I realized it probably meantshewas nearby, and he was happy we were finally in the same room together again. I listened closely to the voices around me, but I couldn’t pick her out of the crowd. I hoped she was across the room and couldn’t see me. I wouldn’t be able to know she was approaching until she was right on top of me, as our bond had weakened considerably since we’d been apart. The magic between us was almost… gone.
Ava’s three rows up, Oberi mentioned.You should go talk to her.
I scowled.How many times are we going to have this conversation?
As many as it takes.
I huffed. Oberi had been trying to talk me into getting back together with Ava all summer. Every fucking day of the week, actually.
It was never going to happen. We were bad for each other. We had made the right decision.
Or so I told myself.
“Are you okay?” Eddie leaned over and asked me.
“Yeah. I just have to deal withhissassy ass all day.” I poked Oberi.
Better to be a sassy ass than a grumpy ass, he shot back.
I was sure that was Ava’s half of our soul talking. Oberi didn’t really think before he spoke.
“Welcome, students.” The Warden’s cool voice boomed over the room, and the student body began to quiet. A few people still made noise, because most students here had a problem with authority. On the other hand, the majority of us were scared shitless of the Warden, so it didn’t take long before the room fell silent.
My guts twisted at the sound of his voice. The Warden had tortured me last semester and nearly killed me. I despised the man.
“I have called this assembly today to share news of an incident that transpired last night,” the Warden said. His voice came from high up on the balcony. He made it sound like he was trying to sympathize with the students, but his attempt came across stale. He was shit at pretending like he cared about any of us. We were just numbers to him.
“Last night, a student by the name of Gavyn Woodward attempted to escape the Darke Institute,” the Warden announced.
Gasps traveled around the room. I furrowed my brow, because I hadn’t expected the Warden to tell the truth. The Institute was supposedly impossible to escape. I would’ve expected him to maintain that illusion.
“Settle down,” the Warden said in a threatening tone. The whispers filling the room settled, though they didn’t completely die down. “It’s important that you realize this student was no ordinary supernatural. He was anElf.”
He spoke the wordElflike it was some sort of curse. It was obvious he despised us.
“I tell you this to keep you safe,” the Warden said— like he gave two shits. “What Gavyn Woodward did last night in his attempt to escape was deplorable. He created a windstorm, stole a siren’s scream, and slaughtered six guards using an angel’s life-force power.”
People gasped again, and the whispers grew.
My eyebrows furrowed. That had never happened. Gavyn had stolen an angel’s powers, but only their wings, not their life-force abilities. The only way that was true was if the guards had found Gavyn on Darke Island after he’d escaped, but I didn’t know how they could’ve caught up with him. The Warden was twisting the truth to suit his message. It made me sick.
“Unfortunately, drastic measures had to be taken to protect everyone here at the Institute,” he said. The Warden was trying to make himself seem like thegoodguy. I wasn’t buying it. His voice turned sad, but I could hear how fake it was. “I am devastated to announce that Gavyn Woodward died last night in his attempt to escape.”
The whispers around the room grew louder. My lips tightened at the Warden’s lies. I wanted to tell everyone he waswrong, that Gavyn had actually escaped without killing anyone, but that was a good way to piss off the Warden.
“The safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance,” the Warden continued. “I do not take kindly toanythreats within the Institute. Rest assured that anyone who threatens the safety of the students or guardswillbe dealt with by any means necessary.”
Students murmured around me, but they seemed toagreewith the Warden. They thought he was protecting them.
But I knew better. This speech was a threat to the Elves. Tome.
“Know that you are safe here,” the Warden said, like we were supposed to begrateful. “Anyone who is deemed a threat will bepunished.”
He said it with such finality that there was no denying what he meant. Anyone who stepped out of line, or who showed too much power here at the prison, would be killed. The Warden could do anything he wanted to us, all in the name of keeping ussafe.
And people fucking bought it. I could hear them whispering around me.
Gavyn got what he deserved.
