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“Nikolaus!” Caspian’s voice was barely over a hiss, but we could hear well enough. He moved in closer, dropping the hood from his head and giving us a strained grin that was a shadow of his usual mischievous smile. The man knew the university inside and out, a ghost moving undetected. If he was here, it was either very bad or very good. He had been an ally and friend for years before this.
“Caspian,” Niko answered, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement. We’d seen enough to be skeptical of even those we were closest to, so he didn’t take a step away from our coven mates.
“I’ve known you all my life,” Caspian stuttered out at our cold reception, his smile falling. “And I refuse to let them murder you as part of whatever sadistic plan they have. I’m unlocking your cell, but if you value my life, you’ll wait a few hours before you leave.”
“What of your fate? Nothing slips past them, Caspian,” Niko warned, but our friend waved it off.
“Let me worry about my own fate, brother. I’m small and agile. I’ll be gone before they find me. I won’t stand for this sort of injustice, and I intend to spread the word of how far our university has fallen. I’ll leave supplies just past the trees on the edge of town,” he said confidently. With that, he pulled out a skeleton key and unlocked the door. We kept our conversation at a minimum before he was off again, disappearing into the shadows. They’d made a real enemy of him, and that was not good for them. The board had underestimated the loyalty among the guards. We’d been training, eating, and even sleeping in close quarters—for years, in some cases. We knew the character of our own, even if the council didn’t.
“How long do we wait?” I asked after his footsteps faded and the sound of the prison came back into focus. He must have had some sort of blocking charm on him, though we had been too distracted to notice before.
“Until nightfall, like we planned. Shift change happens at ten,” Niko said. “Rest until then, it will be a long night.”
“I’ll take the first watch,” I promised, knowing I’d be best able to handle the lack of sleep. He nodded, not bothering to fight me this time. Especially not when his omega needed him. They all settled onto the makeshift slabs our prison called beds, Niko and Levi squished together on one. Despite making an attempt, not one of them fell asleep. Each minute I spent among their mixed scents was driving me crazy. The alpha in me couldn’t walk through a cloud of fear and pain without wanting to do something about it, yet I knew if I acted now, I’d ruin our chances of a silent escape.
The hours passed slowly, but the bells eventually chimed ten. Shift change was in five minutes, which meant our men would be packing up and waiting at the door. Predictability worked in our favor this time. However, before we could go through the unlocked door, we had to burst through the barrier that they’d put just beyond it.
“Can you destroy the barrier quietly, Kane?” Niko asked, giving me a side eye, but there was a glimmer of excitement there.
“No, but Avi can silence it,” I countered. Our beta was our coven’s expert in dark magic, but his official specialty was in barriers, shields, and protective magic.
Avi nodded and rubbed his hands together, magic sparking between them before looking at me for my signal. I nodded, not wanting to hesitate. While he formed a sound barrier, I let my combat magic build, mixing it with my anger until it was all consuming. The beauty of my temper was that it complemented my specialty well, making me stronger than most. Many alphas still assumed emotions were a sign of weakness, but I knew the truth. Emotions were weapons to be molded, used. Anger and pain could aid in a fight more than any power-boosting concoction you could find on the street. And trust me, there were plenty that fell for those lies. Some witches were as bad as the humans with their infomercials.
“Go,” Avi said through clenched teeth, putting everything he could into upholding the barrier.
With that, I set my magic free, aiming every ounce of my fiery blast at the barrier and bars, bursting through the former then melting the latter into a puddle of liquid silver. With the amount of magic I’d pushed into it. The space my magic cleared was just enough for me to fit through, meaning my companions would have no trouble. Somehow, Avi’s magic made the attack silent, his magic easily consuming the after-effects of my spell. I gave a quick signal, and then we were on the move.
The others fell into line behind me, and we listened for a moment, ensuring it was clear. Despite the quiet, it was a risk to walk these halls, but it was one we had to take.
The prison was silent as we snuck through the halls, pausing outside of the guard room door. It was wide open, and when I dared to peek inside, I saw their backs were to us as they clocked in and checked shift notes. We took that as our opportunity, sneaking past in a rush. Thankfully, our block was empty. The previous day’s execution had cleared out the last of the cells.
Once we reached the prison doors, it was another moment of chance. This would be one of the only times we'd catch it unlocked, though there was still the risk of running into guards outside. Just in case, I channeled my magic again, letting it rest under the surface. It was primed to go, meaning it would be undetected by the guards but ready to use at a moment’s notice.
The fog had cleared outside, ruining our cover, but it also gave me a moment to scan the courtyard. Two guards rested at the far side, talking to each other. If only they continued their conversation, they’d be oblivious to our escape. I tipped my head to the left to direct the others before leading the way. We stuck to the side of the building, using the evening shadows to hide us the best we could as we skirted to the edge of campus.
"Hey!" The shout of a nearby guard had me instinctively reacting, so I smashed a sleeping spell at him. He hit the ground before he could alert anyone, and we couldn't linger. The fact that I knew the young guard, hell, we’d helped train him, just didn’t settle well with me, but we had no time to care. Now that he’d called out, we took off at a full sprint. The pounding of footsteps on the concrete behind us urged us forward. We made it to the treeline before the guards were able to assemble, coming after whatever had attacked the now sleeping guard. Niko was already grabbing the four bags with supplies and swinging them our way. I sent up a silent thanks for Caspian being smart enough to put them alongside the closest path to the forest.
"Where to now?" Levi asked as he ran along beside us. As an omega, he wasn't as muscled as we were, but he was hardy, stronger than he looked. The dad bod was definitely deceptive; our omega was feisty when push came to shove.
"North. I have a friend we can stop by for aid, then we’ll find a way to disappear. Somewhere secluded we can hide under the radar," Niko promised. That was the end of our talking, our focus on running to the closest bus station. We'd stick to human transportation for now. Thankfully, Caspian came through with money and maps, along with other supplies.
I was sweaty and even angrier by the time we reached the bus station. We'd dedicated countless years of loyal service to that university, knew it inside and out, yet we were framed so easily. It was hard to wrap my mind around, and I had half a mind to entrust the group to Niko and go back. Clear our name and make the board pay in blood for their betrayal. The world and university deserved to know the truth.
"Don't even consider it," Niko said, always a step ahead of me, even in my head. I glared at him in response and got myself back on task. It wouldn't do any good to blow up the university. Then I would truly be guilty of murder, and that wouldn’t help prove our innocence in any other matters.
"We're a team," Levi grunted next to me, his eyes hard as he stared over at me. "This has gone too far for us to turn away from each other now. And I'm telling you, something is changing. We're heading toward where we're supposed to be." We were a team; we had been for a long time now even though we were different from most. Most covens were larger, with several alphas, betas, and omegas in the mix. The more witches in a coven, the stronger it would be.
"You're a psychic now?" Avi mused, raising an eyebrow. He was the only one of us not covered in sweat, and I kind of hated him for it. We all trained and sparred, but he was an avid runner, and it showed.
The bus station was empty when we arrived, filling my stomach with dread. If we missed the last bus, we'd be walking all night. That was a ridiculous feat even for supernaturals.
"I'll do the talking," Avi volunteered. Honestly, he was the best fit for that. We waited, standing vigil on the platform, waiting for the guards to catch up to us. When he came back with four tickets, I almost sang his praises to the gods I'd never believed in before. "It should arrive in ten minutes, loading up in fifteen. It’s the last one for the night."
"Perfect," I said, but I wished it was sooner. Fifteen minutes was plenty of time for the guards to find us, and as a former guard, I knew how efficient they were. They'd chase us to the ends of the earth if given the order.
"No fight today, brother. The bus is early," Levi said gently, his hand on my arm. I took a deep breath and looked away from the forest, allowing the omega to guide me away. We didn’t stow our bags since keeping them on us was a necessity, and they were small enough to be carry-ons. We'd have a long journey ahead of us, and who knew if we'd run into trouble. If we stayed in one place for long, there wouldalwaysbe a risk. We were now fugitives, being hunted for crimes we didn’t commit until the day we died or someone cleared our name.
The last eight minutes before the driver took off were torturous. My eyes constantly scanned the forest, waiting for the guards to pop out. We were murderers in their eyes, and they would not be deterred by the humans’ presence.
