I sat up straight, pivoting around to look up at him. “What’s wrong?”
The signs of exhaustion were beginning to show in the dark circles under Slate’s eyes and the way they drooped. “Some of the others noted they’d spotted someone standing at the edge of the wood earlier. They couldn’t get a full description of him because it was too shaded, but?—”
My blood raced, pulsing in my ears. I knew deep in my soul that it could only have been one person. “But what?”
“But they said, from what they could see, it looked a lot like Chrome.”
My heart faltered, wondering if he had truly been standing there when I heard his voice in my head.
I jumped to my feet, grabbing Slate’s biceps and pulling him off to the side, away from others’ hearing. In a hushed voice, I recounted what I had experienced when I’d tried to deplete Aella. “And sincehe’s been gone, I’ve felt this need to deplete occasionally. It’s been unusual, but I worry that it’s?—”
“What he’s feeling is being projected to you down your bond,” Slate finished, brows raised. “You felt the bond’s connection just before you tried to deplete Aella?” he asked, brows furrowed.
I nodded, reluctantly admitting the truth. “Yes. I did. But at the Hollow, just before Shadow appeared, he had looked at me, and when he did, it was as if he were himself again. His eyes were normal. I swear he mouthed the words, ‘I love you.’ And the look on his face, Slate, it wasn’t the face of the man who potentially killed Orion.”
Slate cleared his throat as he braced his hands together behind his neck, looking up at the sky. “Unfortunately, whatever moment of clarity he had, if he did, didn’t last long enough to make much of a difference.”
Traipsing through the woods,poisoned or not, wasn’t the best idea. Especially when you had a handful of mortally wounded individuals who were unconscious.
It took a few hours to get everything packed back up again, and by the time we were ready to set off, the hints of the morning sun began to peak low on the horizon. Earth Elementals, led by Void, continued to separate a wide path for us to traverse through, while air wielders, like Aella and me, alternated with one another in our ability to carry the wounded. With Slate’s Kinetic ability, he illuminated the woods enough for us to be able to see in every direction around us.
Shadow used his ability to keep us cloaked from detection. “How much longer can you keep absorbing all of our energies?” I asked him lowly, as we finally made it through the patch of Arcadia we’d been in for what felt like two days.
Like the rest of us, exhaustion was evident in his eyes and his slowed steps. “Honestly?” he asked. “Not for long. I basically haven’t stopped since we left the Hollow three days ago. I know we’re allspent and exhausted, but we’re gonna have to sleep and replenish at some point. Very soon.”
“I know. The question is, where can so many of us hide out at one time without being detected by Kinetic trackers and scouts?” I didn’t even mention the dangerous creatures lurking in the poisoned Arcadian woods.
“I don’t know, but there are also many injured who need tending to. The healers can’t function like this either,” Shadow swiftly reminded me.
The sound of a Kinetic-ran train blared in the distance as we entered the greenery of Terraguard. I briefly wondered how the new landscape affected train travel. Surely there were complications. Or, they redirected the tracks to navigate around the Arcadia bits.
“Fuck it,” I said, taking in the area surrounding us. “We gotta stop somewhere to rest, eat, and replenish.” Never had I been so happy to see a beautiful green forest. Despite the other dangers lying in wait around us, I felt safe enough to stop. At least if we came across Kinetics, it would be a battle within our comfort zone, and not some deranged and twisted creature or plant that could kill us with a mere scratch.
I didn’t need to look far to find Slate, who walked a few paces behind me. His brows dipped low in thought as he listened to our conversation. I slowed my pace until his stride matched mine. “Do you have any ideas on how we can shield our essences from the Kinetics so we can give him a break?” I asked
Slate stopped walking, prompting me to stop with him. The others behind us followed suit, confusion settling in among the ragged crowd. Slate turned and scanned the Elementals before he answered slowly. “I think…I might. Give me just a second. I’ll be right back.” He took off into the melee until I could scarcely see through the bodies, where he approached Onyx.
I stood there just as confused as everyone else, hoping he’d found a solution. I dropped the pack I carried on my back, letting it clunk against the earth. My arms and legs felt as sodden as a soaked biscuit,and hunger stabbed through my stomach relentlessly. More than anything, my eyes burned from sleep deprivation as they continuously threatened to close.
Shadow didn’t look much better, nor did the others. I really hoped Slate had a solution, because if not, we’d surely be swarmed by Kinetics not long after Shadow dropped his shield.
My legs began to tremble, especially now that we’d stopped moving. We’d been going nearly nonstop since the Hollow’s attack and then the griffin, and now we were all on the verge of collapse.
Shadow touched my shoulder. “Sit, Princess Gray. I’m sure Slate will have a solution.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.” Gods, my mouth and throat were so dry. “Not until I know everyone is safe and can rest, too.” I didn’t bother correcting him on my proper title, but I told him instead, “Please just call me Gray.”
“Very well, then.”
While I waited for Slate’s return, quivering like a leaf clinging to a branch in a storm, I focused on my element to check on Kodiak. I used it to ensure his lungs remained clear of black fluid, while also guaranteeing they expanded and contracted to maintain his breathing. He remained unconscious, and while I wished more than anything that he’d wake, I took the moment to be grateful that he wasn’t suffering in a conscious state.
Finally, Slate reappeared, the crowd splitting open for him as he walked toward me, his eyes never veering away from my own. The recent days and events had my heart continuing to soften toward him, thinking of all he’d done since his return brought tears to my eyes in my exhaustion.
A smile tugged up at the sight of him marching toward me like I was his ultimate mission, as if every step he took toward me was sure and strong. I remembered the way he looked into my soul when I came back from my spiral of magic deprivation. The earnest softness of his knuckles skating against my temple. The way he looked in my eyes made me feel like I was his purpose in some way. It reminded meso much of the way Chrome looked at me. A soul-deep yearning that just couldn’t be hidden within the depths of his eyes.
The moment he seemed to realize what was transpiring between us as he hovered over me, he’d retreated. I was grateful, but it did nothing to leave me any less confused by what I’d just felt. Even after Chrome had come into my life and I’d fallen for him, I never wrote off the love I’d held for Slate. What we had once shared was true, nothing short. He might’ve been the first person to show me what love and empowerment were and offered me my first truly safe space, but we had been kids. And he’d hidden so many secrets from me, so until now, I couldn’t justify our relationship having been “real.”
But on the flipside, Chrome had hidden just as much, if not more, from me in the short time we’d been together. No matter the connection and the bond, he’d withheld so much vital information from the start, breadcrumbing me with information regarding myself and life until he saw fit that I was ready to learn more.
