Chapter 36

Gray

“You’re actually an Elemental, I see,” Void said, none too impressed.

I gave him a smirk. “Sorry to disappoint.”

My muscles were sore from training yesterday, so I made a point to stretch before today’s session.

Void stood in his cool indifference, his blank stare tracking me as if he could see my movements.

“How can you tell I’m an Elemental if you can’t see?” I lifted my head from the bent position that stretched my hamstrings.

Void narrowed his eyes, his thick arms banding across his muscular chest, which was partially exposed in the gray tank he wore. Black ink marred the skin, but I couldn’t discern the designs. “Just because I can’t see doesn’t mean I’m deaf to the gossip of this Hollow.”

I rolled my eyes. “Right.” I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Void shifted and reached into his back pocket. “I brought something. Figured it would make you a bit more trustworthy during our sessions.”

I cocked my head, ignoring the jab at my character. He pulled out a black cotton cloth from his pocket—a handkerchief.

“If you wanted to get kinky and level the playing field, Void, all you had to do was ask.” There was a part of me that needed to crack his apathetic front.

Void dropped his arms, and the handkerchief fluttered at his side. He deadpanned his features even more. “Could you not?”

I chuckled. “Whatever. Lay it on me, big guy.”

Void answered with silence and moved to stand behind me. How did he move so damn silently? He wrapped the cloth around my eyes, binding it at the back of my head, with a jerk.

“Okay, I can’t see. Let’s get down and…” My back slammed to the floor, stealing the end of my smartass retort. A heavy body pressed down on my torso.

“Okay,” I wheezed. “I see you like it rough. I can adjust.”

A sigh of exasperation reached me as the weight lifted from my body. “You talk too much.”

“Actually, I don’t. You just bring out the best in me,” I said, wiggling my shoulders.

“Focus.”

I sighed dramatically. “Fine,” I grumbled, tuning my senses into my surroundings.

This time, before he wrapped me in a chokehold, I heard it. The slightest movement to my right. It wasn’t enough, however, to prevent the inevitable whoosh of air that left my lungs. I was too slow.

“I heard you,” I said, grunting as I stood up.

“But you still failed. Try again,” Void instructed.

And on it went. Each time I sensed him, either I felt the air brush against me or heard its whisper, or even caught a whiff of his scent. But I was never quick enough to deflect him. It was a start. And I was a fast learner.

Lunch in the dining hall was the same as the day prior. Onyx and River accompanied me for the first half of my meal. Kodiak—the kind, beefy warrior—joined us for the second half.

I couldn’t help myself as I found my eyes subconsciously searching the room for Chrome. He never came by.

“So,” Onyx said, “how does being an Elemental feel?” He propped his elbows on the table and waited for my reply. My expression must’ve been bland because his eyes widened, shaking his head. “What? You just discovered a new part of yourself. You gotta feel different, right?”

I huffed out a breath before shoveling another spoonful of potatoes and stuffing it into my mouth. “I mean, aside from the new element that I always feel stirring inside me, I feel like myself.” If one defined their identity to be completely lost, then I suppose that could be true.

“What is your element, anyway?” River asked, her sharp, violet gaze piercing me to my seat. I wasn’t sure if it was socially acceptable to be asking such things, if they considered their elements personal information or not. River gave me a cunning, burgundy smile. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” A wicked smile, indeed.

I gave her a pointed look. “Fine,” I said, stabbing the juicy slab of roast beef on my plate. “Air.”

“Shit,” Onyx hissed and dug into back pocket, retrieving a knife and sliding it across the table to River. “You may take my blades, but you will not take my pride, woman!”

“Water,” River snipped as she snatched the knife with fluid grace and analyzed it. Her gaze devoured it the way Onyx devoured the mounted food on his plate.

I looked between the two of them before settling on Kodiak. The mountainous man sat with a bemused expression and then shook his head to himself before returning to his food.

“Uh, am I missing something?” I asked, confused. Feeling like, yet again, the butt end of a joke.

Kodiak looked at me with rich emerald eyes that reminded me of a spring field. “They made a bet on what your element would be.” He took a sip of water. The glass clanked on the table with a soft thud before he went on. “River won. And in the process, she won the coveted knife she’s been hounding Onyx about for years now. It’s a rare blade that completes an entire set of its kind.”

I snorted, relieved that it was something innocent this time around. “Serves you right, Onyx.”

Onyx reeled in his seat, his head shaking so fast one would’ve thought he’d earned a blindsided punch. “What the fuck? Why?”

I smiled. “For holding out on River’s collection.”

His jaw gaped wide. “Wait a minute,” he said, recovering enough to hold up a glowing orange hand. “She stole that priceless collection. I figured it’d only be right if the entire set was stolen, too. It’d make it even more rare and special, ya know? If you start something, you gotta see it all the way through. Don’t get lazy at the end.”

Kodiak rumbled a deep laugh between the two of us. “You’re a piece of work; you know that, O?”

“What? You can’t tell me you don’t see the value,” Onyx said. “Come on.”

River cleared her throat. After having inspected, cleaned, and stashed away the blade, she returned her attention to the conversation. She pushed her plate aside, then clasped her hands together delicately. “Onyx, the point is…” She flattened her severe features. “You’re a shithead.” Then she turned her intense stare on me. “Now you know.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing and looked down at my plate, spearing some fresh and seasoned green beans.

“Who cooks the food here?” I asked anyone willing to answer. This food was fucking divine.

“My mother,” Kodiak said from beside me. “Like me, she’s an earth Elemental.”

“Your mom cooks this food of the gods? No wonder you’re fucking built like that.”

Onyx choked on his food while River chuckled. Kodiak fought to hide his smile but wasn’t successful. “Yes,” he said, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin. “She runs the Elemental’s farming operations.”

“Why doesn’t she get others to cook, then? Surely that would be less work for her?”

Kodiak offered a wistful grin. “She loves it. Cooking is her passion. She always says she wants everyone to experience some sliver of happiness in this shitty situation we’re all in. That if she can contribute by providing delicious food, then she is happy.”

“She sounds lovely,” I said, averting my eyes back to the food in front of me. A deep sense of longing nestled deep in my heart, wishing I’d been raised here rather than at the King’s Palace.

My heart dropped to my stomach, remembering that I had a session with Chrome. But then I cursed the flutter that quickly followed.

I cleared my eating area, trying to hide the mounting nerves. “I gotta go train with Chrome.”

“Uh,” Onyx piped in. When I looked at him, he was glancing between Kodiak and River.

“Out with it,” I sighed, deflating the tension I’d worked myself into.

But it was Kodiak who answered. “Chrome isn’t able to work with you today. He didn’t get the chance to tell you himself, but he went out on a small mission.”

My brows pinched. How come I didn't know about this? Was he purposefully ignoring me after yesterday? Would he not be training me at all anymore? I couldn’t blame him if that were the case.

“Oh,” I said, relaxing back into my seat, embarrassed. “Thanks for telling me.”

“We’re headed to the training arena to squeeze in a sparring session. You wanna join?” River asked, surprising me.

I didn’t want to intrude or interfere with their plans, so I scanned their faces. Onyx looked hopeful, while Kodiak gave an encouraging soft smile. “You’re welcome to join us. I’m supposed to be training with you in physical combat, anyhow,” he said with a nod.

“I don’t want to interfere…”

“You’re not. Swear it, Gray. It’ll be fun to train with a Kinetic again. Keep me on my toes,” Onyx said, assuring me.

“You think you can keep up?” I taunted, surprised at how natural it felt.

Onyx gave a devious grin, a challenge written all over it. His pitch-black hair glinted from the sunlight filtering through the glass doors. “You’re on, Princess.”

The four of us paired up into teams of two in the training arena: guys versus girls. It was River’s idea. She’d said the men around here were weak compared to the females.

Kodiak also wanted to sense my skill level—like Void had—so he could better train me.

I stood beside River in a sparring stance, shoulders squared, knees bent, and hands facing outward. We stood against the two men before us. One happened to be a giant in his own right.

I felt confident in my chances of taking out Onyx. We’d trained in the same place, likely by the same people—his father being one of them. But Onyx had earned himself an esteemed reputation within the Guilds as a guard back at the Kinetic stronghold. Well, not just at the Palace, but amongst the Kinetics all over the world.

Our abilities weren’t to be used. They never were in the training arena. It was strictly for sparring and weapons only. No holds barred.

We all circled each other, sizing one another up. I wanted to match with Onyx, but I could tell the plan was for Kodiak to spar with me one-on-one.

It was Onyx who made the first move on River, all traces of the earlier humor and light-hearted nature gone. He became the fighter I’d always heard about. He feigned as if he were going to tackle her, and when she deflected, he struck her with his shin in her thigh, using a diagonal kick. She almost fell but stumbled to catch herself, which allowed Onyx the slight window of opportunity to exploit her momentary weakness.

That was all I could witness before I caught Kodiak’s advance. I honed in on my target. He braced his hands in front of him, mirroring my own, but with lightning-quick speed, he threw a jab at my ribs. Because I wasn’t expecting his swiftness, I wasn’t able to defend against it in time.

I felt a bone crack, followed by a sharp pain that reverberated in my lungs, robbing me of my breath. I grunted but refused to nurse the injury.

I managed to land several blows before Kodiak started anticipating them. After he blocked my strikes, I aimed for the sensitive spot on the side of his knee. I thought I had him when he stumbled, but once again his agility took me by surprise.

In a blur, he landed three consecutive jabs—my cheek, ribs, and waist. In the half moment when I reeled from the confusion, he had me pinned on my back with two of my limbs locked in a bear hold. I gasped for air. A sharp pain seared my ribs with each breath as I waited for the healing process to begin.

“Fuck,” I grunted, tapping out on the floor. “That was unexpected.”

Kodiak released my limbs and rolled his crushing weight off my body. A deep chuckle rumbled through his chest, and he held out a palm to me to help me to my feet. “You’re really good, Princess. But you have room to improve.”

I nodded. “Do your worst.”

“You’re a fucking cheat!” River yelled, her sharp voice echoing throughout the training arena.

I looked over as I heard a deafening crack. Onyx lay on his back, a hand clutching his cheekbone. He released a long string of curses. “I didn’t cheat, you cruel woman.”

River stood over him, arms crossed over her chest. “I know.”

I cocked an eyebrow at the two, confused by their antics. River stepped over him without a second glance. Then she settled those laser-focused eyes on me. “Go again?”

Three hours of sparring went by. Kodiak bested me several more times before I swapped with Onyx, where we each got several wins in. It took some time for me to maneuver around the Elemental’s fighting style, but I adjusted and had Onyx on his ass a few times.

Kodiak would observe me while he and River took a break, offering tips and suggesting new techniques once the round between us was over.

It was a lighthearted session. Back at the King’s Palace, that didn’t exist. The Kinetic culture was so cutthroat that they considered anything less a weakness. I preferred the Elemental way.

“Well, that was fun,” Onyx said as we walked out of the training arena. It was unusually warm outside, considering it was the beginning of November. It was Georgia, however, which meant the weather changed its mind every other week. The pleasant reprieve from the chilly air allowed me to spend more time outdoors.

“So, it’s different from back at the King’s Palace, isn’t it?” Onyx asked. The late afternoon sun blinded us as we rounded the corner of the building, spotting a copse of oak trees to my right.

“It’s the attitude here that has surprised me the most,” I said. “People are actually happy.”

“Yeah. We are. We don’t have a dictator threatening our livelihoods at every turn. There’s a freedom here that doesn’t exist back there.”

Freedom. The word rang around in my mind and struck me with longing. It was what I’d always craved. I’d never expected it to happen, but could I possibly be free here?

Onyx stopped walking. He combed his fingers through his star-flecked hair. His bright currents were stark against the deep reddish-brown hue of his complexion. He glanced around, awkwardness taking over. “I just want to say,” he said, averting his gaze. “How the Kinetics treated you was total shit. The propaganda your father spread was…” Onyx shook his head and cleared his throat, meeting my eyes again. “I never bought into it. I always felt a king who publicly humiliated his own daughter—adopted or not—shouldn’t be trusted. Turns out my intuition was right. I’m glad you’re free and are here with us now…where you’re wanted.”

Tears stung my eyes as a knot formed in my throat. Why was everyone being so nice to me? I didn’t feel like I deserved it.

I tried to swallow the knot, offering him a grateful smile. “Thank you for telling me that.” My hand went to my chest. “Until now, I never realized how much I needed to hear it.”

Onyx dipped his head. “You’re a badass and our future queen. I gotta get on your good side from the start, ya know?”

A chuckle escaped me, followed by a sniffle. “Ass-kisser,” I muttered.

Onyx threw a hand to his chest. “An ass-kisser I may be, but at least you know I’ll have your back.”

Without warning, Onyx wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. I tensed beneath his grip. I wasn’t a hugger.

“I’m your new bestie. Get used to it,” Onyx whispered into the top of my hair. “Come on, G. Just relax. I’m not gonna take you hostage.”

“Are you sure about that?” another male voice piped in from behind Onyx, saving me from the assault.

The kid with flaming orange eyes that sparkled with mischief stood with a smirk on his face. “Well,” he said. “Looks like you are, in fact, full of rainbows.” He looked way too pleased with himself.

I recalled the remark he’d made in the meeting, “Well, isn’t she just full of rainbows?” I remained silent, observing the younger male, who oddly resembled River.

Onyx looked at my eyes and barked a laugh as it registered. “Blaize, meet the ever-cheerful Princess Gray. Gray, this is Blaize, the Hollow’s resident nuisance.”

Blaize punched Onyx in the arm. “I take offense to that.” He picked off the invisible lint on his white shirt before settling those fiery eyes on me. “I’m the bringer of joy, but it comes with the drawback of attracting joy killers. One must overlook such deviants and keep the spirits high.”

Who was this kid? He had a naturally easy aura about him, making it difficult not to smile.

Onyx rolled his eyes. “That’s a little excessive…”

“’Tis not!” Blaize declared with conviction. “The likes of you and those of your kind are what’s excessive. You with your…” He crinkled his button nose, scrunching up his high cheekbones. “Your rabble-rousing and childish antics.”

“I think you’re confusing me with yourself, Blaize,” Onyx said, shaking his head.

Blaize whipped his head to face me. A black strand of hair fell loose from the top knot on his head. “Is he bothering you, my lady? I can easily get rid of him.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Blaize. Do I need to get River to personally remove your obnoxious ass?” Onyx said, clearly exasperated with this conversation.

“Joy killer,” Blaize muttered with an eye roll. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, exposing the tattoos adorning his native skin, shimmering in gold.

A smug smile painted Onyx’s attractive features. “Works every time.”

“Well,” I said, turning my attention to Blaize. “Thanks for the introduction. It was…uh nice…to meet you.” The word “nice” felt like a flat word to describe that exchange.

“Seriously, if he bothers you,” Blaize said, jabbing a thumb toward Onyx. “Let me know. I’ll take care of him.”

“You’re like the little brother nobody asked for.”

I chuckled, and both males lit up from the simple act. “I’ll see you guys around. Thanks for the sparring session, Onyx. Nice to meet you, Blaize.” I offered a small wave as I backed away, dipping my head before turning around.

I wasn’t sure where I was heading, but I needed solitude. Social interaction drained me after so long.

I meandered around the Hollow’s property, finding trails where the sun streams drifted through the trees, giving the place an ethereal glow. A cozy copse was nestled off to the side, surrounded by verdant grass where Elementals lazed around, enjoying the warmer weather.

I drifted back toward the lake Orion had shown me the previous day. He was right. The beauty and quiet brought a majestic feel to the space. The water lapped against the bank hypnotically, silencing my thoughts.

I found a large boulder perched under an oak tree. I climbed on top, hugging my knees to my chest as I stared ahead and absorbed the pure energy—not for my Kinetic magic but to restore my soul.

My entire life had flipped upside down. Had someone told me a few weeks ago that this is where I’d end up, I’d have questioned their sanity.

A soft breeze caressed my cheek, tickling my scalp. Ripples in the water waltzed over the sparkling surface. The new power within me stirred, itching to flow freely.

I closed my eyes and listened to the power’s gentle pleas. Holding out a hand, I released a stream of air from my palm.

My eyelids drifted open, and I tested my limits by swaying my hand from side to side. Air zig-zagged back and forth before I pushed it outward toward a pile of fallen leaves. A swirl of red, orange, and yellow shot upward, scattering sporadically. But I made them remain, levitating on a wall of air.

I smiled. Peace. This was a peace that I’d never known I could have.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

I jumped, losing concentration of my control of my element. I spun around on the boulder.

Chrome hunched in shadow near the lake’s clearing, looking like an avenging angel ready to toy with his mark.