Fallen Academy: Year Four (Fallen Academy #4)(14)

Lincoln nodded. “It’s hard when you want them to succeed so badly, but you can’t do the work for them.”

He was right. I’d forgotten that he had been my mentor—still was, technically—for so much of my journey at Fallen Academy. He knew exactly how I felt, and how invested I was in this group.

I’d set up three little areas in the parking lot with stacked boxes and crates, broken pieces of wood and hay bales, so each group could try to contain their demon within the allotted space.

Lincoln called Shea and me over to the SUV, to help him unload the demons. “We’ve got some stainless-steel carriers, but I’m not sure how long they’ll hold up to the acid spitters.”

Not long at all, if memory served me right. I could almost feel a phantom tingle on my foot where I’d been scorched by the buggers.

When Lincoln opened the door to the car, a puff of smoke trickled out instantly.

“Stop that!” Noah kicked one of the steel cages, where the Yew demon must have been. There were a few air holes on the side, and a red little eye zeroed in on me.

I hope my students are ready for this.

We grappled with the cages, careful not to line up with the air holes. Peering inside, I noticed Lincoln had taped the Snakeroot demons’ mouths shut.

“Get ready!” I called out to the students, then began to open the cage. I was sure they’d get the tape off themselves, so I wasn’t going to mess with it and get burned.

The moment I opened the door, a Snakeroot demon shot out and up into the air. With quick hands, he pulled the tape off and then jerked his head in my direction.

“I’m coming for you, Brielle,” his tiny voice declared, sending chills up my arms.

The fact that this demon knew my name had my students pausing. They just stood there in shock, probably never having heard one speak.

“Soon you will make good on your promise to me,” the demon declared with a glassy-eyed look.

What the fuck?

Lincoln stormed over to my area and withdrew his gun, pointing it at the demon’s chest. “What the hell did you just say?” His eyes were wide, and he looked as shocked as I felt.

Did Lucifer just talk to me through a demon?

“You won’t be able to save her,” the snakeroot threatened before tipping his head back and cackling with laughter. The sound coming from the small creature was shrill and high-pitched, to the point that my ears started to ache.

Lincoln threw the car keys to Noah, and without a word, the healing Celestial started pulling me toward the SUV.

“Get her back to campus!” Lincoln roared.

Everything slowed down for me in that moment. My mom and brother were watching with worried eyes, and my students were frozen when they should have been fighting their demons.

I’d become complacent. I’d forgotten the deal I’d made with the Devil. I’d focused on other things, more important things, like my class and the new Demon Hunter Academy. Yet, Lucy was still waiting for me.

And just like that, the hole in my chest that I’d worked to fill with Lincoln’s love drained into a gaping cavern.

Sera… Raksha.

I was here playing house while my friends were literally living through Hell.

“Take me to Elodie’s,” I told Noah, getting into the car.

Raksha’s wife and son had been given permanent housing on campus, for fear of retaliation against them from Lucifer. I had checked in on them now and then, but it was hard for me to see them when they reminded me of Raksha, and her sacrifice to save me. Did Lucifer kill her? I didn’t even know if he bought our fight, and the story that I’d overpowered her and escaped.

Noah just nodded, careening the SUV onto the side road just inside the academy gates. It was a Saturday, so they should be home. Sure enough, as we pulled up, I noticed Elodie outside the small dorm building, reading a book in a chair as her son played in the grass nearby.

“Thanks. I’ll walk back,” I told Noah and opened the door.

“I can wait,” he offered.

I shook my head. “No, I need time to clear my head.” I was safe inside the academy walls with the demon alarm, so I knew he wouldn’t fight me.

“Hey, Bri? You’re not alone.” Reaching out, he gave my hand a squeeze.

A small fake smile pulled at my lips before I yanked my hand away, and shut the door.

He was wrong. I was alone. I was all alone. No one knew what it felt like to carry this burden.

Elodie looked up and put her book down, standing to greet me. “Hey, Brielle. I didn’t expect it to be you.”

She looked okay. Not brimming over with happiness, but not dying of depression either. But just because a person looked okay didn’t mean they were on the inside. Each day she lived without her wife felt like it was my fault.

As Noah pulled the SUV out onto the road, I walked closer, giving her a small wave and then nervously clasping my hands behind my back.

“Hey. It’s been a while, so I thought I would see how you two are doing.”

Elodie and I faced her son, watching him play in the grass a few yards away.

“We’re great. I love my job at the library, and our apartment here is much nicer than the one in Demon City.”

I nodded, watching the small boy, the hole in my chest cracking open wider and wider. Suddenly I turned, facing Elodie. “But are you really okay?” Tears streamed down my cheeks as I was unable to hold them in any longer. “Because I just left her there. She told me to leave her and I did, but now I wonder if I could have found another way, or—”