Fallen Academy: Year Three

by Leia Stone

  When I opened the door, he looked up and immediately beamed at me. “Hello, Brielle. I’m glad you stopped by. I wanted to tell you how happy I am that you and Lincoln are back safely, and congratulate you on the upcoming nuptials.”

  Stepping into the office, I closed the door behind me. “Thank you. I actually wanted to ask you a favor.”

  I played with the hem of my bride sash nervously.

  “Anything,” he replied sincerely.

  My throat tightened with emotion. “Well, I’m getting married in an hour, and normally the bride’s dad walks her down the aisle. Since mine’s… gone, I was wondering… if you would.”

  Raphael stepped out from behind his desk, eyes filled with emotion. “Brielle, I would be very honored to do that for you.”

  I smiled shyly. “Okay, awesome. I’ll pick you up in an hour?”

  He nodded. “It’s a date.”

  I grinned. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

  Bursting from his office, I ran toward the dorm room I’d shared with Shea. I’d been gone a year, so who the hell knew where my clothes were, and I hadn’t had time to shop for anything super fancy. I might be getting married in my pj’s for all I knew, or cared.

  When I peeled open the door, I saw my mom, Shea, Chloe, and Luke were all there holding curling irons and makeup bags. But what grabbed my attention was the simple white slip dress in my mom’s hands.

  It looked familiar.

  “Mom, is that…?” I was totally going to cry this entire day.

  She nodded. “The dress I married your father in. It’s so simple, so I figure it’s kind of timeless. We didn’t have much money back then.”

  “It’s perfect.” I tried and failed not to sound as emotional as I was. It was made of a shimmery white silk with spaghetti straps, and nothing else embellishment-wise. A simple, yet beautiful dress.

  “Try it on so I can alter it while the girls are getting you ready.”

  “Bless you for calling me one of the girls.” Luke looked touched, hand over his heart, and my mom blushed.

  “Sorry, Luke, I forget you’re a boy sometimes with how well you can apply false eyelashes,” she told him, and we all busted out laughing.

  It was true.

  “I’m totally your maid of honor, right? I mean, you didn’t ask, but…?” Shea batted her lashes at me.

  I chuckled. “Of course you are! Chloe and Luke, will you be my bridesmaids?”

  They both nodded excitedly, and we started on our makeover. I’d spent the past year in Hell with no tweezers, so they had their work cut out for them.

  As I sat there and let them fuss over me, I tried to soak it all up and just be happy. But there was something heavy pulling on my heart, something I could never forget.

  I’d left two dear friends down there with Lucifer, and I wouldn’t ever be truly happy until I got them back. Getting married to Lincoln without Sera, or Raksha, there felt wrong in some ways. It was definitely something I wanted, but I also wanted to get them out of there. It was bittersweet.

  When we were finally done, I looked in the mirror and gasped, all other thoughts forgotten for the time being.

  “Holy crap.” Shea had changed my hair back to blonde, and now it was curled and pinned over one shoulder. My mom’s dress fit me perfectly—she’d only needed to take it in a little at the boobs. I leaned in closer to the mirror, and marveled at how amazing false eyelashes were. I looked simple and understated, yet classy and glamorous. It was perfect.

  I wondered what Lincoln was doing, what he would wear.

  “Is Noah with Lincoln?” I asked Shea.

  She nodded. “They just got back from the strip club.”

  My eyes widened and she burst out laughing. “Kidding. They’re all getting ready in the trailer. Mikey’s with them too.”

  Leave it to Shea to retain her sense of humor in serious moments.

  I turned to my mom. “I hope it’s okay with you, but I asked Raphael to walk me down the aisle.”

  My mom looked sad for a moment but then smiled. “Great choice. Your father would be so proud of you.”

  “Don’t make her cry. Eyelashes.” Luke pointed at my mom and she laughed.

  “All right, let’s go!” My mom ushered everyone out, and then handed me a small bouquet of five white roses.

  I kissed her on the cheek, and she, Luke, and Chloe left, leaving Shea alone with me.

  My best friend was wearing a long deep blue dress, and she faced me with a serious expression.

  “I never thought we’d get here. Living in Angel City, engaged to Celestials. Damn, girl. I’m so happy for you.” She hugged me. “I never lost faith that you would make it back to us.”

  I hugged her back, feeling that flash of sadness that Sera wasn’t here, but happy knowing she’d want this for me. She’d told me to live my best life, and I was.

  “Thank you for everything,” I told my best friend. “Life can be gone in a blink of an eye, and I’m ready to live mine to the fullest for whatever time I have left.”

  She nodded. “Let’s get you married to that sexy man.”

  With a grin, I grabbed her hand and we walked to Raphael’s office.

  He was waiting outside for us in a crisp black suit, his white wings splayed out behind him. My jaw nearly dropped at the sight. He looked so handsome.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, taking my arm from Shea’s.

  She kissed my cheek and then disappeared across the quad.

  “Thank you.” I blushed.

  We started to walk onto the field, and when we got there, I saw the sign first.

  ‘Lincoln weds Brielle’ was scrolled in cursive across a poster board, followed by a trail of white rose petals.

  Looking farther out onto the field, I saw what must’ve been hundreds of people sitting in chairs.

  “Whoa. There’re a lot of people,” I exclaimed as we started to walk, soft classical music playing out of portable speakers.

  “Lincoln is a very well-respected captain of the Fallen Army, and you… well, everyone is thrilled that you’re alive and well. Word spread quickly this morning, and hundreds requested to attend and pay their respects,” Raphael assured me.

  Damn. A few tears leaked out of my eyes at that. Hundreds of people gathered with a few hours’ notice to honor Lincoln and me? I almost didn’t feel deserving enough for this amazing new chance I’d been given.

  Almost.

  “You have pretty amazing friends,” Raphael acknowledged.

  I nodded. “I do.”

  The best.

  We turned the corner then, and Lincoln came into sight, making my breath hitch. He was standing at the end of the aisle wearing a light gray suit and a crisp white shirt. He looked so handsome, but it wasn’t his suit that held my attention—it was his eyes. The way he looked at me right then was as if I were the only person there.

  I barely saw that Noah, Mikey, Blake, and Darren were standing beside him, that Archangel Michael was behind him, or that Shea, Chloe, and Luke were waiting for me. I kept all of my attention on those blue eyes that were taking in my presence from head to toe.

  Before I knew it, we’d reached the end of the aisle, and Raphael shook Lincoln’s hand, passing me over to him.

  When Lincoln grasped my hands and I stood before him, everything else blurred away. Time slowed and I just breathed in the moment, grateful for every single second of it.

  Michael started off by welcoming everyone to the joining of our lives in marriage. He read the poem How Do I love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, then asked for Lincoln and me to say a few words.

  Lincoln and I had yet to take our eyes off each other. Reaching up, he cupped my face in both hands.

  “I’ve dreamed of this day for a long time. I can pinpoint the exact moment that I knew Brielle was my perfect match. It was the second day we met. She was taking too long to get ready, so I started to leave without her.”

  The crowd chuckled.

  “She
was having none of that,” Lincoln continued. “So she threw her hot cup of coffee at the back of my retreating car, then ripped the door wide open and chewed my head off.”

  I blushed with embarrassment. I liked to gloss over our early days whenever possible.

  “And I thought… wow. If this beautiful woman can get so angry so easily, I’d bet she loves just as fiercely.” He paused. “And she does.”

  Tears welled in my eyes.

  “I’ve never met a more passionate and loyal soul than you, Brielle Atwater. The spark of fire within you that keeps your soul burning is what I love most. You would do anything for your family, and you have a heart of gold. But most of all, you make me see the world differently. I see it through your eyes. You don’t leave family behind, and you don’t take no for an answer, and that’s what I love most about you.”

  He stared into my eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks.

  “I can’t wait to watch you become more and more of the woman you were meant to be. I promise to love your family as if they were my own, and I look forward to starting our own family together one day. I know your path is one filled with more danger than most, but I vow to be by your side every step of the way, through the good and the bad.”

  I had to fight down a sob, as I tried to control my emotions enough so I could speak. How was I going to follow that speech! No amount of words could explain the depth of my feelings for him.

  “Lincoln, I’m not as good with words as you are, but one thing I know for sure is that the past few months of my life were some of the darkest and most challenging I’ve ever been through. But your love, the hope that I would see you again kept me alive down there. You kept me alive.”

  I could barely finish my sentence, before Lincoln pulled me in for a kiss and the crowd clapped with thunderous applause.

  “Okay, I guess you may now kiss the bride!” Michael said, and everyone laughed.

  When we pulled away, Michael placed a hand on each of our backs and faced the crowd. “By the online ministry power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife!”

  The crowd snickered, but I saw Shea shoot daggers at Michael. All I could do was beam. This was truly the happiest day of my life.

  The wedding was more than I’d ever expected, beyond perfect from start to finish. After the ceremony, we danced and ate Bliss Donuts and just lived our lives like normal people. For a few hours, I wasn’t the girl with black wings, and Lincoln wasn’t the guy with scars on his wrists. We were just two people in love. I wanted to stay in the moment forever.

  I lay in bed with Lincoln in the trailer. We’d just made love for the first time as a married couple, and he was trailing small circles around my belly button.

  “Do you wish Sera had been there?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “We’ll get her back,” he promised, laying a delicate kiss on my hip. “Let’s get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

  I raised one eyebrow. “Big day?”

  He looked up at me with fierce blue eyes. “Tomorrow you start training. Lucifer’s never going to stop coming for you, so I’m going to teach you how to kill him.”

  My eyes widened in shock and I groaned. I knew this mushy Lincoln was too good to be true. My drill sergeant was back.

  “No honeymoon?” I grumbled. I’d had my heart set on Hawaii.

  “We’ll honeymoon when Lucifer’s dead,” he declared.

  I couldn’t argue with that.

  It was time to live up to the other prophecy about me.

  I would stop at nothing to see that evil bastard’s head separated from his body.

  Lucy, I’m coming for you.

  To be continued….

  Stay tuned for Fallen Academy Year Four coming soon.

  Also be on the lookout for Fallen Academy 3.5, a novella told from Lincoln’s POV about his time without Brielle.

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  Acknowledgments

  Look guys no cliffhanger!!! Thank you to Amanda Rose for the amazing cover. Big thanks to my beta readers, Steven Smithen, Lela Eder, and Megan Mayes. Thank you to Hot Tree Editing for the amazing edits and to my wonderful proofreader Stephany Wallace for polishing this baby. A HUGE thank you, as always to my loving and supportive family. The time I spend with my characters is time away from you all and I’m so grateful you understand this passion I have for writing. Lastly, to my ARC team, Leia Stone Wolf Pack and all my readers, thank you for being so loyal and enthusiastic about my books. I heart you all bad. <3