Fallen Kings

Chapter One Olivia C ool night air sifts through my black feathers as I fly over the dark forest. No angel likes being caged, not even a half-angel like myself, and I’ve been cooped up all winter. It’s about time I got to stretch my wings. Callan flies in front of me, the bright moonlight making the gold trim on his white wings gleam like metal. There’s a huge sword strapped to his back as he leads the way to our destination—a house where we might find the Staff of Eternity. We’ve been looking for it ever since my second year at Seraphim Academy ended. Grace and Cyrus, our former friends, betrayed us and stole the Staff from Faerie for the Order of the Golden Throne, a secret society of angels. They plan to use it to send all demons back to Hell, permanently. Including me. Or maybe it will kill me. It’s not clear. All we know is that we have to stop them before they start another war between angels and demons. The one good thing is that they need an Archdemon and an Archangel—or someone with their blood—to activate the Staff. The Order might be able to pull off the Archangel side, but no Archdemon would ever help them. That’s why I’m in danger, at least according to my annoyingly overprotective brother, Jonah. With the blood of both an Archangel and an Archdemon, I’m the only one who can use the Staff alone. The Order would love to have me under their control—which is no doubt why they let me join their ranks during my first year at Seraphim Academy, and why they kept me around during my second year. That all ended when we opposed them and killed their leader, Nariel. Jonah flies beside me now, and the two of us use our Ishim powers to keep the rest of the group invisible. He’s carrying Eveanna, a green-haired fae warrior from the Autumn Court who acted as the guardian of the Staff in Faerie. She and Jonah became friends during his two years there, and when we lost the Staff she was banished to Earth by the High King of the fae. Only once she rescues or destroys the Staff can she return home. The two of them share such a close bond I thought perhaps Jonah and Eveanna had a thing, but Eveanna is only interested in women. Jonah was loyal to his girlfriend Grace during his entire time in Faerie, until she betrayed us, that is. Now he glowers anytime her name is even mentioned. Marcus and Bastien fly behind us, guarding me from behind like my own sexy angel entourage. And damn are they sexy. Marcus is pure temptation with olive skin, a sensual mouth, and beautiful brown hair that curls a little at the ends, not to mention his muscular body and bronze-and-white wings. Bastien is just as mouth-wateringly delicious, but in a different way. While Marcus looks like an underwear model, Bastien looks more like a sexy movie villain, with shiny black hair, intelligent eyes, and strong cheekbones, plus dark gray wings streaked with silver. I feel like a lucky girl to call them both my lovers. Along with Callan, Marcus and Bastien graduated from Seraphim Academy last year, and have spent the last few months searching for the Staff. Jonah and Eveanna often go with them to track down leads. But me? They always make me stay behind. Until tonight. I begged and cajoled and threatened until they finally agreed to let me go on a mission with them. My father, Gabriel, would never have let me go—he wants me to stay away from anything involving the Order and the Staff. If it were up to him, I’d never leave the house at all. Luckily tonight he’s busy at a meeting in Angel Peak. After getting kicked off the Archangel Council, he took over the little town’s defenses after the Duskhunter attacks last year, and he’s really settled into the new role. Which makes tonight the perfect opportunity to go on a mission without him trying to stop me. Callan leads us toward the ground, and I know we’re close. For two hours we’ve been heading north from Seraphim Academy and Angel Peak, which are both located at the top of a mountain in northern California, and we just crossed over the border into Oregon. A thick, dense forest of dark trees stretches below us, and we glide down to a small clearing. Callan lands first, and he looks like a damn superhero as he sets down on the ground with his broad, muscular body, shining gold hair, and strong jaw. Add in his arrogant blue eyes and commanding attitude, and everything about him screams alpha male. He scans the area and then gestures for the rest of us to land. With silent steps, the rest of us set down in front of a derelict old house in the middle of nowhere. It looks like it’s been abandoned for a very long time, but it also looks like the perfect place to hide. I retract my shiny black wings and rest my hands on my twin daggers, one infused with light and one with darkness, both presents from my mother, Lilith. The others ready their weapons too. If the Order is inside, we’ll be ready for them. While Jonah and I keep our team invisible, we circle the house as one group. Several windows are broken, and the paint, once white, is gray and peeling. I’m not sure we can even get to the front door because vines have grown up so thickly on the porch. We move as quietly as we can, but it’s difficult with everything so overgrown. As we continue around the house, it’s clear the sides and back are in as bad shape as the front, and there’s no sign anyone is inside. Once in the backyard, Bastien points upward at an open window on the second story. It’s a stark difference to the rest of the closed windows, though most have broken and cracked panes. Someone could have used that window to go in and out of the house. Someone that could fly up there. Like an angel.