I screamed, a raw guttural shriek that I swore shook the cliff we stood within. Chrome’s smile dripped with venom, pure victory shining in his lifeless eyes.
No. No. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I watched as Slate slumped forward, just before Chrome grabbed hold of his biceps and yanked him back up, never taking his eyes off me. I stood paralyzed in fear and shock, but even if I could move, I knew I couldn’t outrun Chrome, not as weak as I was. Plus, how could I leave Slate behind?
Chrome casually strode over to me as he dragged Slate’s limp body along beside him. “Finally,” he said, bringing himself only an inch away from my face. “This time, I won’t let you go.” He snagged hold of my wrist, just as the shadows wrapped around us and we disappeared from the Wind Kingdom.
“It’scute that you thought you two got rid of me.” Chrome chuckled as he tightened the metallic cuffs around my wrists and ankles from where I sat on the floor, severing my ties to my magic.We were in the same cell as before, but I was attached to a different set of chains this time. These were attached to the ceiling, allowing my arms more slack than the previous ones, but when I sat down, my hands were still forced to dangle uncomfortably above my head.
I refused to cry. I couldn’t let him see me weak. It would only make the situation worse.
I risked a glance at where he discarded Slate, who sat slumped against the opposite wall of the cell. Unlike last time, chains were cuffed around his wrists and ankles. The fear that he was dead, and this was Chrome’s sick way of making me face that, began to choke me.
“Don’t worry. He’s not dead yet. You know as well as I do that he’ll heal. But I can’t let him live for much longer. He’s been in the way since I was sixteen. I can’t have him stopping me from having what’s mine anymore,” Chrome said, as casually as if he were displeased with a haircut.
I didn’t speak, my nose burning from the onslaught of tears I barely kept at bay, wishing I’d had more time to find a way to save him. Once he finished cuffing me, he stepped back and lowered himself until we were eye level. My heart fractured at the sight of him. Even now—with blackened veins and all—he was still so beautiful. So painfully beautiful that I wanted to kiss him with some hope that it would bring him back to himself. He gazed into my eyes, but it wasn’t the loving look I was used to. This was dead and barren. An empty shell with an insidious being within.
“My queen,” Chrome whispered. “I have you to myself at last. Remember when I told you I’d always find you?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, the memories of his sincere words slicing deep. I nodded. “Of course.”
“Because I always will. You can’t run from me, little savage. We’reone and the same. And there’s nowhere you can go where I can’t find you or get to you,” he said, reaching out a hand, placing it firmly against my thigh. “You’ve missed me.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, nodding. “Of course I have.”
“I’m here now, my queen. You’re safe with me,” he said, twisting the words he’d once told me into something much darker. Chrome glided his palm up my thigh. And despite the situation, my stomach did a flip just feeling his touch again. “Come into the darkness with me, little savage. That’s where we belong together.”
“I don’t belong there, Chrome,” I replied, my voice coming out weak. “At least not for good.”
“Well, what if I gave you a taste of it? How freeing it can be? Especially together?” He’d inched closer to my face, his lips only a hair’s breadth away from mine. His tongue slipped between his lips and slowly slid along my bottom one.
The moment his tongue made contact, I whimpered. I knew it wasn’t truly Chrome, but what if this was the best version of him I could get? He sounded like him now, and the way his voice had lowered seductively began to break down my resistance.
“But—” I panted.
“But, what, my queen? I know there’s a part of you in there that longs for the darkness. That yearns for the freedom to no longer care anymore,” he whispered in my ear. “I can be your guide.” His teeth lightly clenched around my earlobe. “I’ve missed you, Gray. So fucking much. I’ve been unbalanced without you.”
My head rolled to the side, giving him more access. The idea that I was chained and he had full control of me thrilled me. Hell, if I were going to die here, then at least I’d receive some form of pleasure before I did.
And maybe this could bring him back to himself, like before, when he’d get near me or touch me, and it would chase away his devolution symptoms. I clung to the hope that I could still have that effect on him. It was a slim chance, but it was my finalshot at restoring him.
And gods, I’d fucking missed him. If this was the only way to be close to him…
“That’s my girl,” he praised as I offered him more access to my neck. He took it, slowly and teasingly licking and kissing the sensitive skin, before gently clamping down on it.
All I wanted at this point was to touch him, but seated with my hands cuffed above my head, I was restricted. All I could do was receive whatever he wanted to give me.
His mouth slowly trailed from my neck downward, where he slid his hand up my shirt. The feel of his skin on mine again set me ablaze, regardless of the situation. It felt like coming home.
Chrome removed his head from my neck before pressing a kiss to my lips as his hand roamed over my torso beneath my shirt. I moaned, which prompted a victorious smile from him.
That smile…it was his true smile; the one that reached his eyes and brought them to life while propelling my heart back into rhythm at the same time. His eyes changed from the dark black depths of being Infernal to the wild vortex of his quicksilver irises.
I had the real Chrome with me now, and I could’ve cried. But I wouldn’t waste this moment. Who knew how long we had?
“It’s me, Rainbow,” he whispered, his eyes glistening with relief and joy. “You brought me back again.”
I kissed him, but harder this time, wanting more of him, needing more of him. Before I knew it, our tongues warred against one another, hungering to match the growing flames inside my chest.
