Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Gray
Iate a late lunch in solitude while I processed last night’s events. Everything about Shadow in the alley kept chafing my brain. Between his ability, his familiarity, his power, and his threats...
Frustrated, I tore off a piece of tomato sandwich with more force than necessary before shoving it in my mouth as my thoughts turned to the dream from last night.
Or was it a dream? If he were here, wouldn’t the rest of the Hollow know of his presence?
And every time I thought of Slate, nothing but pure anger ravaged my soul.
How could he have watched me from a distance for so long, knowing I grieved his fake death? I just couldn’t…
No longer hungry, I ate the smallest amount of food possible in order to keep my body nourished. I pushed away from the empty table in the dining hall, ready to fight off my pent-up aggression.
The training room’s scent consisted of wood, dust, and sweat.
Oddly, it always slowed my heartbeat and eased the heaviness in my chest. As I approached the dummies, I found Void moving through stances on our usual sparring mat.
I strode toward him. I still might not have been his favorite person, especially after the events at the King’s Palace two months ago, but he wasn’t outright disrespectful, which I appreciated.
“Princess,” Void said with his back to me, his shoulders tensed under the twisted locs that draped over them.
“Void,” I greeted, my tone bland. “Shall we?”
The lead combat trainer for the Hollow turned around, his dual-ringed silver irises glowing at me as if he knew what I was doing. “Sure.”
I shook out my palms at my sides, not bothering to stretch beforehand.
The two of us squared up, and I waited for him to make the first move.
That was always the best choice when it came to Void.
Being on the offensive with him would be playing right into his hands.
He wasn’t one to allow blindness to hinder him.
Instead, he seemed to turn it into a superpower of his own.
“Wait,” Slate’s voice cut in, crushing my peace.
My jaw ached from clenching my teeth so tightly. “Go. The fuck. Away.”
“No. You and I are sparring today,” Slate deemed from behind me.
I closed my eyes, focusing on slowing my heart rate. “I swear to the gods, Slate. You’re not my fucking trainer anymore. We’re not gonna reminisce.”
Void raised a solitary eyebrow, glancing between Slate and me. “Come on, why not?”
One side of Void’s mouth lifted, and I leveled him with a deadpan expression. “You dick,” I hissed. “You really love to torture me, don’t you?”
Void smiled wider. “Why, Princess—or, Queen Gray—I have no idea what you mean. I think it would be really helpful to know where you learned your shitty techniques.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I threw my hands up in the air.
Slate’s energy approached, brushing against my own. It was a confident yet soft caress against my aura, telling me he would get his way. “Come on, Gray. For old time’s sake? You can even unleash your anger on me. I know you’re dying to.”
“I usually save my energy for those who are worth it.”
Slate grinned from my side, so warm, reminding me of why I’d fallen for him so long ago. “Come on. Let’s see how far we’ve come.”
“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I said, turning to face him.
“Noted. It’ll be my honor, my Queen.” Slate dropped into a bow.
I cringed. Not at him, but at the use of my title in such a formal way.
It was true—I was his queen. But everything about it all just sat wrong with me.
I didn’t like how I got there. And I especially didn’t like how he’d gone from calling me “Princess” to “Queen.” Just another reminder of how much shit had changed in such a short amount of time against my will.
I rolled my eyes, shoving my tongue into my cheek before I charged him without warning.
Slate laughed, his hazel eyes gleaming with excitement as he fell into a defensive stance.
I threw my strength into my front leg, using my legs and hips to land a powerful punch while summoning my element to give it extra impact.
Slate probably thought he knew my plan, having trained me himself when I was younger.
I was sure he’d been watching me like a creep from the sidelines after I fled the King’s Palace, too.
If I wanted to land the forceful blow I’d been desperately craving to hit him with since returning to Hollow, I’d have to surprise him.
At the last second, Slate shifted to avoid my punch. As I predicted. I spun to counteract his defensive move, and within less than a second, my fist smashed into his cheekbone with my element packed into the blow.
Slate sailed backward, crashing to the mat on his spine. He didn’t hesitate to rock up to his feet, pride shining in the suppressed grin on his smug face.
“You cheated,” Slate noted. “No magic.”
“You deserved it.”
The memory of my father informing me that Slate had died crashed into me. The sensation of being gutted and having my heart ripped from my chest resurfaced. I hadn’t wanted to leave my bed for weeks. I grieved him for nearly two years, determined to avenge his death.
Everything I believed had been a lie. And the one person whom I had trusted wholeheartedly had been a huge part of it. He’d known all along. Everything.
“I fucking hate you, Slate Helair,” I murmured.
Slate swallowed. “I know.”
My anger burned away the sorrow, especially as my conflicting thoughts of Chrome forced their way to the forefront. Chrome. Griffin. Whoever the fuck he truly was. Did anyone truly know? How many more secrets did he hold?
Both of these men had made me believe they truly loved me. Had helped me and brought me back to life. Had it all been an act? Because I’d never felt more used and discarded. Both of them were guilty of that.
Yet, my heart still raced when I felt Chrome through the bond, as weakened as it was and as different as it felt.
Letting my caged pain and anger drive me, I dove for Slate.
He easily grabbed me and spun me to the ground on my back, quickly moving to pin me.
I wrapped my legs around his thighs and thrusted upward, throwing an elbow to slam into his jaw. The movement allowed his grip on my arms to loosen, and I didn’t waste time knocking him off me.
“How fucking dare you manipulate me. I was vulnerable, and you used that!” I shoved his chest, making him roll away and jump to his feet. I followed quickly behind.
Slate’s eyes darkened, but he prowled closer to me. “You thought I faked my love for you? That it was all a lie to use you?”
“Of course you did!” I rolled out my shoulders, stepping into a defensive stance.
“You’re smarter than that, Gray. Give yourself some godsdamn credit for once in your fucking life.” Slate swung an uppercut to my chin, catching me off guard.
In all our years together, Slate had never spoken to me like that. He’d never sounded so offended or shown this much anger toward me. Perhaps I never really knew him either.
The punch rocked my teeth together, making them chatter while my vision went blurry for several moments. But I didn’t care. I regained my footing, returning the blow to his clean-shaven jaw.
The pair of us fell into a violent dance of repressed emotions that we unleashed in messy ferocity. We didn’t hold back on the brutality, as if beating each other would resolve our confusing past.
With each blow and kick, I unleashed the rage I held toward him. I needed him to know the extent of the pain he’d needlessly caused me for the past two years.
Slate’s face shone crimson, blood painting his smooth features. I needed more.
After several minutes, I found myself lost in the lightning-fast whirlwind of our violence. Distantly, I felt his savage blows in return, but I grew numb to them as my emotions finally found their target.
“All you do is lie,” I grunted as I kicked him in the chest, knocking him off balance.
“For him.” I stalked forward, my chest heaving as my vision tinted red from the blood dripping into my eyes.
“Never me.” Taking advantage of his stumble, I grabbed him by the throat, squeezing it with all the strength my exhausted forearm could muster.
“I’ll never be your fucking queen.” I headbutted the bridge of his nose and released my grip on his trachea as he dropped to his knees.
Slate’s shoulders sagged, and he made no effort to stand. His eyebrows drew together, and years of regret and turmoil tugged on his features, twisting my heart.
My throat clenched as my nose burned. “It was all a lie, Slate.” My voice cracked.
I tried to tear my gaze from his bloodied face, but I couldn’t.
It was like the version of him I had in my memories was truly dead, but having this version of him—the real one—in front of me pretending to be that guy was more torturous than if he’d actually died.
“Did I ever truly love you? Or did I love the idea of you?”
“Gray…” Slate shook his head, eyes pleading for me to listen to him. “You don’t underst—”
“You’re right,” I cut in, my words shaky as I sniffled.
“I don’t, because you, Chrome, and Onyx all seem to be in on this massive secret.
” I wiped the tears collecting in the corners of my eyes, mingling with the blood that smeared across my face.
“A secret that was about me. You made me trust you. I should’ve known there were ulterior motives behind it all.
It’s all beginning to make so much sense now.
” I inhaled, needing to stop the ringing in my ears from the pressure.
The dam threatened to burst, but I couldn’t lose it. Not here.
“There’s so much you don’t know, Gray,” Slate pleaded, his voice sullen.
“Then fucking tell me! If I hear that godsdamn line one more time, I’ll gut whoever says it.”
Slate sighed. “Fine.”
I stood there holding my breath, wondering if he’d actually give me the whole truth—or fuck, anything of substance for that matter.