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Chrome

My cheek pressed against the cold cement floor of the interrogation room. Every orifice and pore in my body screamed from my punishment while I lay sprawled in broken silence. My stunt on the playground had earned me a more severe punishment than I ever anticipated.

As it turned out, I awakened my Kinetic half when I touched the princess today. The king and my mother shared mixed feelings about it. My mother was all too jubilant now that I could wield an unbelievable amount of magic at their disposal; the king, however, was irritated because it awakened the princess’s powers—which wasn’t on his terms.

The king unleashed his unrestrained fury on me for exposing my magic at the human school. He didn’t hold back with either fists or magic, whether it was his own or commanding someone else’s.

And then, he introduced another form of torture.

Grim.

Not only did Grim hold the ability to cancel out magic, depravity seeped from his breath, but in ways no one else knew about. My stepfather had no limits when it came to torture. And his task was not only to break me mentally, but to physically break me in a way no one should ever be ruined.

Hot, angry tears leaked from my eyes. My body ached in places I didn’t know could hurt in such a way. Violated wasn’t even the word to completely describe how I felt as an icy numbness latched its claws into my heart, similar to the phantom feeling of Grim’s grip as he pinned me down.

I lay broken and twisted at odd angles. My mind shattered as I tried to comprehend what I had just experienced. The black band on my wrist mocked me, knowing I couldn’t move to remove it. Why couldn’t my magic have stepped in to help me now? Why did it want to break past the bracelet’s suppressant to protect the princess?

I needed itnow. But it failed me.

I wouldn’t give Grim the satisfaction of seeing me suffer. Never once did I make a sound during his assault. Instead, I found myself in a world I didn’t believe existed, with a little Kinetic Princess whose fire in her eyes spoke more than her actual words.

After he had finished, Grim stood up and adjusted his clothes, his belt buckle snapping into place with a sickening click. His last words, before leaving me alone and destroyed on the interrogation room floor, echoed in my ears. “Since you’re so fucking powerful, figure out how to heal yourself from this with the bracelets on…you little half-breed shit.” Spitting at my broken body, Grim turned and strode out of the room as if this was just another day and it was just another regular beating.

“Well? Did you do it?” I heard my mother’s hardened voice on the opposite side of the metal door seconds after he left the room.

Grim scoffed. “Of course, I did. He submitted. His will to fight is gone, and he is ours to control.” Hearing the pride oozing from his voice had a bout of nausea slamming into me so hard. I vomited onto the stone floor beneath me, still unable to move.

“Good,” she said. “Now, hurry up and remove his bracelets so he can heal. Otherwise, he’s useless to us.” The clicking of her heels disappeared down the corridor, and seconds later, Grim returned.

With his sneering scowl in place, he squatted beside me. “Act out of line again, and this will be your punishment from now on. You are ours. We made you. We can just as easily end your existence. Don’t forget it.”

I knewall too well what he meant a la the history of my conception. My body wasn’t mine to control. My mind wasn’t mine to control. My emotions weren’t mine either. I was their weapon. Theirs to be wielded at their disposal.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Grim had left the interrogation room after having removed the bracelets so my body could heal. It could’ve been hours, or it could’ve been minutes. I didn’t care.

I didn’t even feel like a person—more like a ghost—as the real me had died hours ago at Grim’s hands.

The door squeaked open, breaking the silence of the cold room. “Chrome?”

Peri. “Go away.”

“Chrome, are you okay?” Her frantic voice came closer, as did her running feet slapping against the floor.

My baby sister wasn’t supposed to see me like this. I was her protector. A warrior. “Just go back, Peri,” I answered in a dead tone, keeping my eyes glued to a spot on the wall ahead.

“Chrome. You gotta get up. King Forest is coming down here soon. He can’t see you here like this.” Peri grabbed my hand and tried to pull my weight.

“It’s fine, Peri. Just go. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Chrome. You’re not getting it. He’s coming down here with someone else,” she said, which made me finally meet her hazel eyes.

“Who?”

“I can’t tell you. I shouldn’t even know. I overheard Momma tell Dad. And when I realized you still weren’t back yet…” Her eyes scanned me, concern wrapped in her eyes. “What happened to you?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m getting up,” I said, pulling my hand from hers and pushing myself to my feet on shaky arms. The pain was gone, but I winced anyway.

“Come on,”Peri said, tugging me after her. We ran past the prisoners in the cells, ignoring them as we went, then stepped into the elevator. Looking at each other, we breathed a sigh of relief that we hadn’t run into anyone yet.