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I fell back in my seat. “Whoa, slow down, big guy. We hardly qualify as friends, don’t you think?” Fuck, why couldn’t I just eat by myself? Awkward situations drained me.

Without a second’s hesitation, he said, “Oh, but we will be, Gray. We will. Just wait and see.” He wagged and pointed his fork at me with utter seriousness.

I rolled my lips inward, my brows raised to my forehead. “Right. Because we’re both Kinetics who’ve flipped over to the dark side?”

“I’m a Kinetic. You…” Onyx said, swallowing his food. “You are a hybrid. But yeah, I won’t lie. It’s cool having someone else here who gets it.” He shrugged.

“I feel like my experience was different from most Kinetics,” I said, picking at the food, pushing it around on my plate. “Being owned by the king didn’t make for a very pleasant childhood.”

Onyx nodded, his eyes softening. He looked back down at his food. “Yeah, I remember.”

My chest tightened, hoping he hadn’t ever witnessed any of my father’s punishments, but I knew better.

Another chair squeaked against the floor on my right, followed by a plate landing on the tabletop. A feminine body slid into the seat with care. Surprise filled me to find River sitting there looking like an heiress. She was so striking it made me want to sit up straight in my seat.

Frustration clawed at my chest. My plan to sit in peace without the stress of others around to assess me, ogle me—like I was a damn new pet that needed to be trained—got flushed down the toilet.

I was no longer hungry. Which sucked because I was to meet Chrome afterward to work on my Elemental abilities. Any black crystal residue that my father had ordered into my food should be passed by now, allowing for that side to manifest. It became hard to breathe as I recalled that reality.

“Calm down. We won’t kill you unless you give us a reason to,” River drawled, eyeing her plate. Unlike Onyx’s, hers wasn’t piled with every food option available. Instead, she only had four small portions that were evenly dispersed. The vegetables didn’t touch each other—not even close.

I watched her delicately drive her fork into a few green beans as if she would break the plate were she to add just the slightest pressure. Her jet-black hair was once again pulled into a sleek, low bun at the base of her neck. The part down the middle could cut a diamond it was so sharp.

“I’m not worried about that.” I was fifty percent sure of that fact.

“If he’s bothering you,” she said, lifting her fork in Onyx’s direction, who snapped his head to attention, “just ignore him. He’s like a puppy that won’t stop nipping at your heels until you give it attention. And once you do, it’s game over.”

I chuckled. Onyx’s mouth opened wide at the insult. He looked positively affronted. He clutched his chest. “Howcouldyou? See if I smuggle anymore of that hair plaster you are so fond of, River.”

River simply rolled her eyes. Thick black lashes nearly touched her perfectly-shaped brows. “Oh, please. You enjoy the thrill of procuring that gel as much as I love organizing the weapons cache.”

Onyx threw his fork down. I assumed it was for dramatic effect, but River didn’t seem phased in the least. “I enjoy it because I value our friendship. A friendship you clearly exploit for your own gain.”

“Has anyone ever told you to stop whining?” She gave him a tight smile.

“You love me.” Onyx shifted his light amber gaze toward me. He smiled and shook his head. “Don’t let her fool you. She adores me. Probably is secretly in love with me, but she doesn’t want the world to know she has one of those things called a heart.” He shrugged and returned to his oversized meal.

Oh shit.

I volleyed my eyes back and forth between the two, expecting things to turn ugly. River just cracked another smile to herself but didn’t respond.

That left me wanting to shift uncomfortably in my seat. To avoid that, I pretended to be interested in our surroundings. My eyes landed on the black pool outside.

“Does anyone actually swim in that pool?”

Onyx looked up at me. His throat bobbed as he swallowed his food. “Yeah. All the time. Mainly at night.”

“Why at night?”

“It’s just better,” he said with a shrug, a smile hiding some inside humor underneath.

“It’s also heated. So, it feels great after a long day. There are also healing properties within it that soothe a sore body after a hard day of training, or a mission to the Earthen hellhole,” River explained further. “Some people like to get unabashedly drunk and perform childish acts all in the name of beingvaliant.” Her searing violet eyes rolled again at the last word.

“Hey!” Onyx said, his hand slapping the table with a sudden bang. I jumped. “I’ll have you know,” his forefinger pointed fiercely at River, who wore an expression of boredom like she invented the emotion, “doing a triple backflip into the pool from the top of the lodge could prove life-saving one day. Just you wait and see.” He shook his head in disgust.

I bit my bottom lip as I tried not to smile at their antics. I searched around the dining hall, looking for a clock somewhere. There wasn’t one, so I pushed away from the table and reached for my plate.

Onyx’s hand halted me, his orange currents contrasting against his black sleeve. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?” His dark brows furrowed.