“What task did you have to do for your interview?” I clarified.

He and Ivy exchanged loaded looks, then Ivy said, “We didn’t do anything. We just filled out the forms, and the guy signed them. He was some low-level Legion guy. He looked bored and like he just wanted to get out of there and make it back to the break room before all the donuts were gone.”

“Why do you ask? Did you have to do something?” Drake asked me.

“The angel brought me to a bar and had me apprehend three vampires.”

Ivy blinked in surprise. “Whoa.”

“And you survived?” Drake said, looking me over as though he didn’t believe I was really standing there talking to them.

“The vampires were new and drunk and kind of stupid. Luckily for me. The last vampire I took on was worse than those three put together.”

Ivy gaped at me.

Drake chuckled. “What did you do for a living? Before you decided to join the gods’ army, that is?”

“Bounty hunter,” I replied.

He whistled, low and long. “Paranormal bounty hunter.”

“I tried to steer clear of most supernatural jobs. The payout isn’t worth the high chance of death,” I told him. “That vampire slipped through the cracks. Whoever posted his bounty neglected to mention that he wasn’t human.”

“That bites,” Drake said.

“Tell me about it. Have either of you ever fought supernaturals?”

“I haven’t fought anything more sentient than a dust bunny,” Ivy said.

“I don’t know. Some of those dust bunnies seem to have a mind of their own.” Drake looked fondly at his best friend. “Ivy doesn’t fight crime, but she was a killer cheerleader. Those backflips and side kicks were pretty wicked.”

Ivy grinned back at him. “Not as wicked as your football skills.”

“Yeah, I’m sure the ability to toss a ball around a field will come in handy against monsters,” someone laughed loudly.

Eight someones actually. The Legion brats were striding over, belligerent sneers on their faces. This wasn’t going to end well.

“What do you call it when a cheerleader, a jock, and a small town bounty hunter join the Legion of Angels?” one of them asked the others. “A triple suicide.”

They all burst into laughter. Ivy clenched her fists. Drake set his hand on her shoulder, holding her back. The Legion brats continued to laugh.

“You need to work on your jokes,” I told them, channeling serenity. “That wasn’t even funny.”

“Actually, it was very funny.”

“I thought it was funny, Dallas,” one of the Legion brats told him.

“Give up now, children,” Dallas said with a disparaging smile. “You’re as good as dead.”

“Yeah, well at least Leda made it through an interview. I bet you didn’t,” Ivy shot back.

“Of course not. We are descended from angels. We’re assured entry. We don’t need an interview. But I’m glad the Legion is starting to implement them for the lesser folk. Maybe it will keep out all the riffraff who believe themselves worthy of joining.”

The rest of them laughed in agreement. I’d never put up with bullies in high school, and my tolerance for them hadn’t improved since. But my response was cut short when the woman who’d shown me here rang the bell sitting on the podium at the center of the ballroom.

“Good afternoon, initiates.” She looked around at everyone in the ballroom. Since I’d arrived, our numbers had swelled to fifty. “I am Captain Basanti Somerset. You have come here today to join the ranks of the Legion of Angels. You are about to embark on a journey few others on this Earth will ever take, a journey that will require you to be brave, intelligent, and to push your body and mind beyond the breaking point. It is a great responsibility, but the rewards are just as great. If you have what it takes.”

In front of me, the Legion brats were grinning at one another.

“And now allow me to introduce your commanding officer for this training,” Captain Somerset said. “Colonel Nero Windstriker.”

Awed whispers rippled across the crowd of initiates as an angel in a black leather suit strode across the ballroom to join the captain at the podium. I held back a gasp as I recognized the angel who’d interrogated me just a few hours ago. This time, he had his wings out. A mix of blue and green and black feathers, they nearly kissed the ground as he walked.

They were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. His wings shimmered with an ethereal light that delighted my senses, penetrating me to my very soul. I couldn’t look away, even as his emerald eyes met mine with a look that was no less penetrating. Several of the women gasped at the angel as he passed. Some of the men too.

Nero stopped beside the podium. “Welcome to the last day of your life.” He paused a moment to let us take that in. “From here on out, your life belongs to the Legion. Your mind, your magic, your body, your soul—they all belong to us.” His gaze slid across the group of initiates, landing on me. “You have signed up to serve a higher purpose. To uphold the laws of the gods, to fight the monsters who would tear this world apart, to protect the innocent and the weak. To do this, the Legion will grant you powers. You will grow faster. Stronger. Smarter. You will have the power to enchant. To heal. To control the very elements themselves. You will come to possess magic that others can only dream of. The higher you climb in the Legion, the more powers you will gain.