“I can’t!” he replied as he flailed his hands uselessly. “My magic doesn’t work this close to the fence!”
“Kallie!” Marcus yelped. He scampered below her, feebly holding his arms out. She crash-landed into him, and they both fell to the ground. He let out anoofwhen he caught her. The two of them laid in a tangled pile of limbs, moaning in pain.
“Guess that didn’t work,” Charlie said dryly.
“Our godsdamn powers aren’t working!” Kallie snapped as she rolled off Marcus. “I don’t get it! Our demigod abilities should be able to overpower this fence easy!”
“Whatever the Warden buried under the fence affects us…” I mused. “Ancestors, I hope he doesn’t know.”
“If he knew, we would already be in deep shit,” Charlie pointed out. “But this is a sign that he suspectssomebodyat the prison is a demigod, even if he’s not looking at us.”
“Oh, he’s looking,” I stated. “Trust me.”
“I guess running away is out,” Marcus groaned, holding his stomach. “We’re still trapped here.”
“For now,” Kallie growled.
I shook my head. “If we can’t get out, I think we’re done here. You guys want to reach out to me about prophecy stuff, you know where to find me.”
I left it at that, hoping they’d assume I didn’t want anything to do with them otherwise… even though I did. I wanted my friends back. I was so lonely.
But being lonely meant being safe, and I’d rather be alone than keep getting hurt.
I rushed past Charlie. I didn’t shake his hand, or touch him in any way. I didn’t think I could do that without breaking down. Instead, I ran out of the forest without a goodbye. Oberi followed me, giving a few quick barks as he chased me back to the Institute and into the coldness of its halls.
I ran all the way back to my cell, because I didn’t think I could face anyone at the moment. Oberi slipped in through the door as I closed it behind me. I took a few deep breaths before I sank against the ground, telling myself to keep it together. With every gasp I took, it felt like my chest was being torn in two. The thought of Charlie broke into my mind again, and I swear, it nearly did me in.
I wasn’t the kind of girl to throw herself on the bed and weep— I wouldn’t allow myself to cry over aguy, for the ancestors’ sake. Not after this long.
Oberi gave a whine beside me, and my feelings twisted. Who was I fooling? Thissucked. It still sucked! Three months had done nothing to dull the hurt between Charlie and me. If anything, I only wanted him more.
And I hated how weak that made me feel. We were broken up. It was time for me to stop having feelings for him.
“What am I going to do, boy?” I asked, and I stroked Oberi’s ears. “He despises me.”
Oberi let out a groan, like that wasn’t true. I scratched his chin and said, “Well, at least we’re fixing our mistake. We’re going to save the Elves. Or at least, we’re going to try. There’s a chance, isn’t there?”
Oberi gave me a surly glance, and I knew what it meant. Whatever we tried, Oberi didn’t think it would work unless Charlie and I were together.
Fat chance. The hope of us reconciling was less than zero. We couldn’t even be friends.
But at the very least, we had to be enemies who agreed to work together. For the world’s sake.
What other option was there?
CHAPTERTHREE
CHARLIE
When I died, I figured Ava-Marie would be right there in hell with me.
Not thetrueAva. She’d made mistakes, yeah, but her heart was in the right place. She’d end up with the ancestors for sure.
No… my hell would have some copy of her, like that illusion I’d seen in the mines on our way to Forevermore. The sole purpose of this fake Ava would be to torture me.
That’s what it felt like to be near her again— like hell on earth. Touching her felt like tearing my soul in half all over again. It physicallyhurt, as if the flesh was being torn from my bones, layer after layer. Hearing her voice was agonizing. It was as beautiful as ever— that soft, yet snarky tone ate away at me bit by bit. It sounded the same, but where it once made my spirit soar, it now felt like I’d been impaled by a sword.
It hurt too much to be near her again. It was a harsh reminder of what I’d lost.
