Page 233 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

Her eyes widened, fear flickering across her features. But then her expression hardened, maternal instinct overriding everything else. She nodded. Rain felt the shift; the moment she chose Jay’s safety over her own fear and that was all he needed.

“Good.” Rain exhaled sharply. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but I can’t hold this shield much longer. It’s draining my energy.”

Both their faces drained of colour despite Rain’s deceptively calm tone.

“We’re fine for now,” he continued, “but the fight has barely begun. It takes a lot of power to counter bullets of that calibre; it isn’t as effortless as it looks. Our best chance is to get into the woods; it will provide us with better coverage and make us harder to target. But we stay together.”

Jay swallowed hard and grabbed Rain’s outstretched hand. Rain squeezed back firmly, locking eyes with him.

“Whatever you do, don’t let go. And don’t stop moving unless I tell you to. Understood?”

His tone left no room for argument. Once both Jay and Jacklynn nodded, Rain tugged them forward. The shield—an extension of his will—moved with them as they broke into the clearing.

“Run!” Rain bellowed.

They sprinted. Behind them, the gunfire sputtered out in confusion. A ripple of shock spread through the units as they waited for new orders. Rain felt Drazier’s energy spike with fury—outwitted again.

They managed to distance themselves from danger before the world changed.

A chill swept over them so fast it stole the breath from their lungs. Sunlight dimmed, swallowed in seconds. The warmth of the day vanished, replaced by a creeping cold that raised goosebumps along their skin. Shadows thickened, swallowing the path in an eerie gloom.

Rain’s eyes darted upward, Heavy white clouds churned overhead, smothering the sky. The air shifted; a familiar, unnerving stillness that both comforted and terrified him in equal measure.

Snow was nearby.

Panic surged through him. He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t abandon his sister to face the battle alone.

Rain dropped the shield, giving himself a momentary reprieve to replenish his energy as he scanned the area, searching for her signature.

“Fuck!” He stopped abruptly. Jacklynn collided with him, nearly dragging Jay down with her. Rain caught her before she hit the ground, steadying her with a firm grip.

Snowflakes drifted between the branches; delicate, swirling, beautiful and utterly wrong.

“I need to go back.” The words slipped out before he could stop them, his focus locked on the energies gathering behind them. Snow and the Shadow Guard were minutes from colliding with Drazier’s main forces.

Jay tensed, fear tightening his grip. “What?! We can’t go back. Why would we go back?”

“Snow,” Rain said, distracted, mind racing as he tracked the battlefield above.

Jacklynn gasped, staring upward as the snowfall thickened. “Gods above… it is snowing. How is it snowing in the middle of summer?”

“He means his sister, Snow. She is making it snow.” Jay quickly explained as Rain stood still, his gaze fixed in the direction of Snow’s energy signature. “Rain, we can’t go back, they will kill us. The king wants you dead and he was willing to kill us to get to you, he knows I am your weakness. Snow can protect herself, right?”

Rain snapped.

“Am I supposed to choose you over my twin sister?” His voice cracked with panic, logic slipping through his fingers. He sensed Drazier shifting course. “Snow is walking toward danger because of me.” He jabbed a finger into his own chest, then pointed sharply at Jay. “No because of you. Because your stupid friend was spying on me and ran straight to your king. Oh, and I am absolutely certain she believed that you would be safe––that your beloved king would protect you from the big bad Prince who what? Fell in love with you? Stole her best friend away? Was that my crime?”

He let out a humourless laugh, disbelief dripping from every word. “And she sure as hell knew exactly what she was sending my way. Didn’t give a flying fuck about me and my family.”

Jay made a soft, wounded sound; like the air had been punched from his lungs. His eyes glistened, wide and devastated. Rain’s glare faltered, guilt bleeding through the cracks of his anger. Jacklynn wrapped her arms protectively around her son, watching Rain like he was a live explosive.

“I’m sorry,” Rain said quietly, running a shaking hand through his hair as he stepped back. “I didn’t mean to take my frustrations out on you.”

He swallowed hard. “But I can’t leave. I can’t walk away knowing Snow is facing Drazier. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her and I wasn’t there to prevent it.”

Hischest tightened with guilt. The weight of responsibility pressed down on him; crushing, suffocating. Jay and Jacklynn didn’t belong here. This battlefield, this war, this legacy; none of it was meant to touch them. Yet here they were, terrified and loyal, dragged into a conflict far beyond anything they’d ever asked for

For a fleeting moment, Rain wished he could undo it all. Rewind time. Shield Jay from the consequences of loving him. Give them back the ordinary lives they deserved.