Fallen Academy: Year Two (Fallen Academy #2)(41)

Lincoln reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. That was his let-down pose; he was about to let me down, and the hand on shoulder was my consolation prize.

“I suggested that, but the archangels agreed that a seraph blade should never be allowed in the hands of the demons.”

I mean, I loved Sera, and I knew she was powerful but… she was just a weapon.

‘Hey,’ she retorted.

‘Sorry.’

Lincoln leaned close to whisper in my ear. “I overheard Michael saying Sera could open the gates of Heaven. She has that much power. Can you imagine if the demons had the key to Heaven?”

My whole body went rigid, and chills broke out on my arms.

“Secrets don’t make friends,” Shea pouted from a few feet away, but I was still spinning his words in my head.

‘Is that true? Can you open the gates of Heaven?’ I asked my infinity weapon.

‘How should I know? I’ve been stuck in a cabinet for over a decade waiting for you, with little memory of before that. But it feels right,’ she told me.

Wow. I didn’t even know what to say to that.

“Okay, well, we’re going to win, so…” We had to win now. There was no way I could let Lincoln work off my mom’s debt.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I have faith in you.”

For some reason, those words made me feel worse. Lincoln was putting his life in my hands, and I wasn’t sure that was such a good idea.





Chapter Sixteen





“I feel sick,” Shea said as she paced Lincoln’s carpet.

“Me too,” I admitted.

Chloe, Luke, Lincoln, and Noah were all sitting around, waiting with us until it was time to leave for Fight Night.

Lincoln stood. “You’ve trained, we’ve gotten Grim to agree to the contract, and your mother is on board with the plan. You got this.”

Hearing his logical words should have made me feel better, but it didn’t. This wasn’t Angel City we were going to, it was Demon City. Home of the rule breakers, risk takers, and stab you in the backers. They weren’t going to play by the rules. We had to be ready for every dirty trick in the book.

Shea pulled a baggie out of her pocket. “Magic is allowed. I made these energy lozenges. As we weaken with each fight, we’ll take one and get an adrenaline surge. It’ll carry us through to the end. Hopefully.”

I nodded. The lozenges would be much needed in the end I was sure.

Chloe cleared her throat. “How many fights are there?”

Chloe’s dad, owner of the Third Eye Moon club and basically vampire overlord, was sending some of his men to the fight to make sure Grim kept his word if we won.

“Seven.” Noah stood. “Lincoln and I won’t make it through all of them, so we’re going to go in shifts. Lincoln will go for the first four fights. I’ll go for the last three. You’re allowed to get healings, so we’ll both be healing you between the fights.”

It was a good plan. I had Sera, and we’d been training like crazy. At this point, Shea and I could join some elite supernatural assassin force if there were one. We were killing machine badasses, but I still felt a lump in my throat.

“Yeah,” I answered absentmindedly.

“And Chloe and Luke will be able to be there the whole time because….” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Because we’re demon gifted, born of the demons’ loins.” Chloe smirked at Noah.

Lincoln was watching me, assessing, and sizing me up with those ocean blue eyes.

“Can I speak to you privately for a minute?” my boyfriend asked me, nodding toward his room.

My stomach became a ball of nerves, as I started to walk in that direction. Once he’d closed the door behind him, he snapped around to face me.

“Stop that!” he hissed.

My eyes widened. “Stop what?”

His shirt was so tight I could see the bulging muscles just underneath. Lincoln was a warrior through and through. He crossed the space between us, cradling my face.

“Stop doubting yourself. What the hell is there to be nervous about? You’ve got this,” he declared.

My body melted at his touch, my nerves chased away by his words.

“How many other kids there do you think have had round-the-clock training from some of the best military officers in the field?” he asked.

I grinned. “Isn’t Noah supposed to be the cocky one?”

He chuckled. “Just think about it. They’ll be scrappy, dirty, but you and Shea are well trained, precise, and you’re both very, very powerful.”

He was right. Shea and I were born scrappy, but we’d also learned how to be diligent and purposeful in our attacks. We’d also been field trained in the Fallen Army on our weekends out. We were ready.

I’m getting my mom back. Tonight.

Lincoln brushed his thumb along my lower lip. “Do you honestly think I’d let you sign up for something I didn’t believe you could do?”

I shook my head. “No.”

His lips tugged into a radiant smile. “Then you need to believe in yourself. All the big athletes say half the game is played and won in their heads. No more negative thoughts, okay?”

I smirked. “I’m usually the positive one.”