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“I’m so sorry I said those things.” I dropped my gaze to stare at the dirt caked to my boots. “I just…I’m just so tired of people thinking I’m a liability. A burden. I’m tired of having the truth hidden from me.”

Onyx rubbed his face, then gripped his neck. “Come on. We need to talk.” He walked away at a brisk pace, expecting me to follow him.

I did.

He led me to his room down one of the hallways on the top floor of the lodge. He held the door open, and I squeezed past him awkwardly.

I took in his room, and unlike Chrome’s, his was full of personal items. An acoustic guitar sat propped against the wall by his bed. Onyx took a seat on the luxurious mattress that was probably the same as mine. “Come on. Sit. I won’t bite.”

I rolled my eyes but followed suit anyways as I propped a leg underneath me and sat down comfortably.

“I understand why you’re mad. I remember how you were treated. You’re valid in that. But I was just the messenger, Gray.”

I nodded, giving him a weak smile. “I know. I was wrong for that.” Onyx sighed, tilting his head. He cracked his knuckles and continued, “What do you know about my disappearance?”

I frowned. “Not much. No one does. Just that you disappeared one day. You were presumed dead.”

Onyx nodded and gazed out the curtained window. “Good.” I stayed silent, waiting for him to carry on. “I assume Chrome has told you the story of when he escaped the King’s Palace?”

A knot rose in my throat at the memory. “Yeah.”

“I was there,” Onyx said. “I witnessed them torturing him, and I wasn’t supposed to.”

“Oh,” I whispered.

“Yeah, it was savage.” Onyx ran his fingers through his speckled hair. “I mean, here was our hero, the most respected and valued Kinetic of them all. The man that Forest displayed to the public like a fucking show pony…and he locked him in the interrogation room, brutally torturing him for days on end until he was barely alive. Chrome finally snapped.”Onyx swallowed, a haunted expression entering his eyes. “I saw him kill Peri.” Dropping his gaze, he blew out a harsh breath. “He tried to fight it, but he’d been deprived of any replenishment for too long. That’s when he killed every single person locked in that room with him. He short-circuited every neuron in their brains.

“I tried to help him escape, but he was so…feralat that point. He thought I was deceiving him. He saw the high rank on my guard uniform and assumed I meant him harm. I got him out, though. After he damn near destroyed the King’s Palace.”

I reflected on the events of that day and what my father had claimed. “Forest’s words that day were, ‘Griffin Silas, son of the deceased Elemental king, wanted to wipe us out…’”

Onyx grimaced. “When he said that, I knew he was hiding something. A few days after, I overheard Uncle Grim,” he said, his lip curling and nose crinkling at the mention of his father’s younger brother. “I overheard him talking to Amethyst about Forest’s plan to open the portal. They considered Chrome a failed experiment, but at least they had you.

“I couldn’t stay at the palace after that.” Onyx shook his head. “I would’ve outed myself. My mother, the cold bitch that she is, would’ve noticed and turned me over right away. So, I packed my shit and ran in the middle of the night.”

Onyx rubbed the back of his neck. “I was on my own, roughing it out in the world for a year until I stumbled upon the Perry Hollow. They held me as a prisoner at first, but Orion convinced them I was genuine after interrogating me over the span of a week. Then, they took me in as if I were one of their own. Chrome hadn’t found them yet. But when I told Orion the story, he set out in search of him. A year later, not long after the EMP strike, he returned with Chrome in tow. He was a mess.But over time, Chrome recovered and became the leader that he is now.”

I let Onyx’s story sink in, piecing together what I already knew. I thought back to the memory of his father’s broken demeanor after Onyx’s disappearance. “Thank you for sharing your story with me, Onyx,” I said,genuinely appreciative of his trust. “Ugh, I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like growing up with Grim as your uncle.” I cringed at the thought.

“He is a sick piece of shit who needs to be put down,” he spat, hatred twisting his smooth complexion. I wondered if he knew what Grim had done to Chrome. I hoped Grim hadn’t committed the same atrocities on Onyx. But I didn’t ask. Some things were too personal.

I nodded in agreement. “I wish I’d killed him in my escape.”

“He’ll get his penance,” Onyx stated. “I have no doubt.”

“But your dad,” I began, remembering I meant to tell him. “Your father helped me to flee. He seemed resistant to my father’s rule.”

Onyx smiled softly. “Yeah, from what I know of the long, sordid tale involving King Jonas and Queen Lilliana, I can understand why. My dad is a man of honor, and there was no honor in what happened to them.”

Chapter 48

Gray

Aweight lifted from my chest while another sank to the pit of my stomach. I was relieved that Onyx and I were okay, but I was stillnotokay with Chrome. And the others were probably pissed at me after my little display in the dining hall.

I needed to talk to Chrome. As much as I tried, the rage toward him wouldn’t subside. With each step, my temper rose as the memories of earlier resurfaced. How we’d just been about to fuck in the middle of the training fields when he decided to turn into a sexist asshole, treating me like I was his to command.

My gait picked up to the point I nearly tromped through the lodge on my quest to Chrome’s room. I rounded a corner, only to slam into a chest. Said chest was much smaller than I anticipated. Still tall, though.