Lincoln rushed forward, pressing a tender but chaste kiss to my lips. “I’ll check in on you later,” he promised.
Michael nodded to Lincoln. “Hold down the fort until I’m back.”
Lincoln raised a hand and saluted him. “Of course, sir.”
Then Michael was there, gathering me in his arms, and with one kick of his boot, we were airborne. Next thing I knew, Raphael, Gabriel, and the elusive Uriel were flying with us in a protective formation.
I loved Lincoln, I did, and I knew Michael was married, but damn if the situation wasn’t a little swoon-worthy. Being ferried across the sky in a strong archangel’s arms? I could definitely cross it off my bucket list.
After a short flight, we were landing in the quad where a few students were still milling around, Shea one of them. Lincoln must have called her. Her eyes were rimmed red, evidence that she must have been worried and crying.
As Michael set me down, I looked at each one of the archangels and thanked them. Michael had been the only one to hear Lucifer’s words about me being an archdemon, and our gazes lingered a little longer than the others as something unspoken passed between us. That look told me he wouldn’t tell anyone what the Prince of Darkness had said.
As they flew away—all but Raph, who walked back to his office—Shea thrust herself at me in a bone-crunching hug.
“What the hell, Bri! One second Lincoln tells me he’s proposing to you tonight, and the next he calls and says the freaking Devil crashed your engagement.”
Tears lined my eyes as I looked at my best friend’s worried gaze. Holding up my hand to show her the ring, I smiled. “I said yes.”
We both let out a pathetic laugh, and then she was pulling me toward the open Bright Hall doors. “Dude, your mom is worried sick,” Shea informed me as we walked through the halls.
Lots and lots of staring at me confirmed that the rumor mill was in full effect. Tiffany’s stare was the only one that got to me though. If she calls me Archie, I’ll kill her dead right here and now. I lifted my left hand in her direction to show off the ring, and the look she gave me confirmed that she was definitely capable of murder as well.
“Did you guys know Lincoln was going to propose?” I asked my bestie.
She scoffed. “Of course! He sat your mom, Mikey, and me down and asked us all.”
My heart nearly melted at her words. He was the best.
When Shea threw open the door to our shared room, I was assaulted with white balloons and toilet paper streamers. Purple magical writing hung in the air above my bed: ‘Congrats!’
But the sullen faces of Luke, Chloe, my mom, and Mikey were a different story.
“Hey…” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
My mom rushed forward to pull me into a hug. “What happened? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
I really, really didn’t want to talk about it right then. “I’m fine,” I told her, and she backed away two steps, seemingly taking the hint.
I held up my hand awkwardly and smiled. “So… Lincoln proposed. Or kind of. Promised? If that’s a thing. We’re getting married in like three to five years,” I told the group.
That seemed to loosen them up. Chloe burst forward with her vampire-like speed and inspected the ring. “Oh my God, I’m so jelly. Promise rings are adorable.”
I chuckled.
Luke was next. “I’m super happy for you, and I know this is all about you, but something happened that I’ve been dying to tell you guys.”
Yes. Please take the spotlight off me. “Spill it.” I sat on the edge of my bed because if I didn’t, I was going to fall over.
Luke looked at Chloe a little awkwardly and then chewed his lip. “Donnie asked me out to a movie with a few of his friends, and I’m freaking out!” He jumped up and down like a lunatic.
I grinned. “That’s awesome. Is it like a friendly group hang, or…？”
Luke looked desperately at Chloe. “I don’t know. He said, ‘You wanna catch a flick with me and my buddies, Tommy and Bam?’”
Chloe nodded, impressed. “Tommy and Bam are dating, so it’s totally a double date.”
The shriek that left Luke’s throat was akin to a dolphin trying to find its mother.
“I’m going to faint,” he breathed.
I laughed, as did everyone else. Even my mother was laughing.
“Thanks for being here, guys. I love you all,” I told my friends as the exhaustion hit me full steam.
Lying back on my pillow, I tried to keep my eyes open but failed. The last thing I saw was my mother tucking the blanket around me and telling everyone I needed my rest.