Slate dipped his chin in acknowledgment as she turned on heavy feet, trudging back toward the lifeless body on the ground.
Without giving me a chance to flee, Slate pulled me into his chest, caging me in while shielding me from the outside world. “It’s okay to grieve him, Gray.”
I shook my head, rubbing my forehead against his tee to hide my tears. “I’m tired of grieving men who aren’t dead.”
“He’s gone, Gray. That”—he hesitated, seeming to search for the proper noun to call him—“beingisn’t Chrome. That’s not our Chrome.”
“I know. But there’s still a chance to bring him back. I can’t just sit here and let him pick off the Hollow one by one to get to me.” My voice was muffled against his shirt.
“Everyone here is a sitting duck. Not just from him, but the Kinetics. Chrome helped construct these wards; he knows they’re weakening. And it’s only a matter of time before the Kinetics find us here, too.”
I swallowed. “Let me meet him out here tomorrow. Maybe I can try?—”
“No.” Slate’s voice grew hard. “Absolutely not.”
I leaned away, scowling at my first love. “You can’t stop me,” I insisted. “He clearly wants something with me. And it’s either he kills someone new every day, or I just nip it early on and save lives. I think I’ve done enough damage just by existing.”
Slate’s jaw rippled, his hands squeezing my shoulders before he bent lower to align his eyes with mine. “We can’t lose you, too, Gray.Ican’t lose you. Everything I’ve done—it’s been for you. I couldn’t save him, but I will die trying to keep you alive.”
Mixed emotions swirled within my chest, a wild maelstrom thathad me too close to breaking down. I couldn’t do it. Not here. Not in front of everyone.
My breaths transformed into desperate pants as oxygen fought to make its way to my lungs. “Slate…” I gasped. “I can’t?—”
I looked around at the crowd of Elementals. I was their queen now. This wasn’t the sign of strength they needed in times like these, to witness her crumble into the meltdown she’d been fighting off for the past two months.
Slate’s eyes widened. “Come on, Princess.” Grabbing my hand, he pulled me away from the crowd, rushing across the Hollow’s grounds.
My element grew angry within me, thrashing wildly in my chest. It wasn’t long before it took control and began whipping around us in rapid gusts as my electric blue currents darted up and down my arms and neck.
Slate pushed through my wind, his eyes squinted and focused ahead of him. Soon, he gave up on tugging me by my hand and cradled me against his chest to carry me instead.
It hadn’t escaped me how much he’d bulked up over the past two years. When we first met, he’d been slim but strong. As we grew older, he’d continued to pack on muscle, especially after Chrome had disappeared and Slate had replaced him as the most decorated Kinetic Warrior. He’d taken his responsibilities seriously, which meant being in the best physical shape he could manage.
Now, though, his body rippled with power in ways that it hadn’t just a few years ago.
As he carried me with ease, I realized with a sinking heart that he’d held back on me a lot back in the training room. My wind blew harder, knocking him back a step.
Slate must’ve caught on that one was aimed at him. He looked down at me with a frown.
I glared up at him, latching onto my anger. “You held back on me this morning.”
Slate’s eyes softened. “I have to.”
“Chrome didn’t.” Memories of Chrome training me, his ever-present smirk when he found it amusing to push me to my limit. Like the time he rained Elemental blades on me to force me to manipulate the air into a shield. My heart hurt remembering how shocked and proud he’d been when I’d formed a weapon from my element and sent it back at him.
“That’s different,” Slate said, breaking me out of my memories.
“How?” I demanded as Slate continued to carry me past the lodge, toward the farmland on the property.
“Because he’s your Twin Soul. You’re equals in every way,” Slate stated. “You match each other and complement one another in ways that make it a fair fight.” He refused to meet my eyes as he spoke, raising another underlying instinct within me that he still withheld information. This time, I didn’t have the strength or energy to push it.
By the time we reached the fields, the wind that swirled around us, caused by my magic, had slightly tamed. Slate carefully set me down on unsteady legs before stepping back to give me space.
His eyes held mine, imploring me to listen. “You have every right to hate me, Gray. Gods, I wouldn’t forgive me either if I were you. Believe me, I wished more than anything I could’ve warned you that I had to fake my death, but you had to believe it, too. Otherwise, your father would’ve questioned it and sought me out. But please know, it’s always been my goal to protect you, since the first time your father punished you in public. And Chrome’s, as well,” Slate explained, leaning his head back to look at the sky, exhaling. “But I didn’t bring you out here to make you forgive me. I need you to know that I am genuinely so fucking sorry for everything you’ve gone through because of me. And now, because of Chrome, too.”
My anger toward him stumbled at the confession. “Did it—” I started, unsure if I wanted to go there right now. But maybe if I began to mend the shattered relationship I had with Slate, it wouldallow me to focus more on the shit ahead. “Did it hurt you to see me with Chrome?”
A sad, crooked smile inched up one side of his face. “Yes, and no. But this isn’t about me right now. I need you to know that I’m not going anywhere. The only way you’ll get rid of me is if I die protecting you,” he promised, pinning me with a determined gaze. “I’m here to help you in any way I can. You’re my queen, and I’ll forever serve and protect you.”
