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Pieces of ash swirled together and began to form a corporeal body, beginning at the feet. As soon as he stood beside me, he grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into a hard kiss with a desperation that ached my heart. The relief from his agonizing fear struck me.

Pulling back to rest his forehead against mine, he rumbled, “Thank fuck.” His breaths were frenzied and harsh in his panic.

“Cardinal found you, I see.”

“More likeIfoundhimafter I mutilated Golden,” he growled. His nostrils flared, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he worked to contain his anger.

“Did you kill Cardinal?”

Chrome clenched his jaw and roughly shook his head. “No. Although, I probably should’ve before I faded here. He’s still on the Hollow grounds.”

“Fuck,” I hissed out before I registered something he’d just said, crinkling my forehead. “Fade?”

“Yeah, it’s what I’m officially terming our new teleporting ability.”

I mulled over it for a minute. “Makes sense, I guess.” I shrugged.

“Of course, it makes sense, Princess. I don’t simplydothings for no reason,” he scoffed, almost offended.

I ran my hands over my face, not in the mood to bicker with him right now.

“We need to hurry and get back to the Hollow in case Cardinal has something up his sleeve,” Chrome said, his voice returning to seriousness.

I tensed. “I’m not leaving here without them, Chrome.”

A grin slowly spread across his beautiful features. “No shit, little savage. I’m not here to save you. I’m here to help you.” A heavy weight lifted from my chest, thinking he was going to turn into a caveman as he dragged me back kicking and screaming.

Chrome teased his tongue across his bottom lip. The action was so predatory, with the gleam of violence in his mercurial eyes. “While we’re at it. We’re going to kill the fucking king.”

We didn’t speak as we began our search for the three Kinetics. As we passed cells full of rotting Endarkened, the memory of the kneeling, Endarkened woman when I was last here with my father and Grim lit ablaze with a sudden realization.

Even through her descent into madness, her Elemental essence had recognized me as her Elemental queen. Despite the fact that kneeling to royalty didn’t seem to be custom anymore, something told me that this was something far deeper than I could imagine.

As Chrome and I made our way through the dim corridor, the darkened cells silenced at our sides. We skimmed inside each one, looking for Scarlett’s vibrant ruby tresses or Cotton’s snowy hair.

I sought their specific energies using my Kinetic magic, trying to pinpoint Scarlett’s potent, bright aura and Cotton’s subdued one. Hazel’s gentle aura had a subtle nuance that had always made it easy for her to sneak up on me. But they were absent.

We ran on precious seconds with each step. Our fade—as Chrome insisted on calling it—inside the prison had surely tripped the security measures in place, so we didn’t have time to waste. My muscles were coiled tight, ready for the unexpected. My hearing was expanded, as I took in any invading sounds.

Chrome grabbed my hand and jerked a sharp right toward a cell.

My heart froze.

A female lay sprawled on the putrid cement floor, a splash of color staining the drab concrete like a pool of blood. Scarlett lay unconscious, her currents repressed by a thick metal bracelet.

Chrome nodded to me, motioning for me to move on and find Cotton while he handled Scarlett. It hurt me to leave her there unconscious, but I trusted Chrome to get her free.

Before I could turn around, Chrome already had the metal bars crumpling at his command to open a gaping hole large enough for him to enter.

I found the next cell and came face to face with a bleary-eyed Cotton. His colorless hair and pallid skin was caked with dried blood and dirt. He strained his neck to see what was happening in the cell beside him, but I grabbed his hand through the bars in silent reassurance.

I looked to the cell beside us and spotted Chrome’s foreboding silhouette exiting with Scarlett’s limp form draped in his arms, her ruby hair swaying with the movement. I motioned to him with my head to signify I’d found Cotton.

Cotton’s olive eyes widened in fear as he launched himself backward at the sight of Chrome, obviously recognizing him as the deceased legend.

I’d never seen Cotton show so much emotion.

I held up a placating hand to calm him. I didn’t want to risk speaking, but I would have to if we wanted to get out of there soon.