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Gray mulled it over. “I’d love to kick Onyx’s ass,” she said with a smirk.

I bent down and kissed the top of her head before jogging off to retrieve Onyx and River, my magic and blood already singing with anticipation to fight with Gray by my side.

Chapter 51

Gray

“This honestly isn’t fair,” Onyx grumbled about being paired off against Chrome and me.

Chrome tilted his head to crack the stiff joints in his neck. “Just think of it as a growth opportunity.”

Onyx deadpanned, dropping his arms by his sides from his stretch. He huffed. “Whatever. We’ll kick both your asses. Right, River?”

River rolled her eyes before dropping down to grab her ankles to stretch her hamstrings. “If I don’t have to carry your ass through, then yes.”

I was still hurt by the information Chrome skirted around telling me back in his room. Betrayal stung deep by the possibility of one of my friends turning against me. In all honesty, it seemed very plausible that it was one of them.

But what had me most upset was Chrome withholding that information from me. I appreciated that he wanted to protect me, but I wasn’t a child.

Despite being pissed at Chrome, even after the world-shattering night and morning we had, I felt this was a great opportunity to test our enhanced bond. It would also serve as us standing in solidarity with the rest of the Hollow. I needed to earn their trust and respect. I didn’t just need to; Iwantedto because I really liked it here. It felt more like a home than the King’s Palace ever had.

With Chrome standing beside me, we fell into offensive stances. I eyed River while Chrome’s feline lethality faced off with Onyx.

I’d shut off Chrome’s connection to me through our bond, but now, I wanted to see what it was capable of in the midst of a fight.

Even though I’d made a lot of progress in combining my two abilities, neither one of us had been able to mimic what Chrome had done to me on the day that I almost depleted Orion. We’d tried. Based on what he felt compelled to do, Chrome’s theory was that it was my soul’s way of calling out to him as a failsafe. And it most likely worked the other way around, too. We just hadn’t fully figured it out yet, although the theory was strong.

With a simple thought, I lifted the mental barrier I’d placed over the tether. Warring emotions slammed into me that weren’t my own, and the chord connecting us hummed with the usual tug. I gave it a moment to settle, focused on his excitement for the fight and the thrill of violence, and let it swim through my bloodstream as it mingled with my own drive.

Like before, I could feel him beside me, almost like an extension of my soul. It was so odd to be connected to someone on this level. It would definitely take time to adjust, but I couldn’t help but imagine how beneficial this could be in a fight.

We all wielded human-made swords, the non-lethal type. So, we would, indeed, be inflicting pain without the threat of being poisoned by redfern or black-crystal blades. A lot of blood would be shed between us.

I spun the pommel in my hand, getting used to its weight as I prowled toward River, remembering all her weaknesses—not that she had many. Like all of us, she had them, they were just harder to get to.

Chrome sauntered toward Onyx, his double-edged sword hanging casually at his side. Instead of two blades glowing orange, this sword had one blue and one orange. His gait was relaxed but coiled tight with an intensity that I channeled for myself.

My lower stomach clenched all over again to see him so deadly, violent, and confident. Remembering all the ways he touched me with those lethal hands…

River stalked toward me as she seemingly mentally planned out her line of attack. It didn’t take long before she lunged. I raised my sword to clash against hers, steel ringing out across the training fields. River’s violet eyes glinted with a ferocity that matched my own, and I loved it.

In my peripheral, I noticed a crowd beginning to form around us as the Elementals in the Hollow wanted to see their rightful leaders in action.

I shoved River back a step, but then she swiftly swerved around the kick I aimed at her side. In the same fluid motion, she swiped her sword in a horizontal arc. It came an inch from slicing across my abdomen. I lurched back.

An air shield would protect me from taking any hits, but it would also prevent me from making any either.

I summoned my air to pull the knives from my weapons belt as a whip made of water coiled around my ankle. Just as the whip jerked my foot out from beneath me, I managed to get a knife free and launched it at River.

The knife sailed the short distance between us, embedding in her thigh. The water around my ankle began to freeze to my skin. I sent a gust at River, knocking her airborne and onto her back.

The ice freezing my foot to the ground began to melt, so I stabbed it three rapid times with a knife, breaking free.

The clash of swords to my left drew my attention to Chrome and Onyx dueling with one another with magic and weapons alike in a whirl of orange and silver currents blurring together. They spun around one another with their swords in a violent dance, making it obvious they trained together more frequently than not.

River jumped to her feet. I sprinted at her, wrapping an arm around her and tackling her hard, dropping my sword in the process. I scrambled to straddle and secure her in a pin. The glint of metal reflected off the sunlight in her hand. She speared me with a look of pure focus, a knife in her fist.

A piercing pain shot through my diaphragm from the punch she landed in my ribs. I gritted my teeth and took a second hit just as I summoned a dagger to my palm. I jabbed it into the space between her chest and shoulder.