Wicked Wings

26

“There’s a video of her Emergence, and it’s pretty clear she’s an angel from that,” Hilda adds. “It should be in her files, although it was taken down from the internet by Aerie Industries.”

My eyebrows dart up. “A video?”

Hilda nods. “Yeah, she got her wings at a party when she fell off the balcony. You should watch the video, it’s pretty shocking.”

“It must’ve given those angels at Aerie a lot of cleanup work,” Raziel adds.

“Thanks,” I say. “I’ll check it out.”

I grab another sandwich and head to my office. Once I’m inside, I pull up the school file on Olivia, which is only accessible to Headmaster Uriel and professors. I read through what little they know of her, including information on her mother’s death, and feel even more confused. When I met her in the bar, Olivia mentioned she had a complicated relationship with her mother and father. She was either lying then or she’s lying now. I have a suspicion I know which it is. I hit play on the video. Someone caught the incident on their camera phone, and at first they’re filming someone doing shots by the pool at a St. Patrick’s Day party. There’s a scream and the camera pans up to catch a girl flying above the pool, with black wings spread and light glowing from her entire body. She hovers there for a moment and then she falls into the water, where her wings vanish along with the light. Things turn into total chaos next as a bunch of people dive into the water to rescue her, and when they pull her out, she’s unconscious. That’s where the video ends.

I lean back with a frown. She’s definitely an angel. Was I wrong about her being a succubus? No, I know what they feel like, and I recognized that black glow in her eyes after she fed on me. But she clearly has wings too, and I might have believed she was a Fallen except for the glowing light. Unless that was all fake, but Aerie Industries would have investigated her thoroughly after this incident.

Which means she’s something that should be impossible. Something so forbidden it’s never spoken about. Something that could change everything if people knew.

She’s half angel and half demon.

No wonder she looked so nervous when our eyes met. And now that I know the truth about her, I’m not sure what to do with it.

I know her secret, but does she know mine? Did I say anything that night about my past? I wrack my memory trying to remember our conversation. We spoke of my father, and I mentioned I was a history professor, but little else. I don’t think she knows anything about me, just as I know nothing about her.

Does Uriel know what she truly is? He must. He knows everything that happens at this school. If so, there’s no reason for me to bring it up. She’s obviously keeping that side of herself a secret, but what is she doing here? She must know it isn’t safe, although I doubt the demon school would be any safer for her.

I stare at her photo on my screen, gazing into those mysterious green eyes. I’ll keep her secret as long as she doesn’t interfere with my own plans. I’ll be her professor and nothing more, no matter how much my blood sings when she’s near. It will be torture having her in my class, but I’ve survived worse before. If anyone can resist a succubus, it’s me.

But damn, it’s going to be a long year.

Chapter Seventeen

Olivia

J

ust when I think my first day of class can’t get any worse, I remember I have to meet with Bastien.

I head to the library, which is on the other side of the lake and set back against the forest. The front of the building is covered in mosaics depicting angels fighting demons, and a grand door leads me inside.

Bastien is waiting by the front desk, and he gives me a sharp look as I enter. “You’re three minutes late.”

“Sorry, Professor Kassiel needed to speak with me after class.”

Bastien’s eyes narrow a little, but then he turns on his heel. “Follow me. I’ve reserved a private room for us to begin our testing.”

He leads me through the library, which has tall shelves completely filled with books both new and old. I catch glimpses of ancient texts on demons combined with new texts on biology. Father told me that when angels had to leave Heaven they only had a week to gather the most important things to take with them. Most libraries had been destroyed in the war already, but the few texts that were saved were sent to this library. It’s a strange feeling, knowing that most of angelic literature and knowledge is contained within these walls, going back thousands of years. Maybe that’s not so impressive to immortals with such a long memory, but it is to me.

On the far side of the library are private rooms for studying, and Bastien leads me to one of those. He flips the lights on and takes a seat on one side of the table, his back straight and his posture perfect. I take a seat across from him much more slowly.

“By now you should know about the four Choirs,” he starts. “I am one of the Ofanim, who can detect lies and see the truth, among other things.”

“Have you detected any lies from me?” I ask. His eyes narrow. “Not so far, but we’ll see what happens during this session.”

“I have no reason to lie,” I lie. I nearly touch my necklace, but I have it tucked away inside the collar of my shirt today. I don’t need anyone else noticing it and becoming suspicious, and I have to trust that it will keep me safe. Mother wouldn’t have given it to me unless she thought it could handle even the strongest Ofanim.