by Erin Cain
Angel
Angel Academy Book 2
Reverse Harem Romance
Erin Cain
Angel
Copyright © 2020 by Erin Cain
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
~
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~ Angel ~
Angels are real – and it turns out that I’m one of them.
I’ve only been at Angel Academy for a few months, and things are already crazy! After the first trial, Vance and I really hit it off. Now that things are official between us, I feel a lot more confident at the Academy. He’s supportive and sweet, and oh so sexy. What more can a girl ask for?
Well… maybe there is something else I can ask for. I want Dylan to get off my case! With the second trial upon us, the last thing I need is his attitude problem. He’s aggressive and loud and the opposite of Vance in every way.
Sure, he’s attractive on the outside, with his blond hair and athletic build, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to fall at his feet, not with that attitude of his. So why does he always manage to get me so riled up?
I don’t give a damn what he thinks about me… do I?
Angel is the second book in the Angel Academy series, a medium-burn reverse harem story intended for ages 18+, featuring a daring Angel warrior and three strong, sexy men who fall head over heels for her.
~ ACT 1 ~
Demons
Chapter 1
George’s voice was a drone in the back of her mind. Grace leaned forward on the desk, her head in one hand, staring at the notebook before her. Her body ached, a thundering pain that wasn’t quite bad enough to skip class, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
“…and that’s where we’ll lead onto today’s lesson. Demon lore,” George said. There was something in his tone of voice, something in the severity of the way he said it that caused Grace to glance up, starting to pay attention.
Sure, her limbs ached, but she hadn’t heard so much as a mention of the existence of demons until now. It made sense, though. Why else were they learning to fight, right?
“Demons live, as you might expect, in hell.” George cleared his throat at the murmur that was breaking out across the class. “I know most of you are well aware of basic demon lore, but it is a key part of this semester and I need you to pay attention.”
The murmuring simmered down a little bit and George nodded with satisfaction, as he looked around the class.
“As I was saying, demons reside in hell, in each of the seven levels.” He paused for effect, before continuing, “The lower classes of demons reside in the levels closest to the surface. They are typically unable to leave without invitation. As you progress down the levels, you will encounter stronger demons with more autonomy. Until you reach the final level and encounter Lucifer himself.”
The name sent another ripple through the classroom and Grace could feel the tension taken up a notch.
“Although, not technically a demon,” he murmured. The noise in the class went up another notch and Grace could feel the bubbling anger beneath the surface. Something almost like fear.
Lucifer had been an angel, right? One of the fallen. An archangel.
Grace felt a shiver move down her spine. After the big fight at the first trial, the fallen angel who broke in and managed to attack Vance… well, it was no wonder that tensions were running high at the mention of an Archangel. It made sense, after all. Fallen angels were no doubt a challenging and difficult subject, even without the added tension of the trials.
A few people turned to glance at Grace, and she did her best to keep her head down and not meet their stares.
She hadn’t been out of the infirmary for very long. This was only her second day back in class. She’d gotten her fair share of stares and whispers, but so far no one had approached her with any questions. She didn’t know if they were confused, hateful or impressed. It was impossible to tell and Grace wasn’t really sure that she wanted to find out, if she was being perfectly honest with herself.
She didn’t know what anyone thought about the incident. Other than Vance and Trish, it had been practically radio silence.
Grace sank further into her chair as George started talking again. Grace listened intently, grateful for the much-needed distraction.
“When humans summon demons, they usually summon the lower level demons, from the first level of hell. Easy enough to kill and dispel from the world. Easy enough to set the world-order right. Even lower-level angels don’t have much of a problem with them. The issue starts with the demons on the second level, who have a sort of pack-mentality. You will find hell-hounds, the dogs who drag the souls of the damned to hell, on level two and beyond.”
His voice echoed out across the classroom and there was complete silence for a second.
Grace supposed that even the students who had grown up around angels, had probably not had the most in-depth education about demons and George’s words felt like a shock to the system.
This place was so magical, so beautiful, that it was hard to imagine that they were here to learn how to defend humans from the darkness of hell. It was hard to imagine that, up until very recently, she was one of those who needed defending. It was a sobering thought.
Grace tapped her pencil lightly on her notepad. Fallen angels. Demons. Angelic Trials. Grace guessed that this was the reason that enrolment didn’t start until age twenty-three. This was probably a bit too intense for an eighteen-year-old with no real-world experience. This was probably too much for most grown adults, actually.
“I doubt many of you are aware of the popular book, Dante’s Inferno?” George paused. “It’s a human book, that details the seven levels of hell.” He paused again. “There is some truth to the writing, but the punishments are not necessarily the most accurate. It’s worthwhile reading the text if you have not read it already.”
The dismissal in his voice sounded imminent and Grace hastily shoved her books into her bag, tucking her pencil away.
“Okay, that’s it for today. Brush up on your demon lore, as it will be the focus for the next few weeks. Additionally, I expect everyone to turn in your assignments by next week latest. You’ve all received enough of an extension.”
A collective groan rose up, interspersed with the sound of scraping chairs and shuffling papers. Grace hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and hurried out of the door, beating most people into the bright street outside.
She glanced around, but Vance was impossible to miss. Dressed in all black, he cut an imposing figure even when he wasn’t trying.
Grace managed a smile at the sight of him, hurrying over.
“That was quick,” she commented as she pulled him into a hug.
Vance didn’t smile, although he did kiss her cheek. “I don’t want to be late. Are you ready?”
He looked so serious, and it only served to drive home her already heavy worry. Grace swallowed, feeling
the nervous pit of energy twist restlessly in her stomach.
“Not really.”
~
Grace gripped Vance’s hand as they made their way through the campus streets. With Vance at her side, no one dared whisper about her. Sure, there were looks. She probably got more looks having Vance with her. But no one said anything and for that she was grateful. Vance’s presence beside her was steady and sure.
She knew that he must be as freaked out as she was, but he was handling it with the kind of dignity that Grace could only wish to achieve one day.
She swallowed as the large administration building loomed ahead of them. “How are you so calm?” Grace whispered, her voice low even though it didn’t need to be.
Vance shrugged, “I’m not exactly looking forward to this, you know?”
“Yeah, but you’re not freaking out either,” she hissed back.
He glanced at her with a slight smile and Grace sighed.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re probably just better at hiding it, right? That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“It’s going to be fine, Grace,” he said. There was a quiet surety in his tone, a quiet knowledge that what he said was true.
Grace took a deep breath, holding onto the certainty in his voice, relying on it to carry her through the turmoil.
She hadn’t seen him much over the last few days. Class had taken a break and after they got out of the infirmary, so there wasn’t really anywhere to hang out. Besides, they were both still coming to terms with everything that had happened.
All she knew was that he was there, at her side, when things were at their toughest and that meant everything.
They entered the administrative building and Vance walked over to the front desk.
“2:30 appointment with Dina,” he said, his voice clear and calm.
The woman at the desk looked up in surprise. Her eyes fell on Vance, fluttered over to Grace, and then back down to the calendar.
She nodded and then said, “You can go in.”
Vance looked almost surprised. “Thank you.”
Grace felt nerves gather in her stomach, growing in volume and strength.
There was no way this could be good. Even in the non-angelic world, people didn’t just get waved through unless the meeting was important.
Then again, she knew this was important. This was the meeting that would decide her fate as an angel.
Dina had not come right out and said it, of course, but Grace could read the writing on the wall. Why else hadn’t she heard anything about passing or failing the trials? Why else hadn’t she heard more about her enrolment?
She knew that Vance expected the same. His posture was a little stiffer and there was tension in his muscles as they walked up the huge staircase.
It was a sweeping building, elegant and refined. It was befitting of the dean of Angel Academy. Dina. The angel of learning and scholars. The angel who had taught humanity to speak, who had imparted knowledge.
She was old, she was powerful, and she had probably already decided everything.
Ignoring the ache in her stomach, Grace took a deep breath as they approached Dina’s door. She squeezed Vance’s hand. “Okay. You ready?” she whispered.
He managed a smile, shook his head and knocked on the door.
A moment later, a voice came clearly through the door, “Come in Vance, Grace.”
As they stepped through the doorway, they were greeted with a huge office, stately and sparse at the same time. It looked like it was out of another time period and Grace felt a shiver as she looked around.
Dina was sitting at the desk. Instead of her large, ceremonial robes, Dina wore a white linen pantsuit. It looked like it cost more than Grace’s childhood home had.
“Take a seat,” Dina said, not looking up from her papers.
Grace perched at the edge of one of the mahogany chairs. Vance sat down more comfortably, but she could still see the tension in the curve of his lips. It was funny how quickly she’d grown used to reading his subtle gestures. He wasn’t nearly as expressionless as she had first thought.
“Thank you for coming,” Dina started, glancing up from her papers. “First, I’d like to congratulate you on passing the first trial.”
Grace felt a heady rush of relief flood her body. She sank back into the chair, her heart still pounding in her chest.
Vance let out a breath.
“Grace, Vance, you’ll both be proceeding to the second trial. Vance, I would not count on seeing your father in attendance.” Dina glanced meaningfully at Vance.
Vance sat up a little straighter, nodding. Dina’s message couldn’t have been clearer if she’d yelled it at the top of her voice. Vance’s father clearly wasn’t happy with his performance.
Grace winced a little. It must be rough having a father so high ranking and revered. Especially if he had such high standards.
But they had passed. She had been sure that they were going to get kicked out. Well, not Vance. But Grace had been convinced that her days here were numbered. Now, it sounded like she got another shot at this.
Swallowing back her relief, she tried to keep a straight face as Dina continued.
“Now, Vance, I’ll need your account of the situation. Grace, I assume you have no idea how you manifested the powers that you did?” It didn’t sound like a dig. There was no emotion in the question, just curiosity and fact. Dina wasn’t being cruel.
Grace nodded and Dina turned her attention back to Vance, who was going over the events, from the barrier being fortified, to Grace bursting in and joining the fight.
When he finished, Dina nodded. “Thank you, Vance. That will be all.” She had been there. She had seen the whole thing. This was probably just procedure.
As Grace and Vance stood to leave, Dina announced, “We’ll have a visiting dignitary in the coming weeks, before the second trial. He may want to discuss things with you. Treat him with every courtesy. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Dina,” Grace nodded at once.
“Of course,” Vance added.
“Good. You may see yourselves out.”
And with that, Dina turned back to her paperwork.
Chapter 2
Grace stumbled out of Dina’s office, feeling more than just a little bit shell shocked. It had all happened so quickly, with Dina wasting no words, or time. She’d been brief, direct, and to the point. Grace didn’t feel like she’d gotten any time to process any part of the conversation.
She turned to Vance, who seemed just as surprised. He looked at her. “We passed the trial.”
At his words, relief swelled back up inside of Grace. She felt like she could cry.
“We passed,” she echoed.
Vance smiled, and it looked genuine. “Let’s get out of here.”
He grabbed her hand and all but pulled her down the stairs, out of the waiting room and around the back of the building. By the time they stumbled into the little ally way, Grace was breathless with laughter and even Vance was grinning. He collapsed back against the wall, a laugh escaping him.
“We passed. I can’t believe it.”
He let out a huge sigh of relief. Grace flopped back against the wall beside him, throwing a hand over her eyes.
“Wait, you weren’t sure? You sounded so sure everything would work out!” she exclaimed.
“Of course I did. That’s part of the job description.”
“Of what?” Grace teased. “Heavenly commander?”
“No, boyfriend,” he answered. He was still smiling but something serious echoed in his eyes. Grace realized that they hadn’t actually made anything official yet.
Until now.
“Boyfriend?” she whispered, her voice quiet in the afternoon light.
Vance shrugged, a casual roll of his shoulders to dispel the tension. “Unless you… don’t want to?”
“Of course I want to!” she almost yelled at him in her excitement, settling instead for grabbing his hand.
; Vance smirked and pulled her off the wall and onto his chest. She landed with a jolt, pressed up against the hard expanse of his chest. He felt so firm beneath her hands and Grace had a feeling that he was well built beneath his button-down shirts.
For a second, the playful banter seemed to drain out of the air, leaving something serious in its place, something serious and intense and not entirely unwelcome.
Vance leaned forward, brushing her hair out of her face and cupping her cheek in his hand. She leaned into his touch, feeling the gentle strength radiating from him.
Pressed up here against him, she felt a bubble of happiness float up within her chest. She pressed up closer, and before she could think about it, she kissed him.
He slid one arm around her waist and pulled her in closer, kissing her back, slow and sweet. She almost let out a sigh, a breath of relief, feeling the warmth of his affection.
There was no longer a space for doubt between them. They were official, and he was kissing her out in public, holding her close, staying by her side.
Vance didn’t strike her as someone to be swayed by the crowd anyway.
Grace was so lost in the feel of Vance’s lips against her, the sway of relief inside her, the happiness in her chest, that she failed to notice that they were no longer alone.
“What the hell?!”
Grace let go of Vance, taking a step back in shock. She turned to see Dylan standing at the mouth of the alleyway. He was lit by the afternoon sun, his blond hair glowing in the sun. His eyes were wide and she watched as his face went from confusion, to hurt, to anger.
“Vance, what are you doing?” Dylan ignored Grace completely, staring at Vance like he’d never seen him before.
Vance did not look phased. He slid an arm around Grace’s waist, pulling her back to where she’d been before: at his side. There was a warmth in his actions that eased the pounding of Grace’s heart.