Even worse, finding my heritage had cost me the love of my life. Nothing good ever happened to me, and if it did, it always came with a cost too high to bear.
My heart hammered as I listened closely. It felt good tofeelsomething. The wind picked up around me, whipping my long hair around my face. I could hardly hear the conversation between the guards anymore. I tried to calm the wind with my elemental magic, so I could figure out what the hell was going on, but it barely died down. That meant whoever was whipping up the windstorm was nearly as strong as I was.
It was the Elf. I just knew it. He’d taken one of the Yapluma guards’ Air magic and was using it to keep them away, so he could make his escape.
“I got him!” a guard shouted.
The Air around me swirled chaotically. It was as if two Elementai were warring against one another— a guard against the Elf, I was sure.
“You’re not going anywhere,” a guard growled across the prison yard.
The Elf laughed maniacally. “You want to bet?”
He must’ve given up on the Air magic, because the wind died down. The next thing I knew, a deafening screech filled the yard. I threw my hands over my ears and curled against the tree I hid behind. It was louder than the alarm blaring overhead and made it feel as if my brain was rattling around in my skull.
When I thought it was over, I dropped my hands from my ears. All throughout the prison yard, guards groaned in agony. The Elf had stolen a siren guard’s cry.
The sound of wings unfurling met my ears, and they began to flap. I could tell by the sound that they were huge and feathery, like angel wings. Most angels could only fly around the center of the prison yard. Once they got close to the noxite gates, their wings gave out.
But this guy was no angel.
“What the hell?!” a guard yelled. “He’s stolen my wings!”
I smirked. Good for him!
“So long, suckers!” the Elf laughed. He flapped his newfound wings and flew directly over me. My jaw hung slack as I listened to him fly away, far above the barbed wire fence, and into the forest beyond.
Holy ancestors. He’d done it. He’descaped the Institute.
I beamed. If this Elf could escape, then it meant others could as well.Icould get out of here!
I pressed my back to the tree, where the guards couldn’t see me. I was still trying to catch my breath, because I was so shocked by it all. I couldn’t believe someone had gotten away. This was a big fucking deal.
“You bastard!” a guard screamed.
“You’rethe one who let him steal your wings. If you were stronger, he wouldn’t have escaped.”
“This isyourfault!” another accused.
“Oh, yeah? You wanna fight about it? I’ll give you a fight—” The guard must’ve shifted mid-sentence, because the next thing I knew, a dragon’s roar filled the prison yard.
One of the guards laughed. “What do you think you’re gonna do with those dull dragon claws? Half of us are vampires. I’d rip your head off and suck you dry. I don’t care how filthy your blood tastes.”
Hell, the guards could be worse than the inmates sometimes.
“Stop screwing around and go after him,” another guard growled. “He’s on an island for fuck’s sake. He can’t go far!”
The guards werepissed! They hurried off in pursuit of the Elf, but they had to go out the gate, because even the guards couldn’t get past the noxite fence. The Elf had a major head start, though. I didn’t think the guards would find him, even on Darke Island. If the Elf got past the ward surrounding the island somehow, he’d be home free.
I sat behind my tree a while longer, listening to the fading sounds of the guards’ footsteps. When I was confident they were gone, I rushed out from behind my hiding spot and hurried into the building.
I was still reeling over what I’d just witnessed that I wasn’t quite paying attention to where I was going. I quickly got lost in the maze of hallways.
Hell, where was I? I stopped to take in my surroundings. It had to be minutes from curfew by now. The halls were dead silent.
Then I heard the sound of paws padding down the hallway. My heart surged when I felt Oberi’s presence through our bond.
“Hey, boy,” I greeted. I knelt down and scratched him behind the ears.
