Page 1 of Kingdom of Chaos
One
Numb.
That’s the only word to describe how I feel since watching Shadow Striker punch through Becks’ chest right before the portal slammed shut in front of me. Since realizing everything I believed about myself was a lie.
I’m not a creature.
I’mhuman.
A being from an entirely different world.
Which means the creatures who raised me, the pair sitting across from me right now, waiting for me to say something, anything, probably aren’t my parents at all.
We’re gathered around the kitchen table, the three of us, like nothing’s changed. Like my entire world didn’t just implode. A blanket is draped over my shoulders. I can’t remember who put it there. My hands are curled around a steaming mug of tea I haven’t touched. Concern is etched into every line of my parents’ faces as they watch me silently, helplessly.
I haven’t said more than two words since they picked me up from the ruins.
The police called them in the middle of the night. I was too shell-shocked to even protest when they arrived. They haven’t shown anger or disappointment yet, but I know it’s coming.
Maybe I would’ve cared before. But now? I’m not sure I have anything left to give.
The longer I sit here, the harder it is to look at them. Because whether they knew I was human or not, one thing is undeniable. They knew I wasn’t their biological child. They knew I didn’t belong, and they kept that truth from me for almost eighteen years.
Regardless of blood, my mom and dad are, and will always be, my parents. But in this moment, they feel like strangers to me. As the repercussions of what went down last night start to break through the shock that’s kept my mind hazy, they’re not the ones I want to process this trauma with.
The sun is just starting to crest the horizon, its first rays slipping through the thin paisley curtains. Another day, but nothing like the last, and all I know is that I don’t want to be here, sitting—doing nothing. I want to find Talon and make a plan to get Becks back. It’s my fault he’s trapped in another world, and I won’t give up until I bring him home.
“Honey,” my mom finally says.
She reaches forward to touch my hand, but I flinch away. I don’t look up to see the hurt splashed across her face. I already know it’s there.
A squeak of wood breaks the silence, and out of the corner of my eye I see my dad put his arm around her and pull her closer.
“Locklyn,” he starts, but I push back from the table before he can get any more words out.
I know they’re owed an explanation, even if I feel betrayed right now, but I just can’t sit here calmly and give it to them.
Not when Becks is still out there. Injured. Trapped in a completely unfamiliar world.
Not when I need to talk to Talon and make a plan.
Not when I’ve barely had two seconds with Ensley to talk about what happened to her brother.
I don’t have time to sit down and unpack our issues, let alone Chaos, right now.
“Where do you think you’re going?” my dad barks as I start to walk away.
“To get cleaned up,” I mumble, eyes fixed on the door.
“Sit back down,” he orders, his voice carrying just enough flint and steel to make me pause in the doorway.
I glance over my shoulder to find my dad standing beside his chair. My mom is still seated, clutching one of his hands, her watery gaze flicking back and forth between the two of us.
“I don’t have time?—”
“You’re not going anywhere until you explain yourself to your mother and me.” His voice is steady, laced with firm command. “We’ve been pretty understanding about all of this so far. But you can’t expect to walk out of this room without saying anything after we were woken up by a call from the police in the middle of the night telling us our daughter has been part of some dangerous underground competition for weeks.”
I press my lips together, reading the resolve etched into my dad’s face. He’s not going to let this go.Understandable.
