Chapter 32
Slate
“That’s it.” I encouraged the princess. “Just like that. Perfect.”
“Ugh, why does it feel so awkward when I hold it like this?” Gray complained. “Why can’t I just grip it this way instead?”
I deadpanned. “Because you’re not swinging a noodle. You’re swinging a sword, Princess. And it’s hefty.”
“Gods, men and their fucking swords.” The princess rolled her eyes. “I much prefer daggers and knives.”
I chuckled. “I know. Which can be your weapon of choice, but you’ll need to know how to properly wield a sword in the event that’s your only option.”
The training room was full of Kinetics of varying ages present for their afternoon session.
Gray always did better when it was empty early in the mornings, but the king had upped her training to twice a day.
In recent weeks, she had grown in skill and had progressed to learning the basics with blades.
Immediately after my questioning with Amethyst a month ago, she had held off on my interrogation when someone informed her of important developments down in the prisons.
I wasn’t off the hook yet, but she wanted to see how everything played out before she dragged me before the Inquisitor.
Ever since, I’d been waiting with bated breath for another knock on the door by the king’s second-in-command.
Chrome hadn’t been seen or heard from since that day.
An entire month had gone by without a word or sight of him.
Peri and Onyx had relayed to me what had happened down there; how Chrome had forced them to leave as he weakened from an unusual form of magic.
My guess was that an Endarkened had been depleting him.
I showed Onyx the photo Chrome had sent me, and he’d paled at the sight. We both showed our fathers, and they were currently trying to rally leaders from surrounding domains to overthrow King Forest diplomatically.
“Well, I’ll just make sure I’m strapped down enough with smaller blades so that won’t be an issue.” She shrugged as if the solution was that simple.
“That’s nice and all, but it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes, you might need to steal an Elemental’s sword and incapacitate them long enough to get to your smaller blades. Especially if you’re pinned or in a tight spot.”
“Yeah, but—” she began to argue.
“Ah, look guys!” Golden’s mocking tone came from behind me. “It’s the delicate little princess playing with toys that exceed her mental capacity.”
I stiffened, rage simmering dangerously below the surface. I remembered when Gray confessed to me about the time he’d targeted her in front of our peers after training.
“You’re interfering with the princess’s training session, Golden. Leave,” I said, the threat veiled beneath my low tone.
“Well, it’s fair of me then to challenge her to a sparring match,” Golden returned. “It’s training, after all. Maybe she’ll learn a thing or two.”
Where in the gods was he getting his moxie?
Gray’s icy glare pierced through Golden. A few months ago, I imagined she’d have been locking down her fear in an expressionless mask. But in our world, fear was sniffed out by wolves’ noses. Even then, I wanted to pay back her abusers.
I ground my teeth together, wanting nothing more than to step in for the princess and fight this battle for her.
The drive to protect her screamed at me to do something, and once again, I had to stand by and watch Gray be treated with disrespect.
Thank the gods I had my newfound glamour intact to hide the steely glow I knew emanated from my hands.
Gray’s nostrils flared, and she dropped the sword on the sparring mat, her upper lip curling upward in disgust at Golden.
“Just the two of us, Princess.” Golden then cut his cunning smirk to me. “No interference because that would be a breach of our code.”
“Princess,” I said formally in front of others. “Remember what I taught you,” I urged. Walking to where we stood shoulder-to-shoulder, I leaned over and murmured into her ear, “And make him fucking bow.”
For the first time since I met Gray, she looked lethal. Since her training, she now had a life about her. She had a long way to go before she was ready for the final test, but I believed she could hold her own against Golden.
“Come on, then. Let’s show everyone how weak their adopted princess is,” Golden taunted, holding his arms out wide to his sides. “How the throne should never be handed to someone so entitled and unworthy. Even the king himself thinks so.”
My chest heaved. How bold of someone to speak to royalty like that. If the king wasn’t hellbent on publicly showing his disdain for her, Golden’s bravery to come at her would be non-existent.
Gray shook out her hands by her thighs. The black leggings she wore would afford her plenty of mobility while the white tank clung to her figure, so it wouldn’t be something for him to grab onto.
Her vibrant blue currents raced up and down her arms and neck, increasing in speed as her anger grew.
She adjusted her hair into a tight bun while spearing Golden with an animalistic glare.
Squaring up with Golden on the sparring mat, she positioned her relaxed fists in front of her face defensively, her feet planted in the right place.
Her back was to me, so I couldn’t see where her eyes focused, but surely she remembered me drilling into her head to train them on her opponent’s chest, not eyes.
It was difficult to predict a damn thing that way.
Unsurprisingly, Golden was the first to strike. With a quick jab to Gray’s chest, she stepped to the side to dodge, knocking his forearm aside with her own.
My heart clenched. The unrelenting drive to jump in and kick Golden’s ass myself was going to drive me insane.
A crowd formed around the mat that Golden and Gray occupied, watching their princess in action. Everyone was expecting to see Gray lose, but I only hoped she proved them all wrong.
Gray leaned in for a strike, to which he blocked and then swiftly returned, landing a harsh blow to her gut. She grunted from the impact, but maintained her composure.
“One day,” Golden said, “you’ll be answering to me. I’ll be the legendary one.”
My eyebrows shot to my forehead. Excuse me? The laugh that barked from my chest had Golden’s glare darting at me.
Gray capitalized on the slight distraction and fired quick jabs to his cheekbone and liver. Golden stumbled back, nursing his side with a cough. Gray didn’t hesitate and swept his feet from underneath him, shoving him in the chest to the floor, helping his descent.
The action was so quick that Golden didn’t have a chance to defend himself. Straddling his stomach, Gray’s knees dug into either side of his ribs before she began pummeling his temples, making sure to throw in swift hammer fists to his nose and eyes.
The brutality of her blows was the result of years of repressed rage. No longer did she have to take others’ abuse. No longer helpless. The little warrior that she was rose to the surface. Pride threatened to burst from my chest for her new empowerment.
Golden blocked his face, exposing his other weak points, which Gray targeted.
Finally, Golden seemed to snap out of it, bucking her off his torso.
Gray plunged forward over his head, catching herself and rolling away.
He spun onto his front, latching onto her ankle and clumsily snatching her back to the mat.
It was Golden’s turn to take the upper hand as he scrambled on top of her.
My fists clenched at my sides as my heart beat a death knell within its cage, sounding my vengeance for the man who thought he could hurt my girl.
“Who knew Princess Gray would be scrappy?” Golden chuckled, a hand sliding around her throat while his other hand pinned her wrists to the floor above her head. “But now that you’ve had your temper tantrum, you can be reminded of your place.”
I wasn’t sure what he thought was going to happen. Clearly, he thought she’d cave to his will. He’d underestimated her and her growth over the past several months. And despite the pulsating drive to storm the mat and beat the shit out of him, I trusted Gray would give his ego a lashing.
I crossed my arms, relaxing into my stance as the crowd around us started to jeer Golden on. It disgusted me. I’d never truly seen the king’s brainwashing for myself until this moment. In a way, I was glad because at least now, I got to witness the moment Princess Gray would claim her respect.
Golden released his hold on Gray’s throat and wrist to launch blow after blow against her face. She took the pain in stride.
“Fucking block him, Gray,” I muttered under my breath, unable to tear my eyes away from her getting beaten. Grimacing, I held my breath, waiting for her to do something to take the upper hand.
The longer she took, the louder the crowd cheered and chanted, “Not our princess! Beat the weak!”
Without realizing it, I had taken steps toward the sparring mat. An arm slapped against my diaphragm to stop me. “No interference! If she can’t hack it, then she doesn’t deserve to be here,” a guy with iridescent hair told me without removing his gaze from what appeared to be a loss for my girl.
“Tap out, Princess, or I keep going,” Golden taunted, continuing to pulverize her bloody face.
Gray tried to strike him in the side, but Golden blocked with his arm. But the move gave her the reaction she wanted. While he blocked her lower punch, she snuck one to his throat, abruptly halting his assault.
Gray didn’t hesitate. Pushing onto her knees, she hooked an arm around his throat in the position I taught her. She squeezed tight, falling onto her back and wrapping both legs around his midsection to trap his arms at his sides as he fell on top of her.
The move quieted the bloodthirsty crowd. No one expected to see her come back from what looked like a sure loss.
My fingers dug into my biceps as I waited for her to make him pass out. Golden flailed, trying to release his arms or to knock her hold from him.