Fallen Academy: Year Four (Fallen Academy #4)(30)

“What the hell were you thinking? I feel sick. What if they kill me?” I paced the gymnasium, as Lincoln, Noah and Shea snickered on the sidelines.

“They’re not going to kill you,” Lincoln told me confidently.

“You might just limp for a few days,” my best friend added while sharpening her blade on a pumice stone.

“Great!” I threw my arms up in frustration.

Noah watched silently with a slight smirk in place. “How do you expect to kill the Devil himself, if you can’t spar with some archangels?” he asked.

Ugh. He had a point.

Dammit.

The gymnasium door opened then, and I swallowed hard. All four archangels walked in, chatting casually while dressed to kill. Their silver armor was inlaid with gold, and polished to a reflective shine resembling a mirror. One glance at Michael’s giant sword, and I felt weak in the knees. Not to mention the four gigantic sets of white wings. Yet, the way their hair swayed when they walked made me question if this was about to be a battle or a runway show, but I knew this was going to hurt.

“Good evening, Brielle,” Uriel greeted me formally. I hadn’t gotten to know him as well as the others, but he seemed the most reserved and shy of the bunch.

“Hey,” I gulped.

Raphael broke into a wide smile. “She thinks we’re going to pulverize her.”

I crossed my arms defiantly. “Hey, no mind reading! That’s not fair.”

A streak of blond hair sailed past me, and suddenly Michael was by my side. “This practice is not intended to break you, or for us to try our hardest to kill you. It’s to push you in ways we know Lucifer will, so you can be most prepared to fight him.”

I’d forgotten why we were here, what my name was. Michael was standing so close, I could feel the heat of his arm through my shirt. I gulped, stepping back a little. Why were they so nice to look at?

I shook my head, very aware that my husband was watching me.

Sera would have gotten a kick out of this.

“We trained with Lucifer in his infancy, after all,” Gabriel added, squaring off with Michael.

“So, he can be killed, right?” I had asked them before, but I needed confirmation again.

Michael nodded. “Believe it or not, he has a soul. One that can be freed upon the destruction of his body.”

Gabriel stepped forward, pressing in on me with his light. I could feel it on my skin as a tangible thing. “In which case, his soul will be released to be judged by the Creator.”

Yikes. That sounded scary, but totally deserved.

Raphael cleared his throat. “But I feel I should mention that there is always meant to be balance in the world, and wiping out Lucifer doesn’t mean all evil will leave Earth. Some new evil will rise, and we will always have the demons he has created to contend with.”

That made shitty sense, but the new evil wouldn’t be as bad as Lucy was, right?

I just nodded, letting everything they said swirl around my head. “He creates demons that kill and enslave humans. He’s ruthless, incapable of love, and completely void of compassion. The world is better off without him,” I declared.

Michael was grinning like a proud father, but Raphael looked more reserved. “The prophecy says you will indeed kill him, but that choice rests solely on you, my dear.”

Free will.

Hah, if he thought I could be talked out of it, he was trippin. Lucy tortured me in Hell, stole Sera, and captured Raksha. He tried to kill everyone I loved. There was no way I would let that thing live.

Raphael nodded as if he had heard my thoughts. “Then let us train. Don’t go easy on us, Brielle. Use your combined magic, and we’ll push you to your breaking point, in an effort to prepare you for the days ahead.”

Breaking point. I gulped.

Michael nodded. “We’ll protect you as best we can, but Lucifer must not be allowed into the gates of Heaven.”

Obviously.

How awful would it be if that happened and it was all my fault?

Dread turned in my stomach. What if I couldn’t resist him? What if he forced me to open the gates and slaughtered all the angels there? Don’t fear. Don’t fear.

Oh God. I’m going to be sick.

Raphael stepped forward, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. A healing energy rolled through me, chasing away my anxiety.

“Whatever will be will be, and that’s okay,” he declared.

Oh, Raph. Such a good guy, always making it seem okay if I made mistakes.

Without warning, I leapt forward and pulled him into a hug. Our armor clinked together in the process, making it a bit awkward. I wanted him to know how much it meant to me that he was always guiding me, allowing me to be me, and not making me feel bad for my mistakes.

His arms came around me immediately, squeezing me back. “We’re very proud of you, Brielle. No matter what,” he confessed over my head.

I was going to cry if I didn’t pull away soon, so I stepped back from him and nodded.

“But our pride will intensify if you lay a beatdown on him.” Michael winked.

Ahhh, a Michael wink. The only thing equal to a Lincoln wink.

“Let’s begin. We have our poker game in an hour,” Uriel stated from the corner of the room, where he looked quite bored.

The three angels shot him a look, and his cheeks reddened.