Page 55 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

I nodded, squeezing the round, polished stone tighter in my fist to ground me. “My father told me it was my mother’s form of protection against Elementals, that she’d have wanted me to have it and to never…” I trailed off as another realization clicked into place. “To never take it off. Not for anything.”

“Precisely. It’s kept your Elemental magic and traits hidden all these years. But I have reason to believe he didn’t rely on that necklace alone. He must’ve been putting low doses of crushed black crystal in your food as a backup.” An eyebrow lifted as he waited to see if I’d confirm that. I had no way of knowing, but…

“The king always had a cook prepare my food,” I pondered out loud as I ran my fingers over the single braid on one side of my head. Looking at the glamoured ice-white waves, I wondered what my skin would look like if I was an Elemental, shimmering in gold. “I was never allowed in the kitchen, and I vaguely remember walking in one day to find her crushing something in a bowl. She was terrified to see me standing there, and she tried to usher me out, but my father walked in. And the next day, I had a new cook. She never spoke to me. And I never saw the other one again. I really liked her.” I questioned if I’d unknowingly sent a woman to her death. She’d always been kind to me. She was a bright spot in my bleak childhood.

Chrome watched as I analyzed my hair. “It sounds possible.”

“How can I trust you’re telling me the truth?” I looked at him from beneath my lashes, still pinching my strands between my fingers.

With pursed lips, he cocked his head to the side and pushed off the wall with his shoulder. “Because, Gray, I have no reason to lie to you. I truly do need your help. We all need your help. If Forest opens a portal to the next realm, consequences unlike anything we’ve ever seen could swallow this world. We don’t know for sure what realm he’s trying to access or even what would happen if he did, but we can’t risk it.

“I don’t know how he discovered this information. Everything about our origins has either been hidden or eradicated. Idoknow that we didn’t originate in this realm. That’s all anyone knows. But we need that information to learn more about what he’s planning and how he intends to execute it. We have to kill him before it’s too late.”

I held Chrome’s gaze, seeing him as two different individuals. How long would it take me to see him as one person? How long would it take me to come to terms with the possibility I was an Elemental? All I had to do was remove the necklace.

I was shattering. My head felt foggy, and I didn’t know where to begin processing everything I’d just learned or if I should even believe it until I saw it for myself. But for now, I’d do what I needed to get through the day—suppress it.

Chapter 22

Gray

Chrome sat on the squalid floor of the train’s metal container. The Kinetic-powered locomotive jostled us. At last, he informed me we were headed to an Elemental Hollow in Perry.

We didn’t speak on the ride. Needing to be alone, we sat on the opposite sides of the container. My hood masked my face as I rested my head on my knees with my back to him. Thankfully, Chrome respected my need for solitude and didn’t intrude.

I felt insignificant. So small. So disposable. Worthless. A failure. A disappointment. My own father hated me. My only friends were probably dead by now, solely for keeping me alive. The one person who’d ever truly seen me and loved me was dead. And now, I was stuck with someone who was just as hated as myself. If not, more.

It was a depressing turn of events. Chrome, who’d given so much of himself to the Kinetics, was being hunted as if he was a demon stalking the night. We were both premeditated offspring only to be wielded…nothing more. And I’d felt the full brunt of that truth my entire life. Knowingwhyoffered me some level of solace, at least.

Given if everything Chrome had said was true.

I still hadn’t forgotten about his episode the night before. He’d been nothing like the steel warrior he was known to be. Questions surrounding who he’d been speaking to that night kept circulating in my mind. Or had it been anyone at all? Was it voices in his head? If his upbringing had been anything like mine, it wouldn’t surprise me; actually, his was probably much more brutal. And that thought was enough to make me soften toward him just a fraction more. Not because I pitied him, but because he was the one person who I felt genuinely understood.

Hot tears traced a wet path over the bridge of my nose and down my cheek. Thankfully, the train’s roar subdued my sniffles. I’d trade physical pain over the constricting grip in my chest any day. It healed much faster. I learned at a young age to suppress it—a necessary skill to survive. Weakness only earned me punishment and more emotional pain.

But some pain couldn’t be restrained. It would always come back to claim its due, forcing you to face your demons. I fucking hated it.

After some time, I felt his presence drop down beside me. Chrome didn’t speak, and I didn’t acknowledge him as we sat together in our shared pain. His strong aura lent its strength, which caught me by surprise with the comfort it brought.

Only twenty-four hours ago, I despised him and wanted his head. I believed Chrome’s claim that he wasn’t responsible for Slate’s death. Now, knowing the truth about my father and his hidden agenda, I wouldn’t put it past him to have had him killed. I was brought back to Hazel’s confession: what had Slate known about Forest before his death? I had a feeling that mystery was one that would be tough to unravel.

The train screeched to a sudden halt, and Chrome and I sprung to our feet. Chrome had said we weren’t due to stop for another thirty minutes. With furrowed brows, I met his matching confused expression.

Our magic inhibitors were back in place, and I wished I could remove mine to sense what was happening. We were blind to any attack.

Without a word, Chrome stalked to the opening of the freight container and pressed his back against its edge. He glimpsed outside, listening for sounds, and I didn’t dare move.

Something wasverywrong.

Chrome’s dark brows pinched tight as he listened. His glare alone could’ve split the aluminum floor in half from his concentration.

He snapped his cutting gaze to me, gutting me where I stood with his intensity. An index finger lifted to touch his lips—soft and slow—in a gesture of silence.

I needed weapons, but I wasn’t sure which kind. There was no way for me to know who awaited us outside.

Chrome tensed before pushing himself flat against the aluminum wall as frantic voices approached us. Footsteps stomped, crunching the gravel as they ran past on the tracks.

My forehead creased as the voices drew closer, wondering what had Kinetics panicking.

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