Cotton nodded, his clean-shaven jaw tensing. Oh, no. I cringed at the memory of the last time he freed me from cuffs. The searing torture of the restraints melting my skin at the King’s Palace during my escape was something I’d tried to block out. Slate held out his wrists, not even questioning Cotton’s intention. He seemed to trust him immediately. “It’s fine. I’ll heal. Chrome and I helped you train with this ability, remember?”
Cotton took a deep breath and dropped into a squat so that he was eye-level with Slate. He placed his palms on the metal cuffs, and a few seconds later, the cuffs began to glow a hot red-orange until they melted. Slate’s breath increased as he closed his eyes against the agonizing pain, but he made no other sound until his hands were free. Luckily, within seconds, they began to heal.
I released a pent-up breath but then held it again as Cotton repeated the action once more to remove the shackles on his ankles. When he finished, Slate shook out his wrists and groaned from the rush of his magic and power coming back to life.
“Thanks, Cotton.” Slate slapped a hand to his shoulder and gripped him, a small smile on his face. “It’s been a while, right? It’s good to be back.”
I raised an eyebrow, wondering how Slate seemed to be carrying on a conversation with him. But I didn’t have long before Cotton hurried over to me, reminding me of how much more slender he was than Chrome and Slate.
“Nice to see you again, Princess. Or shall I call you ‘Queen’ now?”Cotton smirked above me.
I almost burst into tears again. “Is that—is that you speaking in my head?”
Cotton nodded as he said, “Yeah, I might’ve learned a few new tricks since you tossed my ass into Arcadia.”
My eyes widened. “I’m so sorry about that! Trust me when I say, be glad we did.”
Cotton lowered himself to my height as he had with Slate.“I am. Thank you.”
“It’s really good to hear you, Cotton.” Joy lifted my heart for him finally having a voice. Even if it was in an unconventional way that I hadn’t even known was possible.
“There’s a lot to catch you up on. But first, we gotta get you two out of here. Your ride is waiting for you just outside the gates.”
I angled my head, questioning who that could possibly be. But the suspicion quickly transformed into nervousness when Cotton hovered his palms over the cuffs on my wrists.
I took a steadying breath, bracing myself for the pain. “As if the first time you did this didn’t traumatize me enough. Let’s go a second round, shall we?” I joked, trying to distract myself from what was to come.
“Stop getting cuffed, and this wouldn’t be a problem, Princess,”Cotton returned with a crooked grin. He didn’t give me a chance to retort. Instead, he went straight for the restraints as he had with Slate’s, and I bit my bottom lip to fight off the pain. The metal heated abnormally fast, searing my skin and melting into it. Holding my breath to suppress my screams, I nearly passed out.
“Breathe, Gray.” Slate’s voice broke through my lightheadedness and racing heart.
I opened my eyes as Cotton backed away with his head bowed and remorse clouding his expression as he moved to squat between my ankles.
The burn on my wrists went to the bone, but it wasn’t long before my magic began soothing it with healing power. I winced when Cotton’s Kinetic energy began to heat the shackles on my ankles. And once again, the agony ripped through my feet, feeling as if someone were sawing them through to the bone with a jagged knife dipped in acid. Despite it feeling like an eternity, I forced deep breaths into my lungs until Cotton removed his hands.
Finally, I was free from the cuffs. The bliss of my magic flowing through my body once again rejuvenated me. At least I still had that.
A hand caught the arch of my back. I opened my eyes, spotting Slate at my shoulder, assessing me with worry in his hazel eyes. “Are you okay?”
Giving him a solemn smile, I said, “I will be.” My eyes welled with the tenderness that he offered me.
“We need to go. Shit’s getting wild up there.” Onyx stalked to the cell door, peering outside of it from left to right.
“What’s going on?” Slate asked, stepping in front of me.
I rolled my eyes. “I love how you think I can’t defend myself.”
Slate looked over his shoulder, shaking his head. “You’ve been weakened, and your magic has been diminished. You’re in no condition to fight.”
My shoulders slumped forward because he was right. But I’d be damned if I went down without a fight.
“I’m fine,” I grumbled, despite feeling lightheaded.
“Let’s go. It’s clear for now,” Onyx said with Cotton at his side, moving to exit together. Then Slate nudged me from behind for me to follow so he could take my flank.
I had yet to see beyond the cell, and I wasn’t surprised to find that it was dimly lit as Onyx and Cotton led us to freedom. Sounds of battle echoed from above. Metal on metal clanged together in rapid strikes, and shouts called out in a way that I was familiar with from all my time spent in combat.
“Okay, if either of you two wanna explain to me what the fuck is going on, now would be the time,” I murmured, anxiety climbing higher up my throat.
