by Leia Stone
With a flick of my wrist, the whip wrapped around his neck, and his eyes widened.
“What are you?” he yelled with a strangled cry.
In that moment, I wanted to reply with something ridiculously cheesy, like “your worst nightmare,” but instead I just yanked on the whip and he fell to his knees. The Grimlock demon had recovered from his shock that Shea and I were not plain old humans, and was now trying to brush past me and get to the others. I needed to get him and the Abrus demon out of the cage and shut the door to give Shea enough time to get everyone to safety.
With all the force I could muster, I reached out with my free hand and karate-chopped the Grimlock’s throat, taking him by surprise. Just as Lincoln had taught me. He fell backward and I made quick work of kicking the Abrus demon in the chest while he was still on his knees, which sent him falling backward out of the cage.
One down, one to go.
Grimlock demons were notoriously heavy, as if they were made of cement. Dragging him wouldn’t work, so I’d need to let him stand, and push him back with a fight.
Allowing him to get up, I positioned myself before him and lashed out with my whip, which sent him stumbling backward toward the open doorway. The lights behind me were getting brighter, which I hoped meant Shea was opening the portal with success.
A few more lashes of my whip left scorched burns on the Grimlock’s skin, and then he was out of the cage. Bursting from the barred doorway, I quickly shut the gate behind me with my boot. The entire train station had caught on to the commotion and was now staring at me.
Shit.
Both the Grimlock and the Abrus demon lunged for me at once. I allowed my wings to burst from my back, fully covering the doorway, protecting Shea and the others inside.
Both men froze, clearly in shock.
“Celestial,” the Grimlock spat.
The Abrus demon was looking at me in a different light, almost pleased. “I know who you are.”
In that moment, a figure behind the demons caught my eye for some reason, and I allowed myself to look. The moment my gaze fell on his broad shoulders, the curve of his neck, his ear, my whole body went weak.
Lincoln.
And then the demons pounced on me.
Lunging forward, the Grimlock wrapped his hands around my neck, while the Abrus demon threw black magic around my left whip wrist, pinning it to the ground. I didn’t care. Nothing mattered but the fact that even with his back turned to me, his head shaved, I knew the man talking to a street vendor was my Lincoln.
Unlike the others, he hadn’t noticed the commotion; he was clear on the other side of the platform. I was starting to feel dizzy now with the Grimlock demon choking off my air supply; I needed to act quickly, or risk being killed when I was so close to being reunited with my love.
Lifting my knee high, I connected with the Grimlock’s crotch. His hands fell away from my throat, and I sucked in a deep breath. Then, with every ounce of strength I had left, I screamed.
“Lincoln!”
His name poured from my lips in agony. It had been so long since I’d seen him, or called his name that it actually hurt.
Lincoln’s entire body went rigid, slowly pivoting to face the direction of my call. When his eyes met mine, he shook his head in disbelief. I was so busy staring at him that I didn’t see the Grimlock demon’s fist flying toward my head until it was too late.
Pain exploded in my skull, and I was brought to my knees.
“Brielle!” Lincoln thundered across the market. His wings snapped out, and suddenly he was flying, heading straight to me.
“Go, go!” I heard Shea shout from behind me.
From my knees, I turned to the side and saw a portal to the Fallen Academy entrance had been opened, the women and children running through it in panic. There was a Snakeroot demon who’d pounced atop the bars of the cage, and was spitting acid to melt them, and try to get inside.
Shea looked back at me.
“Go! I’m fine,” I told her, spinning back around to find the Abrus demon with a knife in his hand.
Lincoln was just landing behind him when the demon plunged the knife into my stomach.
Then all hell broke loose.
The searing pain of the knife licked across my skin, as I tried to throw myself backward and away from the blade. Lincoln landed on his feet and reached forward, taking my attacker’s head in his hands. He jerked his neck quickly, breaking it with a sick snapping sound. The Abrus demon fell to the floor in a heap, either dead or unconscious, I didn’t care. Then Lincoln spun on the Grimlock, scooping the knife and going into full-on attack mode.
I looked down quickly, assessing my wound and determining it wasn’t that bad. It seemed superficial, not deep enough to puncture any of my organs—I’d backed up out of the way before he could cause any real damage. What was bad, however, was that every single demon or demon-gifted human in the room had abandoned their shopping, and were all now stalking toward us.
I had no weapons other than my own special gifts. One look over my shoulder told me Shea was gone, along with everyone else—thank God—but I also saw Lincoln was tangled up with the Grimlock demon. I’d have to fight the onslaught of people myself.
I’d waited months in Hell for this moment, and no one was taking it from me. Although it wasn’t the reunion of my dreams, Lincoln was here, and that was all that mattered.
I’d come too close to have this ripped away from me.
With a frustrated cry, I shook both of my hands in front of me at the advancing army, and two whips lashed from my palms, one white and one black.
The advancing crowd stepped back a little at the sight of my weapons, but they soon realized they had knives, guns, and God knew what else, and charged me. With the most rapid movements of my life, I crisscrossed my arms, arcing the whips through the air like a wild woman. They lashed into the faces, necks, and arms of the advancing mob, which actually fell back for a moment, stumbling over each other to escape.
I was preparing to make one of those shields again when I heard Lincoln curse behind me.
“Succubus,” he murmured.
Oh hell.
Please God no.
Please don’t let us die in some Romeo and Juliet fate bullshit, right before our happy ending.
I hadn’t even gotten to speak to Lincoln yet, or touch him, or look him in the eyes. We couldn’t go out like this.
I felt a tug on my waist as Lincoln backed us into a corner, the empty slave cage at our back, and mob of angry assholes dead center. Looking up, I went weak in the knees at the sight of three Succubus psychos crawling upside down on the ceiling, wearing wicked grins. In one swift move, Lincoln tucked me behind him and held his measly dagger before him, like that would do anything.
Rage like I didn’t know I was capable of, boiled inside of me.
“Get behind me!” I growled, sidestepping my man, and positioning myself in front of him.
Something big, ugly, and beautiful was building within me, something that wanted to kill, protect, and defend, was clawing its way out of my soul. Lincoln was my freaking soul mate, confirmed by the archangels themselves. Nothing was going to tear us apart while I was still breathing.
When I felt like the building pressure was too much, I released the beast inside of me, just as the Succubi leapt from their perches in unison. A massive blanket of plasma-like jelly flew from my hands, creating a dome of silverish goo. It slammed into the advancing Succubus demons and draped over them like a wet blanket, pinning them to the floor. They hissed and screamed as the plasma hardened like cement, freezing over them.
They were trapped inside.
What the hell?
It kept coming, pouring from my palms as it covered the rest of the demons, and stall merchants who tried to advance on us, cementing them in place like statues. It hardened within seconds, the demons beneath it beating at the walls in an effort to break out of their prison.
When all of the threats had been immobiliz
ed, the substance stopped coming out of my hands.
I stared at my palms in shock.
This was a new and terrifying power.
Lincoln’s arms quickly went around me and he pulled me into him, pressing me tightly against his chest. I retracted my wings to better fit within his arms as he carried me. The second I smelled him, really smelled him for the first time in so long, I burst into tears. He ran up the stairs with me in his hold, pumping his legs as hard as he could, and kicked down a door. Then sunlight was falling on our faces.
“Stop!” a male voice commanded. I didn’t dare look, just tucked my face into Lincoln’s neck and breathed him in deeply. With one burst, we were airborne, the sound of snapping bullets whizzing past us.
I couldn’t stop sobbing. I couldn’t handle it. It was too much for my fried emotional system.
I was in Lincoln’s arms. He was alive. We were together.
We flew for about twenty minutes before Lincoln started to descend over a thickly wooded area. He hadn’t said one word to me, only held me in a deathly tight grip as we flew in silence.
Once we landed, and were alone in a completely uninhabited area, he finally looked at me for the first time. Really looked at me.
His eyes were lined with tears as he stroked my red hair, my neck, before resting his hand on my chest over my beating heart.
“How?” he croaked.
I could barely speak. “Healer demon fixed me up, but then I was stuck down there.” There was so much more I wanted to say, but I had no idea where to start.
Lincoln was looking at my lips like he wanted to kiss me, but I could tell he was hesitant, like this was all too much for him, like he didn’t believe I was real.
“Brielle, I’ve dreamed of this day a thousand times, and now that it’s come… I fear I’m not the same man you left. Your disappearance… it changed me.” His voice was husky with emotion, and my heart picked up speed at his words.
Stepping forward, I threw my arms around his neck. “Then I’ll fall in love with you all over again.”
It was like he’d been holding his breath the whole time, because at my declaration the air rushed out of him, and we crashed into each other. His hands came up under my butt, lifting me onto him. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I met his open kiss with an eager one of my own. Tears poured down my face, and formed a salty seal around our lips. When his tongue slid into my mouth, I nearly whimpered, I’d forgotten how good he tasted. Everything within me came together then, every broken piece that had torn apart with Lucifer.
Lincoln finally broke away from me, taking my face in his hands, and looking straight into my eyes. “Your absence made me realize how much your presence had made me a better person. I don’t ever want to be without you again. Ever.”
“Neither do I.” I whimpered as he pulled me in for a tight hug.
We held each other for a moment, just breathing in each other’s scent, feeling the heat from our bodies. This was real. I was really back with Lincoln.
When he finally pulled away from me, he had a wild look in his eye. “Marry me. Tomorrow. Right when the courthouse opens,” he begged.
Laughter burst from my lips, complete and utter joy spreading throughout my limbs. We were soul mates, and I didn’t want to be without him for another day in my life. Life was too short for caution. I wanted to live my life to the fullest.
I just nodded because I couldn’t speak, and a huge, gorgeous grin swept across his face.
He pulled me into him again, my head tucked into his chest.
“I can’t believe this is real,” he murmured.
I sighed, relishing the warmth of his body against mine, his smell, his arms—everything.
“Let’s go home,” I told him.
He moved quickly then, releasing me before walking over to an overgrown brush. He made quick work of it, pulling large branches off what now was revealed as a hidden green pickup truck.
“Is Noah with you?” he asked.
He knew Noah would never leave Shea and me to navigate San Francisco alone.
I nodded, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the small vial of light magic that Raphael had given me.
“Yes, he’s fine. First, drink this. Lucifer can see everything you do outside of Fallen Academy. He could be watching you right now.”
Lincoln paused, looking a little alarmed, but then he downed the bottle in one quick swig, without further question.
After opening the passenger door and letting me inside, he went around and climbed into the truck. It was dusty, like it’d been sitting there a while, and when he turned on the key, it took a few times to get the engine to turn over again. I was getting the sense that time was of the essence and we shouldn’t linger, because he quickly pulled onto an overgrown path and made his way toward a main highway.
Reaching over to hold my hand, he glanced at me. “Tell me everything. Since the day we’ve been apart. I want to know it all.”
I took a deep breath, squeezing his hand tightly, and then I told him everything: Raksha and the drugs, Sera and having to leave her, making the promise with Lucifer, and his desire to have some weird baby with me. I told him every last bit of it until my voice started going hoarse.
He listened quietly, holding tightly to my hand the entire time, and I knew everything would be okay because we had each other.
Chapter Twenty-Six
We’d driven all night, only reaching Fallen Academy in the early hours of the morning, and promptly passing out, wrapped around each other inside of Lincoln’s trailer. Noah, Luke, Chloe, and Shea had all been there when we’d arrived, all thankfully unharmed.
Noah helped heal my knife laceration, and I’d been given a quick report on the people we’d saved from a life of slavery. They were being sorted into temporary housing, and given Angel City citizenship. After declaring to my mom and Shea that Lincoln and I were getting married when we woke up, we’d fallen asleep.
I peeled my eyes open to find Lincoln propped up on his side, staring at me with obvious adoration. He trailed his finger down my neck and across my collarbone. “I missed every part of you.”
My heart did somersaults at his words, and I almost couldn’t believe it was real, that we were finally together after everything. I had missed Lincoln’s naturally poetic love declarations.
Sitting up, I leaned in to kiss him when a loud bang sounded on the trailer door.
I froze.
“No seeing the bride before the wedding!” Shea hollered through the door.
I grinned, knowing in that moment without a shadow of a doubt that Shea hadn’t slept, and had probably been planning my wedding all morning.
Lincoln groaned as I leapt from the bed, flying across the small space to open the door.
Shea, Chloe, my mom, and Luke were standing there with a variety of cheesy bridal items, including a big penis-shaped lollypop that Chloe was sucking on eagerly.
“Come on, bride-to-be, we have a bachelorette brunch to go to!” Shea informed me, slipping a sash over my baggy pj’s that said ‘Bride.’
I laughed. “We just want a small courthouse thing.” Knowing Shea, she was going to make a huge deal of it.
She glared at me, hands on her hips. “Not gonna happen. Come on.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let me brush my teeth first!”
Shea yanked me forward. “No time. Wedding is in two hours.”
I spun around to see Lincoln holding my toothbrush filled with paste and a cup of water.
“Have fun. I love you, and I can’t wait to marry you,” he announced.
A collective “Aww” sounded behind me, as I took the items from him and popped up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss.
As I let Shea pull me toward the campus, I looked out onto the open field where we did battle formations and training sessions. It was being filled with rows of white chairs.
“Something tells me we aren’t getting married at the courthouse.” I smiled at my bestie, and started to brush my
teeth.
Shea shook her head. “Ew, no. Archangel Michael has offered to officiate the service, and Bliss Donuts is totally catering.”
Spitting my toothpaste out onto the cement, I stopped to stare at Shea, then my mom and everyone else. “I love you guys.”
My mom reached out and rubbed my back. “I couldn’t be happier for you, hon.”
I leaned in, giving her a hug. Chloe piped up then. “Highlight of my day was hearing Shea argue with Michael that he needed to get ordained online.”
I burst out laughing, pulling away from my mom’s embrace. “You didn’t!” I just stared at her.
Shea shrugged. “I need to make sure this wedding is legally legit. Archangel or not, he needs to get the certificate.”
My mouth hung open. “Did he?”
Shea nodded. “Of course. Everything is set for two o’ clock.”
Oh my gosh.
I was blown away.
We walked to the school cafeteria together, which was just dying down from the lunch crowd, and sat at the back, where Shea had decorated the table with gawdy bride-to-be stuff. Angela, Fred, and tons of students stopped by one by one to congratulate me, and welcome me back. It was overwhelming and amazing; I felt so loved and welcomed.
“Okay, we have five minutes until hair and makeup. Should we use that time to throw this in Tiffany’s face or…?” Shea asked.
I chuckled. My mom had left to get my brother and would meet me later. Throwing my wedding in Tiffany’s face sounded pretty good, but I did have another idea.
“Where is hair and makeup?” I asked her.
“Our old dorm room. I kicked the first years who live there out for a few hours so we could reminisce.”
I grinned. “Okay, I’ll meet you there. I have one thing I need to do.”
I skipped away, still in my pj’s and bride sash, and made my way to Raphael’s office.
He called out for me to come in after only one rap on the door. There was something comforting about knowing he was always there, always in his office if I needed him.