I swallowed, glancing at Hazel before settling on Peri’s pale purple hair. “And Grim’s supposed to be out?” I asked, double-checking.
Peri nodded, looking down at the concrete as we hurried our pace. “Should be until morning.”
I held my breath, the ever-present and overbearing sensation that something would go wrong thrumming in my core. I couldn’t just go out and have fun and get away with it. That just wouldn’t stand in our household.
“We’ll take the side entrance,” I muttered. “I know the cameras’ blind spots.”
The elevator ride to the twenty-eighth floor was overpowered by oppressive silence. All three of us were too scared to speak. I didn’t know why because Peri could easily mute our voices from any guards, making us utterly soundless.
When the lift jolted to a stop, accompanied by the louddingthat announced its arrival, Peri’s magic suppressed its sound waves from being heard by any passersby. The doors slid open, and Hazel stepped out of the metal box, waving goodbye to us with a shy grin before turning toward her family’s suite.
Once the doors shut, Peri and I met each other’s gazes. Our expressions mirrored one another—jaws clenched tight and shoulders tensed.
“It’s going to be fine, Chrome,” Peri said, her airy voice firm. “Just trust me.”
“I trust you,” I argued. “But I just have this feeling—”
“I know.” Peri ran her fingers through her loose waves, having let her hair down before she put the helmet on to drive back to the palace. “But it’s all going to be fine.”
The journey to the next floor was fleeting, yet it seemed like the oxygen had evaporated from the metal box.
Peri grabbed my hand upon entering the suite, giving my palm a squeeze of reassurance. It did nothing to ease my anxiety, but I returned the gesture all the same. I didn’t dare breathe as Peri opened the door, silencing the click of the door handle and keypad.
Obsidian shadows submerged the foyer—no light indicating anyone was awake or home. I released my breath, relief making my limbs go weak.
I had fully expected Grim to be standing on the other side of the door, ready to haul me back to the prison or, better yet, put the princess through another round of public punishment to teach me a lesson.
“I told you,” Peri whispered as we moved to the hallway that housed our rooms. “Everything’s fine.”
I nodded, my heart rate still slow to catch up with the relief as it continued to thunder in my chest. “Good.”
“I’m glad you got to get out tonight; you needed that,” my sister said. “It’s been a while.”
I couldn’t help the smirk that crept upward at the vision of Onyx hugging the edge of the building by his armpits. “It was nice—”
“About time you made it back.”
Every muscle in my body locked up, throwing my heart back into overdrive, my mouth going dry at Grim’s voice behind me.
Peri’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she directed her attention to her father, a doting smile encompassing her face. “Dad!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his waist to be pulled into an embrace.
“Hey, pumpkin.” Grim’s insidious voice shifted into the softened tone it usually did when he spoke to Peri. I was pretty sure she was the only living being he actually cared for. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t use her to punish me, though.
Bitter bile threatened to purge the stale alcohol sitting heavy in my stomach. I refused to turn and look at him.
“Glad you made it back,” Grim said, and I imagined he was inspecting her body to see if any injuries marred her skin as he typically did. “Chrome finally did something good, I see.”
I ground my teeth together, forcing my hands not to clench into fists at the insult, wishing I could disintegrate into black particles to blend in with the shadows.
“Where have you been?” my stepfather demanded, directing his voice to the back of my head. Even my hoodie couldn’t shield his corrupted energy from penetrating me.
Before I could form a lie, Peri answered. “Mom sent us out. She said she needed to have a quiet night to herself with zero energies distracting her. So, Chrome and I went to the movies and then to Waffle House. You know I love their chocolate chip waffles, and I was craving them so bad! Chrome didn’t have a choice because I wasn’t going down without a fight about it.”
Grim hesitated before responding, surely questioning the validity of Peri’s claims, but he trusted her. “Is that so?” he murmured. “I’ll be sure to ask her about that.”
“That’s fine, Dad. You’ll see,” Peri assured. “Would I lie to you?” she asked in her sweet and innocent tone.
“No, pumpkin,” Grim responded. “Never you,” he followed up with a sharp edge, cutting it toward me. “Just don’t let that brother of yours steer you wrong.”
