Page 48 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

I had been getting beat up by the other kids when they suddenly stopped. It was before I’d begun training, and I was highly insecure due to my father’s abuse. He’d never allowed me to have any meaningful friendships, so I didn’t know how to socialize. Because of that, I came off as withdrawn, quiet, awkward, or “weird” as they called me, to the other kids at school.

When I’d dared to open my eyes from the fetal position, I’d come face to face with a blue-eyed boy standing before me. The bullies had vanished. However, it had been the playground’s wreckage that had caught my attention. He’d scared them off with magic that he’d been too young to wield. The boy with glamoured blue eyes and short inky hair had threatened to kick their asses if they messed with me again.

He’d said that his magic had recently awakened, and he couldn’t control it yet, even though magic for Kinetics and Elementals didn’t awaken until the age of thirteen. He was only ten at the time. But it was what followed that exchange that had perplexed me for many years to come. Eventually, I began to believe I’d imagined the entire thing. I had been only eight, so memories could be unreliable at such a young age.

Upon grabbing my hand to help me stand, an incredible blast launched us several feet backward in opposite directions. We had stared at each other in shocked confusion but were soon interrupted by the teachers hauling us to our feet and dragging us away from one another.

I never saw the blue-eyed boy with inky black hair again.

“That wasyou?” I stood frozen at the realization. Stunned. Though it all made sense. Thoseeyes. Those bright blue eyes that saw everything. That boy had beenGriffin Silas?

A heart-wrenching smile full of unbridled relief graced his sharp features. It brought a light to them that had my stomach doing flips. It was the first true smile he’d graced me, and I surprised myself by wanting to return it.

“I’m so glad they didn’t take that from you,” Griffin said, sounding almost ecstatic despite his eased demeanor.

“What? Take what from me?” I asked, crossing my arms and frowning.

Griffin’s boyish smile dropped. “Never mind that. There’s so much you need to know.” His voice hitched with an urgency I’d never expected to hear. “But I’m not the one to tell you. I…where we’re headed, there’s someone who can explain way better than I ever could. But know this: everything you’ve been taught to think of me…it’s all a lie. It’s all been a fear tactic deployed by your father and…” He stopped, closing his eyesand squeezing his hands into tight fists at his side to fight whatever battle warred within him.

“You’re not making any sense.” It was impossible to hold back the tremor of fear from my voice.

Griffin turned to me, his eyes suddenly crystal clear as he stared directly into mine. “Things are more complicated than anyone can imagine. Just know that I didn’t kill Slate. That wasn’t me. I swear it, Gray,” he insisted.

Genuine.His words felt genuine. His tone held no room for malicious intent as he held out his palms, facing me. But my breath hitched as I processed something he said.

“How do you know his name?” I took a step backward and tightened my grip on the bone. I hadn’t said Slate’s name in Griffin’s company, had I? No. It wasn’t possible. I didn’t think he deserved to know it.

“That’s a story for another day. But I didn’t kill him, Gray. I need you to trust me when I say that.”

I snorted at the audacity. “Excuse me, don’t fucking ignore the question. How do you know his name?” My hands began to shake while anger pooled in my stomach; I tried to keep my voice somewhat calm.

Griffin raked his shaking fingers through his hair in frustration, turning from me. “Gray, I’m telling you…don’t.Don’t push this tonight.” I wasn’t fazed by his sense of urgency. I needed answers. Griffin began to pace, tightening his grip on the dark strands. “Please. Just…wait.”

The hot anger that had settled in my stomach lanced through my body. Like a shot of moonshine had mixed with all of my pain, it felt as if someone took a torch to it. “And again, you’re telling me that you know the name of the person I was madly in love with. The person I cared for more than anyone else. The person which, by the way,you killed!”I shouted. “Did you just conveniently forget that part?”

With a growl, Griffin whipped around and stormed to me, slamming to an immediate halt so our bodies wouldn’t touch. Only inches separated our noses as he bore his intensity onto me. His glamoured blue eyes were roiling with dark clouds of rage, and his jaw was clenched tighter than I’d ever seen. “Gray,enough,” he snarled, pinning me to where I stood. “Listento me.” His heated breath cascaded over my face. “I will tell you everything. But I want…I need…” Griffin took a deep inhalation, closing his eyes. “Not like this. Not now. It’s not safe.You’renot safe. I need you to be safe. That can’t happen if you keep shouting at me and pushing this. So, for fuck’s sake,drop itfor tonight. Got it, Princess?”

I wanted more answers, but it was clear I wasn’t getting anything else from him for now. I clenched then unclenched my fists as I steadied my heartbeat and watched as the black clouds of rage slowly dissipated from his eyes. With a steadying breath, I nodded with reluctant acceptance. I wasn’t sure I could handle any tonight, anyway.

Seeming satisfied, Griffin let out a long, shaky exhale and stepped away from me. “Okay then,” he said, relaxing his shoulders a bit. When he caught my gaze, still focused on his movements, his lips slowly curled into a wicked grin. “That’s a good girl,” he said in a low, exaggerated drawl.

A heavy, questionable pause lingered before we both erupted into laughter. “Ew, you didnotjust say that to me,” I wheezed, clutching my ribs as I tried to catch my breath.

“Yeah, I kinda did.” Griffin laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “And I’m surprised your smart-ass mouth doesn’t have anything to say about it.” He grinned at me, daring me to retort.

But for once, I didn’t take the bait. Because…his laugh. My breathing slowed as our laughter quieted, and I found myself wanting to hear that sound again.

What the hell was happening…

After a few moments of comfortable silence, I cleared my throat. “Thank you…by the way.” My fingernails picked against the seams along my pants. “For helping me that day on the playground.” I dropped my gaze to study a broken plastic train on the floor. “You were the first person to ever stand up for me.” Either in school or at home, but I didn’t tell him that.

One side of Griffin’s mouth pulled upward in a gentle smile. “It was my pleasure. And I still stand firm on what I said back then.” A cold, fierce expression engulfed his features as he added, “Except the only difference is I’ll fucking kill anyone who tries to hurt you, now.”

My mouth opened the slightest at his words. The intensity behind them. “But…but why? I don’t understand…” I shook my head; none of it made sense. He hardly knew me. Then or now. And I struggled to reconcile the fact that Griffin Silas had been the first person to show me kindness. And what did it say about me that I liked the fact that someone would kill for me? The darkness within me purred at the thought. But I didn’t need a protector—not anymore. Especially not him, but it sat right with me for some reason.

Pain etched his features before he whirled around, shoving his fingers into the roots of his black hair. I jumped from the sudden movement. A frustrated growl escaped him. The silence stretched on, and neither of us moved. Finally, his shoulders slumped, and his arms fell away at his sides. Griffin angled his head to peer at me over his shoulder, with an obsidian strand draped across his cheekbone. The restless storm had returned to his eyes, and in them, it pleaded with me to understand. “Not tonight. I can’t…it won’t make sense. Please…”

A surge of irritation bubbled up in my chest. It transformed into anger at the lack of control I seemingly had over everything in my life. My currents glowed brighter in response, and Griffin shifted his focus on them as if he’d just noticed them for the first time.

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