Page 172 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

He tapped cautiously three times.

Her energy flared in recognition.

The door flung open

Snow stood there, eyes swollen, cheeks blotched, breath trembling. She had held herself together just long enough to open the door and then the dam broke.

She collapsed into him, sobbing uncontrollably, her fingers clutching at his shirt as though he were the only thing keeping her upright.

Rain wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest. His voice trembled as he whispered into her hair.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. It’s okay. Everything will be okay. I promise.”

Her legs buckled beneath her, the weight of her devastation too much to bear. Rain held her firmly, lowering them both to the floor as she cried into him, her apologies muffled against his chest.

Rain’s breath hitched.

He fought to stay strong for her.

To be her anchor.

Her safe place.

He held her until her sobs softened, until her trembling eased and she had no more tears left to give.

And even then, he stayed by her side.

Chapter 47

Afrightful scream tore through the air the moment Rain and Snow stepped out of the car at Greyswater.

The sound was sharp enough to slice straight through Rain’s spine.

Snow froze mid-step. Rain’s heart lurched. The scream wasn’t loud but it was raw, panicked, the kind that came from someone small and terrified.

They both snapped their heads toward the house.

Several unfamiliar vehicles crowded the driveway; sleek, white, unmarked. Wrong and out of place. Rain’s instincts flared instantly. No one should have been able to approach this property without his knowledge. That was the rule. His rule. And if anything had happened to the princesses…

He didn’t finish the thought.

Rain and Snow exchanged a single, tense glance, a silent agreement of shared dread, before Snow bolted toward the front door. Rain followed, sending out his empathic feelers as he ran, scanning the energies inside the house.

Relief hit him first; Elder Isarion’s familiar signature glowed like a steady flame.

Then annoyance.

Friendlies or not, they had no right to enter without his knowledge. If the girls had been harmed, heads would roll.

They stormed into the house.

The living room was overrun by figures in stark white robes; members of the Order of Aurora, their presence dominating the space with an unsettling stillness. One of them held Briar limp in his arms.

Rain’s fury ignited instantly.

It radiated off him in waves so intense that every robed figure turned toward him at once, eyes widening, shoulders tensing. The air thickened, charged with the weight of his anger. Upon seeing him they shifted into bows of submission.

Rose sat curled in her rocking chair in the corner, rocking frantically, her amber eyes darting around the room like a frightened doe. When she spotted Rain, her shoulders loosened, her breath easing.