Lincoln called Shea and me over to the SUV, to help him unload the demons. “We’ve got some stainless-steel carriers, but I’m not sure how long they’ll hold up to the acid spitters.”

Not long at all, if memory served me right. I could almost feel a phantom tingle on my foot where I’d been scorched by the buggers.

When Lincoln opened the door to the car, a puff of smoke trickled out instantly.

“Stop that!” Noah kicked one of the steel cages, where the Yew demon must have been. There were a few air holes on the side, and a red little eye zeroed in on me.

I hope my students are ready for this.

We grappled with the cages, careful not to line up with the air holes. Peering inside, I noticed Lincoln had taped the Snakeroot demons’ mouths shut.

“Get ready!” I called out to the students, then began to open the cage. I was sure they’d get the tape off themselves, so I wasn’t going to mess with it and get burned.

The moment I opened the door, a Snakeroot demon shot out and up into the air. With quick hands, he pulled the tape off and then jerked his head in my direction.

“I’m coming for you, Brielle,” his tiny voice declared, sending chills up my arms.

The fact that this demon knew my name had my students pausing. They just stood there in shock, probably never having heard one speak.

“Soon you will make good on your promise to me,” the demon declared with a glassy-eyed look.

What the fuck?

Lincoln stormed over to my area and withdrew his gun, pointing it at the demon’s chest. “What the hell did you just say?” His eyes were wide, and he looked as shocked as I felt.

Did Lucifer just talk to me through a demon?

“You won’t be able to save her,” the snakeroot threatened before tipping his head back and cackling with laughter. The sound coming from the small creature was shrill and high-pitched, to the point that my ears started to ache.

Lincoln threw the car keys to Noah, and without a word, the healing Celestial started pulling me toward the SUV.

“Get her back to campus!” Lincoln roared.

Everything slowed down for me in that moment. My mom and brother were watching with worried eyes, and my students were frozen when they should have been fighting their demons.

I’d become complacent. I’d forgotten the deal I’d made with the Devil. I’d focused on other things, more important things, like my class and the new Demon Hunter Academy. Yet, Lucy was still waiting for me.

And just like that, the hole in my chest that I’d worked to fill with Lincoln’s love drained into a gaping cavern.

Sera… Raksha.

I was here playing house while my friends were literally living through Hell.

“Take me to Elodie’s,” I told Noah, getting into the car.

Raksha’s wife and son had been given permanent housing on campus, for fear of retaliation against them from Lucifer. I had checked in on them now and then, but it was hard for me to see them when they reminded me of Raksha, and her sacrifice to save me. Did Lucifer kill her? I didn’t even know if he bought our fight, and the story that I’d overpowered her and escaped.

Noah just nodded, careening the SUV onto the side road just inside the academy gates. It was a Saturday, so they should be home. Sure enough, as we pulled up, I noticed Elodie outside the small dorm building, reading a book in a chair as her son played in the grass nearby.

“Thanks. I’ll walk back,” I told Noah and opened the door.

“I can wait,” he offered.

I shook my head. “No, I need time to clear my head.” I was safe inside the academy walls with the demon alarm, so I knew he wouldn’t fight me.

“Hey, Bri? You’re not alone.” Reaching out, he gave my hand a squeeze.

A small fake smile pulled at my lips before I yanked my hand away, and shut the door.

He was wrong. I was alone. I was all alone. No one knew what it felt like to carry this burden.

Elodie looked up and put her book down, standing to greet me. “Hey, Brielle. I didn’t expect it to be you.”

She looked okay. Not brimming over with happiness, but not dying of depression either. But just because a person looked okay didn’t mean they were on the inside. Each day she lived without her wife felt like it was my fault.

As Noah pulled the SUV out onto the road, I walked closer, giving her a small wave and then nervously clasping my hands behind my back.

“Hey. It’s been a while, so I thought I would see how you two are doing.”

Elodie and I faced her son, watching him play in the grass a few yards away.

“We’re great. I love my job at the library, and our apartment here is much nicer than the one in Demon City.”

I nodded, watching the small boy, the hole in my chest cracking open wider and wider. Suddenly I turned, facing Elodie. “But are you really okay?” Tears streamed down my cheeks as I was unable to hold them in any longer. “Because I just left her there. She told me to leave her and I did, but now I wonder if I could have found another way, or—”

Elodie pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. “Don’t do that. There was no way. My wife is Lucifer’s slave. The only way to release her is in death.”

She leaned away to face me, and I saw such compassion in her eyes that it made my heart squeeze tighter in my chest.

“You’ve given us a new life here, and that’s what Raksha wanted. You fulfilled her one wish for our son.”

The tears flowed harder as I swallowed the lump in my throat. “But maybe I should gather the army and go looking for her. Maybe—”

She shook her head. “Maybe you and the army would die down there, and it would have been a waste. We can’t live our life with maybes.”

She’d given up hope. I guess I should too, but it just wasn’t within me to give up. Still, I didn’t want to upset her any more than I already had. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m going to head back now. It was good to see you both.”

Turning from her, I tried to keep my emotions contained, tried to keep the tears from turning to sobs.

“Wait, Brielle!” she shouted at my retreating back.

“I’ll catch you later.” I just waved behind me and then took off running. I needed to run, to move, or I might explode.

Sera. There was no one to talk to about her. My dagger and I were connected on a level that no one else understood. I could feel a tiny bit better about Elodie’s words regarding Raksha, but what excuse did I have for leaving Sera? When Lucy came for me, would I be able to withstand his mental commands? I’d been working on my fear, working on closing the energy vacuums, or whatever Michael called them, but Sera was my weakness. I loved her like she was a person, because to me, she was. She had a soul, and it was deeply entwined with my own. I missed her sarcastic remarks. I missed her crush on Archangel Michael. I missed everything about her.

I’d run so fast and hard that I hadn’t even realized I’d reached the trailer until I looked up to see my mother standing there.

Her face was lined with worry, but something else looked different about her. She looked… younger? Refreshed? I couldn’t put my finger on it, until I remembered what Emberly told me about my mom and Raphael secretly dating. Something I had yet to talk about with her.

She looked happy. Less tired. More content. Not a look I remembered seeing on her for many years.

“Honey, what happened? Are you okay?” She took in my disheveled appearance, hair wild from my run, and chest still heaving.

Catching my breath, I nodded, and opened the trailer door to invite her in with me. “Just a precaution.” I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily.

She frowned. “It didn’t look like a precaution.”

I waved her off dismissively. “Mom, I made a pact with the Devil and he’s coming for me. What more do you want me to say?” She knew the deep shit I was in; I didn’t want to rehash it every time something slightly dangerous happened.

She was quiet for a moment, as we both stepped into the trailer and took a seat at the dining nook. I felt bad that I’d snapped at her.

“So, are you dating Raph?” I blurted out, partly to change the subject, and partly because I was dying to know.

Her head whipped up, and she looked at me with wide eyes.

Guilty.

“How did you know?”

I chuckled. “Busted.”

My mom grinned then, and it lit up her whole face. “It was Emberly, wasn’t it? I didn’t want you to find out that way. I’m sorry, hon. We’re just taking it slow, getting to know each other. He’s fully acknowledged that your father is my soul mate. We both just want companionship while we’re here.”

My throat tightened at the mention of my father. All he ever wanted was for my mom to be happy. If Raph made her happy for this short time on Earth, then I supported it wholeheartedly.

“I think it’s great, Mom. I think Dad would too. He’d want you to be happy.”

Her eyes welled with tears as she reached out to squeeze my hand. “Oh, honey, thank you for saying that. You know, when your dad’s cancer was really bad, and we weren’t sure if we could find a healer, he told me the same thing. To move on and be happy, because he wouldn’t stand for a sad Kate on his behalf.”

I laughed, tears spilling out onto my cheeks. “That’s such a Dad thing to say.”

She wiped my tears and smoothed my hair.

“So, you and Raph, huh?” I asked again, getting used to the idea.

She beamed at me, full megawatt. “He’s never dated a human, so it’s awkward, silly, and fun.”

They sounded like teenagers. “Good, just don’t give me details.” I plugged my ears, causing my mom’s grin to widen.

She pulled my hands down, and a seriousness crossed over her face. “What else is bothering you, honey? You can tell me anything.”

My heart slowed to a crawl. “No, I’m fine, Mom.”

My mom gave me that look, the ‘I call bullshit’ look, and I sighed. Lincoln said I needed to talk to someone about my problems. Who better to talk to than my mom? Most moms were secret therapists anyway, weren’t they? Always listening to our problems.