Page 234 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

But the cold air thrummed with urgency. Snow was in danger. The threat was closing in. And the consequences of his choices were already spiralling far beyond this moment.

Rain drew a shaky breath, steadied himself, and made the only decision he could live with.

“We go back,” Rain said at last. “I promise to protect you—both of you—with my life. But I have no choice. Let’s move.”

Jacklynn yanked Jay behind her, fear sharpening into defiant courage.

“You’re insane. We can’t go back there—they’ll kill us all.” Her voice trembled, but she stood her ground. “Leave us if you must, but we’re not going back.”

Rain’s patience snapped.

“I don’t have time to argue. If you want to stay, then stay. But Jay is coming with me—even if I have to throw him over my shoulder and carry him kicking and screaming up this mountain. I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to him either.”

He stepped closer, voice dropping into something cold and lethal.

“Stop being stupid, trust that I know what I’m doing, and get your ass moving. Hate me, wish me dead—I don’t care. But if your resistance delays us any longer and something happens to my sister… then you will have every reason to fear me.”

Both Jacklynn and Jay gasped, startled by the threat but they moved. Reluctantly, stiffly, but they moved.

Jay huffed as he fell into step beside Rain, his energy a tangle of dread and irritation.

“I can’t believe you just threatened my mum.”

Rain shot him an amused glance. Of all the things Jay could be upset about, that was the one he chose.

“Lives are at stake. I said what needed to be said. You know I would never hurt her.”

Jay’s shoulders loosened, though uncertainty still lingered. Rain didn’t blame him — emotions were running high, and there were too many unanswered questions between them.

“Rain,” Jay said cautiously, edging closer as they trekked over frost-covered ground. “I didn’t know Wren was talking to anyone. Not until they ambushed me at dinner on Verday.”

“I know,” Rain replied simply.

“I mean it. I had no idea. I feel so stupid—because it all makes sense now. How she suddenly started putting doubts in my head, pressuring me to break up with you. I thought she was being a good friend. I didn’t know.” His voice cracked with desperation; terrified Rain might believe he’d been complicit.

“I know you didn’t know,” Rain said, meeting his gaze. “And trust me—I made sure of it. It would have destroyed me if you’d betrayed me like that. Because I know you and I trust you more than I trust myself.”

He softened, voice dipping into something raw.

“Rouge…you’re one of the good ones. I swear the fabric of time itself would crumble if you ever turned against the people you love.”

Jay’s cheeks flushed – a faint warmth beneath frost touched skin. Rain felt it more than he saw it.

Jacklynn, catching them in another intimate moment, cut in with a hesitant curiosity.

“How long were you two dating?”

A simple question. Innocent. A mother wishing to understand her son’s secret relationship. But it hit Rain like a blade.

Because the truth was brutal: their relationship had been brief, fragile, overshadowed by chaos. As Rain considered the question, he realised that their relationship was really over and that he had already begun grieving it; accepting that whatever they’d had was slipping away. Jay was right. He’d clung to the hope of something real, something worth the risk… but duty had always been waiting to tear it apart.

As much as he wanted to hold onto what they had, Rain saw now that their time together, however meaningful, had been brief; a fragile moment caught between duty and desire.

Before either of them could answer, gunfire cracked through the air ahead. Shouts followed; then a roaring gale swallowed everything.

Rain’s instincts surged. He grabbed Jay’s arm, senses flaring as he reached for the battlefield energies, searching desperately for Snow and Drazier. They were close to each other; too close.

“Hold hands!” he commanded. “Stay behind me at all times. I’m sorry for what you’re about to witness but this is war, and war is brutal.”