Into the Light: A Paranormal Academy Romance (Angel Academy Book 4) Read online

  Into The Light

  Angel Academy Year Four

  Riley London

  Into the Light: Angel Academy Year Four

  Book 4 in the Angel Academy series

  Copyright @ 2019 Riley London

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design: Jacqueline Sweet Design

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Where to Find Riley London

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue - Five Years Later

  Preview: Wicked Hot Magic, Salem Academy Book One

  Where to Find Riley London

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  Epigraph

  “Aut cum scuto aut in scuto.”

  1

  “Watch that knee,” Trinity instructed. “You tend to bend it forward for balance when you’re swinging down your sword.”

  She grinned wickedly. “It would make an excellent place to be stabbed by your opponent.”

  Trinity and I stood in the center of Hell, our feet firmly planted in one of its several lakes.

  We’d decided to train before dinner, wanting to make sure we were both up to par when it came time for the battle between Heaven and Hell.

  It was a battle that I’d been dreading ever since Abaddon declared it months ago. And it wasn’t like I had a choice when it came to which side I’d be fighting for either, with my allegiance already belonging to Hell, whether I liked it or not.

  I was the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Going against Heaven was in my blood.

  “Yeah? So would your face,” I replied, bringing my sword down onto Trinity’s arm, slicing a line across her skin.

  “I’m serious.” Trinity barely reacted to the wound. She stepped away from me. “Here. Watch this.”

  Within seconds, Trinity procured one of her throwing stars from their sheath and stabbed it into my knee. I screamed in pain as I fell onto my back, bringing my knee up to my chest.

  I wrenched the star out of my knee, letting it fall into the lake beside me. Laying my leg down flat against the stream of water, I wanted it to heal me as fast as it could. Since I’d been down in the depths of Hell with my family, I’d been picking up tips and tricks on how to fight like a demon.

  One of the most useful was the fact that I’d be able to heal myself in any of Hell’s lakes, as long as I got there fast enough.

  It was kind of funny having to learn how to fight like a demon, since I’d spent so much of my time at the Angel Academy learning how to fight demons in the first place. And honestly, it was getting kind of hard to keep track of all the conflicting information.

  “Never turn your back on your opponent.” Trinity sighed. “Not even your own blood.”

  “I was just—” I tried to explain, holding my quickly healing knee under the water, but I found that I’d lost the ability to speak.

  Trinity had slit my throat. Again.

  Damn it.

  My blood dripped down in rivulets across my skin, mingling with the water of the lake below us both. I gagged as blood filled my throat too, creating the most awful sensation I’d ever felt. There was nothing like drowning to death, I’d learned. It was one of the worst ways to die.

  There I was again, dying for what seemed like the hundredth time. My bouts with Trinity were always to the death, which made sense. She wanted me to learn how to fight like my life depended on it, because on the surface, the angels who I’d be up against weren’t going to show me any mercy.

  However, today I wouldn’t be the only sister who met her death at the bottom of this infernal lake. I used what little strength I had left in my body to plunge the blade of my sword into Trinity’s abdomen. Her cries rang out as she fell down to her knees, my sword still lodged in her stomach.

  I couldn’t say anything to her since my vocal cords were sliced through, but I offered her a smirk with the last bit of my energy. She returned my expression, letting out a weak laugh.

  “See you on the other side, sister,” Trinity said, before her eyes went dark and she fell onto her side.

  See you on the other side.

  I thought the phrase to myself, feeling like I was dying again, the life leaving my body as the healing water flowed into my veins.

  “One more time.” Trinity had been restored to life and stood beside me with her throwing stars between her fingers. “Come on. We should have a few more minutes to try this again.”

  “You really want to die more than once in the same day?” I replied, finding my footing in the lake once more. “Or are you just super arrogant?”

  “Confident. Not arrogant. There’s a difference.” Trinity grinned. “Now, raise up your weapon so that we can—”

  “Dinnertime!” Charlie called out, suddenly appearing beside the lake. “Oh, wait. Ugh. Are you two doing that thing where you stand around killing each other all day?”

  “It’s called training, Charlie.” I smiled at him. “And yes. We’re doing that thing again.”

  “I hate watching you die, Celeste.” Charlie groaned. “Can we please put a pin in it so we can go eat some food with your family?”

  “Sure.” I nodded, walking through the waters. “Trinity, are you coming?”

  “Of course,” Trinity answered, walking close behind me. “I wouldn’t miss a family dinner for the world.”

  “Hmm. Can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.” Charlie chuckled. “But either way, I think this one is going to be really good. Your parents let me cook this time.”

  “What’s on the menu, Charlie?” I asked.

  “Vegan mac n’ cheese and vegan steak.”

  “What is vegan steak?” Trinity seemed truly confused, her brow wrinkling in consternation. “Doesn’t that go against the very ethos that you stand for?”

  “No. It’s imitation mea—you’ll see.” Charlie shook his head. “It’s really good, you guys. Promise.”

  “We’ll be the judge of that…” Trinity’s words trailed off, as she broke off from Charlie and me and walked in another direction.“Anyway, I’ll catch up with you two at the dinner table. I have some business to take care of beforehand.”

  “Business?”

  “Business,” Trinity repeated my phrase, a definitive edge to her voice. “I promise I’ll be there in time to try your food, Charlie.”

  “You better be.” Charlie chuckled again, smiling at Trinity. “See you later, Trin.” br />
  “Same to you,” Trinity replied, disappearing down one of Hell’s many dark alleyways, yet another path that I didn’t recognize from memory.

  I’d never taken the time to explore the place myself, just sticking to the routes I was already familiar with. I didn’t want to end up lost somewhere, or worse, be at the receiving end of some kind of demonic torture.

  Even though Trinity had tried to assure me the Princes of Hell no longer cared about my previous affiliation with the angels, or the initial betrayal of my family having children to begin with, I didn’t want to push my luck in that department. Or find out otherwise the hard way.

  “Trin?” I turned my attention to Charlie.

  “Yeah?”

  “You’ve given her a nickname now?” I smiled.

  “Well, yeah.” Charlie smiled back. “Is that a problem? She seems cool. Well, nowadays, at least.”

  “No. I just think it’s cute,” I replied as I reached out a finger to trace lightly down his arm. “I just never imagined anything like that.”

  “Like your sister having a nickname?”

  “Like having a sister, like having a guy meet my family, like even knowing my family at all.” I laughed. “It’s so…wholesome. I don’t know. I just never imagined everything seeming so normal, as we’re literally hanging out in Hell.”

  “Eh. Normal enough.” Charlie sighed and gave a little shrug “Aren’t we still waiting on the end of the world to begin? Unless Abaddon has changed his mind about the whole war thing?”

  “I have no idea,” I admitted. “I don’t think anything’s been happening with that, not down here, not up there either. It’s weird, isn’t it? You’d think after the way Abaddon has been talking, that he would’ve already been trying to attack or—”

  I paused, as the realization hit me.

  “Or? Or what?” Charlie asked. “What were you going to say?”

  “He’s waiting on something.”

  “What?”

  “Abaddon. He’s waiting on something,” I talked faster as excitement and trepidation took hold from the dawning realization. “I don’t know what, but there’s no other explanation for why he hasn’t already tried to take the surface.”

  “What’s there to wait on, though?”

  “I…don’t know.” I shook my head. “I have no idea. But I bet it has something to do with the way Trinity just ran off like that.”

  “Yeah, her and Abaddon seem pretty close…” Charlie tilted his head to the side. “Do you think…I mean…is it possible that they’re—”

  “Working together to plan the end of the world?”

  “Oh. That too. But I was going to ask if you think they’re, uh, dating?”

  “Do I think my sister is dating the actual embodiment of a sin?”

  “Yeah. Do you?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because Trinity doesn’t date.” I smirked. “But you know, if she was going to date someone, it probably would be someone like Abaddon. I think he’s more of her type.”

  “Funny. You thought that I was more of her type, not so long ago…”

  “God. I forgot all about that.” I sighed. “So much shit has happened to us, Charlie. It’s all starting to become a blur.”

  “Yeah, but all that is in the past anyway. So don’t worry about it too much, okay? We’ve got enough on our plate in the here and now.” Charlie gently grabbed me by the hand, placing my palm into his own. “Just as long as you don’t forget who you are Celeste, that’s all that matters to me.”

  My heart warmed at his sweet suggestion, even though I knew all hope was already lost on that front. I had no fucking idea who I was anymore, whether or not I still wanted to be an angel or if I was just going to lean into the demonic energy that so easily flowed through me.

  And even if I did decide to fight for the angels, to take a different side in this war, it wasn’t like the angels wanted me to fight for them anyway. They’d tried to kill me. How could they ever trust that I’d forgiven them after something like that?

  Maybe I hadn’t forgiven them. Maybe I was still having nightmares about being tied up to that stake, the way Zachary had walked away from me for a final time, the way the lightning came crashing down around me, the way the judges silently watched and waited for me to die.

  There were other memories too, that played out like a short film behind my eyes, even when I wasn’t asleep. Memories of how Benjamin had thrown me to the wolves, giving me to the Council as if I’d never meant anything to him at all. Seeing the cold expression on Benjamin’s face, the way his eyes were devoid of all sympathy, all the love he once held for me, was a haunting image that I’d struggled to forget.

  As those thoughts relentlessly swarmed my mind, Benjamin’s coldness and Zachary’s desertion, I couldn’t help but to stay quiet as Charlie and I made our way back to my parents’ place.

  With so much blazing through my brain all at once, I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  2

  “Abaddon?” I was shocked to see him standing in front of my parents’ door. “What brings you to our little part of Hell?”

  “We need to speak.” Abaddon looked at Charlie dismissively. “You may go inside.”

  “Oh, but I was going to—”

  “You may go inside, Charlie,” Abaddon repeated, his voice harsh.. “Or would you rather have me instruct Ashmedai to keep you on a tighter leash?”

  “Got it. I’ll talk to you later, Celeste.” Charlie grimaced, before he stepped past Abaddon and walked inside of my parents’ home.

  The way Abaddon talked to Charlie was starting to piss me off. I made a mental note to deal with that when the time was right.

  “What did you need to talk to me about?”

  “Walk with me, regina lux.” Abaddon smiled, and the sight was a bit unsettling. “Just like the first time we met face to face. Do you remember?”

  “How could I ever forget?” I faked a smile in return, starting to pace away from my family’s door.

  “What did you need to talk to me about, Abaddon?” I repeated the question in a cold, flat voice.

  I didn’t want to spend any more time with Abaddon than was strictly necessary.

  Abaddon was at my side, his steps keeping time with my own. “Your sister has brought something to my attention.”

  “What?”

  “You killed her today.”

  “I’ve killed her before.” I shrugged. “It’s not like it was our first time training together in the lake—”

  “Yes, but you’ve never used the last of your energy to do it.” Abaddon smiled again. “There was something ruthless in your sword today, in your heart. And it’s the sign that we’ve been waiting for.”

  “Waiting for?”

  “It’s time to send you back to the surface,” Abaddon explained. “Trinity thinks you’re ready now with all of your training, and I’m inclined to believe her.”

  “Yeah? And what exactly does Trinity think that I’m going to do on the surface?” I asked. “My cover’s been blown, Abaddon. Everyone knows who I am now. If I try to go back to the academy, they’ll either lock me up or try to kill me again. What’s the point?”

  “Trinity tells me that she can take care of that part.”

  “Which part? The part where everyone wants to kill me?”

  “Yes.” Abaddon nodded. “At least for a little while.”

  “Is she going to give me a new face or something?”

  “No. She’s going to make them forget.”

  “Make them forget?” A tinge of hope courses over my skin. “How much?”

  “Just enough to gather enough intel and to get your sword back.” My sister’s voice interrupted the conversation as Trinity fell in step with us, walking up to Abaddon. “I’ve never tried anything like it before, but I’m confident in my magic. It won’t last forever, but it should rearrange what they know as reality, taking you out of their hearts.”

&nbs
p; “Out of their hearts?”

  “Yes,” Trinity said. “Celeste, they can’t remember you or their love for you, or else this won’t work. They need to look at you and feel…nothing. Like looking at a blank picture.”

  “This will give you the upper hand, Celeste,” Abaddon tried to assure me. “You don’t want them to remember you, not even the angels you once trusted. Now that they expect war, they would turn on you, all for the sake of their precious Heaven.”

  “Never trust an angel,” Trinity agreed with Abaddon. “It’s the fastest way to meet your end.”

  “So, you just want me to go back to the surface to get my sword?” I asked. “And then, that’s it?”

  “I want you to go back to the surface to stay, and to wait for the rest of my orders,” Abaddon continued. “But yes, we will also need for you to retrieve your sword or else we’ll have no chance against the powers of Heaven itself.”

  “Okay, so I’m just supposed to grab my sword and then…hang out somewhere? What? By myself?”

  “Don’t worry, sister. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Trinity grinned. “I’d never let you do something like this all alone.”

  “And I suspect that you’ll need Trinity’s magic, somewhere along the way,” Abaddon said. “It’ll be safer for the both of you to remain together, at least until the war has been won.”

  Safer for the both of us?

  Or just safer for Trinity?

  Charlie’s suggestion about Abaddon and my sister being an item crossed my mind again, as I eyed them both up and down. “Fine. When are we supposed to go on this trip to the surface anyway?”