A Merciless Year One

Everyone knows the story of Lucifer’s fall, the prideful angel who defied God and was punished for it. But few people remember the angels who fell with him. Satan might have found redemption, but what of his Watchers?

My name is Delilah and I am dead.

It’s a recent state of affairs. Until a few months ago, I had a life, family, friends. And then, The Brightest Star shone above me, too bright, too blinding, and my whole world crumbled.

I drowned in the ocean of a demon’s happiness and no one seemed to care.

Until, finally, someone does. When the avatar of death extends his hand and offers me a chance to save my loved ones, it seems too good to be true.

You can become an angel, he tells me.

You can still save them, he tells me.

You can earn your wings and watch over them, forever, he tells me, and the thought is a comfort and a burden.

But there’s a catch. To embrace the Grim Reaper’s offer, I have to attend the new Watcher Academy, where Lucifer’s minions have come together to start over—and where I have to spend time with them.

Sariel. Azazel. Yeqon. Three of Lucifer’s closest confidants, who chose him over the Heavens, and who make it their business to make my life as difficult as possible. Fallen angels, who do everything in their power to lead my soul into damnation.

I’m expected to forgive and forget, but turning the other cheek has never been my style. I’m expected to become an angel, but Watcher Academy isn’t very angelic at all. How can I forgive the people who killed my family and were never punished? And how can I forgive myself for what Sariel, Azazel, and Yeqon make me feel?