“Don’t listen to her. The four of you need to get out. Don’t worry about us,” Daddy demanded. He was in chief mode, using his authoritative tone to tell me to run. But how could I leave them here?
One of the guards punched Daddy across the face, and Mama gasped. I cringed, but Daddy spat blood onto the guard’s boots and shot him a glare. “This is child’s play. I’ve been through more than that in my day.”
“You two have caused me enough trouble,” Jaymin snarled at him. “Be silent.”
“We should’ve never stopped searching for you until we found you,” Mama growled. “It was a mistake to let you go.”
“We all have regrets, Sophia,” Jaymin replied coldly.
Jaymin’s attention returned to me, and her voice dropped to a deadly tone. “Ava-Marie, if you or your friends make a move to harm us, your mother and father will be killed. It’s best to do as I say.”
Kallie hesitated and glanced at me.
Marcus whispered, “Ava, what do we do?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as a thought crossed my mind. Had Kallie and Marcus’ parents gotten off campus without being captured? What if they were being held somewhere, too? I knew we were all thinking the same thing as I observed the stricken look on my friends’ faces. We had no idea who Jaymin was holding hostage. We could be killing off all our families if we made an effort to escape.
“Professor Vengier, why are you doing this?” Marcus asked in a wobbly tone.
“Her name isn’t Vengier. That’s JayminRiske,” Daddy spat. “The war criminal.”
I froze in shock. I’d heard of Jaymin Riske— everyone in the tribe had— but hadn’t made the connection. She’d used child soldiers and committed terrible crimes during the Hawkei Civil War. I had no idea she was still alive. She hadn’t been seen in over twenty years, and was rumored to be on the run. I couldn’t believe she’d surfaced here, at the prison.
“Actually, I went back to my maiden name after my husband had anunfortunate accident,” Jaymin replied simply. “So don’t accuse me of being too dishonest.”
My gut twisted with horror. “You killed him.”
“He wasn’t on board with the plan,” Jaymin spat. “He was willing to doanythingduring the Hawkei Civil War to win, but he insisted getting involved in the affairs of other supernaturals went too far. It was so sad that tree crushed him, but if you’re as dedicated to the cause as I am, you’ll do whatever it takes to win. A sad liability I had to get rid of.”
“You’re a monster,” Mama said, with all the hatred in the world.
“Don’t you morons understand? If the Hawkei can align themselves with the angels, we can elevate the status of our race. We can preserve the line of the tribe, and what’s more,wecan decide the fate of other supernaturals. The Elementai will finally be one of the dominant magical races, instead of being forced to live at the bottom!” Jaymin ranted.
“The Warden isn’t going to share power,” I growled. “You’re delusional if you think he’ll let anyone have a say in how the world is run besides himself.”
“Doctor Taurus is a visionary. I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Jaymin said scathingly. “But we’re not here to convince you to our side. Bring her to me.”
“Ava—” Charlie cried, but he fell forward trying to get to me.
The guards forcibly dragged me to Jaymin. I didn’t know how this could get worse.
Ava!Oberi’s magic was so strong, it broke the bonds around her and set her free. She managed to get to her hooves. She charged forward, her horn down. She pointed it at Jaymin, aiming for the heart.
Jaymin whirled around and fired the gun. Both Charlie and I reeled backward as we felt the bullet sink in. My breath caught in my throat as Oberi went down, collapsing mid-gallop and sinking to the floor.
“No!” Charlie and I both screamed at the same time. Oberi changed into a husky mid-fall. Jaymin had shot him in the shoulder. Blood gushed from the wound.
Shock overtook my entire form as I watched my Familiar pant on the floor. Tears spilled out of my eyes as it sank in that she’d actuallyshotOberi.
“I need to help him!” I screamed. I struggled against the guards, who yanked me back into place. Charlie managed to pull himself free, but the guards shoved him back down to the ground.
“I’ll shoot your Familiar again if you don’t comply,” Jaymin threatened. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
Oberi let out a few painful cries. He lay in a pool of his own blood. My poor dog was in so much pain.
Ava, don’t worry about me, Oberi rasped.I’ll… regenerate even if she kills me.
We don’t know that for sure.I stopped struggling and went limp immediately. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Oberi, even if it meant doing what Jaymin said. I knew there was a possibility that he’d come back, but I didn’t want to take that chance, or put him in more pain if Jaymin shot him again.
