With a crooked grin, he replied, “The name’s Shadow. A secret’s favorite hiding place.”
I stepped closer to him, craning my neck to examine his features clearly. His hair blended with the darkness, cropped close to his head on one side with side-swept bangs on the other. “Why do you want to kill him?”
The man raised his upper lip into a sneer, anger burning in his bright amber eyes. “Because he killed me.” He tilted his chin upward to glare down his nose before he laughed sardonically. “Or so he thought.”
“Probably deserved it,” I said with a shrug.
The strange Kinetic bit his bottom lip, angling his head. “Ah, there it is. That fire he loved so much about you.”
I narrowed my eyes, squeezing the hilts of my daggers.
Taking a step closer, he closed the gap separating us. “Hear me, and hear meveryfucking clearly, Princess.” His breath wafted over my face. “One day, I will break him. So slowly. And not in the ways that Forest did. This time, I’ll make sure he never recovers.” With the blade of his dagger, he trailed the sharp edge lightly from my cheekbone down to my neck. “You’re the perfect bait to catch such an elusive man.”
I flinched at the threat just before thrusting my dagger toward his gut. At the last second, he disappeared in a shroud of darkness, his laughter echoing as the shadow fled the alley, leaving me staring at the space he’d just occupied in disbelief.
I trekkedthrough the woods that led from town into the rural areas of Perry to head back to the Hollow. Distant hints of the rising sun peeked through the landscape, presenting the faintest of pale light. It seemed to be nearing seven a.m. Thehumidity this time of year sucked. The sticky air mixed with the heat, making me itch as droplets of sweat trickled down my neck and spine. My clothes were drenched as the sweat clung to every crevice in my body, while vacuuming the air from my lungs it seemed.
Of course, the tug on the bond had gone silent since my encounter with the mysterious Kinetic. I couldn’t help but wonder what else Chrome had been hiding.
I seethed as I crunched through the leaves and used my sword to slice through the branches that hung too low. I’d slid my bracelets in place to mask my energy from being detected by any Kinetics, hoping to make a seamless trek back to the Hollow.
For the millionth time since it happened, I wondered about Cotton and Scarlett, whether they were safe. The last time I’d seen them, Scarlett had been unconscious in Cotton’s arms from the deprivation in the King’s Palace prisons. Chrome and I had demanded Cotton take her through the portal we’d created in the Palace prisons after dealing with Amethyst. At the time, I trusted that Chrome knew where they would end up.
If it hadn’t been for Scarlett’s brother, they’d be dead. When the Kinetics had attacked the Hollow, Cardinal had been there and had sought me out to warn that Scarlett, Cotton, and Hazel were expected to be put to death. I had suspected he’d been laying a trap, and after the way everything went down at the King’s Palace later that day, I still wasn’t entirely convinced that it hadn’t been. Cardinal still remained at the Perry Hollow as a guest, but no one completely trusted him. With every Kinetic battle that cropped up, the others cast a suspicious eye upon him.
Too lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the darkening of the woods surrounding me.
I reached my senses out, my insides twisting. Natural wildlife didn’t exist here. No birds chirped. Frogs didn’t call out to the stars. The only sounds belonged to my combat boots traipsing through the stiffened brown leaves.
I paused, looking around me to observe the trees that were nowshrouded in a heavy shadow. Their branches twisted, becoming painted in black. I knew from experience not to touch anything. Poison sap dripped from the trees and ran down the trunks, and it took an act from the gods to keep you from death.
I skirted around and through the claw-like branches that seemed to reach for me, being sure to avoid as much contact with them as possible. It was pointless to waste my magic reserves on putting up an air shield to protect myself. Whatever was wrong with these trees allowed them to penetrate the shields with ease. Based on the limited information Orion and I had, we suspected that the sickly magic had something to do with the Tempests, the wicked Arcadian beings who wielded dark magic.
After creeping through this patch of Arcadia for what felt like an hour, I released a stifled breath when I spotted healthy greenery and the distant songs of crickets and cicadas that brought life to the landscape again. I’d made it back into my world, I realized, recognizing this path in the woods. The Hollow was close.
Exhaustion washed through me, weighing down my limbs and seeping into my bones. Another hour passed as I pushed myself toward the hillside where the Hollow sat hidden behind the wards. Onyx had shown me how to leave and enter the gates of the Hollow by having his wards recognize my magic. So, I released what little I held inside me into the lock, allowing the metal gate to swing open.
When the Elemental King and Queen were killed, Orion—the king’s brother—took control of the monarchy. Nearly two decades later, Forest declared war. With the human military on his side, it wouldn’t have been long before the Kinetic armies completely eradicated the Elementals. In a last-ditch effort to spare his people, Orion broke up the kingdoms from around the world and stepped down as king, allowing the regions to be self-governed. In response, Elementals formed Hollows—hidden dominions spread out to make it harder for Kinetic abilities to find.
The lodge and cabins that made up our Perry Hollow had once been a luxury resort, but were left abandoned during the war. AfterOrion and his people found it and moved in, it became the leading Hollow of the Elementals, since their king and queen—Chrome and myself—would eventually reside there.
I walked through the front doors of the lodge. Either the others hadn’t returned from the battle yet, or they still slept, because no one sat in the lounge. The massive oak tree stretched up from the floor to the ceiling, reminding me of the first time I laid my eyes on it with Chrome by my side. A pang shot through my heart at the memory.
Anger had warped me, making me care for nothing besides my own determination to find solutions to all of the problems plaguing me and our world. As a result, I’d effectively distanced myself from everyone.
My shoulders drooped, releasing the tension from tonight’s events as I made a quick getaway to bed. I’d debrief Orion and Onyx after I’d had rest. Trudging through bits of Arcadia always seemed to sap every bit of strength and energy from us, as if it were trying to drain our life-force.
I climbed the winding staircase, each step making it feel like bricks were strapped to my ankles. With no one around to see my weakness, I let my chin hang low to my chest.
The moment my foot touched the landing, I felt him. I paused, closing my eyes.
“Go away, Slate,” I murmured, too tired to deal with him.
“Gray,” he pleaded, “you can’t avoid me forever.”
I opened my eyes, pinning him with a scowl. Short-cropped hair, the shade of wet dark stone, stood mussed in an intentional way on top of his head. Sparks of green and gold in his hazel eyes caught in the morning light that beamed through the tall windows. “I’ve gone nearly two years without you in my life. Two extra months is nothing.”
“I really need you to hear me out,” Slate pushed, stepping closer to me.
