I grabbed the stack of books and rushed out of the library before she could check them out for me. I was out of the doors too fast for her to protest.
Oberi followed dutifully beside me and helped me navigate the halls. Madame Rayne had only found me three books, but it was enough. They might contain answers about Forevermore that I didn’t want Ava to uncover. Kallie could keep her other books, since they hadn’t provided any more answers than what we had, but no way in hell was she getting her hands on these.
I made my way to the prison yard out one of the side doors, where I wouldn’t be seen. The grounds were eerily quiet this early in the morning. The air was chilly, and I felt the first few rays of the rising sun touch my skin. I listened carefully for the sound of guards, but I heard no one.
“Keep watch for me, Oberi,” I commanded.
Oberi whined and nudged me again with his nose.
I sighed. “What do you expect me to do? The prophecy says I’ll deliver a fate to Ava that’sworse than death. I can’t let her unlock that doorway. I won’t lose her.”
I ran my fingers through Oberi’s fur, and he dropped his head. I could feel the conflict within our bond, but it was hard to decipher where it was coming from— whether it came straight from Oberi, or it was some sort of discord between Ava and me.
Ava didn’t know what I was doing, though. She had no reason to be mad at me… yet.
Hell, I hoped she never found out.
When I was confident I was alone, I knelt down and set the books beside me in the grass. The earth felt so familiar beneath me. It was easy to command it to move to my will. I let out a breath, and the ground opened up beneath me. I felt the dirt with my hands. The hole was no wider than my forearm, but it ran deep underground.
“Sorry, pidge,” I whispered under my breath, but I barely heard my own words over my pounding heart. This was the right thing to do. Itwas.
I dropped the books into the hole. The sound of a door creaked open. I quickly shoved the dirt back together with my magic, burying the books so deep no one but a Nivita could retrieve them. I held my breath and got to my feet.
“Charlie?” Chancey’s voice met my ears. His hand landed on my arm, and he helped me up. “What are you doing on the ground?”
“Tripped,” I lied. “What are you doing out here so early?”
I paid close attention to his tone to see if he’d witnessed anything, but he spoke so evenly that I didn’t think he suspected anything. “Same thing you’re doing,” Chancey said. “Getting in as much training as I can. The second the sun hits the horizon, I’m on my feet. Can’t waste time when I’ve got a fight coming up. What do you say we see who can do the most sit-ups before tapping out?”
“You’re on,” I agreed. I had a lot of nervous energy to get rid of, anyway.
Chancey and I spent the better part of the morning doing sit-ups in the yard. Oberi rolled around in the grass, protesting any sort of workout of his own. Chancey and I must’ve been out there for over an hour, and neither of us tapped out.
“We should probably head to class,” Chancey said through heavy breaths.
“You giving up?” I teased.
“Nah, just don’t want to get written up,” he said. “Fighters or not, the Warden isn’t going to excuse us from class.”
“True. But it’sCriminal Justice,” I complained with a groan. “The class is nothing but a guilt-trip to make usfeellike criminals.”
Chancey laughed as he did another sit-up. “But youarea criminal,” he teased.
“Touché. But you’re right— we probably shouldn’t skip.”
I finally sat up and stretched my legs out in the grass. Chancey clapped me on the shoulder and offered his hand, helping me to my feet. My abs ached in protest.
“Thanks,” I said. “You’ve got some real stamina, by the way.”
“You, too.” Chancey’s voice held admiration.
“Dude, I wasn’t hitting on you,” I said flatly.
“Too bad,” he stated, though it didn’t seem to wound his ego at all. “I like it when guys hit on me.”
Oberi barked and pranced to my side, sounding happy I was finally done. We started toward the door to the Institute.
I elbowed Chancey in the side. “Like it all you want, but that’s not what it was.”
