I wanted out.

But I was stuck in Hell.

“Brielle!” Lincoln’s voice jarred me from my sleep and my eyelids snapped open. It was the fourth time he’d woken me that night.

I looked over to the clock, and saw it was seven in the morning. I didn’t want to fall back asleep, although I was exhausted, I couldn’t risk being sucked back into the nightmares.

“You’re soaking wet.” He touched my back gingerly.

“Nightmares,” I croaked.

Lincoln’s dark eyebrows were drawn together with concern. “What about?”

I didn’t want to make a habit of lying to Lincoln, and I had yet to tell him about what James had said. Sitting up, I hugged my knees. “Hell. Lucifer. General bad things.”

Lincoln sighed. “Okay. Well, you used a lot of your dark magic. You took off the necklace. All of that was probably too much for you.”

Remembering the necklace still in my jeans pocket, I nodded. Reaching down, I pulled it out, heavy in my hand. “Will you?” I asked him and lifted my long blonde hair.

He took the necklace from me. As he was coming over my head with it, it laid against my chest and… cracked.

The sound was unmistakable. I gasped, looking down to see the crystal split right down the middle.

“What does that mean?” I turned to my boyfriend.

Lincoln looked scared for the tiniest second before it vanished. “Nothing. We’ll just have Mr. Claymore make a new one.”

Nodding, I reached for his hand. “I have to tell you something, but I need you to not freak out.”

His hand tensed, eyes widened. “Okay.”

He was totally going to freak out.

‘As he should,’ Sera piped up from her place on the floor.

‘Not helping.’

“So… my old friend from Demon City is Sighted.” I let that sentence linger. The Sighted were so freaking rare that knowing one was akin to being besties with one of the fallen archangels.

“And?” His hand was starting to sweat in mine.

I gave a nervous laugh. “And I saw him at the fight. He told me he sees a different prophecy for me.”

Lincoln breathed in and out deeply. “Which is?”

I chewed my lip and decided to just blurt it out. “I go to the underworld and train with Lucifer to use my dark magic.”

Lincoln’s eyes widened so far, I thought they might fall out of the sockets. “What! That’s ridiculous!”

“I know!” I told him. “It’s just as ridiculous as Raphael’s prophecy that I’ll go down there, and kill Lucifer.”

Lincoln was silent.

I shifted uncomfortably. “You don’t think I’m going to actually do that, right?”

He did. I could see it in his face. “I don’t want you to. It’s too dangerous. But…”

I swallowed hard, my heart rate starting to pick up speed. “But?”

Lincoln stroked my thigh with his thumb. “But you have these incredible powers, and black wings, you even went into Hell to get Sera and it didn’t seem to affect you. If anyone could do it, and end this war… it’s you.”

Oh my God, he drank the Kool-Aid. “Lincoln, I’m not doing that.” I stood. “I want to be normal. I just got my family all together, and now I want to focus on my healing studies, and help out with the war in that way,” I declared.

He nodded, dropping the subject. “Okay.” But his words, his curt nod, and stiff body language didn’t match up.

He actually expected me to kill Lucifer?

The smell hit us both at the same time.

“What’s that?” Lincoln’s brows knit together in confusion.

I grinned. “That is my mom’s cinnamon-banana walnut waffles.”

Lincoln wiped his mouth. “I just drooled a little.”

Laughter erupted out of me, and I decided to let the whole killing Lucifer thing go. For now.

“How do you feel?” he asked, as I limped across the room, and made my way into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

“Like I got hit by a bus,” I assured him.

Make no mistake, I’d be walking funny for weeks.

When we’d finally made our way out to the kitchen, I grinned at the sight of Shea, Mikey, and Noah sitting around the table, shoving their mouths full of waffles, piled high with cubes of butter, and maple syrup.

“Hey, bro. I didn’t know you’d be here.” I gave Mikey a side hug. He spent most of his weekends with his pack on Clark’s land. He was still learning to control the beast, but quick side hugs were okay.

“Are you kidding? Mom’s home, so I had to come.” He was wearing a goofy lopsided grin.

Mom’s home. Those two words hit me with the realization of what had happened. I’d gotten my mom out.

“I’m going to need more batter. Especially if we want to take some to Bernie,” my mom declared.

“Oh, I’ve hooked Bernie up,” Lincoln replied, eyeing the piping-hot waffle coming out of the chipped red maker, my mom brought from home.

I looked at my boyfriend. “Oh really?”

He chuckled. “I told Raph about the situation. He said it’s no problem for Bernie to come to the cafeteria and eat after the students have eaten their meals—before they’ve put everything away.”

My mom met my eyes, and I could see she was totally planning our wedding in her head.

“That was very sweet of you, Lincoln. Thank you,” she told him.

I smiled, getting on my tippy toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”

Lincoln’s cheeks were red, and he mumbled a “you’re welcome” to both of us.

My mom held up a dish towel. “Hang on, you call him Raph? The Archangel of Healing?”

Lincoln chuckled. “Yeah, it felt weird at first, but he asked us to. He doesn’t want to seem above anyone. He’s a friend.”

He is a friend. A very good friend.

My mom started to tear up, looking down at the floor.

“Oh, Mom, what’s wrong?” I crossed the kitchen to be by her side.

She wiped the tears and patted my hand. “Nothing. I’m just… happy. I haven’t been happy in a long time.”

Silence descended upon the kitchen. I knew she’d had it hard in Demon City after I’d left, then doubly hard when Mikey was having his issues. Now I could see the stress it had caused her. Close up, she looked tired with bags under her eyes, hair limp and dull.

“Lots more happy days ahead, Mom,” I assured her.

Lincoln stepped in front of us. “Absolutely, but only if I get one of those waffles right now.”

My mother’s laughter filled the space around us, and my chest felt lighter and lighter as each person joined in.

This, our little family moment right here, was one of the happiest days of my life.

Chapter Twenty-One

The nightmares didn’t stop.

Six weeks of never-ending nightmares. Hell. Demons. Lucifer.

It was awful, and I’d turned into an insomniac because of it. I did anything to avoid sleep now—coffee, energy drinks, going for late-night walks. I just didn’t want to be sucked back into that place. It was making me scared to close my eyes. It all felt so real.

And to top off that shit storm, my mom couldn’t find a job. Apparently there was no room for a Necromancer in Angel City—other than tending to dead flowers and decorating cakes, but those jobs were given to Necros who grew up in the city, and graduated from the academy. My mom having been a raiser of the dead in Demon City was akin to having a criminal record.

The one good thing going on in my life at the moment was Bernie. He was thriving. He’d put on some weight, looked clean and happy with his daily showers and shave. Raphael had even given him a small job folding sheets and towels. After the school maids washed them, they’d drop them off at Bernie’s trailer, and he’d fold them. He said it gave him a purpose, but the only drawback was trying to keep Maximus off the clean folded sheets.

Now, I was being called to Raphael’s office between lunch and battle class. I didn’t know what it was about, but I hoped I wasn’t in trouble.

After knocking on the door, Raphael called out for me to enter. Pulling the big heavy door back, I stepped inside to see him standing at his desk.

I smiled. “Hey.”

Please don’t be in trouble for something.

“Hello, Brielle. How are you healing?” Raphael asked kindly.

Okay, that didn’t seem like something you’d ask someone in trouble.

I rolled out my shoulder, which had healed weeks ago. “Great, sir. Thank you.”

He chuckled. “Oh, come on. It’s coming on two years now that we’ve been friends. You can call me Raph or Raphael. All the other students do.”

I sighed in relief. “So, I’m not in trouble?”

He frowned. “Of course not. Why would you…? Oh, right.”

He seemed to just now realize he’d called me to his office in the middle of the day.

“I wanted you to come by because the Fallen Army is giving Lincoln a promotion, and it’s a surprise. I know he’d like you there when it’s announced. It’s this Saturday. He thinks he’s going to be giving a fellow comrade an award, but really I’ll be promoting him to captain.”

My heart nearly burst with pride. Lincoln was one of the most deserving people I knew. He took his job seriously, and was completely dedicated to the war beyond the city’s walls.

“Of course I’ll be there.” I smiled so wide, that I thought my face might crack.

Raphael beamed, and his wings glowed a honey color as his mood seemingly lifted.

“Perfect! You’ll need to be there at six sharp. I’ll have a table for you and his friends, Noah, Darren, and Blake. Lincoln’s been through a trying few years, and having you all there to cheer him on will mean the world to him.”

He had been through a trying few years, and the fact that Raphael had asked me to be at his table meant the world to me.