Page 111 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

How could anyone, especially their father, allow his children to live like this?

Royalty born into filth.

Powerful little girls forced to fend for themselves.

When his gaze returned to them, Ember had risen shakily to her feet, standing beside her sister. She was tiny—looking barely two—her pillowcase dress hanging off her malnourished frame. Her eyes were enormous, dark, sunken, watching him with terror.

“Hello, Ember,” Rain said softly, using the same tone he used with Navy. “I want to take you somewhere safe. Away from here.”

Ember looked up at Briar, clutching her hand, refusing to move without her sister’s approval.

Briar scowled and flicked another vine toward him; a warning strike that sizzled against his shield.

Rain’s patience frayed.

This was too much.

Too dangerous.

Too slow.

The sun was sinking.

The risk of discovery was rising.

And he had no time left to coax trust from a child who had never known safety.

He inhaled deeply, bracing himself.

He didn’t want to hurt her.

But he knew he had to act.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he dropped his shield and snapped his power forward.

Briar’s frail body slammed against the wall; controlled, precise, angled so the impact knocked her unconscious without further harm. Ember screamed, throwing herself over her sister’s limp form, sobbing into her hair.

Rain approached slowly, crouching beside them. Ember punched his arm with her tiny fist; a weak, heartbreaking attempt to defend her sister.

“Ember,” he murmured, “she’s okay. I promise. She’s just sleeping. Look.”

He gently rested his hand on Briar’s stomach.

“See? She’s breathing. Just sleeping.”

Ember’s sobs softened into hiccups. She wiped her nose on her arm, staring at his hand rising and falling with Briar’s breaths.

“Come. Let’s go see Rose. Do you remember Rose?”

The toddler nodded, her eyes so dark they looked like bottomless wells. Hunger, fear, exhaustion, all carved into her tiny features.

Rain scooped Briar’s limp body into his left arm, settling her against his shoulder. Then he extended his right arm toward Ember. She hesitated; then shuffled closer, allowing him to lift her.

He carried them quickly down the winding staircase, keeping his senses locked on Briar’s energy. Her power was vicious, unpredictable. He had no intention of being caught by it again.

“Short, I need rope—now,” he panted as he approached the group. “Rose, take Ember.”

Ember went willingly to her sister, though her eyes never left Briar. She sucked on her thumb, trembling.