I continued to cry, and Charlie lifted me up by the arms. “Come on. We gotta go somewhere private.”
The music room, Oberi offered, and we went there. Kallie and Marcus didn’t follow. Marcus held back tears and placed a hand over his mouth, while Kallie tried to console him. His eyes looked guilty. What had happened?
When we got to the music room, Oberi guided us to the piano bench. Charlie took my hands as I continued to weep.
“This is bullshit!” I burst. “I won’t let them take you. I’ll bust you out. I’ll do whatever it takes— I’ll even kill the Warden if I have to, I don’t care about the consequences!”
“You can’t do that,” Charlie said in a concerned tone, like he knew I’d try. “It’ll put your life in danger.”
“Fuck it!” I yelled. “If they want to send you to the Underground, I’m going too! We’ll be tortured together. I want to diewithyou!”
“Stop.” Charlie wiped my tears away. “I don’t want that.”
I let out a very unladylike snort. “I haven’t been one to listen, and I’m not going to start now, not when your life is in danger.”
“This might not be a bad thing. If they take me to the Underground, I can find Alice and the others, and we could escape,” Charlie offered.
He was trying to convince himself this wasn’t a death sentence. “Charlie, they’re going to torture you. The others aren’t demigods, but you are, and more than that, you’re the heir to the Elven throne. The Warden is going to figure that out eventually, and once he knows what you are—”
“It's all right.” Charlie hugged me again, and I sagged against his body. What would I do when I lostthis? I didn’t think I could live without his presence, the light he gave me. A breakup was one thing. He was still around, in a place where I could see him, hear him, touch him if I wanted to.
I wouldn’t make it without him. I knew that much.
Oberi sat at our feet, looking very lonesome.I think we’re overlooking one very crucial fact.
I blinked as the realization set in. “If you’re gone… who gets Oberi?”
“You, obviously,” Charlie said. “If I’m not around, you need him to protect you at the prison.”
“No! He has to go down to the Underground with you, to keep you alive until the rest of us can find you!” I insisted.
Charlie made a skeptical noise. “We haven’t found many clues on the Underground, and each one has just led us to a dead end.”
“We’re close. I know we are,” I insisted. “You’d just have to hold out long enough for us to locate where they took you.”
“Like hell,” Charlie growled. “You need to stay alive; that’s my priority.”
“Don’t you understand that I don’t care about living unless you’re there!” I shouted. “I don’t care if it’s messed up, or unhealthy, or whatever other kind of crap people would say about it. Everyone on this planet can go to hell, as long as you and me—”
He cut me off. “Listen to me. Ava, you…”
His voice broke. “You’re the best part of us. You’re smarter than me, braver than me… hell, we’re both prophesied to save the world, but I think you’re gonna be the one to do it, because when you put your mind to something, you don’t let anything stop you. I’m not like that. I can’t keep fighting unless there’s someone to fight for.”
His voice dropped. “Sometimes, when I’m at my lowest point, I think that you’re the only thing I like about myself.”
“Charlie…” I whispered. How could I manage to tell him that I felt the same way?
He cleared his throat. “I’ve done a lot of stuff to reconcile myself to my past, and I’ve accepted my fate. I’m ready to move on, wherever I’m going. I haven’t had a good life, that’s for sure, but what’s made it worth living is the friends I’ve made and the love I feel for you.”
Charlie stuttered on the last line, like he realized he slipped up and said something he hadn’t meant to. He went to say something more, but shut his mouth.
What more was theretosay, anyhow? Everything was out in the open. It was stupid of us to keep pretending we didn’t care about each other, because we did.
If only we had a few more days. I thought there was hope for us. I was certain we’d get back together again, if only we had the space to reconcile.
We ran out of time. The Warden took it from us.
We sat in silence for a moment, before Oberi shifted uncomfortably.There is a solution, though it is unpleasant, Oberi said slowly.
