Page 161 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

“What if nothing is left?” Chrome asked through a clenched jaw.

“Well, let it burn, then,” Forest said with a shrug. “It’s not like I’m the one who caused the EMP. Isn’t that right, Chrome?” He turned to me with an arrogant, knowing smirk.

Aside from the heaving breaths, Chrome stayed silent. I’d never seen him look so pissed.

It took a second for me to process what my father had just said, my brain skidding on the brakes. “What?” My dry mouth turned to sandpaper.

Forest’s face lit with a bright grin, his deep brown eyes sparkling with wickedness. “Ah, she doesn’t know, does she?” he scoffed. “Of course she doesn’t. She never was bright enough to see the truths right in front of her.”

I ignored the condescending jab and furrowed my brows, turning my head to face Chrome. “What is he talking about?” My voice was almost unrecognizable. No doubt I’d shredded my vocal cords with my screams.

Forest chuckled. “All the time you’ve spent with Chrome, and you have yet to discover the truth behind Devolution Day? My gods, youarefucking dense, Daughter. Must’ve been a trait from your mother.”

“What the hell are you going on about? No need for theatrics, Father,”I snapped. I’d had enough.

Forest crossed his arms and stood at ease on the other side of the table, a satisfied grin on his features. “It seems Chrome only divulges the truth when it benefits him.” He stroked his beard in thought. “Well, since he won’t be forthcoming himself, I’ll spill the tea instead. Chrome here is the one who—”

“I did it,” Chrome said, interrupting. His lip twitched as he bore his glare into Forest. “I am responsible for the EMP on Devolution Day. Iwasthe EMP. But I did it to stopyouto spare Elementals from being eradicated. You had the human military set to wipe us out with their technology. And if that wasn’t enough, you had the worldwide help of Kinetics. I had to take down the grid to stop it all. And it worked. I don’t regret it for a fucking second.”

I gawked at him, not understanding how I hadn’t put that together. EMP, electromagnetic pulse. The ability to control and manipulate electromagnetic waves. The memory of his pulses during the battle surfaced. How he kept saying his magic was unstable.

Holy gods. Chrome wiped out three-quarters of the human population in a single pulse.

I felt like a dumbass for not figuring it out. Even so, for him to take downallthe power grids worldwide in a singular pulse required an unfathomable amount of power. So, it never crossed my mind that he could’ve been capable of such a feat unless…

“You had to deplete a second time to do it, didn’t you?” I asked, the rest of the pieces falling into place. He’d told me he’d depletedtwice. Once, when he depleted Peri, but he never divulged about the second time. It must’ve been to take down the power grid in a last-ditch effort to save his people.

Oh, Chrome.

Chrome dropped his head to his chest in silent admission.

Why hadn’t he told me this? He could’ve told me, and I would’ve understood. The fact he’d kept a monumental secret like this from me said he still didn’t trust me. Not the way I’d come to trust him, and that hurt.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow,” Chrome mumbled from beside me, still bound to his chair.

I didn’t respond; I just stared at the madman who reveled in our discord.

“Now that we have everything out in the open, let’s get on with it.” The king pushed to his feet and walked to the other side of the room to a table pressed against a wall. Placed on it were various items, but it didn’t look promising. A hand-crafted bronze bowl the color of Hazel’s hair—marked with uneven indentations around the sides—sat next to a sharp knife and an old tome.

The cracked, black text was ancient. Dark energy seeped from the book, its noxiousness poisoning the air in the confined room.

Forest retrieved the book with care and flipped through the pages until he must’ve landed on the one he sought. He came before us, holding the tome sprawled across his hands with the air of a pious leader gracing his disciples. “Isn’t this gift so lovely?” he asked with a maddened grin. “It was a precious gift from a sweet little sorceress before you two were thought of.”

“You mean a Tempest?” I asked, my brow raised, taking note of the fact he’d apparently been working with the Tempests from Arcadia for over two decades.

Forest sneered. “Yes, Daughter. A Tempest, those lovely little sorceresses in Arcadia. Maybe you’re not that daft after all.” He shrugged. “This book has been great for weakening the veil over time. But when you two came together, your powers weakened it that much more, allowing for the portal to open. But there are other useful spells.” Forest lifted his gaze to land on me. “Such as a nice, little protection spell that will keep your harmless little blasts from touching me once I activate it.” He smirked as he returned his attention to the book.

From the back of the room, Amethyst swayed toward the table, no doubt observing it all with barely concealed glee. She grabbed the bowl and the cloth beneath the knife before taking her place at Forest’s side.

Skimming his eyes between Chrome and me, he began reciting a passage in a foreign tongue.

Amethyst walked to my side and dropped into a crouch; the butcher knife in her hand glistened with malice. I thrashed in my seat.

Amethyst leaned into my ear. “I’ve always found your eternal shortcomings so amusing. This one, though? Definitely tops the list.” She snatched my handcuffed arm to expose the veins on my wrist. I writhed in my chair, tossing a stream of colorful curses as I did.

Amethyst’s elongated, plum nails dug into the joints of my wrist with an unyielding, sharp pressure, causing me to lurch forward with a cry. The edge of the table jammed into my diaphragm.

Forest never ceased the chanting, even when Amethyst carved a deep gash along my vein. I gasped as my blood cascaded to the dark, gray floor.

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