. I enjoy everything. But I’ve never had this—two men inside me at once. The pleasure is so intense I can only tremble as they both fill me up. With both of them inside me, I have to let them do all the moving.

  When they do, I shudder as overwhelming sensations wash over me. Callan and Bastien find a rhythm so that when one pulls out, the other pushes in. Their hands roam my skin and massage my breasts, plucking and kneading at my nipples.