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.

This was 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 I knew he 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?"

My friend's heavy footsteps became light as she transformed back into her sorceress form. "I didn't pick up anything for miles— not so much as a scent."

"So we're still safe," I stated.

"For now," Kallie agreed as we started back toward our camp. "But we're going to have to get moving soon, Charlie."

"Why?" I asked. "If the Warden was able to find us, he would have by now."

"That's only because we have strong wards keeping him from tracking us," Kallie said. "But we can't survive out here without resources. Eventually, someone is going to notice us. We can't keep going into town."

Our first night here, we'd portaled to the nearest town to steal food. Ava was feeling reckless and wanted to shoplift, and Marcus was too chicken to stay in the woods by himself. Kallie and I were both strong illusionists, and our illusions were enough to give us shelter and clothing, but illusion food had no substance, and we'd starve without real food.

My illusions were getting better. The clothes I created were solid, and they'd stay that way forever, unlike Kallie's illusions that vanished when she got too far away from them. I'd even learned how to apply color to my illusions, which was significant progress. But any food I tried to create had no nutrition. It really fucking sucked, because I was all too familiar with the ache of hunger, and it seemed like the one thing I couldn't provide my family with at will.

My days of thieving and conning had come in handy, because at least if I couldn't conjure real food, I could steal it.

And maybe that was the problem. I'd grown up fighting for scraps, and my relationship with food was far from the best. I never once believed that food could be permanent, and so it was impossible to create it.

I knew how to get resources one way or another, but unlike before, I was no longer starving. I could take whatever I wanted, and not a damn soul on this earth was going to prevent me from doing that.

I'd never had so much fun stealing things than when I did it with my friends. I used to be scared that I'd get caught, but now, I was unstoppable. Ava didn't care one way or another if we stole shit or not, and I had to admit, her encouraging me to misbehave only made me want to commit more crimes. The Institute hadn't changed that part of me at all. If anything, it'd only made me a better thief, and my wife was more than willing to be my partner in crime.

Up ahead, I heard a door shut, then the sound of my wife's wheelchair on a ramp as she came out of the cabin. Our camp was nestled in a tiny clearing, just big enough for a cottage, a campfire, and a picnic table. Kallie had created a nice little cabin with her illusion magic that we'd been staying in, and it was spacious and comfortable. We had a roof over our heads, and really, that was all I could ask for.

"How's the temperature?" Ava asked in the distance. She must be approaching the campfire, where Marcus was brewing our potion.

"It could be hotter," Marcus replied. "I need the potion at a rolling boil."

"Here, let me help," Ava offered.

I heard the crackle of a fire, then the snap of bubbles.

"Perfect," Marcus said, though his voice sounded strained.

"Are you hungry?" Ava asked, sounding concerned. "We have a few extra rations."

"No," Marcus answered, almost too quickly. "Save it for the others. Charlie and Kallie will be hungry when they get back."

"You haven't eaten all day," Ava pressed. "There's enough for?—"

"I said I'm not hungry!" Marcus snapped.

"All right," Ava huffed, and I knew she had to be rolling her eyes. I heard the rustle of a bag, then a gasp.

A twinge of agony rippled up my back, and I knew instantly it had come through our bond. The pain ebbed slightly, but Ava had failed to hide it from me. She was powering through and using her healing magic to help with the pain of dealing with her spinal injury, but it wasn't always enough.

Kallie grabbed my arm, and I stopped in my tracks. She pulled me behind a big tree and lowered her voice. "Charlie, they're getting worse. We need to make a decision."

"You're talking about leaving," I stated flatly.

"We have to do something," Kallie pressed.

It felt like an impossible ask. I'd never felt safer than I did in this forest, shielded from the world by these trees and encompassed by my element. Here, my wife had a warm bed to sleep in every night, and my Familiar could roam free. The last thing I wanted to do was leave. No one would bother us here. Everything would stay perfect.

"Charlie," Kallie prodded when I didn't say anything. "We can't keep hanging around. Marcus is on the edge of losing it because he doesn't have his antidepressants. If he's not brewing that potion, he's in bed, and it's only getting worse. Ava's off her bipolar meds, not to mention she's out of painkillers. That's dangerous for both of them, because Ava quitting her lithium and Marcus stopping his SSRI's abruptly could really hurt them. Ava's healing magic is only enough to prevent the worst side effects, but if she doesn't get back on something soon, she'll start having withdrawals or she'll go completely manic, not to mention Marcus is already showing signs of a depression relapse. None of us want him to get suicidal again. We need to go find some medication for both of them. And if you and Ava want to keep getting it on like you do, you're going to need a new dose of birth control."

I groaned. "Okay, fuck. I don't need a lecture on safe sex."

"You do need it if it's going to get you to move," Kallie insisted. "I know you were on birth control at the Institute, and that it was specially brewed using magic. I know where we can get our hands on more."

"If we run, we can't ward ourselves from the Warden," I argued. "Wards don't work that way. They're stationery, so our wards are the only thing keeping him from finding us right now. Besides, we don't know where the next key is, so why are we talking about leaving when we don't know where we're going next?"

"We've been here too long. We need to move to another isolated location," Kallie argued. "Wards or not, the Warden will eventually track us down."

"Okay, so let's do that forever, so we can't be found," I said, completely serious.

"You can't keep living your life only looking ahead for the next couple of days."

"Why not? It's worked before."

"Look, you can sit around and convince yourself that running is the only way to survive, but we all know what will happen if we don't find those keys," Kallie said. "What happens when you die and you're trapped in the in-between forever, just like all the other souls, because you never opened the Elven Gate? We can't do nothing while the Warden is taking over the world. I know you like it here, Charlie. But you have to decide once and for all if you're going to lie down and take it, or if you're going to go after the keys."

I rubbed my face. "We can't go anywhere, anyway. Moving is risky without the anti-tracking potion, and Marcus hasn't finished it."

"I know we should wait, but I don't think we can any longer," Kallie insisted. "Not when it comes to their meds, at least. These two need some happy pills."

I hated to even consider Kallie's argument, because all I wanted to do was keep my friends safe behind our wards, never to face the Warden again. But they weren't safe if they weren't getting the medical care they needed. I turned my attention back to my wife. In the distance, I could hear her rifling through papers. She'd barely taken her eyes off the files we'd stolen from the Institute since we got here. We'd been studying what the Warden knew, so we could accurately predict where he was going and how to face him. It was a long, arduous task that I could tell was weighing on Ava-Marie. Even from here, I could hear the quiet moans of discomfort as she shifted in her chair.

A ripple of pain slipped through our bond, and it felt like someone had lit my spine aflame. I grabbed the trunk of the tree to keep from falling over. Ava usually shielded her injury from me, but the fact that she couldn't anymore was telling. She was in far more discomfort than I could fathom, and the only reason she was getting by was because she was so used to being in pain.

"All right," I agreed. "We need to come up with a plan."

"Let's go talk to the others," Kallie suggested.

We approached the camp. Ava immediately slammed our bond shut when she heard us approaching. She hadn't realized we'd been in the trees, or that I'd felt her pain only moments before. It wasn't that she was trying to hide it from me. Rather, she didn't want me suffering alongside her, because no matter how much of her pain I felt through our bond, I couldn't take it away from her.

"How was the flight?" Ava asked, keeping her voice even.

"It was nice," I said, but the high I'd felt had vanished. Now I was more worried than anything. To steady my hands, I approached Rishi, who was lounging on the picnic table atop the files Ava was studying. I stroked the cat's fur, and he purred under my touch. Alette fluttered by and landed in my hand. Sprigs quickly joined her, tickling my fingers with his spindly legs. The sentient twig climbed atop the moth, and he gave a tiny cry before she took off, fluttering him around the campsite.

"The perimeter is clear," Kallie reported. "How's the research going?"

Ava shuffled papers around. "I found a file detailing the Warden's experiments. He's somewhat cryptic with his notes, almost like he was intentionally hiding details in case anyone came across them. But from what I can gather, stealing our powers and becoming a demigod himself is only the first step in his master plan. With enough power and inferichite, he should be able to make demigods out of anyone."

"So he's building a demigod army?" I asked roughly.

"In theory, he could," Ava said. "He's limited by inferichite, though, because it takes so long to grow."

"He's got plenty," I stated. "Now that the Institute is destroyed and we escaped, he has no reason to leave the inferichite perimeter around the property. He could've dug up all those crystals to reuse."

"Yes, but now they're his weakness, too, since he's a demigod like us," Ava pointed out. "Just being around inferichite is going to slow him down."

"Slowed down or not, he's still got to be going through with the ceremonies," Kallie said thoughtfully. "We already know he's had demigods working for him for a while, though I think we can reason that Esther and Mad Dog are both natural-born demigods. How many more do you think he's created by now?"

"And who?" I added.

Ava flipped through a few more papers. "I'm not sure. From what I can tell, the ceremony won't work on just anyone. The subject has to be strong enough to withstand a demigod's power. He killed a lot of people running his experiments, and he's surely killing again. But whoever he's recruiting, they surely have to be as loyal and crazy as Esther and Mad Dog?—"

A sizzling sound cut her off, and we all whirled toward the fire.

"No!" Marcus exploded. "No, no, no, no, no!"

His voice grew with intensity with each passing word. It sounded like his potion had boiled over. No one had quite forgotten how he'd gone psychotic the night we broke out of the Institute. We'd all been a bit on edge, hoping it wouldn't happen again.

Kallie was right— he really needed his meds.

"Marcus, calm down," Ava insisted. "I've got this."

The temperature around us dropped, and the sizzling stopped. Ava had used her Fire magic to kill the campfire and stop the boiling.

Marcus began pacing back and forth. "This is all wrong. It's not working!"

"What's the problem?" Kallie asked. "Maybe I can help."

"You can't come along and fix this with your false realities and illusions!" Marcus raged. "We need better ingredients— real ingredients."

Marcus wasn't acting like himself. He didn't usually yell at her about things like this. He was losing his patience with Kallie, and that was telling of how low he felt. He definitely was getting depressed.

"Hey, I'm good for more than just my illusions," Kallie snapped. "Get me a list. I'll get whatever you need."

Marcus scoffed. "From where? I need magical plants, Kallie. In case you haven't noticed, they aren't exactly bountiful in this stupid forest."

Kallie walked over to Marcus, and his footsteps came to a halt as she shook him. "Marcus, I need you to pull yourself together and get me that list. I know a fae apothecary not far from here. Charlie and I will go. I'll portal us there, and we'll get everything you need."

"You're not going to find what I need at any random apothecary," Marcus insisted.

"I'll find it at this one," she promised.

The message was loud and clear. This wasn't just any fae apothecary, bound by the rules of Malovian law. She knew about black-market dealers, and she was willing to walk us into danger to get what we needed. It was either that, or eventually let the Warden find us. We really needed this potion if we wanted to move about without being tracked.

"What if someone recognizes you?" Marcus demanded.

"I can disguise us with glamour," Kallie said. "It's a simple illusion that will conceal our features. See?"

Magic tingled over my skin and across my nose. I had no idea what I looked like, but judging by the way Marcus gasped, I must've looked like a completely different person.

"What if the Warden's tracking you?" Ava asked nervously. "You'll be leaving our ward."

"We'll be quick about it, before his spells can find us," Kallie said. "We have to take the risk to get the ingredients."

"All right. Give me a minute." Marcus came over to the picnic table. He must've conjured a paper and a pen, because he began scribbling something down. The paper rustled as he handed it to Kallie. "I hope this place really has the stuff, because if it doesn't, we're fucked."

"We'll get it," Kallie promised again, though I heard uncertainty in her tone. "Charlie and Oberi are with me."

Magic bloomed in front of us, and Kallie took my hand and led me through the portal. The temperature dropped, and my feet hit solid pavement. Voices came from somewhere nearby, echoing off walls around us. It seemed we were in some sort of alleyway.

"Get down," Kallie hissed.

The three of us ducked, and I leaned against the cold metal of a dumpster. I knew that feeling all too well, after spending many nights on the streets. I missed the forest already.

"We're in the alleyway behind the pharmacy," Kallie said. "They're closed for the night, but there are cameras on both sides of the alley. I should be able to scramble the images with my magic."

"The pharmacy?" I asked. "I thought we were headed to a black-market dealer?"

"Two birds with one stone, Charlie," Kallie said. "The pharmacy is a front for the magical dealings that happen behind the counter. We're getting Marcus and Ava their meds and the ingredients for the potion. These places are usually warded against magic, so we'll have to get in the old-fashioned way."

We could try bartering first, Oberi suggested.

"With what?" I questioned. "They'll spot an illusion from a mile away."

"Come on," Kallie hissed. "We don't have much time. Oberi, keep watch."

On it, sister, Oberi said.

Kallie dragged me forward. She pulled something out of her hair and shook out the strands, nearly smacking me in the face. Kallie knelt beside the building, and the lock wiggled as she stuck her bobby pin inside it.

"Once I get this open, an alarm will go off," Kallie said. "We'll have to disable the alarm system immediately."

I smirked. Working with Kallie was better than any thief I'd teamed up with in the past. "I'm guessing you know how to do that."

"You learn security systems really quickly when you're a vigilante assassin," Kallie said proudly. The lock clicked, and the door swung open. "We're in."

We hurried inside, and Oberi slipped through the door behind us. A keypad beeped as Kallie hacked it to disable the alarm system before it could notify the owners.

"Done," she announced. "Come on. The pharmacy is this way."

Kallie led me down the hall, and the air expanded to a huge room, like the grocery stores back home. She picked another lock and disabled the alarm system again. I entered some sort of storage area. I reached out and felt shelves, all lined with bottles.

"You and Oberi find the meds," Kallie said. "I'll cover the apothecary and get the ingredients on Marcus' list, and get you your birth control. We'll meet back at the exit in three minutes."

"Got it," I agreed.

Kallie fled the room, and I heard her footsteps racing down the hall. Oberi was already sniffing around, searching the shelves for the medications we needed. In husky form, he was particularly sensitive to smell, and he didn't need to read the labels to know which meds Ava and Marcus usually took.

Here's the lithium, Oberi said, nudging his nose at a bottle on the shelf. I felt for it and gathered several in my arms. He hurried down the aisle and found the antidepressants, along with painkillers.

The bottles were big, at least a quart each. I wanted to take as many as possible, so we didn't run out. Whatever we didn't need, I could sell for real cash, so I could make sure my family had whatever they needed. I'd given up drug dealing a long time ago, but I'd do it again if I had to.

That should be it, Oberi said. Let's go.

I left the storage room, but two bottles slipped out of my arms. I knelt to pick them up, and another one slipped.

Screw this. I went to create a backpack so I could carry them that way.

An alarm squealed overhead, and my heart lurched. Everything happened so fast I couldn't quite process it. The magic concealing my features disappeared. Oberi barked once, then came the sound of her phoenix cry.

Something's wrong! Oberi screamed in my mind.

I felt her shift again, and Fire blazed across the bond as she became a Fire unicorn. Shelves knocked over as her form grew, and the smoothness of Water magic filled the bond. Her horn poked me, and I jumped out of the way before I could be impaled by her narwhal horn.

"Oberi, what's happening?!" I screamed.

I can't control it! she cried.

The bond shifted again, becoming masculine. I heard the unfurl of leather wings as he shifted. Oberi grew so large that his wyvern scales squashed me against the wall. The ceiling shook overhead, and dust rained down on me. Shelves crushed under his weight. Oberi barely fit inside the store.

The alarm came to a sudden stop. Although the room had gone silent, I could still hear the heavy pulse of my panicked heartbeat in my ears. Oberi shifted again, shrinking to the size of a husky.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded.

Some sort of magic, Oberi said.

"Yeah, I figured that," I growled. I slung the backpack over my shoulder, the medications rattling around inside of it. "Let's go, before it happens again."

I started for the hall to find Kallie, but the sound of a male voice stopped me.

"You're not going anywhere," he sneered. He spoke in a Malovian accent, so he had to be some kind of shifter. "Hands in the air, or your girlfriend dies!"

Kallie let out a pained cry, as if the shifter had her by the hair.

I went to cast a battle spell, but Oberi barked. He's got a dagger to her neck!

"Charlie!" Kallie cried, causing me to hesitate. She knew all too well what I'd do to this guy if given the chance. "If we kill him, we'll attract attention from the whole supernatural community!"

"The glamour's gone," I seethed. "Better to leave no witnesses."

"Kill me, and she dies with me," the shifter threatened.

Kallie could kill him in a heartbeat, but she was right. If we left a trail of bodies, other supernaturals would come after us. We had to get out of this clean, and without anyone on our tail.

"You think you can steal from me?" the shifter said with a laugh. "Some thieves you are, casting magic in my shop. My spells have revealed you for what you are."

I realized that I'd fucked up. Kallie had said we couldn't cast magic to get through the wards. I didn't realize a simple illusion spell would set things off, as it wasn't an outright attack. I mentally kicked myself for the stupid decision. The spell had stripped us of our glamour and forced Oberi to reveal all five forms, all for a dumb backpack.

I had to find a way to get through to this guy, because we weren't leaving here without our stuff. I didn't care if Kallie thought we couldn't leave bodies behind. I would if I had to.

"Please, sir," I said sadly, throwing in a voice crack for show. When you wanted to run a con, you had to play to what was important to the person you were trying to fool. Hopefully this guy had a shred of empathy. "We don't mean anyone any harm. My wife is in a wheelchair, and in a lot of pain. We have nothing left, and we just want to help her. Don't you have a family? Wouldn't you do anything for them?"

He didn't seem to care. Instead, he scoffed and said, "You think I'd believe a sob story like that? I should be turning you into the authorities right now!"

"So why aren't you?" Kallie asked.

"Because I've seen what you can offer," he practically sang. "I'm willing to forgive you for trespassing and sell you whatever you want, in exchange for one of those wyvern scales."

"What do you want me to do? Just pluck one off his back?" I sneered.

"If you don't want me turning you into the authorities, you will!" he demanded.

"That's a rip-off," Kallie spat. "One wyvern scale is worth a hundred times what we're here for!"

"You destroyed my entire pharmacy!" the shifter roared. "I think it's a fair trade."

"Or I could just kill you and walk out of here," I said with a shrug. Screw conning the man. I was ready to get this over with.

"Kill me, and other fae will be here in moments to hunt you down," the shifter said. "Now that I've stripped your glamour, I've got you on camera, and the recording has already been sent to an off-site server. Give me a wyvern scale, and I'll wipe any traces of you ever being here."

"Charlie, do it," Kallie insisted. The last thing we wanted was to be followed.

I gritted my teeth. I didn't like being pushed around by some sleazy black-market dealer, but no one could find out where we were. It was the one weakness we had, and this guy knew how to play it.

If it gets us out of here without a trace, I'll give him one of my scales, Oberi told me.

"Fine," I growled. I turned to Oberi, and he shifted. He didn't make the full shift, or he'd take up the whole room. It was just enough that I could feel his scales. I pinched a scale around his neck and ripped it out. Oberi winced.

I held up the scale to show the shifter, but I didn't hand it over right away. "Let my friend go."

"Give me the scale first," he demanded.

"I said—" I started, but Kallie cut me off.

"Charlie, just give it to him so we can get out of here."

I placed the scale in the shifter's outstretched hand, the same time I grabbed Kallie and yanked her away from him.

"Now get out of here!" he yelled. "I don't want to see either of you back here ever again."

We scrambled down the hallway.

"Did you get it all?" Kallie asked.

"Yes, you?"

"Everything. Including your anti-baby meds. Let's get out of here." Kallie created a portal in front of us, and we leapt through. We landed on soft ground, and the scent of the forest filled my nose.

Oberi shook out his fur. I can't believe I gave a scale up to that stinky old dude! That guy was suspicious.

"Of course he was," I said. "What else did you expect from a black-market dealer? Do you think he recognized you, Kallie?"

Kallie hadn't been seen around these parts in over two years, but the fae wouldn't soon forget the face of the young princess who'd been sentenced to prison for an assassination attempt on the king.

"I don't think so," she said. "If he had, he would've asked for a lot more. That wyvern scale should keep anyone from coming after us. It's worth a lot of money."

She seemed so certain, but I couldn't help but keep my attention on the forest, listening for footsteps or any other signs of life. I heard nothing.

We returned to camp, and Marcus and Ava were gathered around the fire. The sun had set by now, and the air grew colder.

Marcus scrambled to his feet when he heard us coming. "How'd it go?"

"We got it all," Kallie said, dropping to her knees beside the fire. Vials rattled, and bags rustled as she laid the contents of her haul out in the dirt. "How long will it take to brew the anti-tracking potion?"

Marcus mumbled under his breath as he looked everything over. "It'll have to simmer overnight. We should be able to leave in the morning. Once we take the potion, the Warden can't track us anywhere."

"Then let's pack up so we're ready to go as soon as possible," Kallie said. "We got something else, too."

I slipped the backpack off my shoulder and pulled the medicine out. Oberi sniffed the bottles, then took one in his mouth and walked over to Ava.

"Medication?" Ava asked.

"You both needed it," I said, handing a bottle to Marcus.

He hesitated, but took it anyway. "Thanks."

Ava didn't say much, but I felt her relief slip through our bond. She hadn't wanted to ask us to obtain her medication, but she was grateful it was there. At the very least, it would give her some relief from her pain, and we'd stolen enough meds to last quite a while.

"What happened to you out there?" Ava asked as we all sat around the fire. She must've noticed my agitation.

We told them about our run-in with the black-market dealer. Ava seemed nervous when we finished telling her what happened.

"Are you absolutely sure you weren't followed?" she asked.

"Certain," I said. "He got the better end of the deal, so he's not going to follow us."

"He sounds sketchy, no matter what you gave him," Ava replied.

"We portaled out of there, so I don't know how he'd find us, even if he wanted to," I said. "We didn't leave a trail behind."

Ava didn't say anything more, but I knew she was still concerned. She'd been paranoid since we'd left the Institute, worried the Warden was going to find us sooner or later.

Hell, let him. I'd kick his ass all over this forest.

Marcus mixed his ingredients together, and the potion bubbled lightly. Finally, he said, "The potion should be done in a few hours. We should all get some sleep."

We gathered our records spread over the picnic table, and Marcus subconjured them, along with the medication bottles. I helped Ava to bed, then gave Marcus her chair so he could keep it in his stash. That way we could leave as soon as possible.

Oberi curled up at Ava's feet, but I sensed he wasn't sleeping. The hair on the back of my neck stood, and I paid close attention to the sounds of the forest, but I heard nothing except the wind rustling the trees.

I tried to tell myself we were safe here. The Warden couldn't track us behind our wards, and the guy at the pharmacy didn't know where we'd gone. Still, I couldn't shake the odd sensation crawling up my back as I climbed into bed beside my wife. I didn't bother changing into pajamas, because I wanted to be ready to get the hell out of here as soon as the potion was ready.

I loved it here. I never wanted to leave. But now that we'd been spotted, I didn't think we could stay any longer. The fae apothecary hadn't been far from here, and even if our cabin was secluded, they knew where to start looking.

It was time to start moving and find the rest of the Divinity Keys before the Warden did.

I lay awake for a long time, unable to sleep, but eventually, I drifted off.

Bang!

I startled awake as the front door of the cabin burst open. I immediately reached over for my wife, and she grabbed on to me. Oberi barked loudly, and my heart hammered.

Ava's panic flooded through the bond. "Charlie, what's?—?"

A deafening noise came from above us, and dust rained down on our heads. Wind came rushing into the room as debris flew everywhere. It was like someone had ripped the roof of the cabin off. I threw myself over Ava to shield her, wondering what the hell had happened now.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" a deep voice rang from outside.

Holy shit. That sounded like Mad Dog.

I didn't have a second to process it before the bed vanished from beneath me. Ava and I fell to the forest floor as the illusion broke, and the cabin around us vanished. Ava let out a pained cry, and Oberi shifted into a wyvern, spreading out his wings to shield us. I felt Sprigs jump into my pocket, and I heard a whizzing sound as Alette hid beside him.

We're under attack! Oberi cried.

I didn't care if Mad Dog was here or who he brought. We were demigods; we could take on anyone.

Oberi's venom sizzled as he shot it at our attackers, but it made a splatting sound, like it hit a pane of glass before disintegrating.

I can't get past their shields, Oberi panicked.

"Hold them off, Kallie!" Marcus screamed. The firepit hissed, like he'd spilled some of the anti-tracking potion into it.

Everything that we'd made with illusion magic was gone. The only things that remained were our real belongings, like Marcus' cauldron and the vials we stole from the apothecary. Marcus sounded like he was rescuing the potion, while Kallie fought off the attackers in the open clearing.

My whole body shook as I rushed to cradle Ava in my arms, but she was already blasting off magic. I felt Water and Fire converge through our bond as she used simultension on herself, creating that deadly blue Fire she'd made in the Darke Games. Ava shot it off, but I heard it fizzle out before it made its target.

"What the hell?" she growled.

She shot off another spell, but it ricocheted back in our direction, and the Fire seared the ends of my hair as I flinched away.

Someone cackled loudly. "You think your Fire is a match for us? We're demigods now, and we're stronger than you'll ever be. All the other Mission kids who wanted to become demigods died, but we were strong enough. Your spells can't touch us."

There was only one person who would brag that much during a fight. It had to be Deuce, the vampire who got sent to Cellblock 9 after I framed him for murder. Last I saw him, he was lying unconscious in Cellblock 9. The fact that he was strong enough to withstand demigod power was impressive, considering I'd knocked him out more than once.

Oberi threw himself in front of us again, letting out a loud, threatening cry.

Ava clung to me. "It's The Mission! Esther, Naya, Mad Dog, and Deuce. Charlie, they're stronger than I've ever seen them. I don't know how, but they're shooting my Fire back at me!"

I wasn't sure how they'd gotten here so quickly. The bastard at the pharmacy must've ratted us out!

"Stay low," I warned Ava. "I won't let them hurt you."

It killed me to leave my wife's side, but these fuckers would die before they touched her. I leapt onto Oberi's back and conjured a spear, which became solid in my hand. It was the easiest illusion that came to mind, and appeared almost without thought.

To the right! Oberi told me. Through the bond, I could sense the exact spot I needed to aim, and I thrust my spear forward.

Something shattered, and I realized my illusion spear had been broken. I blasted off battle spells, but each one fizzled out. Below me, Marcus and Kallie threw spells, but I heard their magic wither away before they could do any damage. I heard the shattering of glass, as if their shields had been broken.

"Stop playing this game, and submit to the lord!" a woman's voice came from above me. Feathery wings flapped, which meant it had to be Esther. Only she would try preaching about her god while actively trying to kill us.

"I think they're better off dead," a woman laughed. Her leathery wings flapped nearby. It was definitely Naya. We'd had far too many run-ins with this succubus for me to ever forget her voice.

Gathering all the magic I could, I thrust a heavy gust of air above me, and Esther went spinning downward. She knocked into Naya, and they both spiraled into the ground. A tree cracked and groaned, but Naya only laughed. The succubus was as hard as rock. I doubt I left so much as a scratch. Oberi lifted his head and spat venom at Esther.

Esther screamed. I expected the venom to encompass her and kill her like it did the guards the night we escaped, but she flapped her wings again, flying high above us.

"The lord has foreseen your deaths!" Esther shouted. "It is his will that you perish!"

She sounded perfectly fucking healthy to me. Damn angel healing magic.

Mad Dog laughed maniacally, like our magic was nothing short of amusing to him. "Your wyvern is weak, just like the rest of you," he sneered.

Something shifted in the bond, and I didn't know what it was at first, until I realized Oberi was shrinking beneath me. He shifted so fast that I fell out of the air and landed hard on the ground. Oberi roared loudly, but it morphed into a bark as he became a husky.

I can't shift! Oberi panicked. It's some sort of compulsion!

Mad Dog had used vampire compulsion to kill Thaddeus, but back then, he'd used blood magic to do it. It seemed that his demigod powers were growing, and he could compel anyone, blood magic or not. I barely had a second to take it in before Ava screamed my name.

"Charlie!" Her panicked cry cut through the forest.

I felt the rush of air swirling through the clearing as Mad Dog raced toward her at super speed. I moved so fast that I crossed the impossible distance in less than a second. I threw my hands upward and caught him around the throat before he could go in for the kill. Magic swelled through me as I siphoned his super strength and held him back. The magic felt familiar, and it occurred to me that I moved so fast because I'd siphoned his super speed at a distance, before I consciously decided to. They didn't know who the hell they were messing with.

Mad Dog hissed as his fangs protruded, pressing into the skin on my neck. He never got the chance to break the skin, because I used his super strength against him. I lifted him by the neck, then slammed him into the ground so hard that it left an impression. I forced the earth open beneath him, and it swallowed him whole as I buried him alive. It wouldn't kill a vampire, but it'd hold him off for a bit.

Esther's feathery wings continued to flap above us. She'd turned her sights on Kallie and Marcus as they shot spells in her direction. A clap of thunder rang out around us, and the air sizzled as we narrowly missed being struck by lightning. An explosion blasted off near Kallie and Marcus, and the whole earth rocked back and forth.

Fucking hell. Esther was one strong angel. She'd learned to manipulate energy to create electromagnetic blasts and bombs!

Kallie and Marcus were able to defend themselves— but barely. Deuce was killing their spells every chance he got and shattering their shields the moment they cast them. Esther aimed energy at them again, and they got out of the way just in time, their screams echoing through the trees. Dirt flew into the air and rained down on us.

Ava was casting whatever was in her arsenal— Fire, Water, Spirit magic— yet none of it had any effect. We were practically sitting ducks. A whine of agony sounded nearby, and I felt a slicing sensation across our bond as Oberi was cut open by one of Esther's spells.

"Kallie, get us out of here!" I screamed.

I heard the snap of her fingers… then the strangest sensation surrounded me. The sounds of the forest vanished. The rustling of the trees was gone, and the dirt falling from above halted mid-air. I could still feel pebbles of dirt on my skin, and I knew Kallie had stopped time.

So why did I still hear the sound of beating wings above us?

"Charlie, duck!" Ava screamed.

A wave of Fire blasted past me as she went to defend me, but Esther got to me first. The angel hit me so hard I nearly blacked out. Angels were fucking strong— I knew, because I'd fought them in the ring. But Esther was one hell of an angel. We'd severely underestimated her power.

I went flying across the clearing and landed against a tree. I felt something snap, and at first I thought it was my back, until I sensed the tree waver above me. The sounds of the forest returned, and time began moving forward again. The tree groaned as it began to fall, but I levitated it with my Earth magic and threw it at Esther. She let out a heavy oof as it hit her and she toppled out of the sky.

"Ooh, what's this?" Naya practically sang, sounding amused. "The fae princess can stop time?"

Fuck. Kallie had been learning how to stop time without influencing other demigods, but we were in too close proximity. She couldn't pick and choose to take us and leave them behind. Now they knew what she was capable of, and we'd revealed one of our greatest assets.

"It changes nothing!" Esther roared. She was obviously getting impatient. "Our lord wanted them dead, and so they shall be!"

All at once, my friends let out a collective scream. Oberi yelped like he was in pain, and Rishi hissed. I didn't know what had happened.

She's blinding us with her light magic! Oberi cried.

Did this bitch forget that I was blind? I was unaffected, and I went in for the kill. I had Mad Dog's super strength and speed, so I crossed the distance to Esther in a moment. I pummeled my fist into her face, and blood spurted over my shirt. Damn it all if that wasn't satisfying.

Esther got a hold of my wrist. She wrapped her legs around my middle, then curled her wings around my entire body as she dragged me to the ground. "Submit to his will," she demanded.

A familiar pain overcame my body, and my muscles seized up. I remembered it all too well. The Warden had used this power on me in Forevermore. It was a type of life-force manipulation angels had, a way to suck the life energy out of you by sheer will.

Back then, I couldn't defend myself from it. But I was stronger now.

My magic warred against her, siphoning my energy back into me. I tugged even harder, trying to take her power for my own, but I couldn't muster anything beyond her super strength. Her demigod powers were a match for mine, and I couldn't take anything more than her weakest asset. She was powerful— I'd give her that. All her healing abilities and energy manipulation powers were beyond my reach.

I threw a punch, but she dodged it, and my fist met nothing but air. I went to sink the other fist into her gut, but she drew her knee upward and blocked the attack. It was like she knew what I was going to do before I did it.

That was her demigod power, I remembered. She always had a way of reading our weaknesses, and now she knew how to read us better than ever. She knew every attack we were going to throw at her before we even thought of it ourselves.

This bitch may have been at the Institute voluntarily, but she was the worst inmate they'd ever let in that place. There were only so many ways to kill an angel. Let's see how well she functioned without a head.

I conjured a sword, and it pierced her wing. Esther screamed in pain as I yanked the sword downward, slicing through her wing. Esther leapt backward, and I jumped to my feet. I wasted no time aiming the sword at her head, but before it could make contact, it disappeared in my hands.

Shock must've crossed my features, because Deuce stood by the tree line, laughing maniacally.

Of fucking course; because he always needed someone else to fight his battles.

Before I could conjure another spell, the dirt beneath me shifted. I hadn't realized I was standing right where I'd buried Mad Dog, and he was making the climb out of his grave. A hand curled around my ankle and yanked me to the ground. I aimed a blast of battle magic at him, but panicked when the magic never came.

I felt Mad Dog's compulsion locking my powers down tightly, forcing me to hide my own magic from access. I wondered why he didn't just puppet us around and make us kill ourselves like he'd done to Thaddeus, but I realized we were too strong for that. He could compel our magic against us, but he couldn't overcome our consciousness.

Mad Dog let out an angry roar— almost animalistic.

"A little help!" I screamed.

"Let him go, you soulless bastard!" Marcus sneered.

I thought it was just an empty insult, because vampires still had a soul, until I realized what Marcus was doing. Mad Dog's scream came to an abrupt halt the same time an image formed at my feet. An ethereal picture of a furious vampire appeared, his spirit hand curled around my ankle.

If I could see him, that only meant one thing. Marcus had ripped Mad Dog's spirit out of his body.

"What have you done?!" Esther screamed.

I heard her footsteps racing forward, then felt her body land on top of Mad Dog. For the briefest of moments, his grip on me loosened. Then his spirit vanished and he clutched me even tighter, as if Esther had shoved his soul back into his body.

Obviously she did, because she could manipulate a person's life force. That had to have some effect on the soul. Even if Marcus could take someone's soul out of their body, Esther could just put it right back. I kicked Mad Dog hard in the face, and he dropped my ankle.

"Rishi, attack!" Marcus screamed.

Marcus cast a spell, and Rishi transformed into a deadly spirit. He dove toward Mad Dog and Esther, and his form swept through me for a moment. I saw the ethereal shape of a cat's face as he dove toward our attackers. As soon as he passed me, the image vanished.

Rishi hissed as he went in for the kill, but he never made it to Esther and Mad Dog. Instead, he shifted course, and turned straight toward Marcus and Kallie.

"Rishi, no!" Marcus screamed. Rishi lashed out, and I heard the tearing of fabric as he swiped his claws out at Marcus.

"Stop!" Marcus ordered. The spell broke, and Rishi landed on the ground.

Naya laughed, and I knew whatever happened had been her doing. She had some way of turning our powers against us.

This was bad. If Naya could turn our spells back on us, Deuce could break them, and Mad Dog could cut off all our magical access, we were fucking screwed. There was no way we could fight these people, no matter how much power we had, because their special demigod abilities prevented us from fighting back.

Our only option was to run.

I raced to Ava and scooped her up in my arms. Marcus and Kallie sprinted to our side.

"Kallie, a portal!" I screamed.

"I can't!" she yelled back.

Mad Dog must've been blocking her power. We had to get far enough away so his compulsion wouldn't affect us.

"You aren't going anywhere," Esther sneered. Her wings flapped again, which meant she'd healed already. A spell crackled, and Oberi barked loudly, warning us of the incoming blast.

Ava threw up her hands. Protection magic bloomed out of her so strong it seemed to rock the very earth we stood on. The explosion sounded all around us, but never touched our forms.

"Holy shit! Ava can make shields!" Kallie cried.

Magic smashed against Ava's shield, never touching us. Curiously, I reached out my hand, and my fingers connected with something solid. An image formed in my mind, because the shield was made with Ava's Spirit magic. I saw what appeared to be a big glass dome encompassing my friends and me, pulsing with spiritual power, thin beads of energy moving throughout. I'd heard Anichi could create shields, but I didn't know it was possible for Ava. I felt her strong emotions bleeding through the shield, created out of Ava's love for us and her fierce instinct to protect us.

"Get them!" Esther barked.

"Deuce can't break it," Marcus realized.

"Then let's go!" I demanded. "We need a portal now, Kallie."

"We have to get further away!" she insisted.

"I can't hold this for much longer," Ava whimpered. Her whole body quivered in my grasp as I felt the shield drain her magical energy.

We ran into the trees. The earth shook beneath us as Ava's shield grew stronger. A deafening snap sounded, and the earth split in two at the strength of Ava's Spirit magic. Trees groaned and toppled over once they hit Ava's expanding shield, and I heard Naya scream.

Good. I hope she'd been pinned under one of them.

A shattering sound filled the air, and Ava went slack in my arms as she passed out. Her shield broke and faded away, leaving us completely vulnerable. Esther's wings beat from overhead, and the others followed.

"We have to keep going! Mad Dog's cutting off my power," Kallie yelled.

"Submit to the lord's will, for he is always watching!" Esther screamed in the distance. She was coming for us quickly. We had mere moments before she caught up.

Then the air shifted around us. I felt familiar sparks as I heard a portal bloom in front of us.

"Thank the goddesses your ward finally fell," a voice came from the other side of the portal. "We've been trying to track you all for weeks!"

"Quickly, everyone drink the potion, so they can't follow us," Marcus insisted. He shoved vials into our hands. The vials were wet, as if he'd spilled a lot of the potion while he'd been trying to bottle it up. We downed the anti-tracking potion without question, and I tipped a bottle past Ava's lips. She coughed as she drank, but didn't wake up.

"Come with me," the strange voice said.

I didn't know who this guy was, but something told me we could trust him. Anywhere was better than here, at least.

Esther let out a primal scream as she dove for us. We jumped through the portal, and it slammed shut. Feathers drifted over me, but I realized they must've been cut off from Esther's wings as the portal shut, because she hadn't made it through.

I dropped to my knees and set Ava in the grass beside me. I pulled her into my lap and pushed her hair out of her face. "Pidge, are you okay? Wake up."

She took a rattling gasp, and breathed, "Charlie."

"Are you hurt? That was a pretty big spell," I worried.

"I'm fine," she said warily. "Just a little shaken up."

I held her for several long moments, then sagged onto my back, trying to catch my breath. Alette fluttered away, and Sprigs hopped onto my shoulder.

We made it! Oberi cried.

"Barely." I breathed a sigh of relief. We'd been training with our demigod powers for months, but we'd never had to go up against other demigods before. They'd caught us off guard, and we weren't prepared to fight them.

I would never let that happen again.

I got to my feet. I didn't know where we were, but I turned to the individual who'd portaled us to safety. I reached out a hand to shake his. "Thank you for coming to our rescue. We wouldn't have gotten out of there if it weren't for you."

He didn't shake my hand, though. Instead, he dragged me into a tight hug. He was taller than me, and I recognized his scent.

Holy shit. It couldn't be?—

"Master! I'm so glad I finally found you!" my guard squeaked.

This couldn't be real. I felt the world tilt on its axis as I asked in complete disbelief, "Eddie?"