Chapter 3
Chrome
“You ready for another one?” my sister asked, her presence hovering beside me as I combed my hair to the side.
The white LED vanity lights showcased the darkness forming beneath my eyes in the mirror, while the richness of the blue in my glamoured irises seemed duller than usual.
I wished I could set my full form free. I much preferred my unique Elemental eyes to my standard blue ones.
And the gilded skin that accompanied that of being Elemental would hide the signs of stress and exhaustion from my washed-out skin.
I shrugged. “Another day, another brand, right?”
Who didn’t love getting branded after school?
“They don’t even hurt you anymore, do they?
” Peri crossed her arms over her chest as she scrutinized me in the reflection.
If it wasn’t for the warmth in her honey-colored eyes, she’d be a spitting image of a younger version of our mother.
Dressed in a black A-line skirt and a white, form-fitting turtleneck tucked within, she represented class and elegance.
With a snort, I tossed the comb onto the dresser.
“I’ve lost count of them at this point. The Kill Marks are nothing compared to the Warrior brand on my chest.” My fingers grazed over the raised skin on my pectoral as I remembered that agony from a year ago, marking my position within Kinetic society.
“Come on,” she said, walking to the bathroom and rummaging through the drawers. The bathroom was much bigger than it needed to be for just myself. Too many drawers. But Peri knew where to look. It wasn’t the first time.
I followed to stand behind her as she hunched over, pushing through the assorted items in haste. At last, she straightened and faced me. “Here.”
A cool tube slapped my palm. Ointment. I looked up at her and raised a brow. “Thank you, but I—”
“Don’t wanna get any infections,” she snipped before chewing on her cheek. “Take it. And don’t let Mom and Dad know you have it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Obviously. Gods forbid I have any aid that might make me appear weak in front of everyone.”
A heaviness pooled in Peri’s usually bright eyes, dimming two shades as she didn’t bother to hide the sadness for me that she worked to conceal on a daily basis.
I sighed. “I’ll be fine, Peri. I always am.” I took a step back. “Just stay blind and innocent for me,” I urged.
Peri was only a year younger, but where I was the spawn of a Kinetic and Elemental, she was a full-blooded Kinetic from my mother and stepfather, their pride and joy.
She was cherished. For that, I was grateful, but I knew it wouldn’t remain that way if she let on that she knew more than she pretended.
With a nod, Peri released a resigned breath. “You know I will. Just stay safe, Chrome.”
I barked a laugh. “Me? Safe?” I tilted my head to the side. “You know that’s impossible.”
Peri clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes, blowing a fallen tendril of periwinkle hair from her face.
“You know what I mean, asshole. Don’t be a fucking dumbass and piss off Mom or Dad.
” She crossed her arms again, jingling the bracelets that sat draped on her wrist. “Or, gods forbid, the king. Can’t be attending your funeral in the Land of the Lost.”
Land of the Lost was the Kinetic stone building that every domain possessed to see off their dead. In true Kinetic fashion, we celebrated their lives and sacrifices with a revel after the formal ceremony.
“He can’t really hurt me. I’m too valuable, remember?” I asked, sarcasm lacing my acidic tone.
Peri flipped the middle finger. “Not until you win the Kinetic Tournament for the third time in a row,” she reminded me. “Don’t fuck it up. Not even for Slate.”
“He’s got my back.”
She huffed out a laugh. “Yeah.” She shook her head. “I know. Brothers…but not. Right?”
“Right. We’re family, Peri.”
“Family…”
“Yes. Family.”
“Does that mean my dad is your family, too?” Peri quirked an eyebrow, her victory displayed in the smug grin.
My stomach roiled, and my lip curled as I stepped closer to her. “Don’t fucking…”
“Exactly.”
“Fuck off, Peri.”
“Family doesn’t mean a damn thing. It’s loyalty, Brother. I know Slate’s loyal to you. But…just be careful, okay?”
“Aren’t I always?”
“Not when it comes to the princess…”
“What does she have to do with anything?”
“You almost always do dumb shit when it comes to her. Like trying to find ways to talk to her.”
I shook my head in denial. “You don’t know shit,” I muttered, thinking of all the times I almost broke the most cardinal of rules: Don’t talk to the princess.
But I couldn’t help myself, it was like I had been drawn to her.
Thankfully, Peri had always been nearby to stop me before I doomed both the princess and me to a shitty fate.
“Chrome,” my baby sister demanded with her hands on her hips. “You always have. Stop pretending with me. I’ve watched it happen.”
I glanced down at my arms, allowing the silver currents racing up and down them to put me in a minor trance. “It’s different…”
“I know,” she said, her voice softening. “You feel her.”
I nodded, forcing my gaze away from my arms to the floor, refusing to meet Peri’s eyes. She saw through me too easily. “Yeah. I know you don’t believe me.”
“I never said I didn’t believe you, but I—”
“But you don’t.”
She sighed, pushing her periwinkle tresses from her eyes and tucking them behind her ears. “I do, but—”
“But you think it’s—”
“Ugh, you assface. Let me finish a sentence,” she snapped before composing herself with a deep breath. “Because you latched on to the sweet and helpless girl on the playground,” Peri finished, cutting me off this time. “At a time when things were very—”
“Fucked up? Yeah…You could say that.” I averted my stare to the wall.
“It’s going to be okay, Brother.”
I chuckled, not amused. “You keep saying that.”
“It fucking will…” Determination hardened her voice as if she willed herself to believe it as well.
“Yeah…” I intoned, succumbing to the fate I’d been given.
“Come on. Let’s get you to the ceremony.”
I tensed my shoulders, squeezing the tube of ointment in my fist before shoving it in the pocket of my formal gear’s pants. “Fine. Let’s get it over with.”
In human society, what I was about to endure would be considered child abuse. But here? It was considered the highest honor of our kind. I’d receive another Kill Mark, the visual indicator that I’d killed yet another Elemental to add to the growing collection on my skin.
Such a proud moment.
My silver currents raced up my arms and neck as the crowd stared at me with wide, awestruck eyes. I ignored them all. I didn’t want to be here.
I focused on the same tapestry hanging in the back of the ballroom as always.
My mother stood by my side as if she were my biggest supporter while I plastered a fake smile.
A hopeless longing descended on my chest that spoke of a wish to be the other Kinetics in the crowd, so that I, too, could be ignorant to the dark truths of our leadership.
Sitting at the center of the dais, I briefly scanned the crowd for her. Either her ice-blonde or gray hair…I didn’t care. I just needed to see her. Turning my focus to the edge of the dais, I spotted Slate.
My cousin’s lip twitched. I tipped my chin at him as a signal to chill out. He straightened his shoulders and skimmed through the crowd.
A pale shade of purple hair caught my attention in the crowd. Peri’s eyebrows pulled together as she chewed on her inner cheek, her hands twining in front of her.
I offered a crooked smile to reassure my worried sister.
She tilted her chin upward.
My hand fisted the tube of ointment in my pocket.
Peri never wanted to be up on the dais with me during these moments.
She wasn’t royal or an esteemed member in the Kinetic community yet, despite how much everyone adored her.
I didn’t doubt she would be allowed to if she wanted.
But Peri wanted to be a comforting face in the crowd for me to focus on if it ever became too much for me.
“My fellow Kinetics,” King Forest called out, amplifying his voice through sonic Kinetics, jerking my attention toward him. “Our beloved Chrome has protected our kind once again.”
A suffocating pressure sank into my chest, remembering the guy I shoved my blade into as he pleaded with me to come home.
“While the second Elemental narrowly escaped his grasp,” he announced, conveniently leaving out Slate’s role in the ordeal, “he managed to cleanse the world from having one less monster terrorizing the population with their uncontrollable urges to obtain power.”
I wasn’t sure how much truth lied in Forest’s words because basically, everything the man said was a lie. However, I knew from experience the Elementals could be ruthless.
“For someone so young to be so accomplished, Chrome is our hope. He is our Warrior, representing our will to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to fight against oppressors who would rather deplete your soul and turn into a rabid beast than come to a mutual agreement with us. It’s such a shame, because I believe that if the Elementals and Kinetics came together, we could provide a better world for humanity to exist in as a whole. ”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his bullshit.
However, everyone else in the crowd seemed enamored and completely bought in, with their intent gazes glued to him.
“Chrome becoming the Kinetic Tournament Victor of Valor for the past two years is an achievement no one has accomplished within the past four centuries. Having already earned over forty Kill Marks at the ripe age of sixteen is something that none of us could have ever anticipated when we were graced with his birth.”
Nausea welled in my stomach at his bold-faced lies. Of course, they anticipated my power. Valik’s words from The Phantom slithered into my mind—the bold claims that Forest and my mother had constructed not only my birth but the princess’s, as well.