Page 66 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

“Well?”

I hesitated. Unsure what to reveal just yet. “We’ll figure it out. You’ll get your answers soon enough, Princess.”

I prayed we returned to the Hollow before the Tempest could expedite Forest’s plans. I needed to get Gray trained in both her Kinetic andElemental abilities and fast while also figuring out this connection that we seemed to share.

Perhaps together, we could put a stop to it all.

Gray had no idea how much power lay at her disposal. I felt it myself all those years ago. The king had taken the opposite approach with her as he had with me, probably because I was male. He’d kept her suppressed—mentally and magically—in his attempt to control her and her power.

I decided we needed a subject change. “Tell me about him.”

“Who?”

“Slate.”

A long pause followed. I didn’t think she’d respond until she said, “He was my light. Always trying to protect me when I didn’t even need it.” Gray chuckled, “He’s the one who gave me the backbone to earn respect, even if it was misguided in the way of fear. But that’s the Kinetic way. Respect by fear.”

A lump formed in my throat, making it hard to swallow. “I’m sorry he’s gone. I remember him. He was a good guy.” I heard Gray sniffle beside me, and I felt her heartache as if it were my own, felt her longing. “I believe it was a set-up by Forest in an attempt to have full control over you.” It was the only bit of information I could give her at that point, despite my yearning to divulge it all.

“I’m not even surprised to hear that anymore. That was my theory back at the tattoo shop when you told me about…everything.”

I nodded, keeping my gaze fixed on the shadowed leaves blanketing us from above. “He took someone special to me, too.”

Gray sucked in a sharp breath. “Peri,” she whispered.

That lump formed in my throat again, just thinking about the periwinkle hair and beaming smile. Her big hazel eyes always filled with warmth and acuity that she hid from my mother and Grim so well.

My silence dragged on, and neither of us spoke as we sat in the pain of our losses at the king’s hands.

“So, the Elementals,” Gray said, breaking the quietude. I angled my head to meet her icy gaze filled with anxiety. “What’s to stop them from locking me up upon our arrival? Why would they trust me?”

I understood her concern. “You’re valid in that fear. I would know because I experienced the same thing when I arrived there a few years ago.” Treading the line on what to reveal to her, I chose my words carefully. “Like you, I was brought there. After I fled the King’s Palace five years ago, I was lost. Living amongst the humans and doing everything in my power to chase away the pain. The Chrome of legend no longer existed. I was a fallen hero. Because how could I have been a hero if I had been serving the wrong side all along? I hated myself, and I wanted to be rid of that version of me, even if it meant my own self-destruction.”

I sighed, allowing those memories to surface for a brief moment. “As we all know, I held the record for killing the most Elementals. So why would they take me in?”

“And?” Gray asked, her voice hoarse with emotion and barely above a whisper.

I smiled to myself, remembering how Orion had given me little choice in the matter at the time. “They believe that we’re the best they have to fight against Forest. The best chance to stop him from his plans and to restore a sense of peace to this world. In doing so, it would stop the persecution of their people, and we could live freely once again with the hope we could coexist with the Kinetics and humans alike.”

Another tug on my heart, followed by a spike of doubt, struck me. The emotion wasn’t mine, so I looked at Gray. “I know. It’s all so much. And you won’t be alone anymore, so it’s not all on your shoulders.”

“But why would theytrustme?” The way she asked reminded me of the little girl on the playground—scared, broken.

“Because they know that if I’m bringing you in, then it’s for a good reason,” I explained. But her doubt, flickering as it was, still coursed through me, so I said in a firmer voice, “They also know that everyone who serves the king is brainwashed by his lies. While you may have served him proudly, they understand that you didn’t do so withoutyour own wounds to show for it. That if you’re seeking asylum with us, then you truly have nowhere to go. They aren’t hardened like Kinetics; you’ll see that for yourself soon enough. They’ve been waiting for the day you come to us.”

“Really?” Surprise lit her darkened expression.

“Yeah, they look to you for hope, Gray. They’ve just been waiting for you to break free of his control.” Before it’s too late.

“That’s…” she mused aloud. “Really fucking weird. And perhaps a little misguided.”

I chuckled. “No,” I murmured, the muscles in my face softening. “They believe in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself.”

Another gentle tug that hummed moved through me. I felt a warmth ignite in my chest, and I couldn’t tell if it was mine or hers. Maybe both. For the first time since I met her, she seemed shy, and it was endearing.

“What? Weren’t expecting big, bad Griffin Silas to have…aheart?” I joked.

Gray scoffed. “I wasn’t expecting Griffin Silas to be Chrome Freyr, for starters. So, the identity change has been quite an adjustment, to say the least.”

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