“Ready?” Marcus asked.
“Ready,” I said. Kallie took one of my hands, while Marcus took the other. Our magic combined, funneling into the cuffs. My head spun, and my body swayed, but I didn’t stop until I heard the crack of stone. The cuffs fell off my limbs and onto the floor, and I finally felt like I could breathe again.
Charlie!Oberi cried.Ava’s lost it!
Oberi’s hooves hit the ground, and she whinnied loudly, but Ava continued to sink her knife into Danielle’s chest, even though she was long gone.
“Ava!” I jumped out of my chair and grabbed her wrist as she drew the blade back once more. “Ava, it’s all right. I’m right here.”
Her whole body trembled beneath my touch. The knife clattered out of her hand as she reached for me. “She hurt you, Charlie.”
“It’s over,” I told her, getting to my knees beside her. “Danielle’s gone.”
“And we don’t have much time!” Marcus added. “We’ve got to go, before the Warden shows up.”
“Give us a fucking minute,” Ava snapped. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I squeezed her close to my chest. Her healing magic filled me up as we embraced, knitting together the wound on my neck.
Ava ran her fingers through my hair, catching in the tangle on the back. She gasped. “What did that bitch do— ohno!She ruined yourbeautiful hair!”
I reached back to feel, and I found a good chunk of my hair was missing, the ends all crusted and burnt. I had a bald spot the size of my palm, and some of the scalp had been singed. I winced as I pulled my hand away. “She knocked me out with a torch.”
“You can worry about his hair later,” Marcus demanded. “Right now, we need to get out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere until this is fixed! My poor baby, what did she do to you?” Ava cooed. She put her hand to the burn. I felt the injury heal, and my hair grow back to its usual length.
“There. That’s better,” Ava said proudly, stroking my head like I was her pet. “Nowwe can go.”
“This place is warded down tight,” Kallie pointed out. “We have to get out of the manor so we can portal out.”
I hoisted Ava onto Oberi’s back. She’d sliced open the saddle straps to launch herself at Danielle, so I used my illusion abilities to mend them before I refastened them around her legs. We hurried out of the room, into a large foyer.
The commotion from earlier had died down, but Mad Dog was still yelling obscenities. I heard the tearing of fabric, then Eddie’s voice as he said, “Oh, put a sock in it!”
Mad Dog’s insults turned to muffled screams as Eddie shoved something in his mouth.
“You won’t get away with this!” Deuce sneered from somewhere on the floor.
Heavy footsteps approached, but my magic recognized them as friends. It was the twins Asa and Ares. Gavyn cleared his throat from nearby. The Elvish Associates had shown up and somehow kicked the demigods’ asses, though I didn’t know how they managed.
“Whathappenedhere?” I asked.
“The Elvish Associates have a few cameras scattered around the palace,” Marcus said. “The picture isn’t great due to all the magic, but once they realized you were missing, they pulled up the footage. They got Danielle on camera, and we recognized her.”
“You bet your ass I recognized her,” Ava seethed.
“Uh, yeah. Ava lost her fucking shit when she realized it was Danielle who took you,” Marcus added.
“Told you she was nuts,” Ava grumbled.
“Sorry, pidge,” I said. Ava huffed.
“The Warden wouldn’t take you to an imprisonment camp, as he wants to watch you personally,” Asa added. “Abigail knows where the Warden keeps his prisoners, as she was once imprisoned here before, so we portaled here to get you out.”
“Thanks for the rundown,” I said flatly. “But I meant what happenedhere, to all these demigods.”
“Oh, it’s simple really,” Eddie said. “While on the way to rescue you, I was overcome by a strong magic, an urge to protect, really, and it awakened my Elvish powers! By the goddesses, I’m a Grand Master! I can phase solid objects in and out of existence, almost likereversingillusions. I can phase through walls and the like as if they’re nothing. I siphoned Deuce’s super strength and punched him into the floor. It was quite thrilling, really— unlocked something deep inside of me. I phased the concrete foundation around him, and now, he’s stuck. Just his head is poking out!”
Just as he said it, my foot landed on something soft, and Deuce let out a scream. I’d literally just stepped on his face.
