Page 70 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

“Gray,” Orion said as he stood next to me. I looked up, meeting eyes the color of warm tropical seas. He was an attractive man—with a scruffy jaw and sharp cheekbones—appearing to be in his early thirties.

I nodded, focusing on the sting of my nails as they cut into my palms.

“I’ve waited so many years to meet you,” Orion said.

The mood in the room turned solemn, and I didn’t know why. What didn’t I know? I hated feeling like I was being kept out of the loop.

“Nice to meet you,” I said and cleared my throat. “Thanks for allowing me refuge in your Hollow.”

“It’s not my Hollow, dear one.” The beige skin underlying the gold-flecks on Orion’s forehead wrinkled, like the ripples in light, beachy sand. He shifted his confused expression to Chrome. “It’s Chrome’s.”

My eyebrows rose to my hairline. “Oh.” My cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. “That…knowledge,” I said, shooting daggers at Chrome with a glare, “was conveniently withheld.”

Orion gave me a compassionate smile despite my tight one. “No worries, dear,” he said, and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “After this meetingis adjourned, and you’re settled in, I’d like to discuss many things with you. If that’s okay? I’m sure you have a great deal of questions.”

With a snort, I mumbled, “No shit.”

“Colorful, I see.” Orion smirked.

I looked away, his scrutiny overwhelming me.

Chrome tried to hide his smile before he cleared his throat. “Okay, everyone. Please sit. There’s much to discuss.”

Roughly ten people filed in, but a few stood out. I caught Onyx’s star-speckled hair. His tall, broad body sauntered to the chair on Chrome’s left while Orion took the right.

A beautiful, petite woman with rich, deep-brown skin beneath a radiating layer of gold flecks entered the room. Textured curls of her long, black hair bounced with each movement. She moved with fluid strides to a seat beside Orion. Her posture exuded a quiet confidence and the promise to inflict pain upon any threat. She wore a mask of steel, but her eyes….

Baby-blue irises laced around white pupils landed on me, almost appearing to glow.

A hulking man scraped a chair across the hardwood floor before plopping into it. His physique was in the shape of an inverted triangle, with muscles birthing more muscles. He folded his beefy hands together, resting his elbows on the table. He focused his astute attention on Chrome. Shining, gold-flecked skin layered atop a sun-bronzed complexion complimented his short brown hair.

In fact, everyone, minus Chrome and Onyx, had their gold skin and unusual eyes unglamoured. I wondered what my eyes would look like.

Both magic inhibitors were still in place, but was I ready to test out my possible Elemental side? Not seeing the physical proof still allowed me to believe all of this was some sort of mistake. That maybe Iwasn’tsome fucked-up hybrid my father was hell-bent on using and destroying.

Deep down, I knew that was a lie.

“As you can see,” Chrome started as all the seats in the room filled. He glanced around the table once he had everyone’s undivided attention. “I have brought Princess Gray Monroe before you all.”

I cocked my head to the side, narrowing my eyes. I didn’t like the way he began this meeting.

Chrome ignored my expression and continued on. The powerful energy of a leader pulsed from his aura. “King Forest has decided that her usefulness ran out when she failed to kill me. On the journey back, however, several developments took place.”

The Elementals surrounding the table listened to every word as he recounted all the…developments. Some of it was new to me, as he explained the interaction with Jesse at the speakeasy. He’d noticed him acting dodgy, and it hadn’t sat right with Chrome. He was sure that the attack outside of the abandoned tattoo shop was by his design. When he reached the part about the beastie-bear, everyone fell still. Tension rolled across the table in such thick waves that it nearly suffocated me. But the dense layer of tension pivoted to me when he told them about the portal we’d somehow opened and sent the horned bear back to its realm.

I shifted in my seat, but straightened my back, refusing to show fear or discomfort to this room full of strangers.

Someone cleared their throat. “Has she removed her glamour yet?” It was the petite woman who’d caught my eye. She glanced at me before returning her focus to Chrome, speaking about me as if I wasn’t sitting at the same table as everyone else.

“No,” Chrome responded. The power within his feline-shaped eyes held me in place, like he sensed my desire to quip a smart-ass remark and dared me to keep my mouth shut. “It’s been quite a shitshow. Untested powers in an uncontrolled environment would surely take that shitshow and turn it into an absolute nightmare. Didn’t wanna risk it.” His mouth opened, then shut again.

I squinted my eyes, wondering what was on the tip of his tongue.

Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.

“I assume you and Orion will train her magic?” a voice heavy with bass asked. The owner belonged to a man whose skin was deeper than the woman’s. Thick locs twisted neatly to rest against his broad chest. He heldhimself carefully composed with his hands in his lap. He sat pin straight so his back didn’t touch the chair.

“Yes,” Chrome said, still speaking about me as if I wasn’t present, yet he never broke eye contact. “But you’ll take part in her combat training.”

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