Ascend (Celestial Academy Book 1) Read online

  I stepped forward as he started unbuttoning his pants and I slid a finger down his arm, feeling a lump form in my throat. His hands stilled on his belt buckle and he looked at his arm and then at me.

  "My past life. I didn't want to forget what they looked like." He wiped a stray tear that had worked its way down my cheek before continuing to undress.

  I had no words. His life was stolen from him and now all he had were the memories of what could have been. It had to be hard knowing they were probably still out there somewhere, at least his children, and he couldn't see them.

  "Don't look so sad about it. Until Asher fell, he checked in on them from time to time. They grieved, moved on, lived their lives. That's all I wanted for them. To be happy." His eyes brightened and he slid my panties down my legs. "You know they say the best cure for a hangover is an orgasm."

  I smiled back at him and climbed in the shower after him, the warm water falling over us and instantly making my tense muscles relax. "Who says that?"

  "Me." He pulled me against him and kissed me, making my knees go weak.

  The shower might have been small but my orgasm was not. Tobias was right. Orgasms really did help with hangovers.

  Oliver Morgan. The celestial I still knew so little about. The boy who had fled after he and his friend had kissed. The boy who had decided that today he was sitting next to me in Demonology. You know, because I wasn't already confused enough as it was.

  When he slid into the seat next to me, he said nothing. He still said nothing when the whispers started. The whispers about why he was sitting next to me. The only angels that ever dared sit next to me were Brooklyn, Cora, and Ethan. I was beginning to think they were a special breed of angel.

  Tobias cleared his throat at the front of the room and the class went silent. Despite his quiet nature, Tobias's presence commanded attention.

  "Dean Whittaker has asked me to speak to you about recent attempted abductions of angels in Pasadena." The room erupted in chatter and he held up his hands to quiet the class back down. "As far as we know, there have been three attempted abductions. No angels have been reported missing yet, but as you know, some have assignments that require them to go off the radar. Dean Whittaker is asking you to stay on campus, and if you must go into the city, go in a large group. The Fallen seem to be attacking in groups of three."

  "The Fallen aren't strong enough to abduct an angel," a girl in the back of the room commented. "Plus, we can just fly away."

  Tobias's eyes briefly looked in my direction before he paced once in front of the room with his hand rubbing his bearded chin. "They are using demon blood, which weakens our defenses. Your wings won't work. You'll be too weak to fly or fight back."

  "Then we attack the Fallen first," another boy said, and the class bubbled up with noises of affirmation and agreement.

  I don't know why but I clutched Oliver's leg under the table and he put his hand on mine. My mind had gone to Asher. Not all Fallen were abducting angels, and if angels went on a manhunt, innocent Fallen would be hurt in the process.

  "I bet Danica is in on it." I flinched as the words hit my ears and Oliver's hand tightened on top of mine. "She gets here and now we have Fallen trying to kidnap angels using demon blood? The Princess of Hell is probably their ring leader."

  "That's enough!" Tobias's voice was sharp and angry. The room fell silent once more. "Danica is not behind this. They attacked her."

  "She rescued me and Levi last night." Oliver didn't turn, but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. The room was silent. I didn't turn to gauge their reactions.

  "If you have any other questions or concerns you can speak to me after class." Tobias spoke with finality and then started his lesson.

  I tried to concentrate on what he was lecturing about, but couldn't keep my mind off of the Fallen and the three men slowly worming their way into my heart.

  I wondered if I was still in high school or at a guardian angel training academy. They were making up for the experience now, considering most of the angels here had missed high school. The stares and whispers were relentless.

  When lunch rolled around, I was in a foul mood. My mood only got worse when Oliver sat down next to me. The air at the table disappeared as Brooklyn, Cora, and Ethan sucked in breaths and held them. I'm sure they had heard about the rescue and his presence at my side in Demonology, but seeing it was shocking after the events of the previous week. The other members of the Divine 7 were shooting daggers my way, even Levi. He wasn't shooting daggers when he had his tongue down my throat last night.

  "Why are you sitting here?" I crammed chips in my mouth to keep myself from saying anything else.

  Oliver glanced in my direction before sniffing at his sandwich and then taking a bite. He certainly was an odd duck. A cute, odd duck.

  "I'm done being Divine," he said with a shrug. "Can I not sit here?"

  A sound came from across the table but I kept my attention on Oliver. I narrowed my eyes. "You can't just undo what you've done to me."

  "I'm aware of that, but I can at least try to make it up to you." He grabbed a cookie from a stack of five on his plate and offered it to me. "For you. I know you like them."

  Brooklyn let out a snort. "So generous of you to give her one. What are you, the cookie monster?" She looked at the cookies he had stacked on his plate. They weren't small cookies either, they were the kind you buy at a cookie shop. No wonder he smelled like chocolate chip cookies.

  "Who's that?" he asked as I took the cookie from him and put it on my plate.

  "The blue monster on Sesame Street... you know... C is for cookie, that's good enough for me, oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C." Brooklyn impersonated the Cookie Monster causing me to almost choke on the food in my mouth.

  "Huh. That sounds like an interesting show. I'll have to check it out sometime." He grabbed one of the giant cookies and shoved half of it in his mouth, causing us all to laugh. He looked so serious about it that I couldn't quite tell if he was joking.

  Ethan narrowed his eyes at Oliver and then leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "How do we know we can trust you?"

  Oliver put down the other half of the cookie and folded his hands on the table. "I'm pretty good at keeping secrets, right, Danica?" He looked over at me with raised eyebrows.

  My smile faded and I stared back at Oliver for a moment before clearing my throat and looking at Ethan. I knew he was referring to Tobias.

  "He can be trusted. I wouldn't go telling him your deepest darkest secrets or anything like that."

  After a few minutes of tense silence at the table, Oliver spoke. "Before dinner tonight some of us are playing a pick-up game of football with the staff. You guys should come and watch us kick their butts."

  Cora made a squealing noise and perked up. "We should go. You haven't had one in forever!" She turned to me. "It's eye candy central! They usually take their shirts off, and let me tell you... Coach Ferguson and Mr. Armstrong are scrumptious."

  "Sitting right here, Cora." Ethan laughed as he took a bite of his food.

  I looked back and forth between them. Why hadn't I noticed the way they always sat so close to each other?

  It seemed like the whole school turned out for the game. There were no bleachers because the angel version of football was played in the sky. The field was twice the size of a standard football field. When the players took the field they were already shirtless with their wings out.

  The first thing I noticed was that most of the male staff members were incredibly attractive without shirts on. Was that a prerequisite for becoming a guardian angel? Or maybe it was just that washboard abs were necessary to play football. Tobias with his wings out gave me the female equivalent of a boner.

  "Most of the women here are here for the show. It's like Magic Mike meets angels," Cora explained as we spread out a blanket and sat down. "They get pretty aggressive too since angels heal and all."

  "I'm interested to see what happens with Oliver s
ince he is now on team Danica and not team Divine. I bet they let him get pummeled by the staff, and you know how the staff like to go after Oliver since he's an archangel and all." Ethan sat next to Cora and pulled her close to him, putting his arm around her.

  A pang of jealousy shot through me at seeing them cuddled up with each other. I wasn't typically a jealous person, but I wanted what they had. Someone to cuddle with openly and not just in clandestine moments.

  A whistle blew and the angels shot into the sky. The student team included the five male Divine 7 and six others, in possession of the football. It appeared to be played very similar to actual football, but the tackles were in the air and much more violent. I cringed as the first student took a hit from Coach Ferguson, sending both of them onto the grass.

  The rest of the quarter, which was shortened from a regulation game, was much of the same. The staff ended up leading three goals to two when the angels descended to take a break. Oliver made his way over to us, looking just as refreshed as when he had started. He had taken some pretty serious hits too, but since angels didn't sweat and they healed, he didn't seem fazed.

  "How are you liking it so far?" He plopped down next to me on the blanket on his side and looked up at me. "Think I have a career in football?"

  My eyes slid down his chest and abs to where his shorts rode low on his hips. It was almost a sin with how attractive he had been made. He was like a juicy cherry just waiting to be popped.

  "It's fun to watch. You might have a career in male exotic dancing though." I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing when his face went from confused to flirtatious.

  "You know, I'm a pretty good dancer. I should show you my moves sometime."

  "Please make sure to do that in the privacy of your own room," Ethan groaned, throwing an empty water bottle at Oliver.

  "Incoming," Brooklyn warned under her breath.

  The rest of the Divine were headed in our direction as if on a mission. They walked with purpose, and at the front of their little group was Abby. They stopped a few feet from us. It was like a scene out of Mean Girls.

  "May we help you?" I asked as casually as possible, trying to hide the fact that I wanted to jump up and beat the shit out of her smirking little face.

  Abby ignored me and looked down at Oliver. "Oliver, this has to stop. You're embarrassing yourself being associated with this devil worshiper. We are concerned you're going to fall."

  I snorted back a laugh and went to stand but Oliver put out his hand to stop me before he stood. He towered over the group with the next tallest being at least half a head shorter than him. He stepped forward and cleared his throat.

  "You are a bitch." He spoke loud enough for every angel in the vicinity to hear and the whole area went quiet, which then in turn caused the entire field to turn their attention to the confrontation.

  Abby made a noise in her throat and looked like she had been smacked but then a grin spread on her face.

  "She fucked you, didn't she? Did her evil pussy put you under a spell? And here we thought you liked dick." The silence around us was deafening. It was one of those moments where I half expected a baby to start crying and snap everyone out of it. Everyone was holding their breaths.

  Oliver took another step forward to get in her face but the four men of the group pulled her back and faced off with him. I stood up and grabbed Oliver's arm but he pulled it away from me.

  Several staff members and Tobias landed next to us.

  "What's going on here?" Tobias looked at Oliver and then at me.

  "We were just getting Oliver so we could start playing again," Levi said.

  "Well, let's go then!" Coach Ferguson jumped and flew into the air, the other players following him.

  Oliver turned and gave me an apologetic look before following them. I stood facing Abby and Delilah.

  "It's only a matter of time before he sees your evil ways, Eve. You better watch your back," Delilah spat as she and Abby backed away. They turned on their heels and took off into the crowd.

  That certainly sounded like a threat.

  Chapter Eleven

  I had a gut feeling when I woke up Friday morning, Friday the thirteenth nonetheless, that the day was going to go badly. I'm not usually superstitious, but with life rearing its ugly head at me for no apparent reason, I couldn't help but wonder if it was karma biting me in the ass.

  I woke up to no texts back from Asher. I had texted him every day since Tuesday, but my texts went unanswered, the silence speaking louder than words. I had thought something was there between us, but I was wrong. Tobias told me Asher was "complicated." Well, I could do without complicated in my life at the moment. Things were already complicated enough without a grown man not even bothering to text me back. Even a "stop texting me" or "leave me alone, stalker" would have sufficed.

  Demonology had another pop quiz. Had I read the syllabus like everyone else in the class, I would have known that every Friday there was a quiz so there really was no pop to it.

  It was time for me to get my act together, buy a planner, maybe put things in my phone and set reminders. It was suggested to me before back in high school but I had never taken the time to actually do it. Maybe now was a good time to start. Tobias would help me if I asked. Ava would have helped me too, but I always felt I was already depending on her too much when she helped me with homework assignments.

  Then there was glorified PE for pompous wing-toting beings, where I was reminded daily about my lack of wings. The rest of the class did warmups together, practiced drills, played games. Sometimes they didn't even use their wings, but I was banished to the room with the mats and the dummies.

  "Do you think Coach Ferguson is going to let you keep me company the rest of the semester? Shouldn't you be learning whatever flying maneuvers the other angels are?" I asked Brooklyn, who was my constant companion the past two weeks.

  We had just finished the drills we were running through and were stretching on the mats. I was getting better at throwing a punch and a kick, but still felt useless defending myself. Brooklyn told me it just took time and she had been even worse at the beginning of the year. She was good, easily connecting with her targets with an intensity I hadn't seen from another female before. If she got into a fight with a human male, she would kick his ass. That at least gave me a small sliver of hope.

  "Actually, I think I found a solution to that. Levi is going to start training with me so I can keep training with you." A blush creeped up her cheeks as she turned away.

  I thought she hated the Divine 7 just as much as the rest of us. Hell, I had thought I hated them too and now Oliver sat with us at lunch. Levi was a mystery to me after his abrupt mood swings. One second he seemed to hate me, the next to like me, then right back to hating me again.

  "When did this happen?" I hadn't told anyone besides Tobias about my drunken night with Levi and Oliver. Since then, Levi had been avoiding me besides sending scowls my way, which I was actually grateful for. It would have been awkward being near him. What would we have discussed? Him using my nipple to make out with Oliver?

  "Yesterday. Don't tell anyone, but we’re going on a date on Saturday night! I know we aren't supposed to go off campus, but Levi says I will be safe with him." She spoke so surely, like she trusted him fully with her safety. I wasn't convinced.

  "Levi almost got abducted on Tuesday. He didn't even put up much of a fight."

  "I know. I told him we should just watch a movie here or something, but he says he isn't going to live in fear. He does have a point. We can't just sequester ourselves here on campus."

  I studied the excitement on her face for several long seconds before getting up from the mats. I was surprised Levi would even want to go off campus so soon after almost being abducted.

  "Just be careful. No dark, empty places."

  "Yes, mom. What are you up to this weekend?" We headed towards the locker room where the rest of the class was already headed. "Are you going to see your mystery man again?
"

  Which mystery man was she referring to? I had three. Well, two now. "Maybe." I smiled to myself. Tobias and I had been seeing a lot of each other the past few days. I was still being overly cautious with Oliver and only sitting with him at lunch and in class.

  We grabbed our clothes out of our lockers and I headed to one of the few showers that were in the locker room. Unlike my angel counterparts, I had to rinse off. They never sweated. Lucky bastards.

  After getting dressed in my uniform, I went back to my locker to grab my bag.

  "Oh my God! There's a snake!" A girl screeched, causing everyone to scream and start pushing and shoving to get out of the room.

  At first I thought they were just being their normal bitchy selves and calling me a snake, but there was a literal snake in the middle of the locker room. I rolled my eyes at the chaos that erupted around me, grabbing my bag out of my gym locker.

  I could have just left like the rest of them and let someone else deal with it, but the poor snake was a semi-harmless gopher snake. It was not happy with all the thundering feet, slamming lockers, and screaming girls. I could hear its hiss echoing as the locker room emptied. Gopher snakes sounded very similar to rattlesnakes when they were threatened.

  "Well, buddy, looks like it's just me and you now. How'd you get in here? Please don't tell me you came from under the sinks." I got closer to the snake; his body was coiled and his head was up, assessing the threat in front of him, forked tongue tasting the air.

  I could see how everyone had freaked out. He was massive and even looked very similar to a rattlesnake. Somehow, he had found himself right smack dab in the middle of the women's locker room.

  I stood still until the hissing stopped and the snake started to slither out of its coiled position. Placing my hand on it about halfway, it stiffened and stilled under my hand, lifting its head again and tasting the air with its forked tongue. I waited for it to soften its muscles and start to move again. I very slowly picked it up, bringing my other hand up to support its body. It wasn't my first encounter with a snake.