Chapter 7
Heading straight to Cole felt like a bad idea.
A terrible idea.
I would speak with him, but when it was his turn. First, I had to see Kaito and explain everything I’d learned and get his take on it.
Plus, there was no way I was going to be falling asleep any time soon, so I would have to ask Kaito for a tonic to knock me out.
And while I was at it, I’d find out why he’d abandoned me in the pits of Hell. That wasn’t a cool move, so I might have had a secondary motive, but hey, a girl could multitask.
Uni curled back into my wings, making Azra raise a brow after he had finished his conversation with his brother. By the look on Sam’s face, they hadn’t come to a resolution. “Let’s go,” I told them.
“Where are we going?” Sam asked as I sped off, my mind made up.
Azra answered before I had a chance to figure out my response.
They weren’t going to like I was meeting up with one of my mates, a demon, no less.
“She’s going East. You’d know that if you’d bothered to read the blood moon.
” He pointed up. While the Academy’s magic offered us a calm light of simulated day, he was right, the crack in the barrier allowed us to see the ever-present blood moon in its full clarity.
The students greeted me as we ventured on campus. It felt good to be back, like I’d come home. I searched the faces for Olivia, hoping to see her again, even if my heart twisted every time I would look into her dark, soulless eyes.
She had sacrificed everything.
For me.
I would make sure that sacrifice hadn’t been in vain.
A Demonspawn interceded our path, her arms weighed down with boxes of medical supplies as cloths and bottles of alcohol threatened to spill out. While we had the majority of fast-healers on campus, there were some species that needed a little help when it came to physical injuries.
Both Azra and Samael stiffened at the intrusion, their wings flaring.
She peered around the box and gave an abbreviated nod and tight smile. Her gaze skipped over the two angels at my back. “Nice to see you, Lilith. Did you recruit some, uh, friends?”
A blur of toned, muscled flesh and white wings flew by. The Demonspawn female, more akin to a teenage girl than a terrifying demon, yelped and dropped her boxes, her hands flying up as supplies spilled everywhere.
Where the fuck had Sam found a blade?
And why was he attacking a student?
Adrenaline poured through my veins and I lunged forward, putting myself between the girl and Sam.
“Stop,” I ordered, glaring at him as he came to a standstill less than five inches from me, his muscled chest heaving as his nostrils flared.
“She’s a demon.”
The girl pressed herself against my back, trembling with fear. The instinct to curl an arm around her in protection was almost overpowering. I had become an icon for the allied Demonspawn and I wouldn’t let my bullheaded mate mess that up.
“She fought with us when Lucifer attacked,” I said, giving him a cool look. “And perhaps you haven’t noticed, but I have a bit of demon in me. Or are you choosing to overlook that in girls you prefer to fuck?”
Sam’s head snapped back as if I’d slapped him.
Azra mouthed, Burn, bro.
“You know that’s not how I feel,” Sam said, relaxing as he dismissed his blade in a flash of light.
So, he hadn’t found a weapon, he could summon one. Good to know.
I glowered at him, and Azra too, for that matter. His smug face said he immensely enjoyed his brother getting into trouble for once, but he hadn’t done anything to stop Sam from nearly impaling a student that was fighting on our side.
“I’m the Princess of Hell, boys. Not all Demonspawn are Lucifer’s spawn.
Some are good, some are bad. Many fought with me, chose to serve my mother and she’s a far better ruler than the devil.
All that means is that you don’t get to go kill every demon you see just because you think being born in Heaven makes you better. ”
The twins exchanged a look that made the weight in my stomach grow heavier.
“What?” I demanded.
Sam’s gaze slid to the scared Demonspawn still cowering behind me. “Perhaps it would be best if your… ally continued on her way.”
I didn’t like his tone, but I turned and spoke to the girl, then helped her gather the supplies. Once she had everything in a haphazard pile, she took off, moving nearly twice as fast as before.
I didn’t turn back to the angels.
“Why would you attack her? She looked like a scared teenage girl. Harmless to you or me.” I stared at her back as she rushed away.
“Looks can be deceiving,” Sam said, his tone harsh from behind me. I turned and faced him, disappointment at the hatred I found there.
Azra sighed. “Sam and I were born to keep demons in their realm, Lily, and we were trained that anything with horns should be attacked on sight.”
The memory of Kaito drifting out of sight when I’d emerged from Purgatory was starting to make more sense, even if I still hadn’t quite forgiven him. He had horns, and he likely knew that an encounter with my angels wouldn’t go well. He’d been trying to spare me more hurt and grief.
It still didn’t make this right.
“If the demon is here, wearing a uniform, then they’re likely a student of the school, and chances are you’re looking at one of my allies.”
“What if they’re a bad demon disguised in a uniform?” Azra asked, his question genuine. “Isn’t it easier just to assume they’re all bad?”
“No,” I stated flatly. “If you’re going to be with me, you’ll learn to judge the heart.”
And even then, I seemed to be giving out third and fourth chances.
I knew I was a monster, at my core. Same went for all of my Virtues except for my angels.
Although, I was starting to wonder about that now. I had attracted a certain personality to join me as Champion of Calamity. What we faced was dark, and it would take an even greater darkness to overcome Calamity’s plans.
They exchanged another ponderous glance before Sam knelt to one knee, his head bowed in apology. “We’re angels of death, Lily. It’s all we’ve ever known, but for you, I vow never to strike against a Demon again, unless you decree it to be so.”
“Whoa,” Azra said, the word on a loose breath as he ruffled his wings.
Sam glared up at him. “Get down here, you idiot, and make your vow. You have a higher kill record than I do.”
Azra grinned. “So you admit I’m better than you?”
Sam glanced at me, noting my disappointment. “Our mate disapproves of killing demons without consideration. Most of the demons we’ve killed were simply in breach of a contract with Heaven. We knew nothing of their reasoning or morality. So, yes, take the boast, it only makes me look better.”
Azra grumbled in that same strange foreign language, dropping to one knee as he made his vow.
“Get up, please,” I demanded as the student body began to stare, and not just because I had brought actual angels to the Academy.
But because they bowed to me, and I still wore my Hell Crown that didn’t seem keen on disappearing anytime soon.
Azra stood, his kissable lips pulling into a smile.
I wanted to taste his kiss, show him I appreciated their vow, even if I couldn’t fully understand the gravity of their loyalty.
They had been born and trained, their morals shaped and their hearts formed to be a certain way. From a single incident, they went against all of their culture and ways because I had said so.
It was a dangerous kind of power to have over someone, especially two angels of death.
Sam sensed the break in my mood, an echo of a smile on his lips as he glanced up at me. He didn’t move to stand. Instead he stayed on one knee, his gaze dipping to take in my body.
Sufficiently distracted, I sighed and turned to the tallest gothic-styled building on Campus.
“We’re heading to the Central Hall,” I informed them. “Try not to attack any more students along the way.”