In My Blood: A Paranormal Academy Reverse Harem Romance (Angel Academy Book 2)

by Riley London

  “I think you were right about your theory when it comes to the surface.” Charlie brought himself up by his knees. “There’s something funky going on with time down here. Or I guess, up there. Just depends on where you’re from.”

  “And you came down here...to bring me back up there?”

  “Yeah, that was the plan. I mean, we looked all over for you and when we couldn’t figure it out, we had a hunch that you’d really gone home for the break, just like everyone else. And yeah, I came to get you,” Charlie continued, as his face shifted into one filled with concern. “Wait. Do you not want to go back to the surface?”

  “I...don’t know,” I answered honestly. “It’s different down here. I’m not worried about the world ending. And I know that you’re safe, Charlie, the further I am away from you. The odds of me getting killed down here are slim to none. But on the surface, it’s like I can’t get away from any of that shit.”

  “But Celeste...” Charlie shook his head. “You know this isn’t the life for you, right? Hiding out like this? Just because you’re afraid of what’s going to happen back at the academy?”

  “You’re not getting it, Charlie. I can have a life down here—”

  “This isn’t a life,” Charlie scoffed. “This is a hideout. This is a permanent vacation. This is an easy escape from reality, because it’s definitely not reality. Yeah, everything’s fucking terrifying up there, it’s scary as hell for me too. But it’s real. And there are people and angels in real danger up there who need someone like you to look out for them, to protect them.”

  “Charlie—”

  “No, Celeste,” Charlie cut me off. “I get it, okay? I know that you didn’t ask for any of this. And I know that you didn’t ask to be special. But you still are. You’re still special. And pretending like you’re not, doesn’t make that specialness go away, it just delays the inevitable.”

  “And what’s the inevitable?”

  “That you were born for something more,” Charlie continued. “That you matter in this world, probably more than anyone else.”

  “That’s a crazy thing to say, Charlie.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s a pretty crazy world up there.” Charlie blew out a heavy breath. “And without you in it, I’m pretty sure things are only going to get even crazier. I’m sorry, Celeste. But you can’t stay down here. You don’t get to take the easy way out.”

  “But I...” I wanted to tell Charlie that I’d never been happier, that I’d never felt more comfortable in my life. I wanted to tell him that I had a feeling that bringing me back to the surface was going to bring about the end of the fucking world. But instead, I kept those thoughts to myself, as I replied to him with a nod. “Okay. Fine. Let’s go.”

  “Let’s go.” Charlie smiled, before he took my palm into his own.

  Shit.

  I knew right then that everything was about to go to hell.

  “Mom. Dad.” I waved at them, one final time. “I’ll be back, okay?”

  “You don’t have to lie to us, child.” My mother wiped a tear away from her cheek. “We were just happy to have you for as long as we did.”

  “Will you be taken care of on the surface?” my father asked. “Will you need us to watch over you?”

  “I think I’ll be fine.” I smiled. “You both taught me a lot. I think I can take it from here.”

  “Oh, I can’t take it,” Lilith sobbed, as she moved to stand in front of me. She pulled me into her arms, her chest heaving as she wept. “I’m going to miss you so much, my love. And I’m going to miss you more each and every day. I am so proud of the woman that you’ve become.”

  She let me out of her hold, as she beamed back at me. “You are just like your mother. Proud and strong and unapologetic about who and what you really are. Never let them make you feel like you shouldn’t be.”

  “I won’t.” I felt my own tears starting to well up behind my eyes. “I’m going to miss you so much, Mom.”

  “Now, go.” Lilith took her hands off my frame. “Go, before I enchant you and make you want to stay forever.”

  I looked back at Charlie, who gave me a hesitant thumbs up.

  “Are we good?” I asked.

  “Uh, good enough.” Charlie shrugged. “Your parents are sure that you’ll be able to get back to the surface? You know, without dying?”

  “Yeah. I’m part-demon, so as long as I wanna give myself permission to go back to the surface, we shouldn’t have a problem.”

  “And what happens if you’re conflicted?”

  “I’m not conflicted,” I replied. “You were right, Charlie. I have to stop being afraid of what I am. Even if I’m involved in some bullshit I never asked to be a part of.”

  “Maybe that’s why you’re involved in it,” Charlie responded. “Maybe that makes you the best woman for the job because you’re not interested in taking sides. You just want to help people.”

  “I just want to help people.” I repeated his phrase. “Which is why I have to get back to the academy.”

  “Then, back to the academy we’ll go.” Charlie offered his hand to me. “All you have to do is visualize it, really, and then you should be able to get back on your own.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Oh. It’s fucking brutal.” Charlie chuckled. “But it only lasts for a few seconds, and then you’re done.”

  “All right.” I nodded. “Let’s go home.”

  I closed my eyes as I thought about the academy. I thought about the motto engraved on its main hall door. I thought about the grass in the quad, Mr. Toorin’s lectures that went on forever and ever. I thought about ocean blue eyes, and green eyes, and brown ones too.

  I thought about the way it felt like home, before I’d ever had a taste of my real one.

  Chapter 17

  “Happy Valentine’s Day—Oh shit! Celeste!” Micah excitedly greeted me by pulling me into his embrace. “Shit! We haven’t seen you in forever. We just thought you weren’t coming back or you died or something.”

  “Welp. I’m back,” I replied. “How have you been?”

  “Shit. Probably better than you.” Micah laughed, before giving me a huge grin. “Seriously, though. It’s so good to have you back, Celeste. I hope everything’s worked out for you. Oh, and by the way, Happy Valentine’s Day!” Micah handed me a bright pink card before he made his way down the rest of the hall.

  I opened the card and a bunch of glitter fell onto the floor.

  Of course.

  It wouldn’t be a card from Micah if it didn’t involve an irresponsible amount of glitter. I couldn’t help the smirk on my face as I read over the card’s message inside:

  Roses are red,

  Violets are blue,

  The world is beautiful,

  And so are you.

  “Aww, thanks Micah.” I thanked him, even though he’d already disappeared down the hall. I slipped the card into my backpack, continuing on my way to Mrs. Deveraux’s office. I figured I needed to speak with her ASAP, to try to explain my sudden disappearance from the academy. I didn’t have an airtight alibi just yet, but I’d probably be able to nail one down by the time I reached her office door.

  By the time I knocked against the mahogany, I had the perfect alibi rattling around in my head. I was going to tell her the truth. Well, I was going to tell her the partial truth. I was going to tell her that I was scared, and my meeting with the council via Gabrielle really shook me to my core. I was going to tell her that I just needed some time to really consider if I wanted to be an angel or not, and I’d decided that yes, I loved it here and I wanted to see it through.

  And I was hoping to God that she’d buy it.

  “Oh. Ms. Venoix,” Mrs. Deveraux greeted me, as I stepped inside of her office. “You’ve been...hard to find.”

  She measured her words, but I wasn’t sure why. Instead of asking her outright, I took a seat in front of her desk. “Sorry. I just had some things that I needed to—”

  “I wish you hadn
’t done it.”

  “...What?”

  “I wish you had never left for as long as you did.” Mrs. Deveraux gave me a small, sad smile. “You were gone and you weren’t here to defend yourself, which meant that you couldn’t be proven innocent in the moment.”

  “Proven innocent?” I quirked an eyebrow. “Wait. Was I being officially accused of something?”

  “Another student has submitted evidence against you.”

  “Evidence against me for what?”

  “Consorting with demonic energy.” Mrs. Deveraux sighed. “The council has launched an official investigation into you, Celeste Venoix.”

  “Consorting with demonic energy...but I...” I shook my head. “I don’t even know what that means. Does that mean I’m working with demons?”

  “Maybe.” Mrs. Deveraux gave me a sorrowful look. “It is unclear at this time. What is clear, however, is that once the council called you in to speak, you disappeared for weeks. It made you look guilty I’m afraid, and it scares me to think that the council may consider you guilty as well.”

  “Don’t I get a trial?” I asked. “Don’t I get a chance to prove that none of that is true?”

  “Of course,” she explained. “But it may not be the kind of trial that you are used to. You are now under surveillance, Ms. Venoix. Your every move must be accounted for.”

  “You want me to wear a camera or something?” I scoffed. “Are you serious?”

  “It is not up to you to report your own whereabouts. As a suspect, you cannot be trusted to tell the truth,” Mrs. Deveraux continued. “You’ll remember that last year, I assigned Zachary Lancaster to you, with the permission to eliminate—”

  “Yeah, with the permission to kill me. I remember.” My heart sank in my chest. “So, that’s how things are done around here? If Zachary thinks that something’s up with me, he can just kill me whenever he wants?”

  “He can either eliminate you or turn you in to the council. However, if he is merciful, he will handle it himself.” Mrs. Deveraux glanced away from me. “The council is fair, but they are also barbaric. I don’t think I could stomach it if you were publicly stoned to death.”

  Stoned to death?

  What the fuck?

  “What the fuck?” I was frustrated, so I voiced my concerns out loud. “Stoned to death? What is this? The Salem witch trials?”

  “No, Ms. Venoix. Nothing the council does is based on superstition,” Mrs. Deveraux replied. “However, I have faith that you have done nothing wrong, and soon enough they’ll move along with their little investigation. They’re frightened just like the rest of us and it’d be easy enough to believe that you were at the center of the resurgence of the Princes of Hell. It’d be easy enough to believe that if they took one girl out of the equation, then they could go back to contemplating matters of Heaven and the soul.”

  Mrs. Deveraux folded her arms against her desk, giving me a stern look. “I promise you. The academy is better than this. The council is better than this. Please do not judge us by our weakest moments.”

  She leaned back in her seat, picked up a pen and went back to diligently marking through a notebook. “And welcome back, Ms. Venoix. You were sorely missed.”

  “It was Trinity.”

  “What?”

  “It was Trinity who reported me for consorting with demons.” I looked over at Charlie. “I know it was.”

  Charlie and I were having a conversation in his dorm room, in the middle of the night. Since I’d been back on campus, I was busy catching up on my coursework and trying to set up some extra credit with Mr. Toorin, so it was my first conversation with Charlie since we’d both journeyed out of Hell.

  “Celeste, are you still doing your whole jealousy act?” Charlie scoffed. “Can’t you tell that you’re the only girl that I’m in love with? Who cares about Trinity—”

  “She’s my sister.”

  “...Wait. What?”

  “Yeah. She’s my sister,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to open up a whole new can of worms—”

  “Gross!” Charlie looked absolutely disgusted. “She’s your sister? But she’s been trying to flirt with me ever since you’ve been gone. Does she know she’s your sister? Does she know she’s basically trying to commit incest by proxy?”

  “I don’t think incest by proxy is a thing, Charlie.” I grinned. “But yeah. She knows. She doesn’t care. She just wants to fuck my life up I guess, get me kicked out of the academy. Or killed. Not sure she cares which one it ends up being.”

  “But why? What did you ever do to her?”

  “I turned down her offer to rule to world, side-by-side,” I explained. “She had this vision in her head, which included me for some reason, but I wasn’t interested in it. I told her that if she tried to hurt anyone I cared about, then I’d have to handle her myself.”

  “Rule the world, side-by-side?”

  “Yeah. She thinks the Princes of Hell are going to win the war this time, take over the Earth, take over Heaven. And she thinks we can curry enough favor in Hell to retain our place as its rightful rulers.”

  “But what about your parents?”

  “I don’t think she’s factoring them into the equation,” I replied. “Or she just thinks they won’t survive the next uprising.”

  “Jesus.” Charlie let out a loud sigh. “Celeste, why didn’t you tell me that she was your sister? That would’ve saved us both a migraine.”

  “Because I didn’t want to get you further involved in my shit,” I responded. “But it looks like we’re both knee-deep in it now, so what does it matter?”

  I shrugged, before continuing. “If the council decides that I’ve been playing with demons, it’s game over for me, Charlie. They’re going to want me dead.”

  “Shit. But they don’t even have any evidence—”

  “Yeah, but since when has being innocent of a crime ever stopped someone from being found guilty?” It was my turn to sigh. “The council will find out whatever they want to find out. I just have to hope that they come to their senses, sooner rather than later.”

  “Who are we hoping comes to their senses?” Zachary entered the room with a wide grin on his face. “Ah, the prodigal girl returns.”

  “Hey, Zach.” I acknowledged him with a wave. “Did you miss me?”

  “Nah.” Zachary shook his head, before laughing. “Of course, I missed you, Celeste. Damn. I’m not a monster.”

  “You might be, if you’re agreeing to kill me.” I narrowed my eyes in his direction. “I can’t believe you’re still going along with that whole thing.”

  “Hey, it was something Mrs. Deveraux trusted me with.” Zachary shrugged. “Besides, I didn’t want her to think that you and I had gotten too close—”

  “Why? So, the council wouldn’t burn you at the stake right next to me?” My words were lined with malice.

  “No, so I could watch over you and keep you safe without anyone breathing down my back about it,” Zachary scoffed. “After all we’ve been through, you still don’t think that I care about you?”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I lowered my voice. “Sorry. I’m just going through a lot right now. First, with the council and the shit with my sister—”

  “You have a sister?” Zachary asked.

  “Yeah. Her sister is Trinity,” Charlie answered for me.

  “...What?” Zachary looked back at me. “What the hell? Why wouldn’t you tell us something like that?”

  “Because I didn’t want anyone to get more involved in my shit—”

  “What’s going on? Who’s getting more involved?” Benjamin entered the room, before he offered me a bright smile. “Celeste. Happy to see you again. I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too, Benjie.” I turned back towards Zachary. “And like I was saying, I just didn’t want to get anyone further involved in my shit. I wasn’t sure if she was evil or anything anyway, so it didn’t seem like I needed to warn anyone until
—”

  “Who’s evil?” Benjamin asked.

  “Oh, Celeste’s sister. Trinity,” Zachary replied.

  “Trinity is your sister?” Benjamin gave me a curious look. “And you didn’t speak of this connection sooner?”

  “I thought I could handle it on my own.” I shrugged. “But it looks like I was wrong.”

  “What else have you been keeping from us?” Benjamin took a step closer to me.

  “Nothing,” I lied.

  “Celeste,” Benjamin pressed. “Please. The more you tell us, the more we can assist you. It’s a waste of time when we have to spin wheels trying to figure out what’s happening with you.”

  “Yeah, just tell us what’s going on,” Zachary commented. “You can trust us.”

  “You really can,” Charlie replied, giving me a soft nudge in the arm. “Now, spill the beans, Celeste.”

  “Fine.” I took a seat on Charlie’s bed before I continued. “I didn’t just go home for the break. It wasn’t like a vacation or something. Abaddon took me back there to give me back to my parents. He thought that it would be like a peace offering.”

  “Peace offering?” Benjamin asked.

  “Yeah. He was trying to avoid a war,” I explained. “He figured that if he returned their daughter to them, then Lilith and Lucifer would give up the throne and they did. They exchanged their throne for me coming back to live with them, at least until Charlie came to get me. Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve ever left my parents’ place otherwise.”

  “And they were all right? With Charlie taking you from them?”

  “They didn’t seem to mind,” I shrugged. “I think they understood that there’s a bigger picture happening up here, something that even I don’t get yet. My mother was trying to train me to use God’s gift. But it was like it disappeared while I was down there and my prayers didn’t work so I couldn’t call it that way, either.”

  “That makes sense.” Zachary hummed. “God’s gift is something pure and angelic. I can’t imagine why it would ever work in Hell.”