Page 15 of Rejected Darkness

All I can do is sit and stare at her. Before this class started I was beginning to wonder why certain laws around the fallen were created based on what I had read in the journal, and her little lecture here is making me question it even more. It's like she is trying to hide something, and I'm not sure if I'm a fan of that. I also don't approve of my father intervening in my classwork.

"Yes, Ma'am," I answer just trying to get out of the conversation a little faster.

"Good, now get out of here and remember to read the next two chapters for our next class. Good luck, Seraphim Arabella," she states, finally dismissing me.

It doesn't take long for me to run out of the classroom and get to the bottom floor where the entrance to the library is. I did not want to spend any more time than I needed to in that classroom. I thought magic class would be my worst class, but I'm starting to think Angel Law will take that spot real quickly. I'll need to watch what I say and do, and I'll need to ensure she doesn't suspect anything while I try to find more information about things the journal spoke about, including Lucifer.

"How can I help you?" a female voice asks the second I open the door to the library. I turn to my right to see who is speaking to me. Behind the desk is a petite female with light brown hair in pigtails and a big pair of glasses on her face covering her dark brown eyes. I bet with a touch of makeup and a wardrobe change she could have several guys fawning all over her.

"Hi, I'm Seraphim Arabella, and I'm here for my work-study position. I'm a little early, but I was hoping I could just getstarted now if possible?" My schedule said I just need to help restock books and help other students find books when needed. It will be little interaction which is perfect for me. Throughout the day I haven’t seen many students working or helping in any capacity. I’m almost positive this position is reserved for certain students and my father made sure I was forced to work for my stay here. I wouldn’t put it past him.

"Oh, yes, of course, they said I would be getting a helper this year," she answers excitedly, coming around the desk. "Let me give you a quick tour. My name is Sasha, and I am a Fae. The library is my favorite place and my home. I am always here so if you ever have a question just come find me and ask. I try to stay at the entrance to assist students in checking out books."

"Nice to meet you, Sasha." I hold my hand out to shake hers. "I can assist you with whatever you need. I'm excited to be here." It isn't a lie either, I am excited. I've always enjoyed being in the library surrounded by books. We can learn so much from reading and this is my chance to learn about all the other species too.

"I'm glad you're excited. Most work-study students could care less and just hide amongst the shelves while they are here. I'm pretty lax about most things. I just ask if you are going to work, please put the books back in the correct spot," Sasha explains as she leads me toward the back of the library. "There are two floors and the books are separated by species. We wanted to make it easier for students to find what they are looking for. There is no forbidden section either, all knowledge we have is available to anyone."

"Okay, that sounds easy enough. I can do other things than just putting books away if you'd like." I really wanted to stay busy to make this shift go faster. Stacking books wasn't going to take the whole hour and a half that I had to spend here.

"Today let's stick with just books. When you finish, you are more than welcome to find a table and work on some homework. For your next shift, we can add some other work, but since it's Monday, there is just a large amount of books that need to be put away." Sasha spends the next ten minutes giving me a tour of the whole library and showing me where the different book return carts are placed. To make things easier, four carts are spread out among the two floors so students and faculty don’t need to come all the way to the entrance to drop books off. A fifth cart is placed inside a cabinet at the entrance that collects the books that are dropped off and marked for returns. Sasha said I didn't need to worry about those today as she would take care of them after checking them in. "Good luck, Arabella and if you need anything please don't hesitate to come find me."

"Thanks, Sasha." I smile and head to the carts on the first floor. Based on how full the carts looked when she gave me a tour, I have a feeling it might take me some time to get everything put away today. I'm hoping to have time to do some studying for Angel Law, and if I'm lucky, I can try to find some books about Lucifer and his downfall as well.

It takes me almost forty-five minutes to get all the books from the first floor put away and move on to the second. At the rate I’m going, there won’t be any extra time for research like I hoped. Shoving down the annoyance I walk up the spiral staircase to the second floor. I found the staircase when putting away a book in the back corner of the library and knew it was going to be the best staircase to use if I wanted to move around without others staring. It also means I don’t have to walk all the way toward the front of the library to use the main set of stairs in the center of the room.

After spending about fifteen minutes upstairs I finally get to the section of books for angels and fallen angels. It’s toward the front of the library, but the section is rather large, and despitethere being several windows leading into the library, the shelves still look dark. Mindlessly, I grab a stack of books from the waiting cart and begin looking for their homes. As I put them back, I look at the ones around them to see if any are of interest to check out for the week, but so far, none of them have caught my attention for what I am looking for. It was disappointing.

"Why?! Why does she have to say that the fallen don't matter? That Lucifer doesn't matter?" A male's voice breaks in anger.

His voice doesn’t sound familiar, but what he said piques my curiosity. He has to be talking about the Angel Law class, and if he is upset about the Fallen then I'm betting he is a fallen himself. I know I should walk away. Eavesdropping is bad, but my feet don’t want to listen to my mind.

"Ignore the dumb bitch. She's a Seraphim of course she would treat the Fallen like we are nothing. They wrote the history, they wrote the laws to fit their needs and their story. The truth doesn't fit their story," the other male explains calmly. His voice I recognize. It’s the Fallen asshole who kicked my ass earlier in the day.

"I thought we were safe here," the other male groans before slamming his fist on the table. "We shouldn't be treated like this here."

"You heard Lucifer before we left to come here, the Angels will pay when the time comes and it should be soon based on the prophecy. We just need to bid our time and try to find the Angel he was talking about," Rhys explains in a whisper.

Prophecy? What the hell are they talking about?I’ve never heard of a prophecy about Lucifer before. The angels really are keeping things from us. I need to finish reading that journal and see if it’s mentioned there. If there is something that is coming I need to know about it, not only for myself but for the people I care about.

Not wanting to intrude on their conversation anymore, I turn to get away from the area and to a different section to put books away. In my haste to get away from them, I turn too fast and bump into a table behind me knocking the chairs around and making a loud noise.Fuck.Turning my head quickly to make sure they didn't see me running away, I sprint down the next aisle and cut over to the books about wolves. I doubt the Fallen Angels will come over here looking for me. Or at least that's what I hope.

Chapter 8

Arabella

After work study yesterday, I skipped dinner and went straight to my room, hiding there until the morning. Isis and Harper were nice enough to bring me back some food and leave it in the fridge for me to eat when I did peek my head out of the room. They tried to ask questions about my day and what happened during my last classes but I was pretty tight-lipped about what happened. No point explaining how much the fallen hate angels, which was everything discussed in Angel Law. The girls already know the divide that exists between our two races. I definitely wasn't going to bring up anything I had overheard in the library either, at least not until I had more concrete evidence to show them. Why worry them for nothing?

When they realized I wasn't going to give them much information, they went off to their rooms to rest for the night, leaving me sitting at the kitchen counter enjoying my dinner in peace. Sleep didn't come easily for me during the night. I tossed and turned, most of it staring at the journal sitting on my nightstand, willing it to give me the answers I was seeking. The first thing I did when I got to my room was read more of the journal. I only managed to get through four journal entries before the girls interrupted me, letting me know theyhad brought me food. After dinner, I didn't pick it back up again, choosing to get the reading for Angel Law done instead. I definitely had a different outlook on what I read and questioned every bit.

"Arabella, we need to go," Isis calls out. I swear this is about to be the norm with her. For some reason, my roommate always has so much energy, especially in the morning, and this time, I'm not even the one running late this morning. I woke up with my alarm, and I’ve been sitting on my bed for the past ten minutes, giving myself a mental pep talk before classes today.

"Girl," I laugh, exiting my room. "We have an hour before we need to be in classes this morning. Why are you trying to rush me?"

"I wanted to make sure you ate breakfast today. We do not need a repeat of yesterday," Isis laughs, slinging her backpack on her shoulder. It’s funny how she can go from yelling at me one moment to pretending like she didn’t just raise her voice at me the next. I also do not understand her need to keep an eye on me when I can make sure I eat myself, though I do appreciate it. "Now, let's go, I want to get pancakes."

"What about Harper?" I ask before we head out the door. Yesterday, the three of us left together. Today she isn't even in the main living area and her bedroom door is still shut.

"You didn't check the schedule on the fridge, did you?" Isis sighs, shaking her head. "She doesn't have morning classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

---