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My core bottomed out. I shook my head, trying to gain control of my libido. How long had it been? Too long now. I wasn’t a virgin, and I’d be damned if I was going to act like one.

I tilted my head to the side, pretending to scrutinize him. When, in actuality, I was trying to slow my heart rate and shut down my raging hormones. The images of Chrome touching me, kissing me, pinning me to a bed…a wall…agodsdamntree…would not go away, no matter how much I willed it.

“What are my emotions telling you?” My voice dipped lower. I knew he could feel them still. I could feel his, but mine were much louder.

Chrome smirked. “That you want more than just innocent touches.” He narrowed in on my lips. “If you keep biting your lip like that…”

I popped my lip from between my teeth, unaware I’d been doing that. His lips were only a breath away from mine. My heart sped up in anticipation, waiting for the brush of his lips and whatever else would follow.

I didn’t breathe as he leaned in, fingers weaving through my hair and gripping it with a gentle firmness. He angled my head, making me look into those eyes that said everything. It hit every emotional chord that sat dangling from fringed strings.

It was too much. As much as I wanted to give in to the moment with Chrome, I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready. I still felt like I’d be betraying Slate.

I dropped my gaze and let out the breath I’d been holding. Our knees were now touching, and I was unsure when that had happened, too.

Chrome understood. He loosened his grip on my hair and pulled away, giving me space. I was ashamed to look at him. “I’m sorry,” I said, finding a blade of grass on the ground andfocusing on it.

“No,” he said. The authority he held as the leader of Elementals rang deep in his voice. “Gray, look at me.”

I did.

Understanding and empathy cascaded in smooth waves in the metallic irises. “Don’t ever, and I meannever, apologize for that. I would never guilt you for owning your body.” He understood what it meant to not have control over his. “I feel your emotions. You wouldn’t be betraying him for being…intimate…with someone else, but I understand if you’re not ready. I will never fault you for that.”

My heart squeezed at the pure compassion and understanding in his expression and emotions. Underlying guilt echoed through the connection, which intensified my own for turning him down. My eyes welled up with warm tears. “It’s just that…” I trailed off and stared into the shadowed tree line in the distance. “It’s not that I haven’t been with anyone since he died. Because I have—several times—but they were never more than that. There were no emotional ties,” I explained. I shuddered a breath. “But to sleep with someone I might actually care about? That feels like a betrayal. It feels like I’m forgetting about him. Like I’m saying he was never here.”

I wrapped my arms around my torso, hugging myself. “Plus, all of this has just been so much, so fast. Just a few days ago, I wanted you dead. Like…dead,dead. As dead as you want my father.”

Chrome grinned. “Oh, I know. I felt that in the speakeasy. Your rage is such a turn-on.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Everything is flipped upside down, and I’m trying to go with the changes. I think I just need to adjust to my new reality.” I lifted an eyebrow. “At least I don’t hate you anymore. That’s saying a lot.”

Chrome puffed his chest out with pride. “What can I say? I’m quite the catch.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re not too bad,” I said with a shrug. “But I meant what I said. I’m going to help you discover a way out of the Endarkening process. You don’t deserve to suffer this fate, Chrome.”

Chrome sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. A chill breezed between us, and he tossed his hood up. The leaves rustled, and trees swayed,surrounding the field with giant dancing shadows. “There’s no one who’s ever escaped the Endarkening process. I’m lucky to have made it this far. I’ve accepted it, Gray. But if I’m going down, those motherfuckers are going down with me.”

Did I really have time to sit around and wait? No, I refused to accept that he wouldn’t be around. I changed direction. “So, do you really think this connection between us relates to being hybrids?”

Chrome hesitated before answering me. He chewed his lip as he stared into the darkness surrounding us. “It’s my best guess,” he said. “What I do know is that we share a bond. It’s called the Twin Soul Bond. I don’t know everything about it, just that we share two halves of the same soul that go back for lifetimes.” He scratched his stubbled jaw before taking a deep breath. “I’ve always been able to feel it because my Elemental side hasn’t been suppressed like yours. Both sides of our natures needed to be awakened and active in order to feel it. That day on the playground changed everything for both of us. I think our bond awakened at our contact that day, which manifested your magic and my Kinetic powers.”

I froze. “What do you mean? I awakened my magic when I was thirteen.”

Chrome snorted. “No, Princess. You didn’t.”

“Explain.”

Chrome took a deep breath. “Later that day, when we’d been sent home from school, I had my consequences to deal with. But I felt something tug on my heart like a chord was attached to it, and whatever was on the other end jerked it taut. Then, I was hit with another set of emotions that were foreign, distant, feminine.” He pivoted his gaze back onto me again before continuing, “It was this intense fear that didn’t belong to me. Then, suddenly, the fear morphed into empowerment, into complete confidence and control. Then, anger, which led to this powerful explosion of air magic I felt in a secondhand way. Immediately, the fear returned, followed by confusion,” he explained. His dark brows pulled together as he revisited the memory.

Something within me told me it was true, even if I couldn’t remember it.

Perhaps it was my element confirming it as it stirred excitedly. Chrome had mentioned he believed someone had wiped my memories of what happened to me that day. So, I supposed it was possible.

“I wish I could remember,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose as if I could squeeze the memories back into my brain.

Those molten eyes swirled viciously. “We’ll figure something out. I just know that after that day, if I was in your near vicinity, I’ve always felt your emotions. I’ve felt everything.”

“Oh, god.” I buried my face in my palm. “That’s awkward.”