‘Look out!’ Sera shrieked, and I jumped, nearly dropping her as I spun on my heels.

There was no one there.

‘What?’ My heart was hammering so loudly in my chest, that it felt like it had leapt into my ears.

‘Just seeing if scaring you helped.’

‘You’re insane, you know that?’ trying to catch my breath, I sat down again.

‘Maybe… it’s a sickness.’

I spun her in my hands. ‘What now?’

‘Maybe the spell he put on my blade, his demons, his existence, is all a sickness that needs to be healed.’

At her words, the golden buttery healing light that I’d inherited from Archangel Raphael dripped from my palm.

A sickness.

I wonder…

I’d never thought about it like that, but if anything was a cancer upon this Earth, it was Lucifer and his creations.

Holding my palm above Sera’s blade, I let the golden light pour over the black magic and watched as it disintegrated it like it was… eating it. My heart hammered in my chest, my healing magic ate the black stuff alive. It was so simple. The black inky mass slowly reduced in size, until it had been transmuted to nothingness. All I could do was stare in shock.

‘You did it!’ Sera flared her light in excitement.

I stood then, gripping Sera tightly and relishing in the adrenaline that rushed through my veins.

Lucifer was a sickness, and I was going to cut him out like a tumor.

“You did it.” Lincoln’s words came from behind me, startling me—though I should have known he would follow me out here and spy on me.

Pivoting, I faced him, and my heart fell when I saw tears in his eyes.

“Lincoln.” I reached out for him, but he crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging me off.

“Nothing stopping you now,” he growled, and began to walk away.

“Lincoln, talk to me.” I wrapped my fingers around his bicep, and tried to pull him toward me, but the bastard was too strong.

He spun on me with a wild look in his eye. “What happened to the girl who thought the prophecy was bullshit? Who said there was no way she was strong enough to kill the Devil himself?”

When Lincoln was hurting, he got angry. We had that in common.

“She grew up. She started to believe in herself.” I reached for him again, and this time he let me grab him. “You used to believe in me, before I believed in myself. What happened to that guy?” I asked my hubby.

He rubbed his face hard before looking at me with agony in his eyes. “I still believe in you, Brielle. I just fell madly in love with you and want a life with you, which is something he can take away.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going to let that happen. And I’m not going to let our future children grow up in a world where he hunts them.”

The moment things changed in him was clear, the agony in his face turned into fire at the mention of Lucy hunting our children.

“I have to stop him. I have to get Raksha out of there.”

Lincoln pulled me into his arms, crushing me against his chest. He was silent for a few minutes. “We’ll do it together,” he finally vowed.

I knew it killed him to say that, to let me go into the wolf’s den willingly. But the fact that he believed in me, believed I was capable of this, meant the world to me.

“Together,” I confirmed.

After a chat with Lincoln, I walked across campus and burst into Raphael’s office, where he was speaking heatedly with Michael. Unashamedly, I slammed Sera’s newly cleaned blade onto his desk, and crossed my arms.

“It’s a sickness. Everything Lucy does is a disease,” I told the archangel.

A grin tugged at his lips, and a look of pride lit up Michael’s face.

“She’s ready.” Raphael grinned at his brother.

Michael looked fierce, blue light flashing in his eyes. “We leave tomorrow night. I’ll assemble the army.”

Holy fuck. I was going into Hell to try and assassinate the Devil.

‘No big deal,’ Sera assured me.

At least one of us was confident.

That night, no one got any peace. It was like Lucifer knew what we were planning. He sent wave after wave of demons at our walls, trying to break our defenses. He was desperate, but so were we.

The end to this war was near. I just prayed we ended on top.

Twenty

What did you say to your mother when you thought it might be the last time you ever saw her?

I’d convinced Mikey to stay behind with her so she wouldn’t stand the chance of losing both of her children, and her new boyfriend in the same night. Now I was standing in the Fallen Academy parking lot, staring into her eyes, and I had no idea what to tell her.

“I love you so much, Brielle. You know that? You’re the best thing that ever happened to your father and me.”

“Gee, thanks,” Mikey croaked over her shoulder.

She waved off my brother. “So were you. But she came first.”

I pulled her in for a long hug, Mikey’s arms coming around me from behind, as we all held each other.

Nearly every single member of the Fallen Army, who wasn’t a Celestial, had been called to go to war in Hell—in my name. They all believed in me, or they at least believed in Michael, who commanded them and believed in me. Grace and her human demon hunters would stay behind with the other Celestials and defend the school, with Blake and Darren being left in charge. Now we were all saying goodbye to our loved ones… just in case.

When I finally pulled back, my mom was crying.

“Stop it, Mom. I’ll be back, I swear.”

She nodded. “In one piece?”

“Mostly.” I grinned.

We all laughed, trying to keep things lighthearted.

Today could be the day the Fallen War ended. The enormity of that was not lost on me.

Peering over, I noticed Raphael had no one to say goodbye to, while Michael said farewell to his wife and Emberly. Uriel and Gabriel spoke to their students from Paris’ Fallen Academy, and Raphael just stood there, looking lonely.

“Mom, go say goodbye to Raph. Just in case.” I nudged the small of her back as her eyes widened at my request.

They hadn’t made their love affair public yet. I’d seen them holding hands once, but as soon as they noticed me looking, they’d broken away. My guess was that the physical affection was new to Raphael and they were taking things slow, but if there was any time to kiss the man, it was now.

Awkwardly nodding, Mom gave me one last hug before turning, and walking boldly over to Raphael. She looked adorable in her knee-length floral print skirt, colorful ballet flats and a silk top. She’d been taking more care with her appearance lately. After my father died, she’d had only the twelve-hour working days in Demon City to look forward to, while raising three kids. Now she did yoga, took care of herself, and ate healthy. She was much more rested, relaxed and happy.

“Stay strong down there,” she offered shyly, looking up to meet Raphael’s eyes. He dwarfed her with his gigantic height.

Mikey and I pretended to be inspecting a map, that I’d had Shea draw up from the parts of Hell and Lucifer’s castle I remembered.

“Thank you, Kate. I’ll look after Brielle as if she were my own daughter.” His voice was filled with emotion, and while I tried not to eavesdrop, I just couldn’t help myself.

“I knew you would,” she answered breathless, and I looked up to find that he’d wrapped his arms around her, letting them rest at the small of her back. The hem of her floral skirt fluttered in the breeze as she rested her hands on his broad chest, and I found myself transfixed by the two of them.

Kiss her, you idiot.

A grin swept across Raph’s face then and he leaned forward, dipping her back like in the movies, and claimed her mouth in a kiss that would make a Hollywood movie star jealous.

“Gross,” Mikey whispered.

“Shut up.” I swatted him.

One by one, the students noticed what was going on and the catcalls began, which broke up their loved-up display. I’d never seen Raph with redder cheeks in all my life.

“Right. Safe travels,” my mom mumbled, then walked away. I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.

“Brielle.” Lincoln’s deep voice caught me off guard, and I spun to find him standing there holding a large brown box.

Pulling me off to the side, in front of our trailer, he handed me the box. “A little something.”

We’d both barely slept last night, just holding each other while we tried not to think of losing the other.

“Lincoln, you’re too good to me.” I caressed the old box. Knowing Lincoln, there would be something priceless inside. He was never one for pretty wrapping.

“Impossible.”

I popped off the lid and grinned when I saw the shiny silver chest plate armor. “It’s amazing.” It had braided gold around the edges and leather straps on the sides to hold it in place. Leaning closer, I read a small cursive engraving on the bottom corner.

Mrs. Atwater-Grey.

“Lincoln… I love it.” My throat tightened with unbridled emotion.

Taking out the chest plate, he motioned for me to raise my arms. “Rose had your measurements, and Michael was able to have this forged with a special metal from upstairs.” He pointed to Heaven.

Whoa.

‘Yes, it feels familiar,’ Sera confirmed from her place in a scabbard on my hip.

Lincoln pulled the chest plate over my head, and fixed it on top of my thin chain mail top. As he tightened the straps on the side, I could see the nervousness in his gestures, his face.

Grabbing his hand, I stilled him and forced him to look at me.

“Hey. I got this, trust me. I’m going to succeed. There’s a whole prophecy about it and everything.” I winked.

Lincoln sighed. “Yeah, that’s what worries me. The prophecy doesn’t say anything about you making it out alive.”

‘Damn, that was morbid,’ Sera commented.

It was. Lincoln was a worst-case scenario kind of person, and that was okay.