Fallen Academy: Year Two (Fallen Academy #2)(60)

Just then, something wrapped around my ankle, jerking me backward. The sudden movement caused Lincoln to slip in my arms and I… I dropped him.

I dropped him right over the war zone.

Oh God.

“Lincoln!” I screamed until my voice was hoarse.

It was only about a twenty-foot drop, but his wings weren’t out. At this height, will he break his legs? Oh, Lincoln!

“Like I said, you’re coming with me,” Lucifer called from behind me.

‘Castrate him already!’ Sera screamed, flaring to life.

Anger snapped inside of me and I felt the darkness blaze within me. Raphael was right. I was feeding the darkness. I was angry, but not at the world, or Raphael, or even God. I was mad at this asshole right in front of me.

“Ahhhh!” I screamed as my face shook with rage and hot black magic flew from my throat, wrapping around Lucifer’s head. The second it hit his face, it dissolved, as if it were unable to harm him.

Oh frick.

“Yes!” Lucifer shouted with pride, pulling on the black rope that held my ankle. “You will make a great archdemon,” he purred.

Archdemon.

It’s true? This whole time… it was true.

Tiffany’s stupid blonde face popped into my head then and I wanted to cry.

“No, she won’t,” a familiar voice called out, and then a streak of blue light cut through the black band around my leg, like it was lightning.

“Hello, old friend.” Lucifer grinned in Archangel Michael’s direction.

Michael wasted no words, just flew at the Devil blindingly fast until they crashed together like two meteors exploding in the sky.

That’s when the fatigue hit me. The Celestial ball, flying with Lincoln, it had zapped every last ounce of energy I possessed, and suddenly I was falling.

Landing in Lincoln’s arms was the last thing I saw.





Chapter Twenty-Three





When I came to, there were hushed voices. My mouth felt dry, and I had practically melted into the bed with exhaustion. Peeling my eyes open, I saw it actually wasn’t a bed but a sleeping bag, and I was in a tent.

“I think he’s fled back to the underworld.” Lincoln’s voice was strong, and I nearly cried hearing it. He was okay.

“I’m not taking any chances. The other Archangels are coming to escort Brielle back to the academy, which is where she’ll need to stay.” Michael’s voice was fatigued and sharp.

“Yes. Thank you, sir,” Lincoln replied.

“Linc,” I mumbled loudly, wondering how many hours had passed. I needed water and a ten-hour nap.

Lincoln burst into the tent then, and I was surprised to see he looked relatively unharmed.

“You’re okay,” he breathed.

I nodded. If by okay, he meant the Devil was chasing me and I felt like I’d been hit by a truck, then yeah, I was okay.

He knelt down beside me.

“What happened? Lucifer? Your wings?” I asked, sitting up slowly. I reached down to my thigh to do a quick check and make sure Sera was still with me. Then my eyes fell to the small diamond band on my left finger and I smiled.

I’m promised.

Lincoln rolled out his shoulder. “They’re broken, but Noah says they’ll heal in time. I just can’t use them.” He was a soldier. Without his wings, he could get hurt.

“Lucifer?” I asked again.

Anger lit up Lincoln’s face. “Gone for now. But Brielle….” He was having a hard time composing himself.

I nodded. “I heard. I can’t leave Fallen Academy for a while.”

His eyes went cobalt. “Forever.”

I recoiled. “What?”

Lincoln grasped my hands. “Brielle, it’s the only place you can be safe.”

I puffed air through my teeth. “I’m a Fallen Army soldier. How can I help with the war if I’m hiding on campus?”

Lincoln sighed and looked out the tent’s open flap. “You can run the healing clinic or advise.”

Advise? What the hell did that even mean? I knew he was trying to help, and I did want to focus on my healing studies, but I also wanted to be out there, in the war zones, ferrying the people into Angel City.

“So I just hide for the rest of my life?” My voice felt hollow, and in that moment, the Dark Prince’s words came back to me.

Archdemon. I’m an archdemon.

‘Oh hooey, what does that shit-for-brains know?’ Sera voiced, but I couldn’t get that dark thought out of my mind. It had latched on tightly, and now I felt it would consume me.

Lincoln ran a hand through his hair. “No, you can’t hide for the rest of your life. Look, we’ll figure this out, okay? For the next two years, you’ll stay on campus and… we’ll figure this out.”

Two years.

“Can I still sleep over on weekends?” Technically his apartment was just off campus.

He swallowed hard. “The demon alarm doesn’t extend to my apartment complex, so…”

My face fell. Next year everyone would be getting apartments, and I’d be stuck in the dorms.

“But I’ll see about getting you your own room, or I’ll buy you a trailer,” he rambled.

He was being agreeable, so I would decide to stay on campus. I knew him too well. But I also didn’t want to get kidnapped by the Devil, and taken to Hell to do God knew what, and become some Archdemon. I just nodded. I’d do what was best for me and for Lincoln.