Although I wasn’t sure he didn’t already suspect us. The Warden was watching us closely, and if we weren’t careful, we’d disappear.
To where, I didn’t know— and I didn’t want to find out.
Chapter Fifteen
Charlie
“This is insane!” I seethed.
My hands fisted at my sides as I paced back and forth in the Lair. Ava had gathered us together before breakfast and told us we had to meet here— that it was urgent. But holy fucking shit, I hadn’t expected this!
The ground quivered beneath me as I tried to keep my Earth magic together. Kallie had conjured couches with her illusion power, but I couldn’t sit still after what Ava had told us.
“The Warden can’t seriously think he’ll get away with experimenting on students,” I demanded.
“Heisgetting away with it.” Ava sounded pissed, too, but not like I was. She’d had more time to process it since she’d overheard the Warden talking to our angel professors. Oberi nickered at Ava’s side, like she agreed with her.
“How many professors do you think are in on it?” Marcus asked in a shaky tone. “All of them?”
“I doubt it,” Ava said. “I can tell some of our professors actually care about us, but at the same time, I really don’t know who we can trust.”
“You know what we have to do,” Kallie stated.
“Yes,” Ava replied confidently. “We must avoid drawing attention to ourselves at all costs.”
“What?!” Kallie snapped. “I meant we have to leave!”
“We can’t,” Ava stated firmly.
“You want tostay?” I balked. “You just said the Warden is experimenting on kids in search of demigods. That’sus, pidge! We have to get as far away from here as we can, before they find out what we are.”
Ava huffed. “And how do you expect to do that? Marcus and Kallie tried breaking out last semester, and got caught. No one’severbroken out of the Institute. The Darke Games was our only way out, and we threw that away.”
“Therehasto be a way out,” I insisted. “What about your dad? He’s the one who sent us here. Surely he can get us out.”
“I talked to him already. I called him last night as soon as I left the laundry room— cost me a fortune, too.” She huffed.
“He must have an idea,” I insisted.No waywas he going to let Ava stay here after he found out about this.
“He’s working on it,” she said in a whimper.
“Working on it?!” My nostrils flared. “That’s not good enough. The man is a chief of the Hawkei tribe, for fuck’s sake. What is there to work on?”
“Charlie, please sit down,” Ava begged. “I felt the same way you did when I heard the Warden, but Daddy helped me see things rationally.”
For the ancestors’ sake, how could Ava seeanythingrationally right now? It’s like we’d totally reversed our roles in the relationship. Last semester,I’dbeen the one to demand we play along, but that was only to keep her safe.
Now she was in danger— more than I could ever imagine.
I forced my pride downward and plopped into one of the couches Kallie had conjured. I knew it’d disappear as soon as we left the Lair, but it was the only thing that felt solid under me right now.
“Fine, I’ll bite,” I said. “What did your father say?”
“Daddy would get us out in a heartbeat if he could, but he no longer has any control over our sentence,” Ava explained. “As inmates, we belong to the United Supernatural Union now, and without proof of what I overheard, Daddy’s hands are tied. Evenhecan’t overrule international law. But he believes me, and he’s going to do everything he can to find proof of the experiments and get us out of here.Allof us, because ancestors know I’m not leaving Kallie or Marcus behind.”
Marcus cleared his throat, like he’d gotten a little choked up.
“We should tell everyone else’s parents, too,” Ava suggested. “Kallie’s dad is the king of Malovia, and Marcus’ mom is a detective. They can help.”
