I wasn’t sure I could fly back to the academy either.

As if he’d heard that thought, Lincoln stepped forward. “She’s too weak to fly. Michael, can you carry her?” Lincoln asked the tall, blond, and extremely gorgeous archangel.

“Of course.” Michael stepped closer to me.

I swallowed nervously. Being the damsel in distress wasn’t my thing, but I was about to fall over.

Lincoln rushed forward, pressing a tender but chaste kiss to my lips. “I’ll check in on you later,” he promised.

Michael nodded to Lincoln. “Hold down the fort until I’m back.”

Lincoln raised a hand and saluted him. “Of course, sir.”

Then Michael was there, gathering me in his arms, and with one kick of his boot, we were airborne. Next thing I knew, Raphael, Gabriel, and the elusive Uriel were flying with us in a protective formation.

I loved Lincoln, I did, and I knew Michael was married, but damn if the situation wasn’t a little swoon-worthy. Being ferried across the sky in a strong archangel’s arms? I could definitely cross it off my bucket list.

After a short flight, we were landing in the quad where a few students were still milling around, Shea one of them. Lincoln must have called her. Her eyes were rimmed red, evidence that she must have been worried and crying.

As Michael set me down, I looked at each one of the archangels and thanked them. Michael had been the only one to hear Lucifer’s words about me being an archdemon, and our gazes lingered a little longer than the others as something unspoken passed between us. That look told me he wouldn’t tell anyone what the Prince of Darkness had said.

As they flew away—all but Raph, who walked back to his office—Shea thrust herself at me in a bone-crunching hug.

“What the hell, Bri! One second Lincoln tells me he’s proposing to you tonight, and the next he calls and says the freaking Devil crashed your engagement.”

Tears lined my eyes as I looked at my best friend’s worried gaze. Holding up my hand to show her the ring, I smiled. “I said yes.”

We both let out a pathetic laugh, and then she was pulling me toward the open Bright Hall doors. “Dude, your mom is worried sick,” Shea informed me as we walked through the halls.

Lots and lots of staring at me confirmed that the rumor mill was in full effect. Tiffany’s stare was the only one that got to me though. If she calls me Archie, I’ll kill her dead right here and now. I lifted my left hand in her direction to show off the ring, and the look she gave me confirmed that she was definitely capable of murder as well.

“Did you guys know Lincoln was going to propose?” I asked my bestie.

She scoffed. “Of course! He sat your mom, Mikey, and me down and asked us all.”

My heart nearly melted at her words. He was the best.

When Shea threw open the door to our shared room, I was assaulted with white balloons and toilet paper streamers. Purple magical writing hung in the air above my bed: ‘Congrats!’

But the sullen faces of Luke, Chloe, my mom, and Mikey were a different story.

“Hey….” I wasn’t sure what else to say.

My mom rushed forward to pull me into a hug. “What happened? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I really, really didn’t want to talk about it right then. “I’m fine,” I told her, and she backed away two steps, seemingly taking the hint.

I held up my hand awkwardly and smiled. “So… Lincoln proposed. Or kind of. Promised? If that’s a thing. We’re getting married in like three to five years,” I told the group.

That seemed to loosen them up. Chloe burst forward with her vampire-like speed and inspected the ring. “Oh my God, I’m so jelly. Promise rings are adorable.”

I chuckled.

Luke was next. “I’m super happy for you, and I know this is all about you, but something happened that I’ve been dying to tell you guys.”

Yes. Please take the spotlight off me. “Spill it.” I sat on the edge of my bed because if I didn’t, I was going to fall over.

Luke looked at Chloe a little awkwardly and then chewed his lip. “Donnie asked me out to a movie with a few of his friends, and I’m freaking out!” He jumped up and down like a lunatic.

I grinned. “That’s awesome. Is it like a friendly group hang, or…?”

Luke looked desperately at Chloe. “I don’t know. He said, ‘You wanna catch a flick with me and my buddies, Tommy and Bam?’”

Chloe nodded, impressed. “Tommy and Bam are dating, so it’s totally a double date.”

The shriek that left Luke’s throat was akin to a dolphin trying to find its mother.

“I’m going to faint,” he breathed.

I laughed, as did everyone else. Even my mother was laughing.

“Thanks for being here, guys. I love you all,” I told my friends as the exhaustion hit me full steam.

Lying back on my pillow, I tried to keep my eyes open but failed. The last thing I saw was my mother tucking the blanket around me and telling everyone I needed my rest.

Even at twenty years old, a girl still needs her mom.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The next morning, I awoke to a strong hand massaging my back. I inhaled and smelled bacon and coffee. My eyelids snapped open and drank in the sight of my man. Lincoln was sitting on my dorm room bed, rubbing my back in slow, soothing circles.

“Hey, it’s afternoon. I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he whispered.

I eyed the milky coffee, the plate of eggs and bacon on my dresser, and nodded. “I’m fine now,” I declared, shoving two full strips of bacon in my mouth in one go. If a man brought you coffee and bacon in bed, you marry that man.

Lincoln chuckled. “I’m glad to hear it.” He wrapped his hand around my left one and spun the ring on my finger. “Not exactly how I thought that night was going to end.”

Yeah, tell me about it.

He looked around the room at the balloons and toilet paper. “At least it looks like you got a little celebration.”

I chugged the coffee, feeling my soul finally join my body, something only coffee was capable of doing. “This is my life. Black wings, devil marks and… what happened last night.” I wanted him to know what he was in for.

Lincoln frowned. “But it won’t always be. This war is going to end, and we’re going to live… forever, really.”

Forever.

Whoa.

I’d conveniently forgotten about the immortality thing. Live forever unless killed.

I nodded. “But if it doesn’t, and I’m always going to be hunted by him....”

Him. I couldn’t even say his name anymore.

Lincoln shrugged. “Then we’ll deal with it. Together.”

I sighed, nuzzling my head into his neck. He always knew the perfect thing to say.

Tonight was Lincoln’s surprise captain’s promotion.

I glanced at the clock to see it was already three. I’d slept all day.

‘No more Celestial balls. Bad idea, not worth it,’ Sera exclaimed.

‘Agreed.’

“I should shower,” I told Lincoln and peeled back my covers. He looked at my bare legs and his eyes hooded.

“I could use a shower too.” He scooped me into his arms, lifting me off the bed.

Laughter erupted from my belly as he walked me into the bathroom. Threading my fingers through his hair, I couldn’t help but appreciate how perfect Lincoln Grey was in that moment.

I wanted to freeze it and capture it forever.

That night, Noah snuck me into the reception hall, and I sat at the large white cloth-covered table with Lincoln’s closest friends. Lincoln had been on the stage under the guise that he was helping Raphael honor some other Fallen Army soldiers, which they did. But when Raphael introduced his surprise promotion, I started to cry. He’d listed off my man’s achievements, including the numerous lives he’d saved, and families he’d brought to the safety of Angel City. It was a beautiful ceremony, and when Lincoln saw I was there, he’d beamed with pride.

Now we were at the after party. The archangels had gone home, the music was loud, and Shea, Luke, and Chloe had officially crashed the party.

I was dancing with Lincoln when he leaned into my ear. “I’m thirsty. Want a drink?”

I nodded.

As he made his away off the dance floor, Shea twerked her way over to me, much to the dismay of Noah who had been grinding up on her.

“So, I’ve been thinking.” Shea shouted over the music. “If you’re stuck on campus for the next few years, I’d bet we could convince Raph to give us our own dorm rooms next year, right next to each other.”

I smiled. “Really? You’d stay in the lame dorms with me, even though everyone else will be getting apartments?”

Shea nodded. “What can I say? I’m just that good of a friend.”

I laughed. She really was and I told her so.

After a nod, she leaned in closer. “Did you hear that Fallen Academy will only be open a few more years? After that, all of the children left will be human.”

Her declaration shocked the crap out of me. I quickly did the math and realized she was right. I was five when the war started, so five years after entering the academy, the last angel gifted or demon blessed teen would have their Awakening ceremony and then…

“What are they going to do with the school?” I’d completely stopped dancing by that point, enthralled with the conversation.

Shea looked left and right, as if she was about to reveal some big secret. “I heard Raphael was going to start a demon hunter academy. Training humans.”

Whoa.

Humans? I mean, no offense to humans but they were… weak little humans. It would be a waste to just have the school sit there, though, and I was sure we’d still need soldiers for the army.

I nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Shea was about to respond when the shrill of the demon alarm went off.

The music skidded to a halt and my entire body froze.