I didn’t wait, just charged him.

His self-preservation seemed to kick in then, because he burst forward, using his forearms to knock my weapon aside before he plowed into me. Dropping the sword, I flew backward as his arms slammed into my chest, falling hard on my already sore body, and groaning at the pain racing through me. The Brimstone demon hovered over me, waving his hands in the air like a lunatic. It took me too long to realize he was creating a portal.

No!

I couldn’t go back there.

Elodie dashed into my peripheral vision then, grabbing my sword and raising it. I kept my eyes trained on the Brimstone demon, holding his gaze so he wouldn’t notice her. He didn’t even glance her way when she raised the sword and brought it down on his neck, cutting off his head clean.

Black demon blood exploded onto me, and I rolled to the side to avoid getting hit with his big-ass body. I scurried to stand, chest heaving with adrenaline, and looked at the Necromancer. “Thank you. I’ll be right back,” I breathed, and then ran to Bernie’s side.

My guardian angel was lying in a heap on his back. His wings that seemed made of light were flickering in and out.

“Bernie!” I crashed to my knees beside him. His chest was full of holes, blood everywhere, but he was smiling as he stared up at the sky.

“I’m so sorry.” Tears rolled down my cheeks, and a sob lodged in my throat as the sirens drew closer.

His gaze found mine and he reached out, cupping my face. “Don’t be. I know not of death, and will be reborn.” His words should’ve given me comfort, but seeing his body, the one I’d loved and helped nurture for so long, in such a frightful sight killed me.

I now understood that his entire life was meant to save mine, and the epiphany pinched at my heart. “I love you,” I whimpered.

“And I you.”

What happened next was something I would never have believed, had Elodie not been there to witness it as well.

Bernie’s mouth fell open, eyes glazed over, and then… his soul stood up. He was made entirely of a golden light, and he shook himself from head to toe, as if ridding himself of the trauma associated with his human form, which still lay crumpled on the ground. He gave me one last look and a smile before taking off to the skies.

What. The. Fu—

“We need to go!” Elodie pressed urgently.

My gaze rose to the sky in fascination as Bernie shrank to a tiny golden blip, and then shook my head, trying to clear it.

I grabbed Elodie, and burst from the ground. Flapping my wings, I pushed past the fatigue and flew us over the wall, and lowered us into the park where the little boy was waiting with the mom I’d asked to watch him. When she saw my body covered in black blood, she grabbed her kid and ran off, leaving Elodie and Raksha’s son clutching his penguin.

I didn’t blame her.

Holy shit, I’d made it. I’d made it back to Angel City.

Lincoln was the only thing on my mind.

Chapter Sixteen

The park was now deserted. Locals who lived near the border knew the kind of shit that could go down, and were hiding in their houses. I was just about to start jogging down the street, to look for another car to steal when a big Fallen Army-issued van turned the corner.

Elodie shrank back, covering her son as if to protect him, but I pulled her out into the street.

“It’s okay. They’re safe. We’re safe now,” I told her, stepping into the street, and waving my arms rapidly.

The van came to a halt and when the doors opened, I burst into tears.

Darren and Blake stepped out of the car, eyes as wide as saucers.

“Blake! Darren!” I sobbed, and started running.

I crashed into Darren, who was nearest me, and his arms came around me, holding me tightly. “Jesus Christ, Brielle, we thought you were dead,” he murmured in my ear.

I pulled back, smiling. “I got out! I escaped, and these people helped me. I owe them my life,” I lied. If they were going to get asylum or whatever it was called, it had to be for a good reason.

Darren seemed to realize there were others there and stood taller. “Get in the van. There’s a riot on the other side of the wall.”

A riot? Just now? Because we left?

“Demons are trying to climb over,” Blake informed us, opening the back doors, and ferrying Elodie and her son inside.

Darren’s eyes looked misty. “Brielle. God, I’m so glad you’re okay.” His gaze ran over my body as if looking for injuries. The black demon blood probably threw him.

“I’m fine. Take me to Lincoln! To Shea!” I shouted, before jumping in the back of the van.

Something dark crossed Darren’s face, but it was quickly replaced with a smile. “Shea is going to shit herself. Everyone is.”

We spent the twenty-minute drive in relative silence. The boys would ask me a question about my time down there, and I’d look at Elodie with her son, and tell them I’d fill them in later. It was a lot of talking in code, but they finally realized I couldn’t speak in front of them.

“How’s Lincoln?” I finally got the balls to ask. “If he’s dating someone else, you can just tell me. I don’t care. I just want him to be happy,” I lied, then prepared myself for the devastation that would come if he had indeed moved on from losing me.

Darren frowned. “He’s not dating anyone else. No way. He’s okay. He’s actually on a special mission for the army.”

Silence descended upon the van, and I suddenly didn’t want to know anything about Lincoln. Not here in the car with strangers. I wanted to ask what mission and where, but I was afraid I’d burst into tears if they said it was too dangerous. Still, the casual way at which Darren said ‘no way’ to him dating anyone else made my heart race.

Instead, I sat back in shock, and stared at the gates of Fallen Academy as they came into view.

I had imagined my reuniting with Lincoln a hundred times. Every day in Hell, it was all I thought about while in there. He’d be on the beach with the boys during the beach games. I’d shout his name, and he’d turn to look at me, eyes wide. Then he’d scream my name into the wind and run toward me. We’d crash into each other and share the most passionate kiss of our lives.

Never in a million years did I imagine him not here when I returned.

“So is Lincoln due back later tonight, then?”

Special mission. Darren’s words were starting to sink in like bricks on quicksand. Lincoln wasn’t here. He was out there somewhere.

“I texted Noah. He doesn’t believe me.” Blake showed me his phone, both he and Darren ignoring my question.

Blake: Brielle is alive! We just found her!

Noah: Screw you, liar. Sick joke.

I gave them a small smile, trying to jump back into the life of texts and joking, but really I wanted to bawl my eyes out right there.

Lincoln isn’t here.

“Hey, can I use your phone to call Lincoln? I’m sure if he hears my voice he’ll believe it, and come home early.” I reached for Blake’s phone.

Blake let me grab it but spun around to face me, absolute horror in his gaze.

“Brielle… I’m so sorry. He’s undercover, so he doesn’t have a phone or anything.”

When Elodie’s gentle hand rested on my back, I lost it. Tears sprang from my eyes, and I burst into sobs.

“Mom?” The boy clung fearfully to his mother in the wake of my breakdown, and I knew I had to pull my shit together.

“I’m okay,” I told him after a moment, wiping the tears from my face. “I just miss my friend, that’s all.”

He nodded. “I know how that feels. I miss my mommy all the time.”

I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but my heart broke a little more at his words. “Your mommy is an amazing woman,” I told him, picking up on the fact that he called Elodie ‘Mom’ and Raksha ‘Mommy.’

Darren parked the car at the edge of the school parking lot, and I saw Noah at the top of the school steps.

“Can you guys please take my friends to Raphael’s office? I’ll meet you there after I’ve seen Shea and my mom,” I asked the boys.

They nodded, and Blake reached out to squeeze my hand. “It’s so good to see you, Bri. Seriously. I’m so happy.”

“You too. Thank you. And call my mom, please,” I added.

They both nodded, then led Elodie and her son away from the van.

The second I stepped out of the SUV and started to walk toward the school steps, Noah swayed on his feet, clutching the stair railing. But his shock was short-lived, because after a second, he broke into a run.

“Bri!” His voice was raw with emotion.

I burst into tears again and limped toward him. I was injured, covered in black demon blood and totally disgusting, but he didn’t care. He crashed into me, picking me up, and spun me around.

“Thank you, God!” he screamed, his voice catching with emotion. When he set me down, he pulled back and grabbed my face with both hands. “How?”

“A healer demon healed my neck. Then after months down there, I broke out,” I explained.

He pulled me in for a second hug, and then tugged my hand, yanking me toward the quad.

I started to run with him, knowing I didn’t have to ask. He would take me right to Shea.

We jogged across campus until we reached the gymnasium. Noah didn’t wait, simply burst through the doors where a battle class was in full effect. The second the doors opened, the entire room spun to look. I saw Tiffany’s mouth drop open, and Mr. Bradstone’s hand flew to his mouth, but Shea, she was the one I wanted to see.

When my eyes fell on her caramel skin and curly hair, I started to run. The moment she saw me, a wail ripped from her throat. Her hands flew to her face, bawling her eyes out as she fell to her knees. Shea’s back shook with the force of her cries, and the class collectively backed away, giving us room. My heart, already so fragile, broke at my friend’s emotional display.

I slid to my knees, meeting her right there on the floor.