Slate’s eyes darkened, but he prowled closer to me. “You thought Ifakedmy love for you? That it was all a lie to use you?”
“Of course you did!” I rolled out my shoulders, stepping into a defensive stance.
“You’re smarter than that, Gray. Give yourself some godsdamn credit for once in your fucking life.” Slate swung an uppercut to my chin, catching me off guard.
In all our years together, Slate had never spoken to me like that. He’d never sounded so offended or shown this much anger toward me. Perhaps I never really knew him either.
The punch rocked my teeth together, making them chatter while my vision went blurry for several moments. But I didn’t care. I regained my footing, returning the blow to his clean-shaven jaw.
The pair of us fell into a violent dance of repressed emotions that we unleashed in messy ferocity. We didn’t hold back on the brutality, as if beating each other would resolve our confusing past.
With each blow and kick, I unleashed the rage I held toward him. I needed him to know the extent of the pain he’d needlessly caused me for the past two years.
Slate’s face shone crimson, blood painting his smooth features. I needed more.
After several minutes, I found myself lost in the lightning-fast whirlwind of our violence. Distantly, I felt his savage blows in return, but I grew numb to them as my emotions finally found their target.
“All you do is lie,” I grunted as I kicked him in the chest, knocking him off balance. “For him.” I stalked forward, my chest heaving as my vision tinted red from the blood dripping into my eyes. “Never me.” Taking advantage of his stumble, I grabbed him by the throat, squeezing it with all the strength my exhausted forearm could muster. “I’ll never be your fucking queen.” I headbutted the bridge of his nose and released my grip on his trachea as he dropped to his knees.
Slate’s shoulders sagged, and he made no effort to stand. His eyebrows drew together, and years of regret and turmoil tugged on his features, twisting my heart.
My throat clenched as my nose burned. “It was all a lie, Slate.” My voice cracked. I tried to tear my gaze from his bloodied face, but I couldn’t. It was like the version of him I had in my memories wastruly dead, but having this version of him—the real one—in front of me pretending to be that guy was more torturous than if he’d actually died. “Did I ever truly love you? Or did I love the idea of you?”
“Gray…” Slate shook his head, eyes pleading for me to listen to him. “You don’t underst?—”
“You’re right,” I cut in, my words shaky as I sniffled. “I don’t, because you, Chrome, and Onyx all seem to be in on this massive secret.” I wiped the tears collecting in the corners of my eyes, mingling with the blood that smeared across my face. “A secret that was about me. You made me trust you. I should’ve known there were ulterior motives behind it all. It’s all beginning to make so much sense now.” I inhaled, needing to stop the ringing in my ears from the pressure. The dam threatened to burst, but I couldn’t lose it. Not here.
“There’s so much you don’t know, Gray,” Slate pleaded, his voice sullen.
“Then fucking tell me! If I hear that godsdamn line one more time, I’ll gut whoever says it.”
Slate sighed. “Fine.”
I stood there holding my breath, wondering if he’d actually give me the whole truth—or fuck, anything of substance for that matter.
“Leading up to the time we met, there was a secret insurgency. Our plan was to perform a coup to remove Forest from power. We knew he was up to something big. We weren’t sure what, but things weren’t adding up with the increased Endarkened depletions at the time. Chrome and I were partners in the Warrior Guilds. Obviously, he was the most powerful, and it was then that he earned his status. But we grew up together. Trained together. We were more than cousins—we were brothers. And Peri…she was close with Hazel.” Slate dropped his chin, grief hollowing out his features before he continued. “There was a plan,” he said, looking up at me to pin me with his softened gaze. “You.”
“Me?” I asked flatly.
Slate nodded. “We knew Forest had a tight hold on you. We also thoughtit was ridiculous that you were fourteen and hadn't begun your standardized training yet. You were due to start at thirteen when your magic awakened. It was a security threat at first. Because we thought Elementals were the enemy, that put you at risk of being vulnerable and defenseless if they somehow kidnapped or attacked you.”
He rose to his feet, using his shirt sleeve to wipe the blood and sweat from his face. “I never lied to you when I said we didn’t know the extent of your father’s abuse until the first public punishment. None of us knew. Chrome couldn’t train you, so he insisted I did. I was the next best qualified, and he believed you’d trust me. But we needed the go-ahead from Forest first.”
“That day in the gym when you caught me crying? That wasn’t a coincidence, then?” I asked, feeling my lungs deflate.
Slate paused, guilt shining in his eyes. “No,” he replied. “Hazel told me where to find you.”
I worked to school my features. “Hazel, too?”
The knot in Slate’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “And Cotton. Onyx, too.”
I pulled my lips inward and closed my eyes, the betrayal of being on the outside of everyone’s secret stabbing me deeper and deeper with each word he spoke.
“Chrome knew that you were the true heir to the Kinetic throne as well as being a hybrid. He’d always known.” Slate clenched his fists at his side. “But it was my father, the leader of the insurgency, who suggested that we get to you first before Forest realized your value to the Guilds. Then one day, we would take him out, and you’d replace him. Except you’d be a fair leader.”
“So I was just part of your agenda?”
“No. The night I witnessed your first punishment, I lost it. I nearly stormed the dais to stop it myself at fifteen years old!” Slate threw his arms out wide, his eyes rounded. “Don’t believe me? Ask Onyx. He was there and stopped me.”
