Slate shrugged. “Talk to my dad. Surely he can talk some sense into Amethyst.”
“And if he can’t?” I asked. “Then what?”
My cousin straightened his shoulders, furrowing his brows as if to prove his point. “Then I’ll talk to Amethyst myself. She likes me.”
I chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
Slate scoffed. “She likes me.”
I shot him a look as if he was delusional for believing such a thing. “My mother doesn’t like anyone but her fucking self.”
“I mean, she believes I’m on their side.”
One shoulder lifted in response. “Sure. But then what?”
“I convince her Gray needs to be trained for the good of Kinetics.”
“For what reason?” I pushed, playing devil’s advocate.
Slate hesitated, pondering the hypothetical argument that I posed to him. “If Elementals captured her…then what? She is defenseless. They have the one and only heir to the Kinetic throne. If she can’t defend herself…we’re totally fucked.”
My lips twitched. “That’s a good start.” I nodded, staring down at the traffic stopping and flowing below me. “But your argument will need to be stronger, especially since you’re only fifteen. She’ll slam the door in your face immediately if you don’t have a solid rebuttal.”
Slate’s nostrils flared, and he cocked his head to the side, popping his neck. He blew out a breath. “Yeah.”
“Look at me.”
Slate pivoted, tipping his jaw to the side and looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. With the lift of his brows, he indicated for me to continue.
“I need Gray safe more than anything. I feel her, Slate. She is…mine. But like in the sense that we’re one and the same…if that makes sense?” I rambled, my breaths coming in short just thinking of her. “Do you know what happened to her? Was she punished?” I asked, my heart hammering at Grim’s words from the prison.
Slate cleared his throat and snapped his spine straight again.
“Slate.”
His jaw twitched before he sniffled and looked down at the busy street below us. “She was.”
My lungs squeezed, my blood whooshing in my ears. I wanted to destroy whoever laid their hands on her. “Who?” I asked through clenched teeth.
My cousin grimaced and bit his lip, menacing anger illuminating his eyes. “Grim.”
I smiled. “Good. I’ll make his death that much more painful.”
“I couldn’t watch it.”
I froze. “Well, I should hope the fuck not.”
“No…” Slate shook his head. “This was different.”
“Explain.”
Slate sucked in a deep breath. It was obvious he was steeling himself to tell me something that he’d been avoiding. “The entire Royal Domain was summoned to the ballroom last night. Onyx and I thought it would be about the Elementals or Endarkened, but to our surprise, he brought the princess out on the dais.” He explained how Forest basically wanted to make an example of her, to prove that she wasn’t above the rules. Even his own daughter would follow them, but he also demeaned her in the process just before he allowed Grim to beat her with his fists and a belt. Or so he was told.
“I couldn’t stay, or I would’ve charged the dais like an idiot and caused a whole different type of mess,” Slate said, dragging his palms down his face. He pulled his hands inches away and stared at them as if they were foreign objects. “I couldn’t control it. I felt this…intenseurge to fight off everyone threatening her, which is just crazy because I’ve never spoken to her before.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Well, I like that you’re protective of her, that bodes well for the plan, but that’s…weird. Do you feel her emotions or anything like that?”
Slate shook his head. “No. Nothing like that. I feel drawn to her, but I don’t feel her emotions like you say you do. Just want to protect her.”
