Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Gray
“Kill me, Daughter.”
My father’s voice in my head urged me to deplete him.
My power had been too drained to fight off the call. And when I saw him stab Cotton in the chest, I gave in. The moment Shadow appeared and held him in place with a knife pressed to his throat from behind, my essence hurled itself at Forest and latched onto his aura.
From Shadow’s hands, bright green electric volts—contrasting nicely with my father’s hair—fired and twined around his fingers.
He grabbed Forest’s temples in his palms, and the former king’s eyes went wide.
Then, Shadow stepped around Forest, leaving him to collapse to his knees, and he flattened his hand to the center of Forest’s chest.
No. I wanted to kill him. Shadow couldn’t take that from me.
But just as I moved to stop him, he stepped away, leaving Forest’s head slumped against his chest. Weakened, but not dead.
When my father raised his chin, he met my eyes. I cocked my head curiously as a look of horror washed over his face, his eyes welling with tears.
“Gray. My daughter…” Forest bit his fist, as if whatever realization he’d been hit with suddenly consumed him.
“I’m so sorry—I had—oh my gods…” He sank further to the ground to the point that he sat on his knees.
“What have I done?” He gazed around at the scene before him, his horrified stare landing on Cotton on the ground.
And then he settled on Chrome, his jaw tightening as moisture filled his eyes.
I kept my essence attached to his, waiting to see what this sideshow was about.
“My daughter,” Forest whispered, his shoulders dropping. “I’m free now.” The slow delivery was solemn, heavy, and unsteady. “Celanea…she…she’s had a bond with me. Controlling me since before you or Chrome were ever born.”
“You’re lying,” I said, my voice flat.
“No,” Shadow replied. “He’s not. He’s been under her mind control, very similar to the way Chrome is, in fact. Except Forest isn’t an Infernal because he’s not a Celestial. Once I learned how to break the binding, I knew I had to do it.”
“I’m sorry.” His lip shook, and he bit on it as the weight of his actions seemed to crash into his newly freed conscience. “My fear and ambition grew too strong and—”
“It’s too late. None of it can be undone.” I cut him off. “You’re a poison. And nothing can change that.”
“I know.” Forest looked up at the sky, clutching the sides of his head in despair.
“How did you know this, Shadow?” Slate asked.
Shadow shrugged. “I traveled on my own for a while. Worked for the human CIA and learned how to discover things that were meant to be deadly secrets without being caught, regardless of the tactics used.”
“How did you know that your magic would work to break it?” Onyx narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him.
Shadow gifted a smile to Onyx. “I didn’t, brother. I just hoped my electricity would fry the dark, magical bonds on his mind and heart. I guess it worked.”
Brother. That was how he wanted to tell Onyx such a massive secret?
Onyx stilled. “Wait,” he said, rising to his feet. “Did you just—”
The sharp pains in my torso from the magic deprivation stabbed me. “Kill me. You can’t let me get away with what I’ve done, Daughter.”
I snatched Forest’s aura, dragging it to me.
“Gray, don’t—” Slate begged.
“I’m so sick of everyone telling me what to do. I’m a queen. I bow to no one,” I retorted as I drew his soul’s energy to me, feeding my own. The power it provided me grew stronger by the second, strengthening me to a point I’d never experienced before.
My head grew dizzy, and my chest expanded with absolute pleasure. I couldn’t get enough. “You’re dead to me, Forest. Bond or not.”
“She—” Forest croaked. “She deceived me.” He dropped his head, staring at the ground he knelt on, broken.
I released my hold on the energy from his soul just enough to let him speak.
“Before I ever became king. She manipulated me into loving her when I was young. Just a boy. She went by Coral,” he wheezed, his fingertips digging into his chest.
The painting of a woman with pink hair that used to hang in the living area of the King’s Suite in the Palace resurfaced in my mind. The one he refused to ever speak about.
“She fooled everyone…into thinking…she was a Kinetic. Including me. I’d thought she was the love of my life until she fell pregnant. But the child—the child lives. Royal.”
My patience had run dry. My mind rejected what he implied.
More secrets. More betrayal. I couldn’t hear anymore.
No longer capable of holding back, I snatched onto his aura, pulling and pulling, reviving myself with his strength.
The corruption that ravaged his soul and power now surged through my veins.
I could hear Slate scream for me, but it was as if I stood in a bubble. Onyx and Cotton watched as Forest keeled over onto his front against the cobblestones. Shadow glanced back and forth between us in stunned shock.
And Chrome, Chrome restrained Slate. He laughed into the sky and cried out in victory. “Little savage!”
When the thread that kept Forest alive snapped, I felt rejuvenated. Full. More powerful than ever. But as my mind began to clear, I realized what I’d just done. And everything that Forest had just confessed to me ripped out my heart.
So, it had never truly been him who’d done all those awful things to Chrome and me? It had been Celanea’s hand. He’d been merely a puppet for her to orchestrate this master show? How could I wrap my mind around that?
“It’s only a matter of time before Celanea arrives now from the Wind Kingdom. We need to move,” Shadow said, nodding toward the gates.
“Fuck!” Chrome cried in frustration, making me jerk my attention in their direction. A light dissipated from Chrome’s face just before Slate removed his hand.
Chrome heaved for breath, and when he lifted his head, the real Chrome stared back at me with all his self-loathing and remorse. “Rainbow, no…” he whispered, shaking his head. He ran to me, wrapping me in his arms. “Gray, I…” His words trailed off into my hair at the top of my head.
I remembered the words from my mother’s letter, knowing what had to be done now. My heart collapsed on itself, and I couldn’t stop myself from the sobs while he kissed my forehead, my cheeks, nose, lips, and chin in a hurried state.
“Gray, I need you to listen to me. Please,” Chrome said, urgency in his voice. “I can’t stay like this. I don’t have long. And I can’t keep doing these fucked-up things.”
“Chrome…” My voice cracked. “I can’t…” I cried, cradling my face in my hands. “What have I done?”
Emotions welled in his eyes, hugging me closer to his chest. “It’s going to be okay, Rainbow. You’re strong. You’re not alone.”
“But I don’t have you.”
Chrome pulled back just enough so he could cup my cheeks in his palms, holding my gaze with his quicksilver eyes. “You’ll always have me. Even if not in this life, then in the next, remember? I’ll forever find you.”
I nodded, a sob breaking free of my desperate hold on it. “You must live, Gray. Be happy. Kill Celanea and take your place as the true queen of Arcadia. Rule it with honor and grace. Be who they need.”
“Guys!” Onyx shouted. “I believe we have company now.”
I glanced around, sweeping the courtyard for the incoming threat. Infernals walked toward us, calm and detached.
The weakness and pain from before had been replaced with ultimate strength and power, so much so that I felt I’d burst at the seams from it. Combined with the crippling emotions, I was ready to explode.
I channeled the electricity that powered through me. I needed to eject it. It was too much. I summoned the electromagnetic particles in the air, building it for a lightning strike. Chrome grabbed my forearms to help me ground the power and serve as a conduit, already knowing what I planned to do.
When the first Infernal came into view, I unleashed a bolt to strike it where it stood. A hair-raising crack sounded, followed by a deafening thunderclap. A gaping, charred hole remained behind in the cobblestones, the Infernal eviscerated by the strike.
“Again. Just a few times,” Chrome instructed.
I channeled multiple bolts as we both directed them around the courtyard, aiming to eliminate as many Infernals as possible before they reached us.
I wondered where everyone remaining from the Perry Hollow were.
When only a few Infernals were left, Chrome looked back over his shoulder at Slate. He nodded and faced me. “That’ll be enough. Slate and the others can handle the rest.”
But I wanted to destroy them all. I didn’t care if it destroyed me in the process.
“Gray, you need to stop before you burn up all that energy again. You’re in devolution, so you’re gonna be susceptible to stronger cravings now. The more you chance it…” he warned.
When I didn’t stop, lost in the power, he yanked me into a kiss. His tongue immediately delved in to dance with mine. My body melted against his as he held the back of my head. “Come back to me, Gray.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” I whispered.
“No,” he said, his forehead pressed against mine. “You’ve saved me. Every fucking time.” His deep voice held every regret and every shame. “Did you read the letter?”
I nodded slowly, just appreciating his skin against mine. My throat squeezed as more tears threatened to rise. “Why did you give me that?”
“Because I needed you to know how to end this. I brought it to you that morning because I knew it was about me and the bond. But I knew nothing of the Eternal Sword. I’d hoped you’d find out.
But when Slate…” He closed his eyelids tight and swallowed.
“When Slate temporarily purified me for the first time when I left you with Brecken, I went to Celanea’s library.
Found an ancient book and stumbled across information on the Eternal Sword.
I pieced together what your mom had said in the letter, and it confirmed to me that you had to be the one to free me. ”