Gray’s skin had paled significantly since our walk out of the prisons, and her eyes were beginning to droop. I could tell she was fighting to keep from swaying on her feet. The slight movement was there, but she’d right herself at the last second.
Forest scoffed at his daughter, leveling Onyx with a glare. “I want my daughter back.”
Onyx raised a brow. “Which one?”
I held my breath, wondering why Onyx was taunting him.
Forest sneered. “Clever boy. And how did you come to that conclusion?”
Onyx smiled. “She made a great prisoner. And all I had to do to get her to sing was to treat her like the little whore that she is.”
My eyes widened.“What the fuck are you doing, Onyx?”
He didn’t acknowledge my question; he just warred with Forest in a glaring match.
Forest straightened his suit, unsuccessfully trying to hide the reddening of his face. “I underestimated you, Valor. Being Grim’s nephew and all, I didn’t think you truly had the brains to survive on your own. But I see you took after your father in more ways than I gave you credit for. I should’ve had more eyes on you. Should’ve had you exterminated like the fucking pest you are.” Swiping at his cuff links before fixing his quiff, he added, “Better late than never. Am I wrong?”
Forest’s white currents raced up his neck as he fixed Onyx in his sight. Onyx began to cough, softly at first, before it quickly turned into a harsh hacking. Blood flew from his mouth, staining his lips and chin.
I watched it in slow motion.
Slate and Chrome slipped back into a swift and deadly fight, one that appeared evenly matched. Slate’s light fought off Chrome’s shadows, chasing them away, and they fought only with fists and magic, no weapons.
Onyx dropped to his knees, holes forming in the flesh on his face. He screamed between coughs as his body began to disintegrate from Forest’s radioactive gamma rays.
“Onyx! No!”
Without a thought, I lunged for the king. Tackling him to the cobblestones, I straddled his waist and lobbed punch after punch to his face. The sword’s power buzzed at my waist, but I couldn’t risk exposing it yet. It was meant for Celanea, last resort. Forest could be killed much more easily.
But I only got so many hits in before I felt my insides begin to burn. Hot, fiery pain set me alight, and next thing I knew, I began to cough, hacking just like Onyx.
Forest shoved me off of him to the side. I felt like I was melting from within, and the coughing ripped me to shreds. Blood pooled onto my fist, and then my stomach roiled, nausea snatching me for another ride as I vomited.
“I should’ve fucking killed you when I killed your mother,” Forest seethed as he wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth just before he punted me in the ribs with his pristine loafers. I felt a crack, and the move made my vision go black. “Fucking traitor.”
Forest squatted at my side, a dagger clutched in his fist. It didn’t glow blue like a Kinetic blade, but the metal blade glinted several shades darker than average. I thought I saw black wisps snake up the flat side of the dagger just before Forest plunged it deep into my chest.
I heard “No!” echo in the distance.
Before my brain could register it, I snatched the blade from my sternum, and my back arched off the ground from the pain. Thankfully, it seemed Forest missed my heart. Barely.
My sight winked out, and my head grew too light. Luckily, my body was already beginning to heal.
When my vision returned, my heart lodged itself in my throat. From the corner of my blurry vision, I spotted the Seraphite Stone just a foot from my body. It must’ve fallen out when Forest kicked me, or maybe when I tackled him.
“What—” Forest said in wonder.
Fuck. He saw it.
Through my pain, I scrambled over to grasp hold of the stone once again. Forest rushed forward, his hand almost closing around it just half a second before mine. But at the last second, his hand disappeared into a thick cloud of smoke.
I didn’t question it, taking the stone in my grasp as Forest’s magical onslaught receded. Lying on my back, I sucked in a fresh breath of air from the relief.
“Cotton!” Onyx skidded on his knees at my side, his panickedexpression appearing in my line of sight just above me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, waiting for the pain to completely disappear as my body healed from the internal wounds.“You?”I asked him mentally.
The pocked holes in his skin had faded to angry red marks. He ran his fingers through my hair, his beautiful amber eyes darting around as they assessed me. “I’m fine now.” He cupped my jaw. “Don’t do that shit again.”
