Page 1 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

Chapter 1

Gray

The militia woman’s skull slammed into the hardened earth, bone crunching upon impact. Yet, she didn’t relent in her fight. I straddled her bucking hips from behind, her legs thrashing beneath me and fists swinging in desperation at my face to no avail.

I adjusted my position, pinning her pelvis to the ground while digging my knees into her sides as I reached for my dagger. I usually avoided fighting humans, but she’d recognized me and attacked. She needed to be contained before she blew my cover and mission.

The woman’s head swiveled to the side, searching for the gun I’d dislodged from her moments ago. I spotted it several feet away, a chuckle bubbling from my chest. “I don’t know why you humans insist on using guns against us,” I said, her body stilling as I pressed the edge of the dagger to her throat. “You know they’re useless against our kind. We’ll just heal from it in a matter of minutes.” Once the bullet was removed, that was.

Her upper lip peeled back from her teeth as defiance shone in her eyes. “So you think,” she spat. It was her turn to chuckle, “Don’t think for a second I don’t know who you are.” My dagger bobbed and nicked the delicate skin, a trickle of dark liquid seeping from beneath the blade. “You think just because you hide your Kinetic nature, you go unseen, but itdoesn’t change the fact that you’re evil on the inside. Your kind needs to be eradicated.” She glanced down at the silver bracelet donning my wrist, letting on to the fact she was aware of my glamour.

“You’re angry with the wrong side. It was the Elementals that…”

“Bullshit! Your kind destroyed everything,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “And when I inform the speakeasy below of your presence, you’ll be dead before you ever set foot…”

No.

I jerked my blade across her throat, a deep gash on her trachea that silenced her threat. “Can’t let you do that,” I huffed and sat back, the lead weight of guilt instantly dropping from my chest to my core.

I rolled the limp corpse over onto her back; arms clad in military camo plopped to the ground with a thud. The tall grass of the open field would obscure her body for only a brief time. The human rebel’s glazed eyes stared into the starless night as dark crimson cascaded from the gaping line slashed across her throat.

Despite the cloudy sky, the moon cast its illuminating glow, providing just a sliver of light in this bleak world. A chilled breeze sent a shiver down my spine as the seasons transitioned between the rigorous summer months into autumn, blowing ice-blonde strands of my hair into my eye.

I rummaged through her weapons belt, searching for any human weapon or ammunition to trade. A loaded magazine clip belonging to the woman’s pistol reflected off the moonlight in my fist before I shoved it into my weapons belt. Three feet away lay the fallen gun where the barrel dug into the soil. I checked the safety and forced it tightly into my belt.

Why did she believe that attacking me was a good decision? It wasn’t like the poor woman stood a chance against my training anyways.

Crouching beside the woman’s head, I brushed her eyelids closed with my fingertips, her dark lashes resting against her sunbaked skin. “Consider yourself one of the lucky ones who gets to leave this hellhole,” I murmured more to myself, my head drooping forward. Instinctively, I clutched the black stone hanging from the leather strap around my neck to bring me comfort.

I breathed in the crisp air scented with nature’s decay. It soothed my lungs and eased the tension a fraction, enough to lighten the burden in my chest.

I peered at the dead woman again. Except when I laid my eyes upon her corpse, I no longer saw the human rebel. Instead, I envisioned Slate’s dark, ashy hair and lifeless hazel eyes. Grief at his loss slithered around my heart and squeezed.

A ringing sang in my ears, sounding the alarm of impending emotion threatening to pull me under again. I clenched my jaw until it ached, trying to swallow past the lump in my throat. Crying was weak. Emotions were dangerous. I worked to shut them down, just as I’d been trained to do my entire life.

I blew out a breath, forcing my mind back to the task at hand. To kill the man who was not only responsible for the collapse of modern society but also for Slate’s death. I let the anger simmer and burn into a furious inferno, gearing me up for the hit of a lifetime. The only hit that mattered in more ways than one.

This mission wasn’t just an assignment; it was my own personal vendetta against the man who took away the only light I had in my life. Slate had been my rock, my anchor—a reminder to turn the hatred I received from my people into a strength.

And Griffin Silas robbed me of that, leaving behind a hardened princess assassin in his wake.

Hating every second of it, I began to strip the woman of her faded military fatigues, swapping out my black leather gear for hers instead. I strapped my weapons belt underneath the loose uniform to hide it from view while managing to stash a few Kinetic knives and daggers in the pockets and up the sleeve.

The silver magnetic bracelet engraved with intricate Kinetic sigils suppressed my magic, as well as the luminescent blue currents that usually raced up and down my arms and neck. I effectively appeared human.

The glamour concealed my dual-toned, black-and-white waves that were marbled together to appear gray, earning my name. It was a Kinetic customthat no one escaped. Unsurprisingly, my father couldn’t have cared enough to give me one of the more creative names among our people.

After double-checking that my bracelet was intact and my glamour was in place, I rose, turning away from the nearly naked corpse at my feet. I couldn’t fail. Too much was at stake. Despite the fact I bore twenty-four kill marks on my arms, this was Griffin Silas—the ruthless and cunning Elemental prince. The man who ignited the war between our two races nine years ago by infiltrating the King’s Palace and murdering many of our top Kinetic warriors. He blamed the Kinetics for the deaths of his parents. In his quest for misguided retribution, he sparked a war that led to the demise of modern society only a few years later, known to everyone as Devolution Day.

The most notable death on the day of his insurgence was our legendary Chrome Freyr. He was the only person with at least twice as many Elemental kill marks than me. He had been considered infallible. Our beloved hero’s death was almost enough to declare war.

Many Kinetic assassins have tried and failed to kill Griffin, all falling prey to the same fate: death. Now, it was my turn. It wasn’t solely vengeance I sought. If I killed Griffin, maybe, just maybe, I could earn my father’s respect.

The king’s parting words echoed in my mind as I cut through the field, getting used to the feel of the loose military fatigues instead of the tight black leather.“If you return and he is not dead, there will be consequences of the likes to which you’ve yet to experience, child.”

Memories of the ricocheting pain in my skull from his fists had a knot forming in my stomach. I hated him. And I hated that I wanted to make him proud. But for now, we shared a common goal: Griffin’s death.

I couldn’t fail.

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