Page 140 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

Fuck.

He really was breaking up with him.

Rain felt it; the reluctant resolution seeping from Jay’s aura.

The grief.

The certainty.

The way Jay’s heart was breaking too, but he was still choosing to walk away.

Long before Jay could speak the words, Rain knew.

He didn’t want to hear them.

He couldn’t.

The tables and chairs around them rattled violently as Rain turned and walked away; not running, not storming, just… leaving. Like a man walking out of a burning building he didn’t realise he’d set on fire.

He refused to look back at the face he wanted to beg for.

To beg him to stay.

To choose him.

But he was going to be

King one day.

And Kings don’t beg.

Especially not for a lost cause.

“Rain, what happened? You’re projecting your powers!” Snow called after him.

He ignored her and the heart-shredding sob that escaped Jay’s lips as Rain walked out.

The cruel midday sun hit him like a slap, warming skin that suddenly felt hollow. He paced down the street, needing distance, needing air, needing anything but the crushing weight in his chest.

Snow jogged after him, grabbing his hand. His empathic channels snapped shut instantly. She exhaled in relief as those around them stopped mirroring his agony.

She didn’t speak.

She just held his hand tightly and walked beside him; like she had a thousand times before when his world had fallen apart.

They walked in silence all the way to the safe house.

Rain stopped at the driveway, staring blankly at the front door.

“Can you keep your hand on me until I fall asleep?” he asked quietly.

Snow nodded, her expression softening with understanding.

He didn’t trust himself and he couldn’t risk exposing the princesses to his grief.

He inhaled deeply, pulling the pain inward, compressing it into a tight knot in his chest until the air around him stopped trembling. The garden bushes stilled, grateful for the reprieve.

“It’ll be ok,” Snow murmured. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”