Chapter 50

Chrome

“I feel you,” I said, my voice low. “Not like before, but clearer.”

Gray’s rainbow eyes were wide as she nodded her head. “Me, too,” she whispered.

My energy buzzed, my magic feeling electrified. I noticed the difference during sex, but I wrote it off as just being lost in the pleasure. But when she orgasmed and expelled her powers, which is unusual in itself, I absorbed her magic. Not with my abilities, but into my aura—my soul. As if her magic had somehow merged with mine.

It didn’t make sense because I didn’t suddenly have her abilities, but my connection to her felt more concrete—like I could pinpoint her at any time.

As a test, I focused on closing off the connection between her emotions and mine. With a simple thought, the tether connecting us closed off, like the slam of a door. Gray jumped in surprise, feeling the bond go mute on her end, too. “Well,” I mused. “I figured out how to give you privacy now.”

Gray deadpanned. “Surely you can’t be a bit gentler than that?”

I nuzzled into her hair, breathing in her scent of vanilla and lavender. “Let’s be honest. You don’t want it gentle, little savage.”

Gray relaxed in my arms. “I just want you.” Her lips brushed against the skin on my chest as she spoke, her breath warming me from the chill.

“Just stay with me,” I said into her hair, the tones weaving together to resemble marble. “You’ll see that I’ll always find you.” I kissed the top of her head. “I swear on my broken soul.”

And I meant it with every frayed fiber of my being.

“I promise.” Gray’s promise stitched itself into my soul.

After some time just lying in our comfortable silence by the lake, Gray spoke up, her voice muffled against my bare chest. “What all do you know about the Twin Soul Bond?”

I sighed. “Not a whole lot, honestly.” Combing my fingers through her hair, I went on, “As I’ve said before, we share two halves of the same soul. It’s a bond that goes back lifetimes for us. And I know there are several steps that need to be taken in order to fully complete it.”

At that, Gray lifted her head to peer through her droopy lids at me, her brow furrowing. “What do you mean? What steps?”

“Again, I don’t know the details, just that there’s like some type of ceremony involved.” I hesitated, unsure how she’d respond to what I had to say next, but I wouldn’t lie to her about this. “And sex.”

“Sex? You mean we just…”

“Partially. We’re not fully bonded yet.” I bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. “I would assume that’s why we feel this new clarity between us.”

“And our magic…”

I nodded. “Yes, my magic feels different, too. More powerful and energized by yours.”

Gray dropped her gaze to a tattooed Elemental mark wrapping up my neck, her lips pursed as she thought about the new development while I continued to gently stroke her hair. At last, she leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on my chest. And the broken pieces of my soul seemed to find their way back together again.

I awoke in the comfort of my bed, warm and content—at peace. Behind my eyelids, I could tell the soft morning rays indicated dawn. My mattress shifted, dipping from the movement of another body at my side. I peeked a drowsy eye open to find Gray curled into my side, nestled into me with her arm draped over my torso and leg thrown over mine. And as my mind caught up to last night’s events, I took note of her essence, of how it was basically merged with mine.

I smiled. My heart felt so full it could burst at the sight of seeing the woman who’d rarely been treated with kindness or respect trust me in this way. To sleep beside me in her most vulnerable state. A man she’d once vowed to kill.

I was honored to see her like this. I felt how much of herself she hid away from those around her, even though she wanted to show it. After being rejected for the majority of her life, who could blame her?

Brushing the hair blanketing her face, the scent of vanilla and lavender settled in my senses as I pressed a kiss to her forehead. She angled her head back to meet my eyes with her sleepy gaze.

“Hi,” she breathed, her voice airy and husky.

Still grinning like a fool, I stroked my thumb down her cheekbone. “Hi.”

After we returned to the lodge last night, we forewent any activities the others tried to entice us into. No one commented on our close proximity or my possessive hold around her waist, but I saw their knowing looks as they bit back smiles as if they knew what had happened. We simply went to my room, where we fucked hard, gently, and everything in between for hours, just soaking in one another’s presence, letting every restrained breath free. No walls. No barriers in our bond.

No fears crept into our night together. Between the rounds, we laughed together. And I loved pulling that husky sound from her throat. And that smile…

As I stroked her hair with my fingers, she looked up at me with that smile again, turning me into a lovesick fool as tears filled my eyes.

This woman brought me back to life. She gave me back to myself whether she meant to or not. If she asked me to, I’d level the fucking world for her. I’d do anything. I loved every shattered piece of her. If I had to sweep each jagged shard up with my bare fingers for her so she could piece herself back together, I’d do it without a second thought. I didn’t care if it shredded my skin in the process. Hell, I’d search the winds for the lost pieces.

That smile would be my undoing.

I dipped my head, placing the softest of kisses on her lips. I groaned, feeling her arousal. My dick reacted immediately. I teased her jaw, then her neck. She arched her back. “Don’t we have…” she asked, breathless.

“No,” I mumbled against her neck. “We stay here all day.”

Gray giggled, further hardening my dick. “No, we can’t.”

“The fuck we can’t. We’re kinda in charge of the place.” I licked the protruding vein on her neck. Chill bumps raised on her body. I smiled against her smooth, gilded skin.

“We have stuff to do. Important things and shit,” she mumbled, her voice thick.

“This is important.”

Again, she laughed but threaded her fingers through my hair. She jerked my head back, pulling my mouth away from her neck. I met her amused gaze. “Focus.”

“I’m focusing.”

“Training. We gotta check and see how that’s going. Talk to Orion about the book…”

I lifted a finger and brushed it over her lips. “We’ll get it done, Rainbow,” I said. “But first, we’re going to enjoy me being inside you.” An unbridled fear rose to my chest. What if this might be the last chance we ever get? It was ridiculous, I knew. But I’d waited for her since I was ten. Sixteen years of waiting. The fear of losing something so precious, beautiful, and special scared me worse than turning Endarkened had been. Because without her, life felt hollow.

My eyes must’ve reflected my anxiety because Gray’s face softened. She slid a hand to hold my face in her hands, searching my gaze. She nodded. “Okay,” she whispered before leaning in to take my bottom lip in her mouth.

I shifted to where I hovered above her, kissing down her chest erratically, trying to chase away my panic and reassure myself that she was here. That she would stay.

“I’m here, Chrome,” she said, her voice a rushed whisper. “I’m here.” Her fingers tugged my hair.

My breaths came in short. “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t.”

Sliding between her bare legs, I threw the sheet off us, lining my face with her pussy. I licked her inner thigh, making my way to her center. She squirmed, and I held her hips down with my forearm. Slowly, I licked up the slit in her center, finding comfort in the fact that her taste was on my tongue. I groaned, locking my lips around her clit and rolling my tongue along it before giving it soft sucks.

After slipping my fingers inside, fucking her with my hand, it didn’t take but a few minutes before she was coming hard, all while I devoured her, drinking her in like she was my salvation. I lingered, lazily cleaning her with my tongue, reveling in her aftershocks.

I crawled over her, ready to claim her again. And again, until I felt sure this was real. That this wasn’t a dream.

We were real. She was mine. And I was eternally hers.

After two hours, I finally subdued the raging fear enough to be able to leave the room without being an absolute asshole to everyone.

Once again, she lay tucked into my chest. Her fingers traced the black ink that stained my gilded skin from my chest up to my neck. My silver currents glowed vibrantly. “What do the sigils mean?” she asked.

“Different things. They’re similar to the Kinetic sigils that we have branded.”

“I hate there’s so much about Elementals that I don’t know.”

“I know. Between me and everyone else, you’ll know it all in no time.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “It didn’t take me that long.”

“What’s this one?” she asked, tracing the one on my heart, right on top of the Freyr family crest. Two swords were crossed, and there was an outline of wings in the center. When I joined the Elementals after I fled, I wanted to cover it up in the most disrespectful way possible as a massive “fuck you” to my cold bitch of a mother by stamping an Elemental mark in its place.

One side of my lip quirked up. “It means king.”

Gray laughed. “I wish so much that she could see that.”

“She will. Just before I fucking kill her.” She wanted a monster. Well, the cunt got one, but now that monster was her worst nightmare for what she did.

The wicked grin that slowly rose on Gray’s face was everything. “I can’t wait to see it.”

I pulled her closer to my chest, so grateful to be here. So fucking lucky. “I’ll talk to Blaize about the letter. I’ll find him as soon as we leave here.”

Gray tensed in my arms. “What if he doesn’t have it? Then what?” she asked, anxiety creeping into her voice.

“I’ll find it,” I promised.

Gray exhaled a shaky breath. She started pulling back to look at me. “I almost forgot to tell you what I found yesterday in Orion’s office. There is this drawing of a stone…” she started.

My brows furrowed, my head tipping to the side just the slightest.

“It only appears when I’m looking at it. I think it’s the source of power my father is hunting in Arcadia.”

My eyes widened. “You think so?”

Gray nodded. “Also, I keep thinking about the Endarkened.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “What about them?”

“Something tells me that the Endarkened are not the natural order of our species. We know basically nothing of our origins.” Absentmindedly, she traced my tattoos and brands as she spoke. “It’s just…I feel like maybe, there could be a connection with the stone from The Book of the Arcane and the Endarkened.”

I forced a smile, not wanting to crush the hope she worked so hard to hide. Her eyes glistened with it. “There might be. We’ll look into it more.” I pulled her back into my arms, resting my cheek on the crown on her head.

Gray cleared her throat. “So, are you going to tell me who the scout was and why the hell you decided to kill him?”

My heart lodged in my throat. I hesitated, feeling like ice water had been dumped on my bliss.

“Who was it? Did I know them personally?” she asked, her voice quivering.

“You did. But it’s better this way. Trust me.”

“No, I deserve to know who it was, Chrome. Was it a friend of mine? Because let’s be real, I didn’t have a whole lot of them back at the Kinetic Palace.”

“Not quite.” That’s all I’d give her.

“Who?” she demanded.

“I’m not telling you. It’s better you don’t know.”

“Chrome…”

“No, Gray. I’m not doing this.”

“Was it Scarlett? Cotton?” Betrayal shined in her rainbow eyes. My heart twisted.

“It doesn’t matter. They’re dead now.” I clenched my jaw with a tight smile.

A lone tear slid down her cheek before she broke eye contact with me, gazing out the window. She nodded, swallowing back her emotion.

With my thumb, I swiped the tear away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to have to deal with more heartache than you already have.”

She sat up in the bed, sniffled, and shook her head as if to rid the emotions. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s just go check on the training.”

Just like that, she shut down her connection to the bond between us as she climbed from the bed. She didn’t bother covering her naked body as she walked to the bathroom, her back pin straight and her face a mask of stoic hardness once again.

I’d never hated myself more than I did in that moment.

Gray and I walked side by side as we observed the Elementals training in various groups. Pride warmed my chest as I watched even the non-warriors fought viciously. I loved the Elemental sparring style. It was quick, smooth, and precise, like a dance.

Kodiak and Void trained me, and then I learned how to combine the more brutal and direct style of the Kinetics with the Elementals to form a style of its own. I employed Onyx to prepare them for the Kinetic offensive and defensive strategies, hoping not to leave anyone vulnerable.

Finally, the past couple of months of preparation looked as if it were paying off.

I spotted Orion and Void on the other side of the field. With a nudge of my elbow to Gray’s shoulder, I gestured for us to head in that direction.

Gray’s demeanor hadn’t changed since my room. She was locked down again, and regret and guilt ate away at me. We had been so close only hours ago. Now, a major divide sat between us.

She stopped walking, her stare locking on a couple—two women. One with a sword and one with two daggers. Confused, I glanced between Gray and the two other women. The one with two daggers left her side undefended, earning a slice with the mortal sword. The woman winced and stepped back, recovering her stance with her two daggers.

Gray made a beeline toward them, running to stop them before it went any further. “Stop!” she yelled, moving to stand in between them.

The brunette with the sword was already spearing toward her, spinning in a pirouette to land what would’ve been the killing blow. She hadn’t anticipated Gray stepping in. Gray simply ducked and kicked at her feet, sweeping her while snatching the sword from her grip.

“What the fuck?” the brunette said from the ground, springing back to her feet. “Why’d you do that? Are you stupid?” My brows shot to my hairline, waiting to see how Gray would respond to this.

Slowly, Gray swiveled her head to face the brunette, her face set in cold stone. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.” Then, she turned her attention back to the blonde with two daggers.

I couldn’t hear what she said, but she took the girl’s wrists in her hands, rearranging her grip, and then directed her stance to angle her in a more grounded position. I knew Gray favored daggers, and she had no issue fighting against someone who wielded a sword against her.

When she was finished, she stepped back and smiled at the blonde before walking back to my side, her chin held high.

“I think we should train here with everyone, too,” she said as she approached.

I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what her angle was. “Why’s that, little savage?”

With a sigh, she said, “Because they need to see that their leaders train with them in solidarity, not isolated from the rest as if we think we’re better than them or something. I’m sure they trust us to be well-equipped fighters, but it’s another thing to see it firsthand. To see that we’re willing to fight side by side with them if it came to it.”

I chewed on my lip, rubbing my jaw. “I think you’re right. I’ll go get Onyx and River. We’ll spar with them, two on two. Me and you against them.” A mischievous grin tugged up my cheek. “What do you say?”

Gray mulled it over. “I’d love to kick Onyx’s ass,” she said with a smirk.

I bent down and kissed the top of her head before jogging off to retrieve Onyx and River, my magic and blood already singing with anticipation to fight with Gray by my side.