“You don’treallywant to be a supernatural bounty hunter, do you?” Chancey asked on our way out of class.
“Yeah, I do,” I stated bluntly. I felt kind of pissed that he didn’t think I could.
“But you have a record,” he pointed out. “They’re never going to take you. The Union only wants the best of the best. They’re not going to hire a criminal to hunt convicts, even if you graduate and get your record wiped clean.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line, feeling as if my magic might explode out of me at any moment. “I don’t care. I’m going to make it happen. You just wait and see.”
Who are you, to be anything more than what you are?
You’re nothing.
You’re worthless.
The voices came at me from all angles, ringing in my ears like an echo.
“I’m not worthless!” I snapped.
“Whoa, man.” Chancey chuckled nervously. “I never said you were.”
Chancey hadn’t heard what I had. My heart slammed against the edges of my chest when it hit me. Voices? It couldn’t be. Ava was the one who—
My train of thought came to a screeching halt when I realized that the voices weren’t meant for me at all. Ava’s anxiety came through our bond stronger than ever, and I realized that the voices had been hers— the ones that lived inside her head.
You don’t deserve this.
You’re dead weight.
Everyone thinks you’re useless.
Anger and frustration flared in my gut, and it seemed to grow as the voices became louder. I wanted to shove my hands into my hair and yank the strands out, just to get the voices to stop. Chancey said something to me, but I didn’t hear what it was. Beside me, Oberi whined, but the voices drowned him out. Ava was spiraling downward, and the crash was going to be the most devastating low I’d ever seen out of her. I could already feel it.
“I have to go,” I insisted. I wasn’t even sure if I’d said the words out loud. All I knew was I had to get to Ava— and fast!
I grabbed Oberi’s fur, to guide me. He took off running, leading me through the halls and closer to Ava.
Please be okay,I thought as the voices grew louder, but they drowned me out.
You’re here for a reason.
Because they can’t handle you in Kinpago.
They threw you away.
Like garbage.
Bile rose in my throat, and every nerve ending throughout my body seemed to work in overdrive. It felt as if the only way to stop it was to crawl into a deep, dark hole where nothing could touch me.
Hell, this wasn’t coming from me. Is this what Ava felt likeall the fucking time? My heart pounded so hard and fast, I might’ve mistaken it for a heart attack. Heat flared across my skin, but my bones felt cold as ice. My knees trembled beneath me. I kept pushing forward next to Oberi with a single thought in my mind.I have to get to Ava.
I rounded a corner and stopped dead in my tracks. The sound of sobs met my ears, and I heard someone sucking in shallow breaths.
“Pidge!” I cried as I hurried to her side.
She sat on the ground. I knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her body trembled, and sweat soaked through her shirt and covered my palm. She didn’t even acknowledge me. She rocked back and forth, muttering something under her breath. It was obvious I’d only gotten a taste of what she felt.
“Pidge,” I repeated. I shook her lightly, but she didn’t respond.
She spoke a little louder, until I could make out her words. “I’m going crazy. I’mnotcrazy.”
