Fallen Academy: Year Two (Fallen Academy #2)(45)

Take that, you judgy bastards.

“Shall we see what these two princesses have for us?” the announcers asked, and the crowd went wild.

An older man, an Abrus demon with gray streaks in his hair, stepped into the cage and met our eyes, looking briefly at my tattoo. He had an evil air about him, above and beyond that of the searing yellow eyes and red felt horns protruding from his forehead. When his eyes met mine, gooseflesh broke out on my arms. “Place your weapons on the floor in the middle of the cage,” he instructed.

“What?” My head snapped back. What kind of freaking rule was that?

The Abrus demon grinned, showcasing pointy teeth. “We heard you had a seraph blade. Let’s see what it can do. First come, first serve. If you reach the weapons first, you get to pick whichever one you want.”

The Dark Mage chick grinned, eyeing Sera on my thigh.

‘Let her try. I’ll burn her hand off and blind her!’ Sera spat.

I tried to keep from smiling as I pulled Sera from the holster, placing her in the center of the room. It felt absolutely awful to be without her, but I knew she could handle herself. If they wanted to play by those rules, I would beat them by those rules.

With a grunt, Shea did the same, leaving her two discs on the floor.

We both backed up to the far wall, weaponless. The other fighters placed their weapons on the ground as well, a large serrated sword and a spiky mace at the end of a chain.

The Abrus demon held his hands against the cage, and the metal began to light up an electric blue.

“When I leave, this cage will be electrified. The only way out is if you kill your opponent or they submit. If one teammate submits, the entire team is disqualified. No other rules exist,” he said with a grin, his blazing yellow eyes gazing over my tattooed chest and black wings with lust.

Freaking creeper.

“Let’s get this night started! Last team left standing, gets ooooone miiiiiillion dollars!” the announcer roared.

Just like that, the Abrus demon was gone and a buzzer went off. I scrambled to get my footing, totally unprepared for the start, and ran toward our weapons. The Dark Mage threw something right at me, a purplish black blob spinning through the air, but Shea’s own spell collided with it.

I ducked down low, two feet from reaching Sera, when that damn Beast Shifter pulled a switchblade on me. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw the moment he yanked the hidden weapon from behind him. He chucked it, and I reared back in an attempt to dodge the blade, but it sank into my bicep before I even had a chance to get out of the way. Pain exploded in arm, but I ignored it and reached over with my good hand to pull the knife out swiftly. Lincoln would say there was no time for pain.

Blood started bubbling up out of the wound. I quickly yanked at a strip of cloth I’d knotted around my thigh just for that purpose, tying it off with my teeth while my bestie kept the Dark Mage engaged and I held my eyes on the Beast Shifter. He’d grabbed Sera and his sword, and was gunning it for me.

Good luck, asshole.

Just as I thought it, Sera lit up in his hand and he yelped, dropping her.

I was ready.

Bursting forward, I scrambled to pick up my weapon, flinching when the torn muscle in my upper arm protested. As I neared the shifter, I smelled the burning flesh where Sera had scorched him. Using my advantage, I flapped my wings to propel me forward, taking up nearly the entire span of the cage as I hurled myself at him. He tried to hinder my advance with his sword, but I threw my steel cuff up to block him as Sera shot out with a precise beam of light that blinded him.

He let out an animal’s roar and started to swipe out blindly. I crouched to the ground, slashing out at his ankles until he went down—Lincoln had taught me all about the Achilles tendon and how vital it was for standing. I was just about to straddle him and hopefully get him to submit when I heard Lincoln’s scream, and a second later something slammed into my back. My whole body instantly felt like it was on fire.

A panicked cry ripped from me, and immediately Sera started pulsing power into my hand, traveling up my arm and throughout my body.

‘I can take the fire spell, but then you’ll need to drop me because I’ll be too hot to hold for at least an hour until I can dispel it,’ she informed me quickly.

I was on fire. I didn’t see flames, but it sure as hell felt like it. Sweat poured down my face as my skin reddened, and my hands started to shake.

‘Do it,’ I told her.

The power she’d sent throughout my body then snapped back and instantly sucked the spell out. Suddenly her handle was a searing-hot iron. My hand sprang open and Sera fell to the floor, a red-hot glowing dagger.

I spun on the Dark Mage. Lincoln had prepared me for this, saying for the entire year that I had to learn to fight without Sera. He’d turned my body into a weapon, and I was about to throw down on this bitch.

The Beast Shifter was still moaning, backed against the cage, as far as he could go without touching, slashing out with his sword blindly. My guess was that he was sightless for the next few hours until his healing could kick in.

My gaze went to the floor where Shea had been deposited seconds before. Her ear was bleeding and looked half torn off, but otherwise she looked okay. So why wasn’t she getting up?

“Necktie!” Shea shouted, her voice warbled. She must have been under some kind of spell.

Another purple ball flew my way and I fell backward, letting my wings keep me from falling all the way back as I dodged the spell.