Page 113 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

Scarlet combusted the moment they turned to leave; a violent, involuntary eruption of flame triggered by overwhelming fear. The blast forced everyone to scatter. Short sprinted ahead with Ember and Briar, racing them back toward the squad while Rain and Rose stayed behind, desperately trying to calm Scarlet.

It didn’t work.

Rose nearly got herself barbecued three separate times, convinced her sister would never hurt her; despite knowing full well Scarlet could not control it. Each flare sent Rose stumbling back, curls singed at the ends, cheeks flushed with heat.

Eventually Scarlet burned herself out, collapsing into unconsciousness. Only then could Rain lift her safely into his arms.

But the moment they reunited with the squad, another crisis erupted.

Briar had awoken.

And she was screaming.

Not crying—screaming—a raw, feral sound that rattled the trees. She thrashed like a wild raimox, limbs flailing, teeth bared, her bound hands sparking with heat even through the fireproof cloth. Ember clung to her leg, wailingin terror.

“Calm down, Briar, unless you want me to put you to sleep again,” Rain warned, striding toward them with zero patience left.

Briar snapped her mouth shut instantly, glaring daggers at him. Her energy was a storm; fury, fear, protectiveness, all tangled into a single violent knot.

“Short,” Rain said, “fall back and accompany Rose. Keep her at this distance from the squad. I’ll join you shortly.”

He’d already advised Rose to keep her distance. She stood wide-eyed beneath a mango tree, staring up at the fruit like she’d discovered treasure. It was safer for everyone if she stayed far from the others; her power was too intoxicating, too destabilising.

“On it,” Short replied, jogging toward Rose with a protective urgency Rain trusted implicitly.

Renn quickly relayed their return plan. They would head east toward the Pink Kingdom. It added hours; maybe half a day but it was the safest option. Pink had no reason to fortify their border against Red. And if they had fortified it, at least the squad would be on the correct side of the fence to find a weakness… or call for help.

It wasn’t ideal.

But nothing about this mission was.

Dense rainforest.

Open desert.

Four unstable, inexperienced Aetherial girls.

A squad already exhausted.

And Rain; the only one capable of keeping them all from killing each other.

They set off.

Renn and Hamish carried Ember, who fell asleep almost instantly in Renn’s arms.

Vass and Glass were assigned to Briar; who snarled over Vass’s shoulder like a furious cat, glaring back at Rain every few steps.

Rain carried Scarlet, limp and fever-warm against his chest.

He fell back to walk beside Short and Rose, keeping his channels wide open, scanning for predators, soldiers, or emotional spikes.

Two hours passed.

Two hours of trudging through thick undergrowth, humidity clinging to their skin, insects buzzing in clouds, the air heavy with the scent of wet soil and rotting leaves. Rain’s mind throbbed. His empathy was stretched thin; nine energy signatures constantly shifting, flaring, colliding.

He finally stopped.

“I need to close my eyes for thirty minutes,” he muttered to Short.