Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Gray
With each second that Celanea remained alive, my magic throbbed inside of me, a beating drum to the sound of war in my heart. I wanted her head rolling on the cobblestones, staining them with whatever color blood she bled.
Electricity flared to life in my palms, cobalt illuminating above the ground. Air powered through me, wafting through my hair and embracing Chrome at my side.
I watched as Cotton and Onyx’s fathers were shoved to their knees. Both held their heads high to maintain their dignity. They kept their eyes on their sons, never wavering from them.
As if she had just noticed the presence of our allies in white gathered around where the portal had previously stood open, Celanea’s golden eyes brightened with glee.
Valik was nowhere in sight. “Ah, my brothers and sisters. Fancy seeing you come out of hiding at last. I would say I’m honored, but betrayal is just something I can’t forgive. ”
The tall woman with the chestnut hair stepped forward. “What is your plan when you’ve drained everything for your existence, Celanea? Then what will you do?”
Celanea shrugged. “There’s always Elysium. I hear the Angels are quite powerful…” Her gaze shifted to Slate, a hunger gleaming in her smile. “Perhaps I should test it out now.”
“I’m not an Angel,” Slate responded, fearless in his strong tone and poised stance.
“Nonetheless. Your aura is so strong. The power that wafts from you is delectable.” The Tempest Queen giggled. “I can’t wait to sample it.”
I’d heard enough. I wasn’t sure if it was due to everything that had happened recently, or it was because I was already falling into devolution, but the anger that consumed me was blinding. This woman had taken so much from me in recent months. She had to be stopped.
I flung my electricity at her while she was distracted with my Guardian, blue volts wavering in the dim lighting of dawn. I lunged to run for her, but Chrome snatched me back by my wrist. Too late. My vision was already red.
“Gray…no. Trust me,” Chrome urged, his metallic eyes swirling with anxiety.
It only pissed me off more. How could he stop me? He never stopped me.
I scoffed at him, yanking my wrist free. “Don’t tell me what to do. Or have you forgotten that?”
“Timing, Princess. It’s all about timing.”
I looked back at Celanea. My magic engulfed her in a blue blanket that matched Royal’s hair. She seemed completely unaffected.
In a blink, she pirouetted to stand behind Smokey, seizing onto his throat. “Try anything else, and the traitor dies.”
I straightened and scanned the area to assess the entire situation.
Our strengths, our weaknesses. Chrome knew more than any of us what Celanea was capable of, so I trusted his direction.
It appeared that our allies in white had some history with her.
Slate had some Angel lineage, but who knew how far that power stretched for him.
Chrome was recovering from death. And me?
I was a rioting mess on the inside and already feeling the physical effects of devolution.
Apparently, Kinetic and Elemental magic weren’t effective on her. She was essentially immortal. Infernals surrounded us with varying psychic abilities. It made me wonder why Chrome hadn’t possessed that when he’d been Infernal.
Onyx stepped forward. “Take me instead.”
Chrome and I moved to protest, but Smokey shook his head. “No, son. You lived. Keep living, my boy. I love you.” And in a move that only a Supreme Trainer could master, he spun around, snatching the knife harnessed on Celanea’s waist, stabbing it in the space between her ribs.
Celanea gasped, but the sound of Smokey’s neck loudly snapping pierced the suspended silence over the courtyard.
She flashed a seething grimace, making her appear feral and wild, then yanked the blade from her flesh only to jam it into Smokey’s chest. She kicked the hilt with the bottom of her boot, shoving it as deep as the knife would go.
My hand covered my mouth as I watched the Supreme Trainer collapse onto his side, lifeless.
Onyx’s nostrils flared, his amber eyes nearly igniting to the color of flames as he stared at his father’s dead body. Cotton stepped forward, wrapping his fingers around Onyx’s biceps. Onyx didn’t move.
Cotton kept his eyes pinned on his father, his jaw set. Sage Sjodin remained bound on his knees, closing his eyes as Onyx’s father lay before him.
“Well, shall we proceed?” Celanea shrugged, not bothering to retrieve her knife.
“I must admit, when Forest brought me these two, I didn’t see their value at first. But after he revealed that they’re wonderful instruments to contain a restless fire, I have to say, I was wrong in my initial assumptions. These two are proving to be worth it.”
“Now, Celanea…Your Majesty…” Shadow crooned, a smile crooked on one side of his face, identical to the one that Onyx flashed when he was being mischievous. “I think you gave my father too much credit.”
My brows raised, then I looked at Chrome. What the hell was he doing?
Onyx balled his fists at his side, searing Shadow with a fiery stare. The only thing stopping him from his coiled stance from springing at his half-brother was Cotton, who held him firm from behind around his chest.
Shadow swaggered forward, striding with confidence toward the Tempest queen until he stood before her and dropped to a knee.
“Any parent of mine would’ve pledged their loyalty to you.
I know my mother would’ve. But Forest never gave her the chance, and she was killed before she was able to.
” He angled his head to spear Chrome with eyes filled with icy shards. “By Chrome.”
“Pity.” Celanea didn’t sound apologetic at all, even as she assessed the man bowing at her feet.
“Fucking traitor,” Chrome hissed beside me under his breath. “I’ll kill him myself.”
Celanea appraised Shadow. “You’re handsome, very much like my little pet, Chrome, over there.
I’m sad to say that I’ve lost too many people this evening.
It can’t hurt to replenish my ranks with a half-breed Celestial.
I believe I can make our bond special…” She licked her bottom lip, forming a predatory smile.
Shadow returned it with a flirtatious grin. “I know when I’m fighting on the losing side. And you’re just too beautiful and superior to ignore. I go where the power resides. I will serve you faithfully, my queen.” He bowed his head.
I shouldn’t have been hit with a wave of betrayal for someone who came out of nowhere and made it clear from day one that he wanted Chrome dead. It shouldn’t have crushed my chest like a brick building collapsing on me like it did. But regardless, I had trusted him to be on our side.
“Give me your hand.” The Tempest queen reached out her palm expectantly.
Shadow offered his left hand, his green currents snaking up and down his arm. His head remained dipped at his chest.
Celanea retrieved a dagger from her belt strapped around her back.
Slicing his palm, she stood over him and began to chant in a vicious-sounding language.
I grabbed Chrome’s wrist, hoping he’d look at me, but he wouldn’t take his gaze from his half-brother.
Instead, his scowl relaxed as Celanea continued to chant, and he cocked his head to the side, studying something I couldn’t see.
I looked around the courtyard. Our friends in white remained silent, but vigilant, aware that we were all surrounded by Infernals. Onyx could barely contain his breath from the rage transforming his face, while Cotton stared at me. “Be ready to shield.”
My eyes widened, and I nodded, immediately summoning my element within me. It thrashed wildly in a frenzied gust, not wanting to be contained.
As Celanea continued to chant, Shadow kept his head bowed low with his palm bleeding onto the uneven cobblestones.
With his right hand at his back, he gestured something.
It was only a flicker of movement, but I caught it.
His first two fingers slashed down at an angle.
Chrome must’ve seen it, too, and had some understanding of what it meant.
“Now!” Cotton’s voice permeated my mind, and I let go of the hold on my element, forming a shield around myself. When I went to extend it to encapsulate Chrome, I saw the ripple of his pulsating energy form a shield around himself. I’d never seen him do that before.
Is that new?
I glanced at Cotton, seeing him scrawling something in the air quickly before a shimmering ripple exploded from his body, acting as a barrier. I had so many questions for him, because where did that come from?
With the same hand he gestured with, Shadow latched onto Celanea’s wrist and leaped to his feet, maneuvering in a way that had her arm twisted behind her back.
The knife clattered to the ground, but disappeared the moment that it landed.
I glanced beside me, grinning widely when I realized Chrome had it in his possession now.
Chaos erupted. Infernals leaped into action, fighting with magic and weapons against the ones in white.
Void wielded two swords, ducking and swiping at Infernals with each stealthy step he took.
If the Infernals were employing their psychic attacks, they weren’t working.
Void took heads quickly and ruthlessly, managing to sneak up on his opponents from behind.
Chrome reached for my hand, squeezing it. He bounced on the soles of his feet, ready to fight, and flashed me a grin that I’d missed so much. With a wink, he tugged me forward. “Follow my lead,” he said midstride.
We ran toward Celanea, bypassing Sage and joining Shadow, who had cloaked himself in darkness.
Swords, knives, and daggers went sailing all over the courtyard, landing in the vital organs of Infernals. I realized it was Chrome, wielding his element of metal to minimize the number of Infernals we’d be up against.