Page 89 of Kingdom of Chaos
“Fine,” I reply. I can practically feel Talon tense beside me. “But the cuff comes off after.”
Kade nods. “Agreed.” He tries to move forward but Talon blocks him.
“If you hurt even a single hair on her head, I swear you won’t live to regret it. You’ve only gotten a taste of what I’m capable of.”
“Oh, my friend,” Kade says. “I’ve seen enough from both of you to know that.”
“I’m not your friend,” Talon growls, and for the first time since meeting him, Kade smiles, and it takes me aback.
“Not yet.”
Twenty-Four
After agreeing to his terms,we follow Kade out of the interrogation room and down the hall to a freight elevator, one of those ones with a large platform and a collapsible metal grate you’d typically see in warehouses or lofts. When we enter the elevator, Kade pushes an unmarked button and it groans, making my stomach bottom out, before starting to move. There aren’t any distinctive floors as we descend. The elevator just keeps going down, down, down, until finally jerking to a stop.
Talon watches Kade with a wary eye as he pulls open the scissor gate and we step into a poorly lit hallway of some sublevel underneath the building.
“He’s being held at the end of the hall,” Kade says, pointing in the direction.
When we get to the door, Kade tells Talon this is where he’ll have to wait, and then asks for my wrist to put the magic-blocking cuff on.
I’m suddenly very apprehensive to put on the shiny piece of metal. It has a slight rose gold tint, is roughly two inches wide, and opens and shuts like a manacle.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Manacite,” Kade says. “It was discovered to disrupt magical pathways, making it impossible to channel magic. No one knows why, but it works. It’s very rare here in the human world.”
“It doesn’t exist at all in our world,” Talon says, glaring at the cuff.
Taking a deep breath, I hold out my arm, reminding myself that Becks is worth it. I’d trade all this new magic to have him back. Gladly. So what’s the big deal if I muffle my abilities for a little while?
The moment the cuff snaps shut around my wrist, the magic within me falls quiet. The change is instant, like someone’s flipped a switch and shut off a part of me I hadn’t even known was fully awake until now.
It’s not painful, but it’s deeply unsettling. A hollow sensation spreads through my chest, as if a vital connection has been severed. I hadn’t realized how quickly I’d gotten used to the thrum of magic beneath my skin, how natural it had started to feel.
Now, its absence leaves me unmoored, empty in a way that feels more emotional than physical.
“Let’s go,” I say to Kade, doing my best to suppress my anxiety.
Talon catches my hand right before I go through the door.
“I’ll be right here the whole time,” he promises. “If anything goes wrong, just scream. I’ll be through that door in seconds. Nothing will be able to stop me.”
I nod, my throat suddenly dry at the thought of seeing Becks.
Becks, who I’ve been secretly worried was dead because of me since the moment I watched Shadow Striker punch through his chest.
Becks, my oldest and dearest friend who I care so much about and who I have the most jumbled mess of emotions for.
Becks, who thinks I betrayed him by choosing to be with Talon instead of him.
Becks, who I’m suddenly and inexplicably so nervous to see my palms are sweating and I hope Talon doesn’t notice.
“Tell your princeling I said ‘Hey,’” he says. After giving my hand a quick squeeze, he lets go, his fingers brushing lightly across my palm as he does.
I let out a nervous laugh. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not sure Becks is going to want to hear anything about you.”
“Good point,” he says.
