“Are you mad?” I whispered. I was sitting on his lap at the end of the day, on the balcony overlooking the prison yard. Oberi spun around in circles beside us, trying to catch his tail. “You seemed really bothered about our plan this morning.”
Charlie’s face twisted. “Of course I’m not mad at you. I’m just worried this is going to go wrong. I have a… bad feeling about this.”
“What’s so bad about finding another key? It’ll get us a step closer to our goal,” I said.
“And what if it rips us apart?” Charlie asked. “I won’t lose you, pidge. Not for anything.”
Oberi whimpered, and I brushed back Charlie’s hair. “What could separate us? We’re bonded, we share a Familiar, we even share a soul. Far as I’m concerned, I don’t see anything that could make us want to walk away from each other— even if a prophecy is involved.”
Charlie didn’t answer, just held me tighter. I curled up on his lap and nestled my head against his chest.
Charlie didn’t understand— I’d already made my decision weeks ago, after I’d told him I loved him.
I knew Charlie would burn down the world for me, so I’d do the same for him. If it came down to saving the supernatural races, or saving Charlie, I already knew who I’d pick… and it’d be Charlie every time.
I didn’t care if it was selfish, or wrong. And the ancestors had made a mistake. They had picked the wrong person to be a hero. How could they expect avillainto save the world? I had a dark side— no, more than that, I was evil. I made bad choices, half of the time because I didn’t know any better, and the other half just because it feltsogoodto be bad. I couldn’t help it if they’d chosen the wrong girl.
I was a villain, and when we loved, we lovedhard. Charlie was my everything, and I couldn’t see myself sacrificing him for the world’s sake, even if it came down to it. I wasn’t my mother— I wasn’t a chosen one who could give up the one she loved for the sake of other people. I wasn’t that kind, that noble. I was a person who protected the people she loved with a ferocity hell itself was afraid of, damn the consequences.
Charlie was the world I wanted to save, because he wasmy world.I’d cease to fulfill the prophecy if that’s what kept him safe. If I had to turn my back on the magical world, abandon my destiny and disappoint my ancestors, then so be it.
I would remain by Charlie’s side, even if I had to watch this world end. No matter what happened, I wasn’t going anywhere.
* * *
Early the next week, we boarded the bus with Charlie for his Work-Study class, and were driven off the prison yard in the direction of the noxite mines. My thoughts tumbled with excitement, wondering what we’d find there— if anything at all. The next key seemed to be within reach, but at the same time, I had a feeling in my gut that we might not find what we were looking for.
I yanked at the nylon fabric on my leg with a scowl. We were given thesedreadfulblue mining uniforms, and clunky-ass boots with helmets that had a light attached. They were ugly as hell, and nothing like my exploring gear. We were practically going into this without any supplies. I didn’t even have my journal.
Charlie sat beside me in silence. I touched his hand, and he grabbed it, but he didn’t say a word more. His thumb rubbed the back of my hand as the bus pulled into the proximity of the noxite mines.
I looked out the window. The mines were more or less pits into hell, cave entrances that wound down into the earth. Once we got off the bus, I began coughing. The air was thick with dust and debris, and the area stung with the sharp tinge of noxite. There were already some prisoners here from the morning shift, loading noxite into mining carts and pushing them into a nearby warehouse to sort and pack.
Ezekiel began wheezing once he got off the bus. He already looked sick. Opal began walking in the direction of the mining office where she worked, but when she noticed Ez wheezing, she turned around. She started rubbing his back, and he gave her a grateful smile.
Thank the ancestors, they actually allowed Oberi and Rishi to come with us. We’d snuck them onto the bus, and the guards didn’t give us shit when they saw us disembark with our animals— just told us to keep them the hell out of the way while we worked. We were given equipment, and shepherded into the darkness of the caves, where the guards took us about a mile in. Tiny lights lined the walls and provided the only illumination as the hallways grew thinner and thinner. The chill from the mines crept into my bones the further we went in. The buzzing of the noxite around me made me feel sick, even though I knew my powers could resist it. I pressed closer to Charlie, and he put an arm around me as they led us further in.
Once we reached the end of the cave, we were told to get to work. The four of us hacked away at the stone, yanking off noxite with our pick-axes. Within a few minutes, my arms were already sore, and my lungs contracted as I breathed in grime.
Charlie was right. This was hard work, and it was made worse by the close confinement of the mines, and the little light besides. Oberi and Rishi scratched at the stone with their little nails, but didn’t do much besides scrape some dust off. Oberi let out a low whine, and I gave his head a pat.
It was even worse because it looked like the Institute chose the worst prisoners to work down here. The rest of our crew was all brawny men, and, as I noticed, were the type who’d been sentenced here on murder charges, or something equally heinous. The work was made more aggravating just by being in close quarters with these fucks, who seemed to get irritated by our mere presence.
“What are you looking at?” a prisoner sneered at Charlie, whose head had been turned in his direction.
“Nothing, obviously,” Charlie shot back. The prisoner reddened when he realized his stupid mistake, and walked away to work on a different part of the mines.
Kallie shuffled closer to whisper, her back turned to the guard watching us. “How are we going to get away? The sooner we leave, the more time we have to explore the rest of the caves.”
“I could cause another cave-in,” Charlie suggested.
“That wouldn’t be safe. If you did, we wouldn’t be sure if we could dig our way out, even with your Nivita magic,” I pointed out. “The last cave-in almost killed you and a couple others. We don’t know how stable the tunnels are, and caving them in at the wrong place could topple the whole system.”
“We have bigger problems than getting away. What happens once they realize we’re gone?” Marcus asked, wiping sweat off his brow. He was already worn out from mining. He hit the rocks with all the force of a teddy bear.
“I can cast an illusion. Duplicates of us to work in the mines while we’re gone,” Kallie suggested. “As long as the guards don’t get too close, they’ll think it’s us.”
“Isn’t that really hard magic?” Marcus asked. “Most fae can’t duplicate themselves without getting sick, let alone three other people, and the noxite down here weakens our powers.”
