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The image of Chrome morphing into that rabid being, seeking only the next aura to consume…

Everything about him would be gone.

The thought wrung my insides more than I’d ever expected it to. There was clearly some type of connection between us that grew with each meeting, starting with our first encounter as children. I’d been resisting it because of my devotion to Slate.

A hand covered my mouth as I scanned the hopeless expression on his crestfallen face.Thiswas the weight on his shoulders he carried with dignity and strength. The weight he hid from the world. Tears welled up in my eyes again. “No,” I whispered. “There has to be some other way…”

Chrome cupped my cheek, severing my hope with an apology sitting heavy in his eyes. “No, Rainbow. There’s not. I’ve been fighting it off, but I don’t know for how much longer.”

“How bad is it? Where are you in the process?” I dared to ask, not really wanting to know the answer.

Chrome pursed his lips and closed his eyes, struggling to swallow. “I’m in the second phase. I only have one more time before I’m gone.”

I exhaled a suffocating, shaky breath, as if all oxygen was being devoured in a vacuum. “Fuck,” I said. “How have you held out this long? It’s unheard of.”

Chrome shrugged. “I had a lot to live for. But I’m not going anywhere until those three are dead and the Elementals are in good hands.”

“Is that what the drinking is about?” I asked, ignoring the possibility of him not being around after we achieved our goals.

Chrome nodded, his thumb rubbing gently against my cheekbone. “Yeah, that…and other extreme recreational activities help numb the craving enough to where I can have some clarity to my thoughts. Thecravings…” He shuddered. “God, Gray. It’s unbearable. The withdrawals, too. You saw what they do.”

I recalled the sweaty, clammy skin, the shaking, chattering, fidgeting, and, of course, his paranoia that night. “Is it like that all the time? Or does it just come in waves?”

“The cravings are always there. The thought of depleting someone and becoming powerful enough to wipe out the Kinetic kingdom alone is so fucking enticing. I have this voice,Grim’svoice, always taunting me to succumb to the call. Always telling me shit that makes me feel like I’d be better off Endarkened. He threatens and…” he stopped.

The warmth of his hand left my cheek, replaced by the chilled bite from a breeze. “That’s what happened that night? Back at that house?”

Chrome nodded again. “Yeah, I was having a pretty bad episode that night until you walked in…”

I frowned and shook my head. “I don’t understand. How doIhelp?” My ass was going numb from the hard ground, so I adjusted to where I perched on my knees. Only an inch separated us.

Chrome offered a resigned smile. “I don’t know, but your presence eases the withdrawals. Touching you takes it away somehow while also bringing back memories that the devolution process steals from you. I don’t know. Perhaps it’s a hybrid thing…”

I pondered over his outward thoughts. He’d never fallen prey to these fits around me during our journey to the Perry Hollow. However, every time I found him in that state, it wasn’t long before his condition improved.

“Well, perhaps if we stick together, we can find a way to beat this?” I asked, a tiny spark of hope igniting in my chest. It was a dangerous emotion I didn’t indulge in often, but I’d already lost Slate. I didn’t want to lose something with potential before it even began.

A devious smile tilted upward. “I knew you couldn’t get enough of me, little savage. I guess all I needed was a sob story to keep you around.”

I punched him in the arm, not holding back. He laughed, deep and throaty, with his head tipped toward the moon. A hand nursed the biceps I’d struck.

“Not funny, asshole,” I said, pointing an accusing finger at him with a sharp glare.

After he regained himself, he zeroed in on me again. “I know. But I won’t object to spending more time with you.”

My heartbeat faltered at his words and the emotions emanating from him. I gulped. “Who else knows about this?”

“No one. Only those who witnessed me…” Chrome squeezed his eyes shut to ward off the memories. “Just you, Princess.”

“I won’t tell anyone.” In the meantime, I’d search for a way to fix this. “If you start experiencing the physical withdrawal symptoms, you have my permission to touch me.”

Shit. I bit my lip and winced at my insinuating delivery.

Someone fucking come get me. Now.

Chrome’s quicksilver eyes swirled with a tempestuous heat, like molten lava. His nostrils flared. In a tone that came from his chest, he said, “I’m going to need you to clarify what you mean by ‘touch you.’ Because I’m going to be honest, Gray. There’s a million ways I want to touch you. And none of them are innocent.”

Oh.