The flick of the lighter, igniting the small flame, sizzled the end of the cigarette that hung from my lips. I inhaled the burnt tobacco and paper, letting it tar my lungs.
Since learning about the king’s plan to make Gray an Assassin, I did nothing but avoid the thoughts that came with the unknown. There were too many variables to consider nowthat Forest saw her worth, which heightened my anxiety for her exponentially. More than anything, I feared once she was trained enough that he’d turn her against me if he ever decided I was expendable. The only solace I found was Valik’s words back at The Phantom: that Forest neededtwoweapons.
“Since when do you smoke?” Slate asked as the sound of our combat boots ground against the pebbles on the pavement of Downtown Atlanta for a late-night patrol.
I shrugged and then let the smoke waft from my lips into the warm April air. “I don’t,” I muttered, feeling my brain buzz from the rush of nicotine, a temporary euphoria that lifted the heaviness. “Just heard it helps with stress. Figured I’d give it a try.”
“Even if it kills you or impacts your endurance?” Slate pushed.
“It won’t. We heal, remember?” I took another drag, enjoying the distraction and lightness it offered.
I glanced beside me to spot Slate’s furrowed brows. “You okay? Honestly?”
The weight of his stare pressed in on me, demanding the truth. I couldn’t give it. No one, not even Slate, could see my weakness. It could be the beginning of the end. “Yeah. I’m good.” I knew my tone wasn’t convincing, but I couldn’t admit it. Any sign of weakness only ever earned me more pain.
“Heard anything around the palace about Kale?” Slate asked. The change of subject had my exhale from another drag leaving my lungs a bit harder than I intended.
I shook my head. “Nah, not yet, at least.” I flicked the ash off the end of the cigarette as we walked. “They’ll keep it quiet for a day or two before they start sounding the alarm.”
My cousin sighed. “Great. Let’s drag out the nervous anticipation, why don’t we?”
I couldn’t help but grunt my agreement to his sarcasm.
“How’s Hazel?” I asked. “Any questions from your parents?”
“Hazel’s fine now. Definitely still shaken from yesterday, but she’s mentally strong.” Slate’s pride in his younger sister was barely concealable. They might bicker like schoolchildren at times over little shit, but they were loyal to each other like Peri and I were. “Our parents were gone when we returned, thankfully. By the time they came back, she was better.”
I exhaled another puff of smoke. “That’s good. I’ve been worried about her.”
Running his hands down his face, he looked to the sky as if it held answers. “So,” he started, readying to change the subject. “I take it you talked to Peri today?”
Nodding, I flicked the cigarette. “I did. She told me about the plan to search for the Endarkened.” Another hit of the cancer stick flourished down my throat. “I support it against my better judgment.”
“I’m truly shocked.” Slate grabbed a knife from his sleeve, with the blade’s sigils igniting blue, he began to clean out underneath his fingernails as we walked through alleyways. “When are y’all planning to go down there?”
“Tomorrow. At noon.”
“I’ll be training with the princess, then. Our session got moved due to some scheduling that the king has arranged for her.”
I nodded. “Good. Can’t risk having too many of us caught. I’m already risking enough going down there with Onyx and Peri.” Needles pricked the back of my neck at the thought of taking my sister down there. What the fuck was I thinking?
“Makes sense, but I wish I could be there for backup if needed,” Slate added.
“It’ll be fine,” I said, more to convince myself than him. It had to go according to plan. If not, everything could be lost, and all the careful work I’d put into keeping her protected for so many years would be for nothing. Then there was the princess.
Slate nodded, running a hand through his stone-tinted hair, his sharp fringe falling just above his brows. “Yeah. You got this.”
I took another drag of the cigarette while keeping my senses open for anyone nearby who wasn’t human. “So,” I started, feeling my heart speed up and a gurgling sensation in my stomach. “You and the princess. What’s going on between you two?” The interaction between us yesterday in the aftermath of Kale hadn’t left my mind.
I watched the red taillights of passing cars and trucks on the street before they halted at the stoplight ahead. I tried to feign like I couldn’t care less what his response would be by tossing the cigarette butt to the ground. Then, I thought better of it. I wasn’t about littering, so I tracked the filter down and disposed of it in the city’s wastebasket several feet ahead of us.
Slate cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders back. The black leather jacket crinkled with the motion. “Nothing right now, but there’s a connection between us.”
Slate might as well have taken his knife and plunged it through my heart. I gritted my jaw, keeping any emotions stifled. He couldn’t possibly understand my love for Gray or the depths our bond reached. But I couldn’t help but wonder if Gray felt the connection with him, too. Or maybe this was just hopeful teenage shit on his end.
A cloud of pressure drifted over my body like a blanket. My arm dropped to my side, suddenly heavier than usual. If Gray felt some connection to Slate, then I stood no chance. My mind spun, my legs struggling to carry me forward at the strong potential of those two ending up together.
“The more I’m around her, the more I like her,” Slate added, basically taking my pierced heart and tossing it to the street for the Atlanta traffic to flatten. “There’s something special about Gray,”
