“Gray!” Slate shouted from the side. “Gray, no!”
Onyx glanced at where she stood. With a waning complexion and crestfallen expression, I twisted around from where I lay to see what had happened.
Gray stood, her eyes glazed and focused on where Forest had been.
Slate fought to get to her, but Chrome held him back in his hold from behind. The icy smile plastered on his face chilled me.
I flipped back around, ignoring the remaining pangs from Forest’s offense. Forest was on his knees, Shadow standing directly behind him, holding a knife to his throat. The king’s hands clutched at his chest as his eyes blew wide. “Gray, please, no…” he wheezed.
“What’s happening?”I asked Onyx.
Onyx swallowed, dread darkening his bright eyes. “She’s depleting him. And I can’t stop her, or she’ll deplete me, too. She hasn’t quite mastered her control yet when she’s too diminished.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Gray
“Kill me, Daughter.”
My father’s voice in my head urged me to deplete him.
My power had been too drained to fight off the call. And when I saw him stab Cotton in the chest, I gave in. The moment Shadow appeared and held him in place with a knife pressed to his throat from behind, my essence hurled itself at Forest and latched onto his aura.
From Shadow’s hands, bright green electric volts—contrasting nicely with my father’s hair—fired and twined around his fingers. He grabbed Forest’s temples in his palms, and the former king’s eyes went wide. Then, Shadow stepped around Forest, leaving him to collapse to his knees, and he flattened his hand to the center of Forest’s chest.
No.Iwanted to kill him. Shadow couldn’t take that from me.
But just as I moved to stop him, he stepped away, leaving Forest’s head slumped against his chest. Weakened, but not dead.
When my father raised his chin, he met my eyes. I cocked my head curiously as a look of horror washed over his face, his eyes welling with tears.
“Gray. My daughter…” Forest bit his fist, as if whatever realization he’d been hit with suddenly consumed him. “I’m so sorry—I had—oh my gods…” He sank further to the ground to the point that he sat on his knees. “What have I done?” He gazed around at the scene before him, his horrified stare landing on Cotton on the ground.
And then he settled on Chrome, his jaw tightening as moisture filled his eyes.
I kept my essence attached to his, waiting to see what this sideshow was about.
“My daughter,” Forest whispered, his shoulders dropping. “I’m free now.” The slow delivery was solemn, heavy, and unsteady. “Celanea…she…she’s had a bond with me. Controlling me since before you or Chrome were ever born.”
“You’re lying,” I said, my voice flat.
“No,” Shadow replied. “He’s not. He’s been under her mind control, very similar to the way Chrome is, in fact. Except Forest isn’t an Infernal because he’s not a Celestial. Once I learned how to break the binding, I knew I had to do it.”
“I’m sorry.” His lip shook, and he bit on it as the weight of his actions seemed to crash into his newly freed conscience. “My fear and ambition grew too strong and?—”
“It’s too late. None of it can be undone.” I cut him off. “You’re a poison. And nothing can change that.”
“I know.” Forest looked up at the sky, clutching the sides of his head in despair.
“How didyouknow this, Shadow?” Slate asked.
Shadow shrugged. “I traveled on my own for a while. Worked for the human CIA and learned how to discover things that were meant to be deadly secrets without being caught, regardless of the tactics used.”
“How did you know that your magic would work to break it?” Onyx narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him.
Shadow gifted a smile to Onyx. “I didn’t, brother. I just hopedmy electricity would fry the dark, magical bonds on his mind and heart. I guess it worked.”
Brother.Thatwas how he wanted to tell Onyx such a massive secret?
