Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Chrome
It was nearly three o’clock in the morning, and the humid summer air thickened when I was underground.
Even though Arcadia and Terraguard shared the same plane of existence, it didn’t mean it was easy to travel between the two.
The Goshen Kingdom had fallen somewhere near Ohio, so it took nearly seventeen hours by train to reach it from the underground speakeasy in New York, where I currently stayed with some human militia from my hybrid days.
None of them seemed to know of my transformation, so I took advantage of their ignorance to crash out for the night before heading back to the Goshen Kingdom in the morning.
I figured I’d poke around a bit in hopes of discovering any whisperings of the Seraphite Stone.
At the bar, I spoke to the new barkeep, feeling him out for any information while listening in to the militia soldiers around me.
I kept hearing Hogan’s name mentioned here and there, as well as Orion’s, but nothing about a stone—yet. It was only a matter of time.
I lay on the cot within the speakeasy, reciting Lilliana’s letter in my head.
The refined script scrawled on the aged paper was still imprinted in my brain.
Before I turned Infernal, I’d read the contents, but I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it then.
Once I turned, her vague warning began to make more sense.
Because of that, I’d held the letter hostage to ensure it didn’t land in anyone else’s hands.
Especially hers.
Except somehow, the old version of me had overpowered the Syphon Bond one morning, prompting me to return the damn thing to Gray. But knowing her, she hadn’t read it yet.
Unmitigated fury erupted from my chest. My ears rang, the anger blotting out the world around me.
Gray had the godsdamn letter now.
I launched from the bed and reached for the edge of the antique side table, tossing it across the small room with a clatter. I yelled, striking my fist clean through the moldy, underground drywall and the wood frame behind it. I heaved, not caring that I breathed in a cloud of plaster debris.
How the fuck could I have handed over the letter to her?
The sensation that always reminded me of a vibrating violin string reverberated in my chest, signaling Gray’s distress.
I snatched my fist from the wall, wondering what had caused her to emit such a strong emotional signal.
Our bond had faded daily since I became Infernal, but it still existed.
Unreliable, but still very much present at the most random of times.
Rising to my feet, I grabbed my fraying cloaked hoodie, covering my hair and face as I left the room.
The crowd of humans had dispersed; only a few night owls sat at the bar, haggardly chatting as I passed. The bartender caught my eye, raising a brow, clearly suspicious to see me leaving in the middle of the night.
“I’ll be back,” I called out without slowing my stride toward the heavy metal doors that led to the underground tunnel. My nostrils flared from the dank smell of earthy humidity and sweat, even as I climbed the makeshift ladder topside.
Once I shut the ground door, I closed my eyes, focusing on Gray’s panic waning in and out. I needed to get to her. Without her, I couldn’t—and wouldn’t—exist. I’d love her until my heart stopped beating…
No. I shook my head. I wasn’t capable of love anymore. She was mine.
A cloud of shadows sifted from my body, swirling around me like a storm of dark ribbons, until it lifted me from the earth.
Traveling like this felt like squeezing through a tiny crack between the realms, always leaving me in a pitch void.
My shadows carried me along, following my intention.
Thank fuck becoming Infernal allowed me this gift.
After several seconds, my feet met the ground again, dead leaves crinkling under my weight.
I hid within my shadows to assess the scene.
Too many lights were on within the Hollow for this time.
Silhouetted figures rushed toward the barn I’d hidden Slate in just a few short months ago so he could deliver information from Arcadia.
Immediately, I caught sight of Onyx’s orange currents in the night and a burly form that could only belong to Kodiak.
Curious, I trailed the tree line to see what or who they held inside.
I focused on the bond again, in an attempt to read Gray’s emotions. With the withering bond, it grew harder to connect with her at will. Distantly, she seemed to be calmer—on alert—but her panic had subsided.
It wasn’t until I approached the barn that I noticed the wards had completely fallen, and the Hollow was fully exposed. That would explain her earlier panic.
I crept as close as possible, protected by my shadows so as not to be detected. I focused my hearing, straining to listen to what they said behind the decrepit wood panels.
“Who is he?” Orion’s voice sounded drained, lifeless.
Go to him. Let him know you’re okay.
I warred against the inner voice inside me. There was no place for emotions here.
“I don’t know. He claims to know Chrome. Says he wants him dead,” Gray said.
Gods, I missed that voice.
“What Kinetic doesn’t want him dead?” Void’s dry baritone sounded through the walls. He wasn’t wrong, always so blunt in his delivery.
“Onyx,” Gray ordered, “the bracelet.” Pride swelled in my chest at how she’d come into her role as the queen I’d always known her to be.
Footsteps shuffled. “There, that should—” Gray’s words were cut off by a blast that slammed into the barn, knocking a gaping hole in the side. “The wards are down!” she yelled amidst the falling debris. “They’ve found us! Alert the lodge! We fight!”
Everyone rushed from the barn, leaving the prisoner inside. After the first attack, blow after blow followed, sonic blasts rocking the grounds and vibrating beneath my feet.
I debated whether to get involved. It didn’t matter to me if the Kinetics won this battle, but maybe I could use this as a chance to take Gray away to Goshen with me in the chaos.
More Kinetics began to filter through the premises, launching energetic attacks over the ground, lighting up the sky in vibrant colors. Urgent shouts and orders rang out from the lodge as Elementals took to defending their home.
Not long ago, I’d fought with them on these same grounds. This time, I was here for Gray.
Wind began to lash against the Kinetic forces, knocking them back into trees that seized onto them with their branches, twisting around their waists or necks, squeezing until their torsos were spliced in half or their heads dropped from their necks to roll on the ground. Clever.
Two Kinetics caught my eye as they rushed toward the barn. I cocked my head to the side. They must’ve sensed the Kinetic prisoner being held within, but knowing my girl, she wanted to hold him for a reason.
Making my decision, I let my shadows fall away from me, exposing me to the melee unfolding on the Hollow’s grounds. Popping my neck and shaking out my wrists, I strolled toward the barn with ease, unaffected by the maelstrom of Elemental and Kinetic magics or the sound of blades clashing.
My shadows slithered along my arms until they danced off the tips of my fingers, itching to be unleashed as I approached the hole in the side of the barn.
“Chrome?”
I paused, turning to face Orion, the uncle who’d been like a father to me.
Four Kinetics within the barn came rushing out. Two dragged an unconscious man—the prisoner—by his ankles behind them, while the other two flanked for security. Upon seeing Orion and me, they froze, then reached for the weapons in their belts.
My shadows darted out, grabbing hold of the daggers before they could, swiftly plunging them into the Kinetics’ temples. The unconscious prisoner’s feet plopped to the earth.
Without pause, Orion launched two knives, adding his element to bolster the speed as the orange sigils whizzed through the night and into their throats. The two flanking Kinetics dropped to the ground, no longer a threat.
“Chrome,” Orion repeated.
“Uncle,” I returned, meeting his eyes with my own.
Orion studied me. “You came back to us?”
I scoffed. “I’m here for her.”
My uncle paled. “What do you want with Gray?”
I couldn’t help the mocking, sympathetic smile that formed. “Orion Silas. Can’t be happy unless he’s saving someone from their own destruction, even if it means destroying himself.”
Orion blanched at my tone, hurt flashing in his wizened eyes.
“I hate to break it to you, Uncle, but Gray is destined to be more than just the leader of the Elementals in Terraguard. You’re only holding her back by keeping her here.”
A Kinetic blast flew at my head—microwave, it seemed. One of my shadows lurched out, suffocating the energy like a blanket would a flame.
Orion’s lips parted, eyes wide at the motion. “How… What kind of mag—”
I chuckled. “Nothing for you to be concerned about.” The amount of power I’d used to travel here required a lot, and the hunger inside me was beginning to surface, gnawing on my organs to let me know it wanted to replenish again.
I focused on Orion’s aura, sensing his power. He was my father’s brother, making him royalty. Knowing what I did now about the Elemental royal line, I knew his energy would be a high I wouldn’t want to come down from.
My fingers twitched, and a shiver rippled down my spine in anticipation. “Where is she?”
Orion spun, splitting the air into a blast behind him by guiding the element with his hands. The blast slammed into the two oncoming Kinetics, sending them airborne to both sides. “Leave Gray alone, Chrome,” he said over his shoulder.
“You can’t stop me, Uncle. I’m not leaving without her.”
Orion shook his head, turning to look at me, his face crestfallen. “Don’t make me fight you.”
“You can’t.”
“I can,” he said. “And will. I won’t lose her to your curse, too.”