Chapter One
Charlie
Inever knew what two weeks without a man’s soul could do to him. It’d been tortuous to be away from Ava-Marie and Oberi for so long. I was literally trapped in a prison— the Darke Institute for Supernatural Offenders— and that didn’t seem half as bad as the prison I’d built up in my mind. The distance was agonizing, every second waiting for the pieces of my soul to return to my side… waiting to be made whole again.
I knew the moment Ava left the mainland, because I felt a sense of excitement swell within me. My pidge was coming home.
I paced the main entrance to the Institute for what felt like hours, awaiting Ava and Oberi’s arrival. They were getting closer. I could feel it.
The doors to the Institute opened, creaking on the antique hinges. Cool air swept through the hall, and the sound of dozens of footsteps met my ears. Everyone who’d been allowed off campus during Christmas break had returned. There weren’t many, as it required one hell of a donation from your parents to get permission to leave. But they had to let a few kids out every now and then, to keep up the appearance that they were in fact a school, and not a prison.
None of the inmates were buying that crap.
A dog barked, and I knelt with my arms spread wide. “Oberi!” I called.
He tore through the entryway, panting. Oberi slammed into me, nearly knocking me backward as he gleefully licked my face. I laughed and scratched behind his ears. It was the best I’d felt since the night of the Villain’s Ball.
Heels clicked against the floor, and I swore my heart stopped. The scent of lilac and raspberries surrounded me, and my soul once again felt whole.
I stood and faced her. “Pidge,” I said breathlessly. “You’re back—oof!”
“Charlie!” Ava cried, throwing her arms around me. Her duffel bag hit me in the side. I went still in surprise, before relaxing into the embrace. I wrapped my arms around her and inhaled her scent.
She drew away far too soon, sounding amused. “You sound surprised I’m back. You think I could escape this place forever? I get into so much trouble, they’d send me back in a heartbeat.”
“In true pidge fashion,” I teased.
Ava shifted, hoisting her bag up on her shoulder.
“Do you want help with your bags?” I asked.
“I only have the one,” she told me. “But you can walk me to my dorm to drop it off.”
“Sure.” There was literally nowhere else I’d rather be right now.
Ava and I fell into step side-by-side, and Oberi trotted along ahead of us, panting happily. He seemed to miss me, too, and was happy to be back. As if magnetized, mine and Ava’s fingers intertwined, but only slightly— as if we were trying to hide what we were to the rest of the world.
We weren’t reallyanything— not officially. Though we shared a soul, Ava wasn’t exactly mygirlfriend.
But I’d be damned if it didn’t feel good to hold her hand like she was.
“How was your break?” Ava asked while we walked to the Elementai cellblock.
I shrugged. “I bummed around with Marcus and Kallie. We snuck into the chapel on Christmas for a gift exchange. Marcus gave me a used roll of toilet paper.”
Ava laughed out loud. “That sounds like him. I’m sure he stole it from the men’s room.”
“Honestly, my break was pretty boring,” I admitted. The truth was, I’d spent most of it just waiting for her to come back. “I hope your break was better.”
“It was nice seeing my parents and my siblings again,” Ava remarked. “I had to check in with an officer every day, so that sucked a pair of dragon balls. But otherwise my break was… productive.”
“Oh? Productive how?”
Ava slowed outside her room and lowered her voice. “I can’t tell you here.”
My stomach sank. If Ava found something she couldn’t talk about out in the open, it might have to do with the prophecy. The last thing I wanted was to play a part in this prophecy coming true.
The words her aunt Maddie had spoken to me echoed in my mind, like a voice recording on repeat. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get them out of my head.
