Page 8 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

When Slate Helair was alive, he made it his life’s mission to build me up when everyone else tore me down. I was fourteen when he’d won my heart and instilled a sense of confidence that I had never been allowed to have. I could still hear his firm, but loving voice say, “Princesses don’t cower. Others cower at you. Never forget that,beautiful.”

“You know he’s still here with you, right?” Hazel asked as her reassuring hand stroked my bare arm in a comforting gesture, sliding over my brands and currents. “He’d never leave your side, Gray. Not even death could pull him away from you. Let that give you the strength to get you through the revel, yeah?” Hazel rested her hand on my marked biceps, imparting a mixed expression of hope and despair. No doubt she still grieved his loss as well.

I nodded and studied the white carpet. The emotional void would engulf me if I stayed with my thoughts about Slate too long.

Shaking away the longing in my heart, I returned my gaze to my reflection. Hazel was right. No matter how most Kinetics showed me their disdain, her older brother would have stuck by my side and showed me off to the world with pride.

I double-checked my appearance one last time. The loose knot that held my hair displayed the marbled black and white strands. Shimmering gold eyeshadow painted my lids, enhanced by a smoky effect.

“You look dangerously beautiful. Now, let’s go before you’re late,” Hazel said with a pointed look, knowing I would purposefully be late to my own revel to spite my father. It was her job to ensure that I wasn’t.

I sagged my shoulders, poking out my bottom lip in the mirror at Hazel’s reflection. “But that’s boring, Hazel. Scarlett would agree with me.”

Hazel rolled her eyes and shook her head, likely wondering why she had to be the responsible one between the three of us.

I turned away from the mirror to face her. “Oh!” My face lit up, remembering I had questions. “I meant to ask you—have you overheard anything from Amethyst about how I ended up back here?”

Hazel raised her brows and tilted her head. Soft green eyes peered at me in concern. “Not really. Amethyst has kept me on a short leash these past few weeks, only letting me in her office to deliver her daily schedules or to send me on errands.” Irritation laced her tone toward her boss—who was also her aunt.

I found her disclosure odd. Amethyst always kept Hazel glued to her side, using her as a tape recorder and information manager. “Well, that’s disturbingly out of the ordinary,” I said, puzzled.

Hazel nodded, worry painting her soft porcelain features. She averted her gaze to the analogue clock with Roman numerals. “We should go before your father adds to your punishment.”

I released an exasperated sigh, knowing she was right. A heavy weight sank to the bottom of my gut at the fast-approaching event. “Right,” I said, conceding to my fate. “Let’s get this over with.”

Hazel trailed behind me as I walked to the double doors, adhering to royal protocol. Her calming presence was always welcome, and I basked in it as we cut through the sitting area. Reaching the threshold, I paused, hesitant to turn the handle, attempting to garner enough fortitude to face the night ahead of me.

“He’s right here with you, Gray. Draw on your strength from knowing that,” Hazel whispered over my shoulder.

I sucked in a deep breath, my nails digging into my palms, allowing the oxygen to wash away my fear. Large crowds gave me crippling anxiety. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that they typically ostracized me. But these people wouldneversee that side of me.

Chapter 4

Griffin

“Name?” The bearded human standing at three times my width glared at me. With bulging biceps and a lifelessness in his eyes, I gathered he’d rather be in the ring than out here in charge of tonight’s sign-up for the fights.

“Trevor. Former black ops,” I lied, meeting his empty gaze with one of my own, shoving down my rage and hunger for death so I’d appear less feral.

The beefy man roamed his eyes down my body, a smirk tinting his expression. My body type didn’t say “steroids,” so apparently, that meant I was a lost cause. Going incognito was thrilling. I loved it when people underestimated me.

“Preference?” he asked.

“Kinetic.”

“Alright, Trevor,” he said and jotted my fake name and preference down on the sign-up sheet. He slipped me a piece of paper with the number forty-two marked on it. “Head to the back and get ready. They’ll call your number when it’s time.”

Without a word, I took my leave and pushed past the man into the abandoned warehouse. The interior of the expansive space was dark, empty.Dust and trash cluttered the area, but that was to be expected. I walked to the back and opened the metal door that led to the stairwell, descending the steps to the basement. Several floors beneath the earth, I allowed the voice to continue his death mantra, hyping me up for the fight to come.

The only ones I permitted myself to kill were Kinetics. Not that I had a vendetta against all of them, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill humans. They’d suffered enough from the fallout of our war. And obviously, I couldn’t kill my people. So, Kinetics sated the uncontrollable drive and hunger for now.

Finally, I reached the bottom of the stairwell and took in the scent of blood and dust. The place was grimy, and mold began to infest the walls and ceiling of the underground establishment. Unlike the speakeasies that held a sense of camaraderie and hope, this place was dank with death, despair, and hatred.

I just managed to catch this scorse before it moved on. Thankfully, a human rebel with ties to Hogan informed me at the last minute. Scorses were known for hosting the underbelly of humanity while trading everyday items, but this event was one of the darkest parts of it. Sergeant Hogan was the owner of this one, but even he had no say when these particular trades came through. He had even less of a say in whether to host them.

I beat on the door with my fist five times to the specific rhythm required to gain entry. One, two-three, four, long pause, five.

Kill.

---