Chapter 30
Slate
The door to my family’s suite clicked open. Walking home from the training room, I bounced on a cloud. My time with Gray had me in a different universe.
We’d spent the next hour of our session laughing and kissing, talking about mundane shit. She had a thing for finding old, forgotten things and collecting them, envisioning the object’s history with its original owner. And she loved frogs, which I found to be quite endearing.
I stepped into the foyer and leaned against the door, smiling from ear to ear.
I couldn’t believe that happened. I had no idea where we stood now, but I knew what I wanted.
The logistics were going to be a bit complicated, considering the king might shit a duck if he found out.
We weren’t even a couple yet. At least I didn’t assume we were just because we kissed.
That would be jumping the gun. But I certainly didn’t want anyone else’s attention or affection.
Relaxing against the door, I let my mind bumble through its racing thoughts, springing from one thing to the next, involving all things Princess Gray. Nothing could bring me down from the cloud I soared on. I refused.
“What’s got you smiling like an idiot?” Hazel’s voice cut through my fuzzy mind.
I rolled my head to the side to meet her quizzical expression. “Oh, nothing. Just had a great day, is all.”
“Ah. Did it have to do with the princess, by chance?” she asked with a knowing grin.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s none of your business.”
“Which means that’s a yes,” she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Spill it.”
I sighed, pushing off the door. That was my cue to go to lock myself in my room to process what had just happened. Gods, it was the best kiss I had experienced yet. I couldn’t imagine it being better with anyone else. And I didn’t want to.
The walls keeping the guilt at bay faltered, my euphoria plummeting to the pit of my stomach. Chrome.
The kiss couldn’t happen again. Chrome deserved better.
“I’ll pass,” I muttered, walking past her toward the hallway to my room. “See ya at dinner.”
As if repeating my thoughts, Hazel asked, “Have you heard from Chrome?” At first, I wanted to ask her how she knew about Chrome’s feelings for the princess, but it was the heavy concern in her tone that jolted me back to reality.
Fuck!
The prison mission. Oh, fucking gods, how did I forget?
My body went rigid, freezing my steps. The way my heart dropped to my stomach reminded me of that feeling when I underestimated a rooftop jump.
Chrome, Peri, and Onyx were on a risky mission to the prisons in search of the Endarkened that the king was rumored to harbor.
It was against Kinetic law to keep them imprisoned in our jails.
A treaty with the Elementals had been put in place years ago that stated if any Endarkened were captured by us, they were to either be returned to the Elementals or killed on sight if they posed a threat to any lives.
But we were never, under any circumstances, allowed to detain them in our territories for risk of a breakout and the carnage they could create.
If other Kinetics discovered that Forest was, in fact, imprisoning Endarkened and using them to frame Elementals for the depletions of humans, he would be guilty of treason.
But by who, we didn’t know, seeing as he held the ultimate control of the Kinetics worldwide, despite the Lords leading the other domains convicting him. His vote alone overthrew theirs.
Kinetics needed better checks and balances within our hierarchical government, but that would never happen as long Forest sat on the throne. Another reason why we needed to get him removed.
“No,” I said on a breath, immediately reaching into my pocket, pulling out my phone to check for any messages.
“Grim is looking for him,” she said, her shaky whisper betraying her. She wasn’t supposed to know anything, but, of course, she had overheard a conversation between Chrome and me at some point.
My face paled.
They should be finished by now, and I should’ve heard from Chrome already. I worked to stay calm, trying to ease the panic that had my hands quivering. Nothing had gone wrong. Everything was fine. And Chrome would work his way out of trouble with Grim.
My phone lit up, showing a new text message—a photo message to be more accurate—from Chrome.
Fuck.
Opening the text, my ears buzzed loudly, drowning out anything Hazel said. Chrome had sent me a photo of a cell block full of decaying Endarkened climbing the bars, their rotting faces pressed against them, teeth bared.
“Where is Dad?” I asked, my voice barren as I stared at the grotesque photo. The picture held me in a trance, jumpstarting my mind to leap into another crash course of spiraling questions.
“Still working,” Hazel responded.
“Where are Peri and Onyx?”
“I don’t know—”
A light knock on the door startled us. We met each other’s worried gaze, thinking the same thing: it could be Chrome or one of the other two.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and held up a hand, signaling her to stay put as I rushed to the door.
Yanking it open, the last person I expected to see stood on the other side with a sharp, knowing grin.
Her deep violet hair hung in loose and full curls down to her waist. Her nearly revealing dress cinched her curves and accented the black and white patterned stilettos she wore.
“Ah, Nephew! Just the person I was looking for!” she greeted with a shark’s smile.
Thrown off-guard, I stuttered, “Hi…hi.”
Amethyst quirked an amused brow at my discomfort.
I worked quickly to recover the fumble. Straightening my spine, I met her feline-shaped, blue eyes that reminded me so much of Chrome. “I mean, hi, Aunt Amethyst. How can I help you today?”
“Expecting someone else?” she pushed, ignoring my amendment.
I shook my head. “No, not at all. It’s just unusual to have your company, which pleasantly surprised me, is all.” The lie was a half-truth, so it fell from my lips with ease.
“As much as I’d love to chat with my sister about her fashion choices, I’m here to see you today,” she said. Her sweet demeanor didn’t fool me, her eyes holding a secret viciousness within them that used to terrify me as a child. I always tried to avoid her if possible.
“Oh!” I said, planting a joyful expression while my stomach’s contents churned. “Well, of course. How can I help you?”
“Would you mind accompanying me to my office? We’ll be much more comfortable in there, I believe.” Her saccharine grin oozed with poison. In that moment, I could see how other men and women would fall for her seductive energy.
“Sure, let me tell—” I said, angling my body to sneak a quick word with Hazel before I left.
“Oh, no need, Slate. I’ve already texted your father and let him know,” she assured me. Her biting stare severed through my defenses, but I worked to maintain a stoic mask. Any sign of weakness to her was a signal to go in for the kill.
“I’ll be back soon, Hazel,” I said over my shoulder, hoping she got the insinuation that if I wasn’t, then something went horribly wrong.
I crossed the threshold, following my aunt to her office that shared my family suite’s floor.
Amethyst wielded the stifling silence during our walk together, a tactic used to make me squirm.
I resisted the urge to let my mind wander and go to the worst-case scenario.
I even shoved the photo I’d received from Chrome out of my mind, locking everything into a vault to combat whatever Amethyst had up her sleeve.
I trailed behind her, down the hallway of the twenty-eighth floor of the King’s Palace. She entered, holding the door open for me to follow behind her.
“Have a seat, Nephew.” She gestured with an arm as she rounded the desk, her hips swaying with each eloquent step.
I eased myself into the plush chair opposite her, sinking into the black leather, feeling small. I had no doubt she did this by design.
The office was pristine in its crisp, minimalistic style, lacking any warmth.
In fact, it exuded a cold energy, creating a hopelessness that burrowed deep.
There was a large wall-to-floor window behind her, but thick black-and-white drapes blacked out any natural light that could stream through.
Instead, lighting came from lamps throughout the space; not too bright and not too dim, but still slightly depressing.
Aunt Amethyst typed on her computer for several minutes, leaving me to sit in silence, fighting my brain to remain calm. Eight minutes passed, according to the massive, sleek grandfather clock on the wall to the right.
At last, she cleared her throat. “Sorry about that. I had some business to wrap up.” She reclined rigidly in her wingback chair. “Don’t want any distractions during our chat.”
Could’ve wrapped it up before you came and got me, but where’s the fun in that, right?
“Oh, it’s no concern at all, Aunt Amethyst,” I said, giving her the warmest smile I could muster.
“I presume there are much more important matters for you to contend with.” Growing up, I watched my father communicate with the king and Amethyst. And with the expectation to take over my father’s position one day, I was taught the communication and body language skills needed when dealing with people of power.
Leaning forward to reach for a glass of water on her desk, she waved a hand. “Oh, nonsense! Nothing is more important than family.” She pressed the lip of the glass to her mouth, her eyes meeting mine over the top of it as she took a slow sip. “Right?”
“Of course,” I said smoothly. I made sure to hold my posture straight, while appearing at ease. “Nothing is more important than family.”
This was her attempt to make me feel comfortable before she slammed me with the assault she wielded in her arsenal. I just prayed to the gods I’d be able to defend against it without giving everything away. One wrong move in the viper pit and it would be game over.