Flickers of Flame

by Madeline Freeman

  Bridger pouted. “If that works for you two, I think they should give all five of us a pass. Let’s just all not go.”

  “Are you guys talking about tonight?” asked Clio Brooks from her spot at a rectangular wooden table. She tucked a folded sheet of paper between a hardcover book and a spiral notebook. “We can’t not go. The banquet is to honor us.”

  “If they really wanted to honor us, they wouldn’t make us go to a banquet,” muttered Thor Rocha. He sat at the far end of Clio’s table, his Angelic History textbook open in front of him. I still didn’t know Thor as well as I knew the other Keepers, but he was growing on me. Although he came across as aloof and disconnected, I’d peeked behind that façade enough times to know that he cared for each of his fellow Keepers—including me.

  I never broached the subject, but I wondered if he kept to himself out of fear that someone at the academy might figure out he was nephilim. Besides demons, nephilim were the beings most despised by angels. This disgust was largely on principle. Angels saw themselves as superior to humans. Nephilim resulted from angels mating with humans, which was seen as a rejection of angelic strength—a willful rebellion against the Creator’s division between mortals and ethereals.

  But that was still better than being a demon. Like me.

  If anyone needed to be on guard around the other students, it was definitely me. I spent my first days at Blakethorne Academy worried someone would figure out I wasn’t truly the Keeper of the Aether Blade. But I retained the Blade’s loyalty when a fellow cadet named Shonda Hailwood challenged me for it, and I had even summoned it after it sublimated when touched by someone else. For whatever reason, the Aether Blade chose me. So far as anyone here was concerned, I was an angel—even if the official story was that I was fallen. There was no way anyone would figure out I was a demon unless I told them.

  Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself.

  Voices floated in from the library’s front door, and Clio stood, picking up her belongings. “Look, guys. I don’t really want to go to this thing, either. But we’ve got our part to play. The press has been running stories about how we’re going rogue against the senate. My mom wrote me a letter asking if they were going to expel us. We have to do our part to fix the optics here.”

  I didn’t necessarily disagree with her. In fact, when we’d gotten word earlier this week that the banquet was happening, we were all baffled. We were still under “indefinite probation” at the school—until such time as Headmaster Kemp and the chancellor of the angelic senate, Isaiah Kingston, were convinced they could trust us. But, as I was learning, things like facts didn’t matter to these people so much as perception. If we refused to go tonight, we’d only land ourselves in more trouble.

  Bridger crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine. But prepare for me to complain under my breath the whole night.”

  Thor wrinkled his nose as he got his feet under him. “How’s that any different from normal?”

  Bridger attempted to defend himself as the five of us made our way to the front of the building. With the last classes of the day having released, the library was steadily filling with cadets looking for a quiet spot to socialize while completing their homework. Conversations quieted as we passed, and eyes followed our movements. I had been acutely aware of the attention the Blade Keepers elicited when I first arrived at the academy, but I’d grown used to it.

  Things intensified after Clio, Thor, Bridger, and I stole an academy vehicle and snuck off school grounds to rescue Nate from a den of demons. Before, we had set apart because the five Eternity Blades chose us to wield them. Now we were famous for what we had actively done. We were heroes in our own right.

  And the stares didn’t bother me as much as they once had.

  We were nearly to the main doors when I realized I’d forgotten my backpack. After promising the others I would meet the other Keepers on the steps of Kalmin Hall in twenty minutes, I doubled back.

  The four students who had claimed the table we’d been at fell silent as I drew near.

  A girl with thick, golden brown hair approached, giving me her brightest smile as she pulled a small notebook and pencil out of her back pocket. “Hey, Eden. Have you got a moment to give me a quote about how you’re feeling before tonight’s banquet?”

  Despite myself, I smiled. Maisie Moran fancied herself a reporter and even produced an unofficial school paper that Lydia displayed at the check-out desk. From a Messenger lineage, she was among the minority at Blakethorne. Although she had admitted to me once she had no interest in joining the Guard when she left the academy, she never missed an opportunity to make connections with people who might serve as valuable sources when she started her journalistic career.

  “I’m in a hurry, Maisie,” I said apologetically. “But, tell you what: How about I give you an exclusive after the party’s over?”

  Her warm brown eyes widened. “Really? An exclusive?”

  I nodded. “I won’t talk to any reporter but you.”

  Maisie squealed with delight, and I ducked past her to grab my backpack. With a small wave, I slipped out of the room again and headed toward the door. For the moment, no more students were streaming in and I kept my head down as I made my way toward the door, not wanting anyone else to try to chat.

  “Eden!”

  The whisper-yell stopped me in my tracks and I turned to see Nate poking his head out of a nondescript door that blended in almost perfectly with the library’s pale yellow walls. I glanced over my shoulders to make sure no one was watching me before making my way over to him.

  When I was within reach, he closed his fingers around my wrist and tugged me into what appeared to be a janitor’s closet. A shelf lined with boxes of trash can liners, paper towels, toilet paper, and cleaning products dominated the cramped space. A yellow rolling bucket crowded in the back corner beside a low sink clearly designed for dumping dirty liquid into.

  But it wasn’t the dingy floor or the chemical-tinged air that captured my attention. As Nate pulled the door closed behind me, he fixed his good eye on my face, a half smile displaying a dimple in his left cheek. “Hey.”

  I couldn’t help returning the smile as warmth bubbled through my body. “Hey.”

  He slid his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together. “I know you’re not looking forward to the banquet. But hopefully this will ease some tensions with the senate and the Guard.”

  I shrugged. “Don’t worry about me—I’m a pro at these things.” I tried, and failed, to keep a straight face through the lie. The only reason I’d made it through my first banquet—the one that had introduced me to the top members of angelic society—was because Nate had spent most of the night at my side. “Besides, it isn’t like this thing was your idea.”

  He shook his head. “Definitely not. But it was my father’s so…”

  Silence stretched out between us. I hadn’t seen Isaiah Kingston since the night we rescued Nate. The chancellor had kept me for a private chat after dismissing the other Keepers and basically warned me to stay away from his son.

  It was a warning I’d all but ignored.

  “It’s okay.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “You know, I’m actually looking forward to this whole thing. Just a little. Because I know the last thing the chancellor wants to do is celebrate us for what we did.” Disentangling our fingers, I lifted my hand to brush the hair out of his swollen eye. “But, really, what were we going to do? Not save you? That wasn’t an option.”

  The fierceness with which I believed the words sent a jolt of surprise through me. When I found out Derek had kidnapped Nate, I knew I needed to save him. And I hadn’t regretted the decision once—even if I’d woken up every night this week slicked with sweat after having nightmares of what I’d had to do to that night.

  I’d stabbed Derek through the stomach. He had lived with my aunt, uncle, and me for the past two years. He was the first guy I ever kissed. And I didn’t hesitate for an instant. According to every news repo
rt I’d seen, the Guard hadn’t apprehended him at the South End Bistro where we faced him. None of my aunt Liza’s contacts knew where he was. He could be dead now, for all I knew—and it was because of me.

  Nate cupped my cheek, his eyes warm and fierce. “Hey. You did what you needed to do to survive. You saved my life.”

  By choosing yours over another. Although I didn’t speak the words, they hung in the air between us. My throat tightened, and I did my best to shove away the darkness that threatened to fill me.

  Nate rubbed the pad of his thumb across my cheek and I leaned into his touch. Something about Nate drew me to him. His presence comforted me and filled me with a sense of belonging. I wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around me and hold me until all the sadness melted away.

  But when he tipped my chin up and leaned forward, the spell broke and I stepped as far away as our tight quarters would allow.

  “Have you talked to Clio yet?”

  He winced at the sound of her name. Of his fiancée’s name. Not that the betrothal had been his idea. He’d been only thirteen when the chancellor made the decision for him. Still, the fact remained he was promised to her.

  “I’ve tried,” he said, his shoulders slumping. “But every time I ask her if we can talk, she… won’t. I mean, she’s fine with talking in front of you guys or around other cadets—but when I try to get her alone to have a real conversation, she makes excuses why she can’t.”

  My heart twisted. Part of me wondered if she didn’t sense what was coming. Although I did my best to keep my growing feelings for Nate to myself, I wasn’t sure I was doing a stellar job. Every once in a while, I caught Thor watching me curiously, and I wondered if he hadn’t started piecing things together.

  “You know where I stand on this.” The words scraped at my throat on their way out, but I forced them anyway. “We can’t do this—” I gestured between the two of us. “—until you tell Clio. I don’t want to hurt her.”

  Again, it surprised me how much I meant the words. A few short months ago, if someone had told me I would care about an angel’s feelings, I would have laughed in their face. But I couldn’t change the fact that I liked Clio. She had only ever been kind to me, and I didn’t want to repay that kindness with betrayal.

  Well, more betrayal.

  Nate nodded. “I know. I’ll… I’ll try again.”

  “Good.” I stared up at him for a long moment—at the lines of his jaw, the soft brown of his skin, the shape of his lips. My gaze lingered on those lips, and my skin tingled at the memory of the way they felt pressed against my own.

  I turned to the door and closed my fingers around the knob to keep from acting on the desire to lose myself in his kiss. One day. Hopefully soon. Glancing over my shoulder, I murmured, “See you on the steps.”

  * * *

  Continue Whispers of Betrayal now!

  Also by Madeline Freeman

  Blade Keeper Academy

  I’m not who they think I am. If they learn the truth, I’ll pay with my life.

  Traces of Sulfur

  Flickers of Flame

  Whispers of Betrayal

  Storm of Shadows

  Fall of Eden

  Rise of Rebellion

  Unfortunate Souls Series

  A girl with a special ability. A secret mission. A truth that will rock two planets to the core.

  Speechless

  Fearless

  Hopeless

  Restless

  Clearwater Witches Series

  Magic can be as dangerous as fire. Is dealing with witches worth the consequences?

  Crystal Magic

  Wild Magic

  Circle Magic

  Moon Magic

  Cursed Magic

  Dark Magic

  Christmas in Clearwater

  Fate Bound Series

  A werewolf's first instinct is to protect those weaker than himself. But Jack chose to protect the wrong girl.

  Fate Bound

  Death Marked

  Soul Cursed

  Destiny Sealed

  The Naturals Trilogy

  When only some are blessed with psychic abilities, should everyone else be forced to serve them?

  Awaking

  Seeking

  Becoming

  Shifted Series

  Monsters live among us, and a select few exist to keep the world safe. Leigh Evans’ life is forever shifted when she learns the truth.

  Shifted

  Tangled

  About the Author

  Madeline Freeman lives in the metro-Detroit area with her husband, her daughter and son, her dog, and her cats. She loves anything to do with outer space, plate tectonics, and dinosaurs, and secretly hopes her kids will become astronomers or paleontologists. She always wants pizza. Her hobbies include filling notebooks with ideas for future books, pretending to be a unicorn for her daughter to ride, trying to figure out if her husband is joking or being serious, and making her son giggle.

  * * *

  Connect with Madeline online

  www.madelinefreeman.net