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But this? The horned beast—volatile only moments ago—begged for its life.

“Stop! Stop hurting it!” I yelled to Chrome as I heaved my limp lower body through the dirt.

Chrome ignored me, keeping his focus on the foreign animal.

A whimper escaped the massive being, its red eyes begging for help. Liquid silver oozed from its saddened eyes and cavernous nostrils.

“Stop hurting it!” Just a few more feet.

Chrome didn’t budge.

I didn’t know why I had a sudden shift toward the creature, but I couldn’t stand the thought of allowing it to die. I had to save it.

The more I dragged myself across the ground, the more feeling returned to my limbs. I pulled myself into a crawl before standing up. I stumbled toward Chrome, his back propped against the trunk of a pine tree.

Once again, he trembled from the exertion his magic required to take down this massive creature. I didn’t know what Elemental power Chrome wielded, but it was obvious he was a master at it, judging by his previous show.

My foot snagged on a root buried in leaves, and I caught myself before I face-planted. My heart lurched as I glimpsed the light fading from the bear’s scarlet eyes. It was resigned to its fate.

As the bear exhaled with a final grunt, my body collided with Chrome’s, my hands clasping his. My only desperate thought was for the bear to return to its home, away from this cruel and twisted world.

It was a truth in my soul; I knew the horned bear wasn’t a malevolent being. It didn’t ask to be here.

A loud clap, like a strike of lightning, split the air, followed by a white flash of light that blinded us. I tried to shield my eyes, but my palms were glued to Chrome’s.

I risked a glance down between us and saw the light encompassing our hold; our contact was its source.

Feet away from us, the brightness dimmed to a shimmering glow. Its hazy iridescence encircled us and the horned bear.

The bear huffed a hard breath, its gaze landing on the flowing, iridescent curtain. Recognition lit in its eyes, and it clambered to its paws. It took a step toward the magic as if it knew it was the answer to its salvation. Stopping, it turned its attention toward me, black horns aglow from the radiance. Our eyes met for a moment before it dipped its head in...respect?

All I could do was stare in wonderment as my mouth parted. With a gentle calmness, it walked through the shimmering curtain, disappearing from this world.

Whatever power kept our palms bound dissipated, allowing me to snatch my hands free from Chrome’s. The beautiful curtain dissolved, leaving me straddling the top of Chrome’s torso, our breaths ragged.

“What the fuck was that? And what the fuck just happened?” I asked, attempting to not-so-subtlety remove myself from him while trying not to notice the hardness of his body between my thighs.

“First of all, I’m going to have to ask you toneverinterfere with me like that again,” Chrome said, pushing up onto his elbows. His hood had fallen, exposing that stunning gold skin and the chromatic hair and eyes.

“Excuse me, but…” I argued.

“No, my power could’ve latched onto you, pulling the iron from your blood. I’m a metal wielder with my Elemental magic. I gotta go into a trance when I do that particular skill. It’s not always easy to decipher who to target. So, when you interfere like that, you’re asking for me to latch onto you,” he explained, peeved.

“Well,” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “I tried to yell for you to stop, but that clearly didn’t work.”

“Like I said,” he retorted, “I go into a trance.”

“Well, I couldn’t let you kill it. It clearly wasn’t from here and it was scared. I don’t think it was a predatory animal.”

“No, I suppose not.” He said nothing else, but he shifted his attention to a group of trees nearby, seeming to be lost in his thoughts for a moment.

“Any theories on what that—thatthingwas, it just walked through?” I asked, having an idea but needing him to confirm it. I felt insane to even entertain the thought.

Chrome pushed himself to his feet. With a deft hand, he brushed the dirt and debris from his clothes before running his fingers through his hair. He took his time digging a hand into his pocket to pull out his bracelets. Snapping the black one in place, the gold skin and fluid silver eyes shifted to tan skin and those familiar sapphire eyes. He did the same with the silver bracelet, subduing his silver currents and unique metallic hair.

Finally, he pinned me in place with his gaze before responding, making my heart jump at its intensity. “I think we just opened a portal to the next realm.”

Chapter 23