Wicked Wings

36

He stared at me, and for once, his hard demeanor melted. He touched my head gently in a rare act of tenderness. “All right. But you both need to promise me you will never tell anyone about each other. That goes especially for you, Jonah. None of your friends can ever know about Olivia.”

“And if I promise, I can come back and visit Liv?” Jonah asked.

“Yes, whenever you want,” Father said.

“Then I promise!”

“Me too!” I chimed in.

Father grabbed us both in a hug, and as he held us there, I felt something rare…belonging. I had a family. I wasn’t alone.

From that night on, Jonah came to visit me regularly, and we kept our promise. He didn’t care that I was half-demon, because I was his sister. He told me all about the angel world, and his visits were the highlight of my life. And then he disappeared, and I remembered what it felt like to be completely alone in the world again—and I swore I’d do anything to find him.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Olivia

O

n Monday, Bastien, Callan, and Marcus walk into the cafeteria as Araceli and I head out after breakfast. Stiffening, I try to sidestep them, but they plant their big selves in my way.

Of course.

Marcus gives me a suave smile, but it has a bit of a predatory gleam. “In a hurry?”

“I hope so,” Callan growls. He’s my least favorite of the Princes, by far.

This time I’m not going to hide from them like a coward. I refuse to budge, and just cross my arms and glare at them until they huff and pass around me. Another point for Liv. For anyone else I would’ve politely sidestepped, but not these jerks. They can get out of my way.

With a small grin, I stroll out of the cafeteria, with Araceli gawking at my side. “That was great,” she says as she glances behind us, like she’s worried they might come after us. “As soon as I saw them, I ducked out of the way without thinking, but you stood up to them.”

I shrug a little. “It’s no big deal. I just don’t think they have the right to waltz around like they run the school.”

“You and me both, but I’m not crazy enough to challenge them. You’re brave, girl.”

My good mood lasts me precisely until it’s time for Combat Training to start, and I’m faced with Tanwen kicking my ass again. Surprisingly, she doesn’t. Not surprisingly, she’s so busy kissing up to Callan that she forgets to bother me. I spend the time sparring with Araceli and Darel, while getting little snacks from their lustful energy, along with Callan. Because even though Tanwen wants him, he wants me.

I keep my guard up for the rest of the day, but it passes without any major complications. Marcus and I ignore each other in Demon Studies, where Professor Raziel is still teaching us about the Fallen. In Angelic History, Professor Kassiel tries to pretend I don’t exist and fails, and I squirm the entire time listening to his sexy voice. While he lectures, I stare at the stubble on his neck and daydream of running my tongue along it. If I want to pass that class, I need to get control of myself. Afterwards, Bastien spends our time together grilling me about my childhood. It sounds more like he’s looking for loopholes in my story than a way to figure out what my Choir is. The session only makes him grumpier.

At dinner, I grab some pizza and sit at our normal table with Araceli, Grace, and Cyrus. Darel, who Araceli is already half in love with and fully in lust with, joins us too. It’s nice to have a group of friends, even if I know our friendships can’t last. They’ll never stay friends with me if they find out what I really am, or that I’ve been deceiving them, but for now it’s nice.

“What are these flyers I’m seeing around campus for a football game against demons?” I ask.

“It happens every year,” Cyrus says. “We have games against the demon school, Hellspawn Academy, and with the fae school, Ethereal Academy, as part of a way to build connections with them in a friendly environment, or some s**t like that.”

Darel smirks. “I heard it’s so we can go up against them without having any real consequences. Burn off some steam and let out that aggression, since it’s illegal to actually fight them.”

“So, there’s a demon academy too?” I ask. “Is it seriously called Hellspawn Academy?”

“It really is,” Cyrus says. “They don’t consider it an insult, believe it or not.”

“The games are pretty fun, even though no one is allowed to use their powers,” Darel says. “No flying, no burning light, none of that. But we can still use our superior speed and strength since supernaturals all have those. It makes for a pretty fast-paced and intense game.” He grins. “I made it onto the team this year, so you all need to come to the games.”

Araceli flips her hair and smiles. “We wouldn’t miss it.”

Cyrus swallows a big bite of pizza. “The first game is here on campus against the demons. Then the fae and demons have a game at Hellspawn Academy, and we have a game with the fae. At the end of the year, two winning teams face off for the championship.”

“Does the school have other sports teams too?” I ask.

“No, the sport rotates every year since we don’t have enough students for different teams. Last year it was baseball, and this year is football.”

Baseball. Jonah’s favorite. I’m sure he played on the team. I’ll have to look up who else was on the team with him and see if they’d have any reason to do him harm.

I poke at my pizza and try to sound innocent. “Is it safe having demons and fae here on campus?”