Fallen Academy: Year Three

The crowd chuckled.

“She was having none of that,” Lincoln continued. “So she threw her hot cup of coffee at the back of my retreating car, then ripped the door wide open and chewed my head off.”

I blushed with embarrassment. I liked to gloss over our early days whenever possible.

“And I thought… wow. If this beautiful woman can get so angry so easily, I’d bet she loves just as fiercely.” He paused. “And she does.”

Tears welled in my eyes.

“I’ve never met a more passionate and loyal soul than you, Brielle Atwater. The spark of fire within you that keeps your soul burning is what I love most. You would do anything for your family, and you have a heart of gold. But most of all, you make me see the world differently. I see it through your eyes. You don’t leave family behind, and you don’t take no for an answer, and that’s what I love most about you.”

He stared into my eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks.

“I can’t wait to watch you become more and more of the woman you were meant to be. I promise to love your family as if they were my own, and I look forward to starting our own family together one day. I know your path is one filled with more danger than most, but I vow to be by your side every step of the way, through the good and the bad.”

I had to fight down a sob, as I tried to control my emotions enough so I could speak. How was I going to follow that speech! No amount of words could explain the depth of my feelings for him.

“Lincoln, I’m not as good with words as you are, but one thing I know for sure is that the past few months of my life were some of the darkest and most challenging I’ve ever been through. But your love, the hope that I would see you again kept me alive down there. You kept me alive.”

I could barely finish my sentence, before Lincoln pulled me in for a kiss and the crowd clapped with thunderous applause.

“Okay, I guess you may now kiss the bride!” Michael said, and everyone laughed.

When we pulled away, Michael placed a hand on each of our backs and faced the crowd. “By the online ministry power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife!”

The crowd snickered, but I saw Shea shoot daggers at Michael. All I could do was beam. This was truly the happiest day of my life.

The wedding was more than I’d ever expected, beyond perfect from start to finish. After the ceremony, we danced and ate Bliss Donuts and just lived our lives like normal people. For a few hours, I wasn’t the girl with black wings, and Lincoln wasn’t the guy with scars on his wrists. We were just two people in love. I wanted to stay in the moment forever.

I lay in bed with Lincoln in the trailer. We’d just made love for the first time as a married couple, and he was trailing small circles around my belly button.

“Do you wish Sera had been there?” he asked.

I nodded.

“We’ll get her back,” he promised, laying a delicate kiss on my hip. “Let’s get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

I raised one eyebrow. “Big day?”

He looked up at me with fierce blue eyes. “Tomorrow you start training. Lucifer’s never going to stop coming for you, so I’m going to teach you how to kill him.”

My eyes widened in shock and I groaned. I knew this mushy Lincoln was too good to be true. My drill sergeant was back.

“No honeymoon?” I grumbled. I’d had my heart set on Hawaii.

“We’ll honeymoon when Lucifer’s dead,” he declared.

I couldn’t argue with that.

It was time to live up to the other prophecy about me.

I would stop at nothing to see that evil bastard’s head separated from his body.

Lucy, I’m coming for you.

To be continued….