Chapter 28

Gray

“Holy shit.” It was the only thought that kept repeating in my mind. The implications of such a monumental claim were unthinkable.

“Wait. Hold on…” I held up my hand, having the most disturbing thought. “Does that make me and Chrome siblings?” I’m sure my expression was horrified.

Orion shook his head. “Oh, no. While they were married, you do not share the same blood.”

I visibly sighed in relief. How horrible would it be if I was turned on by a surprise hidden brother that I never knew existed?

Chrome worked to bite back a smile, and I narrowed my eyes at him for thinking this was funny. It most definitely was not fucking funny after this weird chemistry.

“How is that possible?” I asked, returning my focus back to the main point at hand. “They were killed when they…”

“When they were supposedly attacked by Endarkened?” Orion finished for me and then scoffed. A hard edge entered his voice. “No, they were deceived. Weakened and captured in the middle of the night by Kinetics under your father’s orders. He reduced them to mere breeding animals for him and Amethyst to torture at their disposal.”

I felt sick. My stomach churned as heavy chains squeezed my chest. “How…how do you know this?”

“Your mother, Lilly, as we called her, wrote me a letter detailing everything that had happened in the two years she’d been held there and everything your father had planned. I’m still not sure how she got the letter out, but I suspect there was someone who sympathized with her and worked closely with Forest. She appointed me the King of the Elementals in their wake until I found the two of you.” Orion looked back at Chrome. “She said you two are the only way to stop Forest and to restore our races to our peaceful ways.”

I heard everything he said. But it’d have to wait until later when I was alone to digest it. So, instead, I said, “What do you mean ‘restore’ to our peaceful ways? Has there ever been a time when we were truly at peace?”

“Yes,” Orion and Chrome both said in unison.

“Tell me how,” I said to Orion. He sat up straighter in his desk chair, bronze undertones in his ash-blond hair catching in the warm light of the room.

“My brother and Lilly worked to attain their vision of establishing true peace between Elementals and Kinetics. They wanted to end all conflict between our races. Forest’s father, King Brick, had been a rather benevolent leader for the Kinetics. He’d encouraged positive relations and worked with Jonas and Lilly to achieve it.

“The main issues at that time were the Endarkened. They were attacking humans and even a few of our kind. Because Endarkened were once Elementals, we used to always get blamed for their attacks. As if we actively wielded them as a fighting force, which is just absurd because they can’t be controlled. Brick was sympathetic to this. So, he allowed the Elementals to handle the Endarkened. He said it wasn’t his place to inject Kinetics into our internal issues. He agreed to capture any Endarkened that were causing trouble and hand them over, but that was as far as he would go.

“When he died, Forest rose to power. He was young. We’d all met him many times in the past. Each time, he’d grown more cunning, more arrogant. They knew right away he craved power.” Orion sighed. “As a teenager, he’d met and fallen in love with a beautiful Kinetic named Coral. She was common, but it’d never mattered to him. She’d became pregnant when he was just shy of his twentieth birthday. One night, she was out in the city walking back to the palace and was attacked by Endarkened—killing her and their unborn child. Forest only grew worse after that.

“Your mother and Jonas grew more concerned once he took the throne within a year after her death. They hoped they’d be able to work with him, that they’d be able to maintain the growing peace between our people.” Orion’s chin drooped lower to his chest, tightening his hold on the armrests of his chair as he recounted the history that had been hidden from Kinetics. He lifted his gaze to settle on me, reflections of his past rippling on teal seas.

He took a deep breath before he carried on, focusing on an oak log bracing the wall. With an absent-minded wave, a soft breeze swept around the desk before washing over his face and rustling his light blond hair. His element seemed to bring him some comfort as he shook his head.

“Jonas and Lilly hosted some delegates from the King’s Palace. Our kingdoms were close together in the northern region of the state. Ours was remote, in the mountainous landscape where we could be closer to nature and far from the dense human population.

“Several members of Forest’s court arrived, having led Lilly and Jonas to believe they came to work out a treaty that would bring absolute peace between our races once and for all. They remained for several days, playing the role of respectful guests. Little did we know, they were poisoning our food and drink with small amounts of crushed black crystal, weakening our power. It wasn’t until that final night…”

“Who was it?” I asked, cutting him off. “Who were the delegate members?”

Orion closed his mouth and cleared his throat. “There were many,” he said with hesitance. “But Amethyst and Grim, for starters. Smokey, Onyx’s father, was there as the Supreme Leader of the Guard…”

“Smokey was there?” I asked, dumbfounded. I glanced at Chrome, whose jaw was clenched tight. “But he’s the reason I made it out of the palace alive. I don’t understand…”

Orion cocked his head and looked up to meet Chrome’s calculating gaze. A silent conversation passed as they pieced together the snippet I’d offered. “That’s…an interesting development. I believe Onyx will be pleased to learn about.”

My mind worked over the facts, trying to make sense of everything. I grounded myself as I dug my nails into my palms.

Orion leaned forward on his desk, his forearms perched on the lacquered wood to finish the story that’d been withheld from me. “We knew something was terribly wrong that final night. Jonas and Lilly were pale, weak, and shaking. I, too, was in no better shape. The poisoning had taken its root and was at its peak by the time we’d realized. It was too late.” Shadows of regret shrouded his handsome features.

Orion reached for a crystal glass of amber liquid that smelled of strong bourbon. “They killed our guards and many soldiers in the middle of the night. Some were brutally tortured before they were slain, while others were silently killed with Kinetic magic.” He swirled the dark bourbon in his glass. “I was meant to die that night, but they underestimated the amount of poison required to kill me.” He took a large swig of his drink, not flinching from the taste or burn.

“Once everyone was incapacitated, including our king and queen, they took them. And they never came home. I became the new king, even though I never wanted the position. It was always meant for Jonas. He was made for it, and it was natural for him. I’ve never been one to make the hard decisions that came with the title. My strengths were in seeing the unseen, the hidden facets, and easing burdens when I could. Taking on all of it was…too much. I couldn’t rule an entire race spanning the entire continent. So, I did what I believed would ensure the survival of our people.” Orion took a more substantial sip of bourbon.

“I disbanded the monarchy and broke us up into smaller factions. I allowed all the Hollows throughout the country to rule themselves, but we all remained within a network with one another while going into hiding. I believe that move saved our kind from complete eradication.”

Chrome nodded in agreement. A mixture of wrath and anguish sharpened his features, the molten silver in his eyes swirling with fervor.

“Forest had too many resources. You know your father mingled in the human business world prior to Devolution Day, but he also secretly worked with the human government. They’d offered their help with their military weapons designed to kill both races. We stood no chance. Having us out in the open would’ve ensured extinction.”

I was speechless hearing the amount of carnage my father caused in the tale Orion weaved. Cinder blocks continued to pile on my chest, the weight almost too much to bear, making it hard to breathe. I stared at my hands laced in my lap, remorse burrowing deep in my soul for the lives I’d taken, all for the sense of gaining his approval and pride. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, unable to meet their eyes. “I didn’t know.”

Orion sat up, and Chrome straightened. Orion opened his mouth to speak, but Chrome beat him to it. “Stop it. What’s important at this moment is you’re free from his control and you know the truth. All we can do is move forward at this point to help atone for our actions of the past.”

The hard conviction in his tone forced me to meet his fierce gaze. He knew what I felt. He, too, had been a weapon for my father against Elementals, more so than I. And here he stood as their leader. I nodded and dropped my gaze to my lap again as shame swallowed me in its maw.

“You had no way of knowing any of this,” Orion said. His tone was much gentler than Chrome’s—calming even. “Your father kept this knowledge tight-lipped. Only a select few in his inner circle know the truth. And they were a part of that delegation.”

How could I never have realized the extent of my father’s depravity? He was the keeper of information for the Kinetics, so it made sense. He’d always been an utter prick—but this?

I realized I could never have made him proud. I didn’t think he was capable of feeling such an emotion for anyone, or anything, except himself.

I peeked upward through my lashes. “What happened on Devolution Day? Was he responsible for the EMP, too?” I asked.

A faraway look blanketed Chrome’s rigid exterior. I frowned, but kept further questions to myself.

“We don’t know for sure,” Orion answered. “We suspect he played a hand in it, perhaps with the human government. But honestly? That part remains a mystery, I’m afraid.”

I cut my gaze to Chrome again, who’d regained his confident air. Harried secrets—harbored in darkness—taunted me behind his mercurial eyes. They begged to be released from their burdening depths as if their weight grew suffocating.

The memory of Chrome’s vulnerable state in that abandoned house flashed through my mind. His washed-out complexion and trembling body had stricken me to the derelict floor. The wide eyes and mussed hair, the unsteady voice…his plea. “You remember, don’t you? Please tell me you remember.” It made my heart ache.

As I held his gaze, that plea still echoed through the silence. I remembered, but I couldn’t get rid of the niggling feeling that there were more secrets yet to be unearthed.

“You get a personal tour of the Hollow from yours truly. Many ladies would consider you lucky,” Chrome said from beside me, a smile peeking through. His hood was lowered and silver hair kissed his face as he led me along a maintained gravel path surrounded by falling leaves. The air felt cleaner, fresher—detoxed from the negativity that contaminated the outside world.

I rolled my eyes, but a smile peaked at the corners of my lips. “So, you’re the leader here. You conveniently left out that minor fact.” We strolled at a leisurely pace, and I scanned the beautiful shrubbery that lined the pathway. Floral aromas imbued my nose, lightening the weight on my chest a bit.

Chrome ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not something I feel the need to boast about. It’s a duty and honor that was entrusted to me by a good man,” he said with a shrug.

My heart squeezed. Nodding, I asked, “So, my role here is to what? Help you piece together the Elementals again and rule?” The possibility of one day becoming a ruler had always been there—just not of the Elementals. Yet the idea felt so foreign.

Chrome tilted his head and stuffed his hands in his front pockets, watching crows take flight from a nearby tree as dusk fell. “In a sense, yeah. But mostly, we need both the hybrids to take down your father if we want our world to survive.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. The confidence and hope he and Orion held in me was unsettling. The fear of failing in such a monumental task bared its weight on my chest and sank. I shifted directions instead. “My father has hunted for this place for years. Every mission he sent me on held the hope that I’d come across it. You did well keeping it hidden.”

Chrome glanced down his shoulder at me. “I know,” he said, a slight grin playing at the edges of his mouth. “Although, I thoroughly enjoyed our little game of cat and mouse. I don’t know what I’ll do to pass the time now.”

My shoulder bumped his. “How do you know I’m not still planning to kill you and sell this place out to my father?” I raised my brows with a smirk.

“You won’t,” Chrome said, his tone not leaving any room for doubt.

“Oh? What makes you think that?”

Those molten eyes swirled slowly, sending my pulse spiking. His voice was husky with emotion when he said, “Because you’re finally home, Princess.”

Something twinged in my chest at that word. Home. The place I’d called home for twenty-four years had always been cold, distant. Hurtful, even. Would this place be any better?

I pulled away from the gaze that had me softening. I didn’t like it. It had only been a year and a half since Slate’s death. How could I look at another man yet? And Chrome was already starting to get to me. I told myself it was because I was in a vulnerable state, and I was seeking the comfort Slate had always provided. That wasn’t healthy. Especially when this man seemed to have his own demons to contend with.

A heavy silence fell between us, the sky emitting autumn colors in the sunset that draped over us. Chrome gently grabbed my elbow and directed me to turn off the path to the right. We walked through vibrant grass that belonged to summer and stopped about thirty feet away.

Chrome pointed to the vast, abundant fields full of crops before us. “These are the fields where we grow our foods and materials for our necessities.”

The endless sprawling fields stole my breath. Rows upon rows lined the land that stretched for miles. “You guys don’t share any of it with the human population?” My breath fogged as I spoke, the chilling air wrapping around me.

Chrome looked at me as if I’d insulted his Hollow. “Of course, we share. But we ensure our people are provided for first. We trade with the rebel militia. But sometimes, we’ll place a haul in a known haunt for civilians to find.”

I looked at him. “That must’ve been Orion’s idea. He seems so…gentle like that.”

“It was both of ours.” He shrugged, facing the fields again. Before I could respond, he said, “Come on. We’re headed to the training grounds, seeing as you start first thing in the morning.”

I couldn’t help the small hit of excitement that rose at the idea of training. It was the only time I’d ever felt free back at the King’s Palace. “Great.”

My step faltered. The familiar energetic presence that lingered outside the speakeasy, and then at the scorse, tickled my suppressed awareness again. I was tempted to remove my bracelet to pinpoint the source, but I needed these people to trust me. No doubt they’d think I was walking around, planning to attack them if I removed my bracelet. And at the moment, it was nice knowing I had a comfortable bed to lie in.

The presence lurked—watching—rippling up my spine and into the hairline of my scalp, and it wasn’t from the chilling fall air. It was curious, biding its time. Chrome didn’t seem affected as he strode away in the direction of the lodge.

Shaking off the uneasiness that settled in my chest, I jogged after him.