Fallen Academy: Year Two (Fallen Academy #2)(4)

Shea stood, popping her knuckles. “Ghetto Tainted Academy bitches got nothing on me,” she stated matter-of-factly.

Lincoln sighed, looking at the ceiling as if it held some answers. “We’ll see about that. Meet me in the small gym every day after boot camp. Every. Day. Including weekends. And when school starts, I want you in there every day after school.”

Shea groaned, and his eyes flicked to hers with a glare. “Just kidding. Yay.” She fake-cheered.

Lincoln rubbed his temples. “Now go, before I change my mind.”

We turned to leave, and his hand snaked out and pulled me into him. The moment his lips touched mine, I felt all my worries melt away. Lincoln had my back. If he trained us, we could totally, probably, win this.

When he pulled back, his cobalt eyes bored into mine. “I love you, Brielle. But please stop trying to die,” he pleaded.

Giving him a thumbs-up, I smirked. “You got it. Just after this one thing.”

With a roll of his eyes, he chuckled. “Good night.” He kissed me one more time, making my knees go weak.

“Night.” I grinned.



As Shea and I headed for Mikey’s cottage to check on him, she gave me a side-glance. “We can do this, right? Fight the Demon City kids? I mean, they are hardcore there….”

I knew she’d had it rough in the short time she’d spent at Tainted Academy, but I couldn’t have her lose hope on me. Stopping to face her, I peered into her large brown eyes.

“We grew up in the same hood as they did. We know how to fight dirty, and we’ve gotten a much better education here. With Sera, and with your magic, I know we can win. For Mom.”

Shea never called her by the name ‘Mom,’ always Kate, but she was like Shea’s mother too.

“For Mom,” she agreed with a smile.

Family was family. Blood didn’t matter.

I gave her a hug, and then we walked briskly to the cottage where my brother was staying.

When we got to Mikey’s, I knocked loudly, only just wondering if he might still be drugged up.

“Come in!” he shouted groggily.

Shea and I walked in to see him lying in bed, scrolling through his phone. He set it down and sat up slowly as we entered, still clutching his ribs.

“Thanks for getting me this place.” He gestured to the room, but his face fell when his gaze landed on the piece of paper in my hands.

“Busted.” I held up the flyer. Even though he was only a year younger than me, I still mothered him.

Looking up at me, he sighed. The bruising on his face was intense, but at least his nose looked normal again.

“Is this why the kids jumped you?” Shea asked, crossing her arms.

The thought hadn’t even occurred to me.

He nodded. “I went to sign up. They said I was too much of a pussy and jumped me. Took my hundred bucks.”

Well shit. Now I felt really bad for him, and also completely enraged that some Tainted Academy assholes jumped my brother.

“Mikey, you can’t go doing this kind of shit! You gotta come to me first. Who were you going to fight with?” I asked, exasperated.

“Was gonna figure that out,” he answered with a shrug. “You aren’t around anymore, so you don’t know how bad it’s gotten on Mom. That asshole cuts her wages every week, says she doesn’t have enough business coming in. But she’s not a demon! She doesn’t have Burdock’s connections.”

Remorse flooded through me. I had no idea Lincoln killing Burdock would have such far-reaching consequences for my mom. Grim cut her wages every week? No wonder she’d rented out my room.

Oh God, now I was worried about my mom. Next paycheck, I was going to send her some money. If I had to, I’d force her to take it.

Shea’s arm wrapped around Mikey’s shoulders as she sat down. “Don’t worry. Bri and I are going to win the money and get your mom out.”

She was always so soft with him, cuddly. I just usually socked him in the shoulder, and told him to shut up.

He looked up at me with a grin. “For real?”

I nodded. “When do registrations close?”

His long finger pointed to the fine print at the bottom of the flyer—the day of the Awakening.

We had time. I was sooo winning this fight.



After interrogating Mikey for every last scrap of info on this Fight Night, I informed him that he was now the new groundskeeper. At least for the summer.

Once he got over the fact that he was going to have to actually do work to earn his keep, we all settled into a nice flow. He did the grounds keeping, and Shea and I trained our asses off. I told Raphael about the Tainted Army thing, but he didn’t seem surprised, only saddened.

Now we only had a few days left of summer, and the Awakening ceremony was tomorrow.

Shea stood in the gym, clutching her disc weapons, sweat dripping down her chest and a badass look in her eye. Lincoln stood before her, blue fiery sword held aloft.

“Cut me!” he roared, and Shea advanced. Her fists held the flat grips of the blades while the sharp semicircles lashed out, seeking to cut my man. Lincoln was a blur, so fast I could barely track him.

He and the boys had been training us hard. As I was distracted watching them, Noah kicked out my feet and suddenly I was falling. Next thing I knew, his blade was at my neck.