“What? How?” The same shock and horror in his voice mirrored what I felt when I realized the same.
“I really wish you’d stop asking me questions that I don’t have the fucking answers to,” I grumbled.
“Okay.” Slate exhaled. “I’ve got a plan then. It doesn’t involve trying to free you, though. Just trust me, okay?”
I nodded. Moments later, the door opened, streaming in dim light from the corridor. A familiar shadow stepped inside, and the temperature in the cell seemed to drop several degrees lower with his presence.
“So glad you could join us, brother,” Chrome greeted sarcastically. Malice hung from the threads of his exposed shadows as they floated around his body like predators ready to strike prey. The door boomed shut behind him, leaving me at his whims once again. “I shouldn’t be surprised you didn’t snatch the bait I laid for you. But then again, you tend to throw everything out the window when it comes to my Twin Soul.”
“And I suppose you forgot what my oath entailed, didn’t you?” Slate retorted.
“You’re not needed anymore. She’s in my hands now. You’ve proven twice what happens when she’s entrusted to yours,” Chrome snapped. Flames flicked to the surface within his eyes, daring Slate to test him again.
The tension between the two had my muscles aching from strain.
Slate snorted. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t send me that text on the day of your fake funeral.”
Chrome’s nostrils flared, his breathing growing heavier with each passing second. “You did what you were meant to do. That mission is done! Fuckingdone! You fucking her last night was not part of the godsdamn plan!” He started to pace, his shadows unfurling further and higher from his body with each step. They began to twist and lash wildly, like physical manifestations of his mood. “You didn’t even wait until the fucking ash settled over the King’s Palace before you swooped back in. Desperation has never been a good look on you, brother.”
I pivoted my attention to Slate, who clenched his jaw and closedhis eyes as if to stave off the sting from Chrome’s insults. “I did what you asked of me. Always have since day one. But ordering me not to love Gray is something I can’t comply with.” Slate chuckled, a smirk wrinkling the corners of his eyes. “Jealousy never suited you, just so you know.”
My eyes widened. I was stunned into silence at the absurd pissing contest playing out between these two grown men that IthoughtI knew. What the fuck was happening right now?
Chrome stormed toward Slate, engulfing his throat in his hand. “I will make you wish that you had actually died that day. I swear to the gods, you’re my biggest fucking regret…”
Slate held his stare, unafraid and empty. “I’m sorry to hear that, brother.” A pale silver light burst from his body like a light switch had been turned on. When Chrome tried to jerk his hand back, Slate slapped his palm against his wrist and squeezed it to hold his hand against his throat. “Come back to us, Chrome.”
I couldn’t see much past the blinding light in the dirty cell. Squinting, I tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening, but it was no use. My eyes stung from the stabbing pain, and the iciness in my bones began to thaw.
“Stop!” Chrome croaked. Cracking an eyelid open, I managed to see his shadows fighting the light emanating from Slate’s body. “No!”
I clambered to my feet, not sure what to do. Slate had clearly used his secret Angelic abilities on Chrome, but I had no idea what his abilities were truly capable of. Was he hurting him, or helping him?
“Slate!” I cried out. The chains jerked me to a stop when I moved to reach them. I growled to myself in frustration, feeling completely useless.
“Stay back, Gray! Trust me!”
I felt trapped inside my body. The thought of something happening to either of them made an acidic bubbling sensation rise in my chest. My shackles rattled with every move.
Finally, Slate’s light began to dim, and Chrome’s knees buckled. Slate, not looking much stronger himself, shoved his armsunderneath Chrome’s armpits, catching him before he collapsed to the hard floor. After laying him down, he hurried over to me, taking the chain connected to my left wrist in his hand. His face was covered in sweat and growing paler. He scrunched his brows, trying to focus his attention on the new task at hand. “Hold still, Princess. Thankfully, my power wasn’t diminished before he stuck us here.”
A burst of silver light erupted from his palm in the form of a ball. It collided with the metal cuff and traced the band encircling my wrist until the shackles cracked up the center. A half second later, he aimed another shot at the chain, severing it from the shackle. He repeated the process on my other wrist and then on my ankles. By the time he was finished, the cuffs slid from my limbs, and the chains were broken free. But most importantly, my magic began to trickle through my bloodstream again, electrifying me with my Kinetic magic before my element rushed in with a vengeance, taking my breath away.
“Better?” Slate asked, his voice weak from what I presumed was exhaustion.
“Much,” I gasped, taking his hands into mine to give them a squeeze. “You need to sit.”
“I’m fine,” he exhaled, then cast his droopy eyes to look at the unconscious Chrome on the floor. “I need to be nearby when he wakes up.”
I followed his gaze. “What did you do to him?”
Slate shrugged. “Hopefully brought the real Chrome back to us.”
I drifted off to sleep,Slate sitting at my side while we waited in anxious silence for Chrome to awaken. Movement beneath my head jolted me back to the present. My head had been on Slate’s shoulder, and when he lurched forward, it snapped me out of my slumber.
“He’s awake,” Slate murmured, his muscles tensed.
I scooted away from him, being sure to put enough space between us. It wasn’t clear if what Slate had done would heal Chrome, but even so, I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression and further agitate his instability. Slate didn’t protest; in fact, he didn’t even acknowledge it. A rush of gratitude flooded my chest at the simplest gesture. Of course, he knew my silent cues.
