Chapter One
CHARLIE
Freedom had never been a privilege afforded to a guy like me. All my life, I’d been scraping by with the bare minimum, taking only what I needed to get by. I’d been really fucking good at it, too, but that life was over.
Now, the entire world was mine for the taking. Anything I desired, I could have.
And why not? I was a freaking demigod, and no one was going to stop me— not even the Warden. We’d escaped his prison, and we were finally free.
I held tight to my Familiar's scales as the wyvern flew high above the French nature reserve, where my friends and I had been hiding for the past two weeks since our escape from the Darke Institute. The wind whipped through my hair, and my Air magic buzzed throughout my body in exhilaration.
Thiswas true freedom. There wasn’t a soul around for miles, and I was completely surrounded by my elements. Earth and Air magic pulsed through my veins, and the setting sun touched my skin.
Hold on tight, Charlie, Oberi stated through our telekinetic bond.
He should know me better by now. I spread my arms out wide and let out a gleeful laugh as air rushed by me. Oberi dove downward, and my stomach leapt into my throat.
“Wahoo!” I cried as I plummeted toward the ground. I relished in the high. I’d never felt anything quite like it.
Oberi shifted his weight, and we leveled out over the treetops. He pumped his wings, pulling us higher into the air. I squeezed my legs against his form and held tight to the spines on his back. Oberi flipped through the air, and I laughed as my stomach flopped in my abdomen.
“Again!” I shouted over the roar of the wind.
As you wish,Oberi said. He was having just as much fun as I was.
Oberi reared his head upward and tilted his wings. We flipped over backward… and I loosened my grip. I slipped off his back, and although my heart hammered as I fell through the air, I’d never been more at peace.
I tumbled through the open air, my arms spread out wide as I took in the thrilling sensation. I couldn’t see the incoming treetops, but I felt them with my magic. I intended to catch myself with my magic, but instead, a loud cry came from above me, and Oberi plucked me out of the sky with his talons. He tossed me upward, and I landed on his back again.
I’d never gotten to be a kid, or felt that careless sense of freedom other children had growing up. For the first time, no one was going to hurt me for letting my guard down, so I was going to enjoy it as long as possible.
I couldn’t stop laughing as I clutched one of his spines and righted myself again. “That was incredible!”
You were about to become shish-kabobbed,Oberi said.
“Relax,” I told him, patting his scales. “I’m a big boy. I can catch myself.”
Playtime is over, Oberi said.We’re supposed to be scouting.
“Well, what do you see?” I asked. Oberi was our eyes up here in the sky, but I could sense supernaturals with my Elf magic. I didn’t feel a soul anywhere.
Nothing but trees and mountains, Oberi said.No signs of life.
“Perfect,” I replied. If I could live in the wilderness with my friends the rest of my life and no one bothered us, I’d be golden.
We can’t stay here forever, Oberi said, catching my thoughts.Eventually, we have to get back to fighting the war.
Out here in the nature preserve, it was easy to forget the supernatural communities were bombing each other. It had only been two weeks since we escaped the Warden, but already it felt like the man had only been a figment of my imagination— a specter I’d conjured up while being locked up in the Darke Institute for Supernatural Offenders. Of course Iknewhe was still out there, but some days it was easy to forget a whole world existed outside of this little slice of heaven my friends and I had created.
I spot a white wolf, Oberi reported.
“Let’s see what she found,” I said.
Oberi swooped out of the sky, and we landed in a small clearing. I beamed, still riding the high of the flight. I slid off his back, and he transformed into a husky beside me.
The white wolf approached. “Did Oberi see anything?”she asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “What’s your report, Kallie?”
