Facing Brecken one last time, I nodded, steeling myself for what lay ahead.“Okay. Let’s go.”
Brecken closed his eyes and dipped his chin, just before he motioned with his first two fingers in strange patterns and shapes. The white lines that connected each movement glowed bright, and when he was finished, he held his hand out to the side. A sword materialized into one of his fists, while an average-looking jagged rock the size of a softball appeared in the other.
The sword, however, was a beautiful piece of art, oddly resembling a Kinetic or Elemental weapon with inscribed blue sigils glowing across the thin pearlescent blade. When Brecken handed it to me, a power that felt timeless and lawless surged up my arm and revitalized my energy. Pure magic in its rawest form flowed through it. I sheathed it at my waist, my weapons belt accommodating it.
Gingerly, he placed the stone into my palm and closed my fingers around it. After holding my gaze long enough to get the point across to protect it with my life, he backed away a single step, watching with sharp eyes as I tucked the stone into the inside of my jacket pocket.
“Grab hold of me, and don’t let go,” Brecken instructed. “It’stime.” Once again, he began to draw sigils and shapes in the air as the wind picked up around us.
Onyx’s fingers laced with mine, squeezing my hand just before he grasped onto Brecken’s biceps. A moment later, we were sucked into the wind and disappeared from the underbelly of the Wind Kingdom.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Gray
The icy floor infused into my bones, my head pounding as if someone had repeatedly stabbed my brain with a dagger.
I awoke to someone shrieking. The scream closed in on me, and when the incendiary fire destroying my stomach registered in my mind, I realized that I was the one screaming. My throat felt spliced apart, and the pain in my stomach felt as if someone had set an angry bonfire to my womb.
“Gray!” Slate cried out, panic in his voice.
My arms hugged my midsection, and sweat drenched my entire body, making the shirt I wore stick to my skin. I was both burning up and freezing at the same time. Nausea tore through me, ripping my insides open for me to dry heave on the floor.
When was the last time I ate?
My arms and legs shook violently, which didn’t help any when it came to the torment occurring in my lower abdomen.
My screams broke as my voice began to falter. I couldn’t breathe, and I wanted to pass out, but the pain snatched me awake every time the blackness consumed me.
A thundering crash echoed in the room, but I didn’t care tofind out what the cause was. I was being stabbed, shredded, and burned alive from the inside out. Nothing else existed beyond that.
“Gray.”Hisvoice pushed through the torture. “Gray, look at me.”
How could I?
“Little savage, it’s gonna pass. It should be almost over now.” Arms wrapped around me, tucking me close against a warm body. Too hot. His skin scalded me to the touch, making me scream more.
“Fuck,” Chrome hissed, setting me back on the floor. Every movement felt as if another bone snapped.
“What have you done?” Slate’s voice roared in the background. “I swear to fuck, Chrome…”
“Shut the fuck up. She’ll be fine. Just give it a few more minutes.”
My body convulsed, and more screams ripped from my chest. As Chrome predicted, the pain began to taper away—but not fast enough.
“You’re strong, Gray. You’ll pull through it.”
Hearing his voice angered me more than anything. I wanted nothing to do with him. “Fuck. Off,” I gasped through gritted teeth. My voice sounded unrecognizable.
No one said anything else as the agony continued to subside. I found myself rasping for air, sucking in oxygen like I’d been deprived for too long.
At last, the pain left me, leaving me completely drained and shaky. But something was wrong. I had no way of knowing what it was, but I knew something was missing. With trembling fingers, I placed my hand on my lower stomach, piecing together that it was the origin of the pain.
“What did you do to me?” I whispered, refusing to look at his face. It would only break my heart more.
“I didn’t do anything to you. Celanea…”
“You let her fucking touch me?” The anger I felt, theoverwhelming rage, was enough for me to bring this castle down on top of us if I wasn’t cuffed.
