Because of my dual nature, I could stretch it further than most, so I let it seek out what I knew would already be there. Nothing.
Despite knowing this, I always had the slightest bit of hope that I’d get lucky. But after several minutes of coming up empty yet again, I sank into the deflated heaviness that had become my comfort, letting it pull me under its downtrodden wings.
As I forced my consciousness to withdraw back into me, it hitched, sensing something new. If I had any sort of energy remaining, I’d have snapped my eyes open, but the best I could manage was a weak squint. There, several blocks down and near the back of the building, somethingcolddwelled. Not just cold but hollow, pressed with death. An abyss. I explored the area, detecting a cluster of those energies.
I latched on to absorb anything life-giving I could. But it only resulted in nothing. Whatever the being, it didn’t fuel my magic or energies in the slightest. The starvation pains amplified by a thousand, sending my mind shattering, exploding my brain into fragments from within, some tainted with the malignant black essence that I’d tried to absorb. The shards in my head lodged themselves deep within my skull, leaving me spiraling and falling into a pit of darkness and hunger, unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
My arms were too weak, incapable of clutching my temples, but I distantly heard my screams through what sounded like a funnel.
At last, the pitched void embraced me again, and silence smothered my airway as I blacked out into the reprieve of nothingness.
The weekend passed me by in the haze of the prisons. After being released, I found myself staring out the glass doors of the Kinetic Palace, pondering what living another life would be like as I restored my Kinetic magic. I’d have to replenish my Elemental magic once I was out in the city, which I planned to be.
Thoughts of what I’d felt in my depraved state assaulted me. I couldn’t be sure if it had been the energy of an Endarkened, or if it had been hallucinations, which were known to happen. But that didn’t explain the reaction I had when I tried to absorb its energy. Shivers tingled down my spine at the memory.
The irony of it all didn’t escape me. I could’ve just confirmed that Forest was, in fact, keeping them down there secretly, all the while locking me away to assert his dominance. If it had been an Endarkened down in the prisons, I questioned whether he truly sent them out to deplete humans. Of course, it would perfectly frame Elementals, giving him an excuse to start a war. A war that he could control.
I absorbed any and all electricity in my vicinity, pulling it into my aura. Second by second, I felt myself strengthen and revitalize. My wounds finished healing, including the freshly scarred forty-eighth Kill Mark lining my arms.
I felt her before I saw her, but I didn’t turn to look in fear of giving too much away. Cameras were everywhere in the palace’s lobby. I’d just been released from hell and purgatory put into one, and I needed a chance to breathe before I got sent back. However, if I didn’t act, she’d get punished.
Without looking at Gray, I grazed my hand against her lower back as she carelessly stepped up to stand beside me. I lightlynudged her toward the revolving doors, mumbling, “Go outside. Turn right and don’t stop. I’ll pick you up.”
The princess followed my instructions, not hitching a step, and strolled out onto the sidewalk. I kept a few paces behind her, snatching my hoodie over my head to hide my hair as I kept my senses open and alert, scanning for all Kinetics nearby.
“Just keep walking. Go straight. And be ready to hop on,” I said under my breath as I turned down an alleyway, leaving her to continue straight in the direction of the parking garage.
Once out of the public eye, I took off at a sprint, racing for my bike. Time seemed to slow as adrenaline coursed through my veins. Once I spotted my bike, I snatched the helmet from the handlebars, brusquely placing it over my head.
I didn’t waste time before I sped off, racing toward the main street where I left the princess alone and unprotected. I breezed through the red lights, swerving through oncoming traffic recklessly. My only focus was on finding the girl with glamoured ice-white hair.
Finally, I spotted her walking at a brisk pace. I slowed, the transmission downshifting into a whir as I did. As I pulled up to her side, she glanced at me with wide, startled blue eyes. I snatched my helmet from my head and reached it out for her to take.
She crinkled her brows, making my heart skip at how adorable the expression was. Without questioning, she grabbed the helmet and placed it over her head before cautiously climbing on.
I couldn’t stop the grin that pulled up my cheeks as she straddled me from behind and awkwardly wrapped her thin arms around my waist. Angling my head over my shoulder, I called out, “Hold on tight, Princess.” The bike lurched forward with a growl, and Gray squeezed my torso tighter.
I chuckled to myself as I pulled into Downtown Atlanta traffic. With her safely secured, out of reach of cameras and her identity concealed, I drove at a safer speed. I made the familiar turns as we headed through several street blocks until I reached the perfect alleyway.
The princess pulled me in closer with each turn, my heart taking flight every time. As we slowed to a stop behind the building, I cut the engine. Gray hesitantly loosened her grip before climbing off the bike, and I felt the absence of her immediately, a coldness returning to my insides. Until now, I never realized how deep that emptiness dwelled.
Removing the helmet, her long waves wafted over her shoulders, and my breath caught in my throat. I averted my gaze to the ground, staring at the loose rocks on the cracked cement blanketed in the late afternoon shadow cast by the rooftop. “We’re heading up.” I nodded to the roof.
With a glance, she exhaled through her cheeks, nodding and placing the helmet on the bike’s seat.
I gestured to the ladder leading to the rooftop, indicating for her to go ahead of me so I could protect her back.
She climbed, unsure and unsteady in her ascent, but I kept my senses open and alert for any unwanted guests—Kinetics or Elementals alike. At last, she reached the top and stepped onto the flat roof, and I followed suit.
Gravel crunched beneath my boots as I stepped onto the rooftop. Her energy consumed me, even in the busy city’s wide open yet congested space. I breathed deeply, taking in the cityscape from the aerial view as I stood at her shoulder.
“Come here,” I invited, struggling to keep my tone from sounding harsh, and strode to the ledge that Slate and I regularly sat on for our talks. This spot was our safe space we could always go to without being under the watchful eye of the Kinetic Palace.
I didn’t need to look behind me to know she followed; her energy surrounded me, begging me to breathe it in. My legs dangled over the ledge that hung at least fifty feet above the busy street below. Carefully, Gray eased herself down beside me, her shoulders stiff and arms propped in her lap where she laced her fingers together as she stared straight ahead.
“We can talk here in peace.”
I watched her throat bob, followed by the tight nod that followed.
