With each step through the crowd, I resisted the urge to barge onto the dais and kill them all. That was obviously fucking treason. So, clearly, Onyx had been completely valid in stopping me. Thank the gods he had been there.
The small and silent insurgency was in its baby phase, having only started a few months ago. But had I acted on my irrational impulse, the king would most likely imprison me, torture me forinfo, and retract any knowledge he desired from me. I had to try to think reasonably.
I didn’t know where I headed, lost in the haze of thoughts. All I could think about was the princess, remembering Chrome asking me to protect and train her. And now, I wanted nothing more than to follow through. I had no choice. Whatever instincts were driving me screamed for it. Meanwhile, the vibration in my palms didn’t relent.
A deep ache remained in my heart at the sight of Princess Gray’s head jerking to the side from Grim’s blow. The sound echoed throughout the silent ballroom as everyone held their breath to watch the primetime drama of their lives. I felt sick.
Reaching the lobby’s exit, I shoved the rotating door and fled into the street, gasping fresh air into my lungs. Chrome’s request to get close to Gray had officially been bumped to the top of my priority list.
This week, I would find her at school. Nothing had ever felt more important in my life. My new mission was to ensure that the princess would be able to defend herself from now on. By making her punishment a public display, the Kinetics who salivated at the sight would surely take it as a sign of blood in the shark-infested water. They would see her as weak and would do everything possible to prove it.
Gray needed protection. And because no one was allowed to get close to her, I’d find a way to train her.
Chrome was right. The king was up to something. And after witnessing the spectacle today, I trusted Chrome’s feelings that Princess Gray was in danger.
“Let’s talk.” Onyx snuck up behind me as I bid a goodbye to Mrs. Cindy at the cafeteria bar with my lunch tray.
I jumped, having my magic suppressed in a human school. “Gods, Onyx,” I griped. “A little warning next time.” The human guys behind me made their impatience known, but I cut a cold glare in their direction before I moved out of their way.
My friend stared at me expectantly with raised brows. “Really? After your little episode last night? Me standing behind you jump scares you?”
“Look, about that…” I started. “I don’t—” The noisy cafeteria reminded me of white noise, driving up the anxiety clawing inside me with overstimulation.
“Save it,” Onyx cut me off. “Come on.”
I rolled my eyes to stare at the ceiling as if some higher being would spare me from having to answer any questions. “Fine.”
I followed him to an empty table, where we scanned the cafeteria for potential eavesdropping ears. The school cafeteria was large, and as expected, everyone was split up into their cliques and friend groups. The princess ate alone at a table several paces ahead, as close to the exit as she could get. My heart squeezed, and a suffocating weight pressed on my chest, remembering what she’d endured not even twenty-four hours ago.
Setting down my tray across from Onyx, I avoided his gaze, bracing myself to dodge any questions that I was incapable of answering.
“So, what happened last night?”
I hesitated, pushing the unsalted green beans around my plate. My appetite fled the scene after the memory of Grim knocking Princess Gray to the floor flashed in my mind. I shrugged, keeping my stare firmly on the food.
“Seriously?”
I looked up to meet Onyx’s pinched expression. “What?” I asked.
“What was that shit in the ballroom?” He darted a glance toward the princess sitting two tables behind me.
I set my fork down. “Honestly?”
Onyx nodded, his eyes still flitting to Princess Gray.
“I don’t know,” I said on an exhale. I picked up my fork again and began to push my food around on my plate. Shaking my head, I recalled the scene yesterday evening and the intense compulsion to protect her. I couldn’t understand it. I hated that feeling of being out of the loop, especially when it pertained to me. “I was fine until the princess came on the dais, and once I realized what was happening, I became overwhelmed with this…driveto protect her. At all costs. Had it not been for you, I would’ve blindly tried to take on King Forest and everyone else up there.”
Onyx furrowed his brows, then dropped his gaze. “That’s…really weird. And you’ve never felt that way about her before?”
“No.” Piercing the processed mac and cheese with my fork, I took a bite. “Chrome asked me the other day to train the princess. Told me that she’s in danger. Has anyone else in the insurgency said anything about that? Your dad?” Smokey Valor was the Supreme Trainer of the Warrior Guilds, responsible for organizing everyone’s training schedule and getting them equipped to become fierce fighters. Before Chrome, he was our most recent esteemed Warrior. Of course, he worked closely with the king.
“No. But he agrees that she needs to get trained. It’s super weird that she hasn’t started yet. She’s fourteen and has had her magic awakened for a year now. She’s already behind. I wonder why he won’t train her. What is he planning if anything?” Onyx asked, staring past me at Gray’s back.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. But Chrome believes the king is up to something.” I chewed on my lip. “Chrome knows something. He doesn’t want to talk about it yet, probably because he wants a better picture of it all before he does.”
Onyx narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, well. We have a meeting tonight. All of us. You gonna make it?”
“Of course, bro.”
