Fallen Kings

31

“Where?” Kassiel asks.

There’s only one place. “The bell tower. No one goes up there but us. We’ll shove it in a closet and Eveanna can glamour it to look like a broom or something. Hide it in plain sight.”

“Azrael or Grace might come looking for it,” Bastien says.

“We can create a diversion,” Marcus says. “Make it seem like Eveanna took the Staff to Faerie or something.”

“I can spread some rumors among the Valkyries along those lines,” Tanwen says. “I’d bet a million bucks at least one of them is in the Order.”

“We can make sure Jeremy overhears us talking about it too,” Araceli adds.

“It’s decided then,” I say. “We’ll each take turns hanging out in the bell tower to make sure the Staff is never unguarded for long, while we research how to destroy it. There must be something in Seraphim’s library that can help us.”

Or so I hope.

Chapter Twenty-One

Olivia

T

he next morning, Eveanna packs all her things, informs Uriel she is returning to Faerie, and disappears from campus. In truth, she’s moved into a guest room in Marcus and Callan’s house while glamouring herself to look like an angel, but the trick works. Tanwen helps spread the rumor that Eveanna’s returned to Faerie, and Jonah and I chat about how we miss her loudly during Human Studies to make sure Jeremy overhears. No one ambushes me and interrogates me on where the Staff is, so I assume the Order believes the ruse.

But we know the con won’t last forever. Eventually the Order will realize the Staff is still on Earth. We need to destroy it before they come looking for it.

Weeks pass, and none of us find anything, and every day I get more frustrated. I’ve spent much of my free time in the library, pouring through books on fae relics, but there’s little information on the Staff. The others aren’t having any luck either. Kassiel’s returned to Lucifer to give him a report and to see if he could learn anything that would help us, but hasn’t returned yet. Bastien’s scoured Uriel’s private library, to no avail. Callan went to visit his mother for a weekend under the guise of speaking to her about his career prospects, while trying to get information from her on the Order or the Staff. When he returned, he refused to talk about it, so I assume it didn’t go well.

After another unproductive session in the library, I return to my dorm to work on an essay for Immortal Ethics, but as soon as I open the door I freeze. There are two women inside I don’t recognize, just sitting on my couch. They both glance over and smile when I enter, and I quickly yank out my daggers. Has the Order come for me?

“Who are you? What do you want?” I ask.

Both girls laugh. “It’s us,” one of them says, and then her form shimmers and fades away, until all I see is Araceli. “Eveanna’s been teaching me how to glamour myself.”

Eveanna’s glamour fades away too, and soon I’m looking at her pointed ears and green hair again. “Araceli is a fast learner. Though all fae can do a few paltry glamours, very few can change their appearance so quickly and thoroughly.”

“I have a good teacher,” Araceli says.

“That’s really great,” I tell them. I’m so glad Araceli can embrace her fae side and learn these things from Eveanna. She’s been a lot happier this year, and I think this is a big reason why.

The other reason seems to be my brother, but I try to ignore that.

They try changing themselves to look like men next, and I head into my room to work on my paper. Simiel insists on making us write these ten-page essays on ethics every couple weeks and they’re such a drag, especially when I have more important things to worry about at the moment.

I throw my bag into my desk chair and turn toward my closet to change into some comfier clothes, but then I spot a brown paper bag on my bed. Instantly apprehensive, I approach slowly and knock the bag over. When nothing comes shooting out of it, I grab it between my fingers and carefully open it.

Inside is a bag of my favorite coffee from Angel Peak, along with a note. From Callan.

Hope you enjoy the coffee.

I crumple the note up into a ball and hurl it into the trash. How dare he sneak into my room again! My blood boils at the thought of him in here, poking around like he did when he trashed the place two years ago. He should know better than to come in here without my permission. After his speech about how he was trying to change and be better, he’s still doing s**t like this, and just thinks it’s okay?

Hell no.

I toss the bag of coffee on the bed, throw open my sliding doors, and launch off my balcony while going invisible. A few minutes later I land on the porch of Callan’s house, then bang on the door as hard as I can. I already know Marcus is gone—he’s in Arizona visiting his mom and brother—so I’m sure Callan will be the one to answer. When he does, I’ll have a lot of words for him.

Callan jerks the door open with a murderous look on his face, wearing nothing but a towel. Water drips down his chest. His very large, sculpted chest. Oh, damn it.

When he sees it’s me, his expression softens a little. “Hey. Is everything okay?”

I tear my gaze away from his amazing, muscular body, and shoot daggers at him with my eyes. “Who do you think you are? Leaving something like that in my dorm room?”

“Come inside.” He holds open the door so I can step into the house. As soon as it’s closed, he faces me down with annoyance in his voice. “Excuse me for trying to get you a gift. I thought you would like the coffee.”