Sinful Things

24

As soon as class ends, I hurry after Bastien to catch him outside. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“It was nothing.” His voice is still cold. He’s always cold and emotionless. Or so it seems. But he must have felt something for him to snap at Jeremy that way, and I know from watching the video that he does seem to regret his involvement in what the Princes did last year, at least a little. But he still hasn’t apologized either, so he’s not off the hook.Chapter Seventeen

Olivia

A

rare thunderstorm sends everyone into the cafeteria for dinner one Thursday night, and it takes me forever to get food from the buffet. I plop my tray down beside Grace’s plate and sit across from Araceli, then nearly faceplant into my food because I’m just that exhausted. It’s been a month since I got my second revenge on the Princes, and my classes are kicking my ass. I probably need to feed again too, and not just on food. I had to lay off the s*x dreams a little when I overheard two people laughing about how they'd both had a bunch of them recently. I don’t want anyone to start connecting the dots. On the other hand, people on campus seem to be hooking up left and right, so they should really be thanking me. Love is in the air—or at the very least, a heavy dose of lust.

At least I know why Tanwen is over Callan. After the s*x dreams started, she began dating one of the other Valkyries, a broad-shouldered girl named Marila. They sit together on the other side of the cafeteria with their identical blond hair, and I wait for some petty thoughts to come into my head, but they don’t. I guess I’m fine with Tanwen these days. How strange.

“Is that a burn on your arm?” Araceli asks me, as I dig in to my burrito.

I glance down, surprised. “Oh yeah. I got it in Light Control today. One of the Valkyries zapped me. I think it was an accident, but who knows.”

“Ugh, of course they did.” Araceli rolls her eyes and covers the burn with her hand. Within seconds it’s healed, thanks to her Malakim blood. “There you go, all fixed up.”

“Thanks.” It would have healed within a day or two anyway, but it’s nice to have a healer on your side.

Cyrus sits at the end of our table, with his new boyfriend Isaiah across from him. Isaiah is like a ginger version of Cyrus, with his nearly identical hipster jeans and robin blue polo shirt. They’re even about the same height. They’re another of the new couples that spawned after I started turning up the heat in people’s dreams, and there’s always an invisible cloud of lust swirling around them. I have a feeling it won’t last, but they give me a nice snack whenever they’re around, at least.

Cyrus immediately jumps into his favorite past time—gossip. “Did you hear about the attack in Angel Peak?”

“What?” Araceli drops her spoon in surprise. “No?”

He leans forward and lowers his voice. “Two angels were killed right outside the coffee shop. Their heads were severed…along with their wings.”

The others gasp. Wings are a big deal among angels, I’ve learned. Touching someone else’s wings without permission is taboo. Mutilation of someone’s wings is a truly horrific punishment, only reserved for the most serious of offenders. And cutting them off? It’s a rare, ghastly crime, and it makes the others shudder to even consider such a thing.

“Was it demons?” I ask, my stomach sinking. I don’t need anyone to have even more reason to hate me for my demon blood.

“That’s what they thought at first, but now there's a rumor going around it was humans instead,” Cyrus says.

Grace’s eyes widen. “Humans? How could they get into Angel Peak?”

“Yeah, I thought the place was warded so humans couldn’t even find it,” Araceli says.

Cyrus spreads his hands. “No one knows.”

Grace pokes at her food with a frown. “That can't be right. How could humans manage to take out two angels? It must be a demon attack. They’re the only ones who would be so heartless.” She quickly glances at me. “Sorry, Liv. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay,” I say, although it does sting a little.

“They’re increasing security around the town to make sure nothing like this happens again,” Isaiah says. I almost forgot he was here, since he’s so quiet. I guess if Cyrus is your boyfriend, you let him do most of the talking.

The next day, the attack in Angel Peak is all anyone can talk about, and the campus is buzzing with fear. No one knows if demons or humans were behind it, and speculations are running wild. I get more dirty looks than usual, like somehow it’s my fault.

It’s Friday, which means another after-school lesson with Kassiel. Last week he talked a little about what the Great War was like from the demons’ perspective. Kassiel lost his mother during it, and he spoke with passion about the horrors he witnessed when he fought. I was hoping to hear more stories about his time as a soldier, but today I have a more pressing question. “Do you know anything about the attack in Angel Peak?” I ask, after closing the door behind me. “Was it demons who did it?”

One of his eyebrows arches up. “I see the attack has been weighing on your mind. Come. Sit.”

I take my usual chair, and he sits behind his desk, a safe distance away from me. Every session with him is a lesson in restraint and self-control. I’m already thinking about banging him right there on his desk, which isn’t a good sign.