My mother let out an indignant sound. “You’ll see. I wouldn’t have birthed him if I thought he’d be a failure. Otherwise, where’syourchild?”
Silence. Heavy, cold, deadly silence suffocated my already stifled cell. My protectiveness of the princess threatened to unleash, but I held it back. It would do neither of us any good if I lost it now.
“Watch your fucking mouth. She’s about to prove her worthiness soon enough. She might be of use after all.” The venom in the king’s voice was as poisonous as his power. “Let’ssee if your son is as strong-willed as you believe. Remove his shackles and then bring the prisoner forward.”
My mother’s sharp stilettos echoed off the floor until she stood inches from my leg. Bending into a squat, she unlocked the shackles. My currents attempted to flicker to life, but as depleted as my magic was, there was nothing to fuel them. The Elemental side of my magic suddenly surged to life as it immediately sought out the living beings around me, two of which had powerful auras. The prisoner that stood before us was much weaker in power, so my magic disregarded him.
I felt my essence reach out to the king, and then my mother, desperately needing to replenish itself from the hunger that shredded my mind and corroded my veins. Meanwhile, my Kinetic power instantly fed from the outside source of electromagnetic energy. But I had no control. I had never been depleted to this point before. It was astounding that I was even halfway cognizant and upright, but I put that on whatever Valik had done to me.
All that mattered was feeding my Elemental magic. It was beyond starved. It latched on to the king, who possessed the strongest aura.
“No! Not me, you fucking dog.”
Lost in the unfamiliar haze of auric feeding, I didn’t see the blow coming. A sharp crack split the air. My cheekbone splintered as my body spun and collapsed to the floor.
“I told you. He is fucking weak and pathetic,” King Forest spat at my limp body on the floor as I tried to wrap my mind around what had happened. “Either train him yourself, or he is to be terminated. Your fucking call, Amethyst. Either way, seeing as Gray is progressing in her training, she’ll be an Assassin soon enough. Who’s to say she won’t become Chrome’s replacement?”
All I could hear was the click of his loafers exiting my cell before the metallic squeaking of the door squealed, slamming shut with a finite boom.
Chapter 23
Slate
Two more weeks had passed since Chrome had last been seen. My anxiety about his well-being began to morph into true panic.
It was extremely unusual for three whole weeks to go by with no sight or word of his whereabouts. After the night on the rooftop—Friday the thirteenth of all nights—he’d completely vanished. A dark feeling told me it had everything to do with the king, Grim, and Amethyst.
“So,” Hazel said, snapping me from my thoughts. She sat beside me on a park bench, watching the human kids run and squeal on the playground nearby. With the warmer weather, humans walked their dogs on the path surrounding the park while getting their own exercise. Greenery and flowers began to rebirth for the season, bringing life back to the landscape. “Have you heard anything from Chrome? Or have Mom and Dad said anything about where he could be?”
I shook my head, now glamoured to appear brown with my currents hidden from view. “No,” I sighed. “I’m starting to worry that maybe Forest and company discovered something.”
“About the insurgency?” Hazel asked, her brows dipped and head tipped to the side in concern. The silver bracelet she wore disguised her bronze hair. She tucked a thick lock behind her ear as she narrowed her eyes at me, her black currents hidden from sight.
“Yeah,” I exhaled, leaning forward on my elbows to rest on my knees. “That would be all kinds of shit if they did.”
Hazel sat back on the bench, slumping down. “Maybe that’s not the case. Who knows what the king put Chrome up to now? He could be in another country being showcased as ‘the next legend of our generation’ for all we know.”
Mindlessly, I watched the little ones scream and disperse from the slide after a silly game went awry. “Let’s only hope that’s true. But it wouldn’t hurt to have a backup plan in case it isn’t.” I couldn’t get my racing heart to slow down as my thoughts took a turn for the worst.
“I need to talk to Smokey.” My chest began to tighten as my worry spiraled. I had this…newthinggoing on inside of me that I had no idea how to control and no one to talk to about it. Chrome was the only person who could possibly understand, and he was nowhere to be found.
I needed to dosomethingto banish the negativity infecting my mind and be proactive instead.
“Valor?” my sister asked, her face twisted in confusion. “Why?”
“He’s Chrome’s trainer, and he works closely with the king. He’d know of his location more than anyone.” I picked at the fringed strands coming from my black pants to keep my fidgeting hands occupied.
“True,” Hazel conceded. “Hopefully he knows something.”
I nodded and dropped my head, lacing my fingers together on my knees.
Several beats of silence passed between us as we contemplated the implications of what it meant if Forest and company found out about the insurgency and our plan to overthrow him. “How’s training going with the princess?”
The corners of my mouth lifted into a faint smile as I reflected on our brief time in training. She was learning the basics rather quickly, and despite her initial repulsion to running, her endurance vastly improved more and more each day. “Good,” I said, ignoring the annoying skip of my heartbeat.
“Is she going to be ready to fight within the next year, you think?”
“Well, she’s not training to be a Warrior, Hazel. But yeah, I think she’ll be quite the formidable opponent for anyone who tries to fuck with her.”
