They’d also assigned us the big fenced-in ring for our fight, while others were stationed at various taped-off areas outside on the field. The first few fights were just to whittle the numbers down, take out the weak.

As we made our way out to the main ring, the booing started. Shea flipped them off, and they started to roar in excitement. Demon City loved people who were pissed off.

My eyes flicked to the upper corners of the room, to where there were cameras stationed in the eaves. This was totally televised, and even though I’d told her not to, I knew my mother would watch.

“Oh good. This dude grabbed my ass first day of school, and that chick pinned me down when I got my death mark. They’re both dead,” Shea informed me through gritted teeth, pointing to our new fighters. The guy was a mountain of a man and clearly over the age limit of twenty-one. He had a full-on beard and smelled of a Beast Shifter. The chick was totally a Dark Mage; looking into her glassy black eyes made my skin crawl. Of course they’d paired us with one of the strongest teams for our first fight. Trying to take us out or injure us in the very beginning seemed to be their plan.

The crowd roared as the gates to the cage opened and the two fighters made their way in.

I saw Lincoln, Chloe, and Luke just off to the side, smooshed into the front row.

My hand caught Shea’s arm. “If it gets life threatening, you make a portal back to the academy, okay?” I told her.

She rolled her eyes. “We’re not leaving here without Mom.”

She’d said it again. Not “your mom,” but “Mom.” That meant our mom. Everything within me welled up at our shared love for that woman.

“I love you, Shea.” I tried not to let my voice catch.

“Stop it.” She punched my arm lightly. “We got this.”

A laugh escaped my throat but quickly died down when I caught sight of Grim. The demon was standing near the open cage gates, glaring at us.

I figured he’d be there, but why did he look like he wanted to talk to me? He’d signed the deal in blood; there was no way he could go back.

When we reached him, and his sulfuric scent, he leaned in. “I found a buyer for your mom and the clinic. Five hundred grand. If you don’t win tonight, I sell her.”

If that didn’t add fuel to the fire, I didn’t know what would.

“We’re going to win. You’re going to get your prize money, and we’re taking my mom,” I spat, then blasted past him and into the cage.

“Allllllll right, Demon City!” an announcer roared. “We have a special treat tonight. Two students from Fallen Academy think they’re better than our fighters!”

The crowd booed, except for three distinct cheers. Lincoln, Chloe, and Luke were going to get jumped by the crowd if they didn’t shut up, but I couldn’t focus on them right now.

I let my black wings pop out then and the booing stopped, turning into complete silence marked with a few gasps.

Take that, you judgy bastards.

“Shall we see what these two princesses have for us?” the announcers asked, and the crowd went wild.

An older man, an Abrus demon with gray streaks in his hair, stepped into the cage and met our eyes, looking briefly at my tattoo. He had an evil air about him, above and beyond that of the searing yellow eyes and red felt horns protruding from his forehead. When his eyes met mine, gooseflesh broke out on my arms. “Place your weapons on the floor in the middle of the cage,” he instructed.

“What?” My head snapped back. What kind of freaking rule was that?

The Abrus demon grinned, showcasing pointy teeth. “We heard you had a seraph blade. Let’s see what it can do. First come, first serve. If you reach the weapons first, you get to pick whichever one you want.”

The Dark Mage chick grinned, eyeing Sera on my thigh.

‘Let her try. I’ll burn her hand off and blind her!’ Sera spat.

I tried to keep from smiling as I pulled Sera from the holster, placing her in the center of the room. It felt absolutely awful to be without her, but I knew she could handle herself. If they wanted to play by those rules, I would beat them by those rules.

With a grunt, Shea did the same, leaving her two discs on the floor.

We both backed up to the far wall, weaponless. The other fighters placed their weapons on the ground as well, a large serrated sword and a spiky mace at the end of a chain.

The Abrus demon held his hands against the cage, and the metal began to light up an electric blue.

“When I leave, this cage will be electrified. The only way out is if you kill your opponent or they submit. If one teammate submits, the entire team is disqualified. No other rules exist,” he said with a grin, his blazing yellow eyes gazing over my tattooed chest and black wings with lust.

Freaking creeper.

“Let’s get this night started! Last team left standing, gets ooooone miiiiiillion dollars!” the announcer roared.

Just like that, the Abrus demon was gone and a buzzer went off. I scrambled to get my footing, totally unprepared for the start, and ran toward our weapons. The Dark Mage threw something right at me, a purplish black blob spinning through the air, but Shea’s own spell collided with it.

I ducked down low, two feet from reaching Sera, when that damn Beast Shifter pulled a switchblade on me. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw the moment he yanked the hidden weapon from behind him. He chucked it, and I reared back in an attempt to dodge the blade, but it sank into my bicep before I even had a chance to get out of the way. Pain exploded in arm, but I ignored it and reached over with my good hand to pull the knife out swiftly. Lincoln would say there was no time for pain.

Blood started bubbling up out of the wound. I quickly yanked at a strip of cloth I’d knotted around my thigh just for that purpose, tying it off with my teeth while my bestie kept the Dark Mage engaged and I held my eyes on the Beast Shifter. He’d grabbed Sera and his sword, and was gunning it for me.

Good luck, asshole.

Just as I thought it, Sera lit up in his hand and he yelped, dropping her.

I was ready.

Bursting forward, I scrambled to pick up my weapon, flinching when the torn muscle in my upper arm protested. As I neared the shifter, I smelled the burning flesh where Sera had scorched him. Using my advantage, I flapped my wings to propel me forward, taking up nearly the entire span of the cage as I hurled myself at him. He tried to hinder my advance with his sword, but I threw my steel cuff up to block him as Sera shot out with a precise beam of light that blinded him.

He let out an animal’s roar and started to swipe out blindly. I crouched to the ground, slashing out at his ankles until he went down—Lincoln had taught me all about the Achilles tendon and how vital it was for standing. I was just about to straddle him and hopefully get him to submit when I heard Lincoln’s scream, and a second later something slammed into my back. My whole body instantly felt like it was on fire.

A panicked cry ripped from me, and immediately Sera started pulsing power into my hand, traveling up my arm and throughout my body.

‘I can take the fire spell, but then you’ll need to drop me because I’ll be too hot to hold for at least an hour until I can dispel it,’ she informed me quickly.

I was on fire. I didn’t see flames, but it sure as hell felt like it. Sweat poured down my face as my skin reddened, and my hands started to shake.

‘Do it,’ I told her.

The power she’d sent throughout my body then snapped back and instantly sucked the spell out. Suddenly her handle was a searing-hot iron. My hand sprang open and Sera fell to the floor, a red-hot glowing dagger.

I spun on the Dark Mage. Lincoln had prepared me for this, saying for the entire year that I had to learn to fight without Sera. He’d turned my body into a weapon, and I was about to throw down on this bitch.

The Beast Shifter was still moaning, backed against the cage, as far as he could go without touching, slashing out with his sword blindly. My guess was that he was sightless for the next few hours until his healing could kick in.

My gaze went to the floor where Shea had been deposited seconds before. Her ear was bleeding and looked half torn off, but otherwise she looked okay. So why wasn’t she getting up?

“Necktie!” Shea shouted, her voice warbled. She must have been under some kind of spell.

Another purple ball flew my way and I fell backward, letting my wings keep me from falling all the way back as I dodged the spell.

Necktie. Shea had said necktie. I hadn’t wanted to use my dark magic. Not here, not ever. Lincoln would be disappointed in me.

‘Lincoln will only be mad if you die,’ Sera stated from her place smoldering on the floor.

She was right, and this Dark Mage had held down my best friend and forced her to take the death mark.

I felt that shadowy power within me rise, and it scared me how quickly and easily it went from being just under the surface of my skin to burning in my throat and begging to come out. I roared and the black inky magic shot from my mouth, slamming into the Dark Mage’s neck.

The entire crowd went silent, then gasped, followed by a roar of approval.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Fallen Academy has been holding out on us!” the announcer thundered.

The Dark Mage fell to her knees, clutching her throat as her face turned blue.

“Submit!” I shouted at her.

Could I even call it off if she did? I didn’t think I had that much control over it, but I wasn’t ready to become a killer tonight.

Her lips barely moved, but she managed to croak the words out. “I… submit.”

A buzzer sounded overhead, and the cage door suddenly sprang open. The metal walls were no longer an electrifying blue.

“The winners of this round are Brielle and Shea from Fallen Academy!” the announcer’s voice boomed over the speakers. The crowd went wild with a mixture of cheers and boos.

I held out my hand and tried to call the blackness back from her throat, but it didn’t move.

Oh shit.

The girl’s eyes were rolling in her head now, and the crowd was starting to shout in panicked screams.

The silver-haired Abrus demon from before burst into the cage and snapped his fingers. The inky black rope fell away from the girl’s neck, and she took in a huge gulp of air. My heart was hammering in my chest, the adrenaline pumping into my veins making me feel dizzy.

The Abrus demon looked my way and smiled, stepping closer to me. “Keep up the good work. The Dark Prince is very pleased,” he murmured and then walked out, leaving me to realize what I’d done.

I was using all my dark gifts, Lucifer’s gifts. Yet I was blessed by four archangels and was not relying on any of my light magic. I’d given too much attention to the darkness, and I could feel it gaining power within me.

Another thing I’d just realized—the Prince of Darkness must have been watching me.

Chills broke out on my arms.

“Brielle!” Lincoln called, standing on the outside of the cage, peering in.

I pulled off my steel arm cuff and ran forward, scooping Sera into it, careful not to touch her because she was still too hot. I was hoping she’d be usable for the next fight, but at that point, I wasn’t so sure.

“You okay?” I reached out to my bestie who was sitting down, panting.

Our competitors had been helped out of the cage, and now Lincoln was arguing with the guard at the door to be allowed to help us.

“They can make it out okay,” the guard retorted.

“Step aside or I’ll take off your head!” Lincoln roared.

Shea wasn’t moving to take my offered arm. Something was wrong.

“I… need… my spell lozenge,” she panted.

While Lincoln was arguing with the guard, Chloe zipped through the open cage using her vampire-like speed.

“She needs her spell candy,” I told the Nightblood.

Chloe slipped one arm under Shea’s legs and another behind her back, scooping her up into her arms.

“Hey, girl. You did good.” Chloe shoved a lozenge in her mouth. I hadn’t even seen her grab it from her pocket.

The second it hit Shea’s tongue she perked up. “Hey.”

We exited the space quickly, and then I was in Lincoln’s arms. He somehow managed to tuck me into his body while keeping my torn arm from getting further injured, and still getting a good glare in at the guard.

“Be ready for the next fight in twenty minutes,” the guard barked at our retreating backs.

I’d been stabbed in the arm, almost lit on fire, Sera was unusable, and Shea’s ear was hanging off. I was not looking forward to seeing how the next six fights went.

“I used the dark magic,” I admitted, breathing against Lincoln’s neck.

“It’s okay. Do whatever you have to do.” Regardless of his words, I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

He ferried our small group over to a corner, where he started to work on healing my arm.

“No, Shea first.” I pushed his hand away.

His brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to retort.

“No. Her ear is hanging off. Shea first,” I repeated. “I’ll work on myself a little. Noah taught me how to self-repair last week.”

Lincoln frowned. “It depletes your energy.”

I pointed to my best friend. “I’ll take one of her energy lozenges.”

Shea waved in front of my man’s face. “Hello? Ear falling off.”

Lincoln sighed, lighting up his hands and dousing Shea with the sunflower-colored magic. He looked tired, his normally upright posture slouched, sweat shining on his forehead while he winced as if in pain.

“Any tips for us?” I asked him as I started to rev up my own magic.

I’d set Sera on the floor so she could hopefully cool off inside of my cuff.

Lincoln nodded. “Yeah, you both need to be quicker, fight dirtier, and you should’ve killed that bitch. She nearly set you on fire,” he barked.

“Gee, is that all?” I should have known my lover would never go easy on me. Not if it meant protecting me, and teaching me how to protect myself.

“I sent Luke to watch the other fights. They aren’t making other people put weapons in the middle,” he added.

“Yeah, I’d figured that.” My voice shook a little as the pain in my arm transferred into my hand. Self-healing was doubly painful, and I was a total newbie, so I needed to take it slow. My one goal was to stop the bleeding and form a thin scab. Noah said small healing goals were good and attainable, so I wouldn’t be worrying about tendons and ligaments and all that.

Stop bleeding, form a scab.

Shea’s face finally relaxed; Lincoln had taken a good chunk of the pain, I could tell.

“Oh, I forgot something,” he said.

“Hmm?”

How could there be more?

My boyfriend’s cobalt blue eyes cut right through me. “Stay the hell away from that Abrus demon. He reeks of hellfire.”

The second Lincoln said it, I knew Lucifer had sent the Abrus demon to watch over me. Goose bumps invaded every square inch of my skin, and I was reminded of James’ prophecy. The one they apparently told at Tainted Academy. A far cry from the one our sweet Raphael believed in.

I pinned my eyes on the ceiling, praying for the first time in forever.

God, let me get through this night alive and end up in Angel City by morning.

With my mom.

And all my limbs.

Amen.