I screamed into his hand, frustration and anger getting the best of me. My father’s voice had disappeared, and I wanted him to stay so I could finally prove him wrong. Ineededto make him proud.
My refusal to swallow the herb did nothing. It absorbed into my bloodstream, easing my need to deplete.
The man—no, Slate—remained planted on top of me, his hand firmly over my mouth, his hazel eyes wild as he waited for the herb to take effect.
Moments later, I relaxed, my throat dry as I tried to push the rest of the herb down. I held onto Slate’s gaze, no words passing between us as I came back from the mania of dangerously low reserves. Slate’s eyes softened, and his grip on my mouth loosened, but he remained straddled on my lower torso.
“Welcome back,” he said, his voice all but a whisper.
“Thank you for that.” I lay there, my emotions in my throat at what had just happened. I almost killed one of my own…again. A rush of gratitude swarmed my heart for what he’d just done.
“Anytime, Princess.” Slowly, he slid his knuckles from my temple to my jaw.
I locked up. It had been so long since I had felt his touch, and despite my yearning for Chrome, my chest ached from Slate’s tenderness, catching me by surprise.
As if realizing what he was doing, he froze, brushing off whatever moment he’d found himself trapped in.
I closed my eyes, regret, shame, and a mass of conflicting emotions battling within me. Slate’s weight lifted from my body, freeing me to get up.
Fires ignited around the clearing. The surviving Elementals didn’t hesitate to send off our dead now that the griffin was gone.
Aella still sat on the ground only a few paces away, and my stomach soured at the hazy memory of trying to deplete her. “Oh my gods, Aella.” I rushed to her side, lowering myself until we were eye level, more flames going up in my peripheral vision. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I?—”
Aella, whose exhaustion weighed her shoulders down, offered a tentative smile. “No, I understand. Please, don’t feel bad.”
I shook my head. “Aella, I nearly depleted you. That’s unforgivable.”
“Gray, you gave me the mushweed when you needed it more. It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’m just exhausted from the fight.” Aella reached out her hand, gently resting her palm on my forearm. “You’re still so new to being an Elemental. You’ll soon know where the line starts and stops when it comes to your magic reserves.”
“I thought you needed it more than me and that I had time to get more.”
“I get that. Sometimes, it sneaks up on you faster than you realize. I know you’re going to sit here and abuse yourself over this. Please don’t,” Aella said pointedly. “I’m fine. Thankfully, Slate was able to stop you.”
I swallowed, averting my eyes from my friend.
“Come on,” Aella said, giving my arm a squeeze, “let’s go check on Kodiak.”
Chapter Sixteen
Chrome
The smell of burnt fabric and smoke wafting off me overwhelmed my chambers.
Annoyed that I didn’t glean any new information on the stone from Brecken, I shook off my clothes in exchange for some less burnt ones. I did, however, gain confirmation that the Druids possessed the Seraphite Stone, but that did me no good if I didn’t know how to breach their wards. I’d study up on their magic and figure out how to dismantle them.
After changing, I went to the kitchen for a glass of water to soothe my dry throat, leaning my lower back against the countertop as my thoughts detoured to Gray. She still had attachments to the flailing Elementals, and I didn’t understand why. Didn’t she see that they were a doomed cause? Kinetics would continue to pick them off one by one, Hollow after Hollow, until there were none left. They were a dying breed. It was time for her to choose the winning side.
I replayed our memories together. I tried so hard to push away the warmth that spread through my body when she would try to hide her smile from me. The way her eyes lit up when I said something that had made her feel seen and understood.
She had always understood me.
I knew her well enough to know that if I were to force her, it would do more harm than good. She needed to be willing. I needed her towantto be by my side. I couldn’t just kidnap her. It might’ve worked in the past, but I knew her better now. I was different from what I was back then, and I’d learned my lesson. If I took her and brought her here against her will, she would fight me to the very end. Especially now that she ran a mission equivalent to a child’s errand—one that she wholeheartedly believed in. I had, too, once.
I sighed, retreating to my room and lying down. Lacing my fingers together behind my head, I stared at the wood grains in the beams, imagining a world where she and I ruled both realms together as we saw fit. A world where others knelt at our feet, and no one questioned our authority—a world where the weak perished and the strong survived.
The connection between us hummed, causing me to sit up in my bed as I lightly placed my hand on my chest. Her hunger struck me. The deep-seated need to deplete felt like my own. That feeling that never left me. I lived with it day in and day out, minute by minute, even after I took a soul.
Hope blossomed within me. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to turn the tide, after all. I bit my bottom lip, clasping my hands together across my knees. Maybe if I just?—
