Page 159 of Break Out the Girl

A second owl. Larger, completely snow-white, its feathers catching the moonlight like a ghost.

The two birds dance through the air, dipping and diving in perfect synchronicity before Sky swoops back down toward the campfire. The moment her talons touch the grass, she shifts back, landing on her knees with a breathless gasp.

Her face is completely flush, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and tears.

I kneel beside her, wrapping the blanket back around her shoulders. “Whoa, that was amazing. How do you feel?”

She looks up at me, then switches her gaze to Tally, then Layla and finally Clay.

“Guys,” she breathes. “It’s Immy!”

The entire camp goes dead silent.

The only sound is the crackle of a burning log spitting sparks into the air.

“How?” I croak.

“When he shifted,” Sky explains, her voice trembling, “he felt well again. He didn’t die! He told me he can keep living, but only in his owl form.”

I fall back on my heels in shock. Clay lets out a sob. “But, but—is he happy?”

Sky beams. “More than you could ever imagine. It’s like Immy is all owl now, but he still knows us.” She turns, pointing a small finger toward a low-hanging oak branch just a dozen feet from the fire’s edge.

The white owl is there, his knowing eyes roaming over us all.

“He’s been following,” Sky whispers, her voice choking a little. “Ever since you left Quo. He was so happy when you found me.”

She swallows hard, a tear finally slipping down her cheek, even though she’s smiling. “He’s here with us, and he’s so glad that we can know that now. Know that he’s part of our family.”

I look back up at Imran, meeting his wise gaze.

“You’re home,” I tell him. “Thank you for making our family complete.”

EPILOGUE TWO

AURORA: EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER

Tomorrow is the big day.

I stand in the center of the quad, looking up at the towering stone archway of the newly christened ‘Ashgrave Academy of Learning’.

Almost two years ago, these walls were coated in the grime of oppression and the damp of misery.

Now the building gleams a rich brick-red in the October sunlight. The security perimeter is gone, and there are no longer bars on the windows.

The campus is buzzing with last minute fixes.

A piercing whistle sounds across the yard, and I look over to see Clay, hands on hips, directing Tally’s boom-lift. The welcome banner is finally going into place.

Yes!

"If he prints one more itinerary, I’m going to set his laptop on fire,” a familiar voice grumbles. Cosmo walks towards me, sharply dressed as ever. Holding his hand, and beaming, is Theo. “It’s his coping mechanism,” she grins up at him. “You two are peas in a pod.”

“I’m nothing like de Vaux!” Cos grunts in disgust.

I exchange glances with my sister-in-law. ‘Yeah, right,’ the look says.

“He’ll chill once he’s a student again, not an administrator,” I tell my brother.