Read Not Your Average Happy Ending for Free Online Page A

for him. I was looking for Dax. The one person I hated more than anyone else. I wasn’t going to let a banshee get in my way of finding him.
    “Bring it on then,” I said. I thrust my hands in front of me, sending a blast of light toward her. She jumped, high into the trees, though it singed the bottom of her dress.
    “Great. You just pissed off a banshee,” Sam yelled.
    “We need to get her down on the ground again.” The wind whipped around us and I took deep breaths, trying to calm my emotions. I heard her before I saw her. Her haunting scream of death. “Sam, get down.”
    Gizelle’s shadow fell on both of us and I raised my arms to block her attack. Tendrils of darkness flew from her hands, heading straight for my face. She barely missed me as I flattened myself to the ground.
    Sam wasn’t so lucky. Gizelle’s claws dug into his shoulders as she lifted him off the ground. He shouted a few profanities before I lost sight of him.
    Cursing under my breath, I ripped my shirt off and straightened my wings. I didn’t hesitate, just stretched my wings a bit before launching myself into the sky.
    I’m not going to lie. I wasn’t a good flyer. I wobbled and almost fell twice before I reached the treetops. Maybe I should have practiced before I tried saving someone’s life.
    My feet skimmed a few leaves as I hovered in the air and searched the sky for Sam. I heard him swear a few more times, but he sounded like he was below me.
    Before I made my way to the ground again, Gizelle burst through the treetops, still holding on to him. When she saw me her eyes widened in surprise. I’m sure she didn’t expect me to be flying as well. We stared at each other a moment before her anger was back and she shot up toward the sky and without warning, dropped Sam from her grasp.
    All I could do was watch as he fell, knowing whatever I had to do to save him was going to hurt.
    And I was right.
    I reached out, grabbing his hand as he passed me and something snapped in my shoulder.
    Then—we were falling.
    “Ash, use your wings!” Sam’s voice was panicked.
    “I’m trying!” I focused on keeping both of us in the air and to my surprise, my wings kept us up. They were stronger than they looked. Besides getting a few scratches from the tree branches, I lowered both of us to the ground unscathed. Well, sort of. My arm was killing me. And Sam pretty much looked like crap with blood dripping from his shoulders.
    Gizelle screamed again. And I whirled around to see her furious face a few yards away and coming fast.
    Sam jumped to his feet as she passed and vines shot out of the ground around him. They wrapped around her ankles and pulled her down toward the earth. “I can’t hold her very long,” he said. His brow was etched with sweat and by the look on his face I knew he was in a lot of pain.
    Gizelle hissed, threw back her head and screamed again. Sam and I both covered our ears at the sound and sank to our knees.
    The vines held, but a few snapped as she struggled.
    For a terrifying moment, Gizelle’s eyes met mine. “Know this, Ash Summerland. She will die. And there is nothing you can do to save her.”
    The wind picked up again and I welcomed it. “Hang on to something!” Sam nodded and wrapped his arms around a tree trunk. I focused the wind on Gizelle. Her eyes widened as a small whirlwind formed around her. It spun faster and faster and a smile crept to my lips. Darkness engulfed my mind and I shook my head, knowing the djinn part of me was taking over. I tried to push it away, but couldn’t. The wind picked her up off the ground like a leaf and I sent a stream of light into its wake. The tornado shot into the sky, Gizelle in its grasp. I could still hear her wailing, even after I lost sight of her.
    The darkness left as quickly as it came and I sank to my knees, exhausted.
    “Well, that went well,” Sam said.
    “I should have gone with her. Then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” I frowned, remembering her