Page 32

In Rael’s class—a Celestial lecture on angelic history—he droned on, barely scratching the surface of what I’d actually learned from Joe growing up. Instead, my mind drifted, fixated on what I’d overheard last night in the armory.

Marnie leaned over. “Are you sure about what you heard?”

I nodded, doodling a sunflower on the wooden desk. “Everyone here is keeping something from me—especially Joe. It’s like some big secret and I’m the last to know about it.”

As I spoke, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Hunter sitting beside Brandon. His gaze was already on me, and my pulse skittered as I quickly looked away. I leaned into Marnie and whispered, “At least on the bright side, Hunter’s helping me to train.”

“What?” Marnie yelped, having missed out on the crucial information of how Hunter and I had ended up in the armory last night.

I grimaced as Rael’s gaze landed sharply on us from the front of the class. “Marnie Lewis, care to enlighten the class on what’s so shocking?”

Marnie straightened up, her cheeks turning pink. “Well, actually, I was just explaining that according to ancient records, the Seraphim have always held a position of jurisdiction since the beginning of time.”

Rael frowned, having hoped Marnie would crack under his scrutiny. A few stifled chuckles rippled through the room before Rael resumed his lecture.

Marnie leaned in again. “I thought you weren’t going to ask him to train you?”

“It’s... complicated.”

Marnie scoffed. “Nothing’s complicated. We just like to pretend it is.”

“Miss Martin,” Rael interrupted. “Given your apparent fondness for conversation, perhaps you could answer this. What was the reasoning behind the Grand War?”

My mind flashed to the endless information Joe had drilled into me from a young age. None, though, dealt with the Grand War. “I—” I stammered for an answer, wishing I could retrieve that book from the library that the cherub gave me about the war. I’d completely gone blank.

Rael raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response, but I had none.

“It was Lucifer.” That was Hunter speaking.

I sheepishly looked over my shoulder, and our eyes met.

“When Lucifer started to rebel, he was the first Celestial to create the Nephilim using mortals. From there, the four horsemen of the apocalypse were born, and when the first order destroyed his first-born children, he declared war.”

I nibbled on my bottom lip, unable to look away from him.

I didn’t know whether he had just saved my ass or was showing off just how much he knew.

If Rael asked me where Lucifer was now, I could happily tell him that he was locked away.

Where and why? Joe wouldn’t tell me, but at least I knew he wasn’t reigning over hell at the moment.

“Thank you, Mr Cain ,” Rael said, enunciating his words as he knocked a fist down onto my table to get my attention. He returned to the front, explaining the orders and how the forces of light and dark are what shaped our world.

When class wrapped up, we all shuffled out, and I half-ran, half-walked before Marnie or, worse, Hunter, could catch up to me. The corridors were busy with a few children in their training gear, and I assumed they were young Warriors. I smiled before nearly running straight into Eden.

“Oh, sorry!” I said, trying to regain my balance.

Eden offered a small smile, her gaze warm and knowing. “Don’t apologise, Grace. I’m the one walking in the opposite direction.”

I hesitated as she laughed, and the crowds dispersed until only Eden and I stood in the middle of the corridors. “Eden...” I sighed, wanting to confide in her but unsure how. “If you don’t mind me asking, how long has it been since you Ascended?”

Eden’s expression softened, oblivious to the fact I wanted to somehow gain information from her. “A few decades now. It’s strange how fast time passes around here.”

“And...” I said slowly. “During all those years, did you ever encounter Riftkeeper’s?”

Her smile faded just a little, and she glanced around, clearly guarded. “A few times, yes. Their influence... is everywhere you go.”

I nodded. “I have as well. Except Joe always kept that hidden from me as much as possible.”

Eden cast a quick glance down the hallway. “So has Joe never mentioned their hideouts to you?”

That piqued my interest. “No, never.”

She sighed. “Might as well be a good thing. They are dangerous people, Grace. They don’t care whether you’re innocent or not; if you get involved with them, there’s never any going back.

You could end up in their dark markets, underground—” She paused, knowing she had said too much.

Cursing under her breath, she shook her head and plastered on her usual bright smile.

“You should head to the training grounds. I would hate for Azrael to tell you off for being late.”

She moved to go past me, but I turned and blurted out, “What about the demon you captured recently? Did he give any information?”

She paused. “No,” she said, casting a glance over her shoulder but not necessarily meeting my eyes. “He made sure we wouldn't get anything useful out of him. He’ll likely be sentenced soon.”

Like to the Hollow.

The thought of it made me nauseous.

“I hope you keep this information to yourself, Grace,” Eden said. “It’s not something you should have to worry about.” She walked off at that, and all I could think was how I couldn’t help but worry about all of it.

Instead of training, my mind went to what I could do, and rather than take the stairs down to the fields, I went up to the library in search of the cherub.