Page 17 of A Touch of Gold and Madness (Celestials of Arcadia #1)

Chapter 16

Gray

I awoke on a soft surface, grogginess and confusion warping my mind.

I didn’t know where I was or how I’d gotten here. Ending up in these types of situations was becoming too common. What was left of my pride began to wither away.

The smell of musk and mold overwhelmed my nostrils. In fact, it was too much. My itchy throat forced out a raspy cough, and a heavy pressure weighed on my chest that made breathing a struggle. Sodden and spent, I lay there as I came to full consciousness.

I dared to peek an eye open. A shattered window bared open to my left, filtering in a cool breeze that kissed my cheek and covered my skin in goose bumps.

I shivered and groaned as the aches protested any movement. My body begged me to give it a rest, but I knew I couldn’t afford to give in to its desire. A sense of urgency nudged my mind into motion.

All the recent events replayed through my thoughts as I stared at the bright afternoon sunlight streaming through the window. My father wanted me dead. And he had the entire fucking Warrior Guilds hunting me down .

Dash. The Endarkened. Dash killing the Endarkened. Human militia. The kid was no doubt part of the human militia. But where was he?

As the pieces snapped together, I bolted upright. My head spun, and I felt sluggish. So, so sluggish. I pushed through the dizziness and nausea that threatened to take over.

The peeling walls caught my attention first. Chipped paint curled off in large sheets sporadically throughout the room. But it was the dark presence that loomed in the shadowed corner that set my instincts blaring in alarm.

Through the heaviness, I focused on the form. A black cloak draped over their head, obscuring their face, as they clasped their hands together between their knees. I gasped, recognizing it was him . Griffin.

What the fuck?

So many questions pummeled my fuzzy mind, but they were irrelevant. What mattered was that I could kill him here and now.

Jumping out of bed, I ignored my body’s distress warnings. My feet met the cold wooden floor on tired legs. I didn’t have it in me to fight right now. I’d fought in worse conditions before, yet I felt useless against the most dangerous person alive. But I had to act. I couldn’t just let him go again.

I lunged. The rickety chair he sat in flipped over backward with the force of my collision. A loud crash and thud echoed throughout the room. For half a second, I wondered if the floor would cave in, but I didn’t let the thought interfere. I punched his jaw with all my remaining strength, despite my leaden arm. He jerked to the side, but to my surprise, my knuckles still connected with his jaw, rocking his head to the left.

Not even a grunt escaped him as he snapped his head back to face me. Long, black hair whipped across his cheek, the ends playing at the hollow of his throat. A bright blue, glamoured gaze peered at me through the mussed ebony strands. I was plunged into its empty depths, where life was sucked dry. Nothing remained of the mischievous and restless energy he emitted the night we fought topside of the speakeasy. A hollow shell of a man gazed back at me, like he was here, but not really. Like he was already dead .

I reached for his throat and squeezed my fingers around the tattoos covering his skin… and then squeezed more. If I didn’t know any better, it seemed like he allowed me to choke him, causing something to bristle within me. With a clenched jaw, I grunted. “Fight back, you fucking coward.” I punched him again.

At my words, a spark lit his blue eyes back to life. In a swift move, he jolted his hips upward and flipped me onto my back, pinning my arms to the floor as if I was a child. That was way too easy for him. I cursed myself because, once again, I gave him the upper hand.

Me and my damn mouth .

With the roles reversed, he lodged his hips into mine. I grunted, his full weight pressing me into the rotting wood floor.

A curse spat from my lips at the intimate position. I should’ve capitalized on killing him during his moment of weakness. With my energy spent, my body drained, my magic inhibited, and weapons gone, I was at his mercy—again.

Griffin’s face hovered inches above mine as his warm breath huffed out, blanketing my face in waves. He stared down at me, absorbing all my features, his eyes clear of the emptiness that had just resided within them. In fact, a wicked glint began to shine through.

Many small scars marred his smooth, tanned complexion with olive undertones. A deep scar in the shape of a half-moon sat in the corner of his right eye. Thick, dark lashes drew attention to cat-shaped eyes. They held a slight feminine quality to them, which accented the masculine features of his face. I resisted the ridiculous urge to caress the high cheekbones that dipped into a strong jaw. And then I resisted the urge to vomit at the insane thought.

Despite my hatred toward the man, I wasn’t above admitting that he was beautiful. Beautiful in the “lure you to your death” type of way. But beautiful, nevertheless.

My lip curled up at him in disgust, the coldness within me begging to bite at him. My breaths came in harshly through my nose as I glared at him with every bit of hatred I harbored for him .

“There she is,” Griffin growled. My body reacted to the tenor of his voice before I could do anything about it as heat flushed my skin. He leaned in, brushing the tip of his nose along the shell of my ear. “I always knew there was a little savage in there, waiting to be unleashed.” He pulled back and smirked, huffing out a quiet laugh. “Can she come out to play?” he breathed into my ear.

Hearing his taunt sent shivers down my spine, rage flooding my stomach as I clenched my jaw and tossed my head to the side to avoid his touch. Yet, to my horror, my thighs clenched beneath his hips as a slow sensation of lust began to rise in my lower body.

What the actual fuck?

“You don’t know shit about me,” I snapped. “And get your dick off me.” I bucked my hips, trying to throw him off, but he remained firmly planted. All the motion accomplished was my dry-humping him. I growled my frustration as this only fueled my need to break free of his hold immediately.

“I know more than you think, Princess.” He ignored my second statement and remained pressed against me, searing me with his striking gaze in a way that seemed to be an innate gift. “Don’t worry, Gray. I don’t want you dead—not yet, at least.” The corners of his lips curled into a wicked smirk, and I cursed myself as yet another flair of desire shot through my veins.

Stupid fucking hormones can’t differentiate friend from foe.

“Good. It’ll make killing you a bit easier, then,” I seethed. Pushing aside the dark beauty of this man, I called upon the memory of Slate, envisioning his stony gray hair and soft hazel eyes. It was a reminder to not fall for Griffin’s charm a second time.

“You still believe I killed your boyfriend.” Griffin rolled his eyes. “I believe the humans used to call that ‘fake news’.” A black eyebrow arched up in amusement.

“You ambushed his squadron.”

“Nope. Wasn’t me. I wasn’t there.” A grin formed at the edges of his lips. “I even have witnesses. ”

Lies. “You expect me to believe anything that comes from your mouth? From any Elemental’s mouth for that matter?”

“And yet you believe anything that comes from your king’s mouth. Why are you here, anyway?”

Instead of answering him, I countered, “What did you do to me? Where am I?”

“Oh!” Griffin perked up, a manic joy lighting up his eyes. “Chloroform. Sorry ‘bout that,” he said with an unapologetic shrug. “I couldn’t have you fighting me the whole way while I found us this lovely place, could I? It’s a bit of a fixer-upper, but—”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I cut him off as I struggled against him again. Like before, it was futile. His arms were steel, and his weight was relentless. “Fucking chloroform? What do you want with me? To use me as leverage against my father?” If that was the case, he was shit out of luck because he would be doing my father a service.

Griffin snorted, and once again, his breath danced across my skin. “No. Just get up. We need to get moving before we miss the train that’s scheduled to hit Macon in a few hours.” He sat up and fell back on his heels, releasing the hold he had on me. “And before you think about attacking me again, don’t forget who has the advantage. I’ll just chloroform you and drag you along if I have to.” He said it so nonchalantly that I just gaped at him in horror.

I dropped my head back to the floor in defeat. What did he want with me if not to kill me or hold me hostage? And why did he seem so familiar, aside from our initial meeting at the speakeasy?

I may have lost this battle, but I wasn’t giving up on the war. I’d wait until my body healed fully, and then, when he least expected it, I’d make my move. Until then, I’d play along with whatever game this psychopath played.

Bide your time.

“Fine,” I said, looking at the drooping ceiling. “Let’s go.”

“Be ready to run and jump.” The infamous Elemental murmured to me, not taking his eyes off the train tracks in the distance.

He’d let me keep my duffel bag but made me hand over my weapons and keep the bracelet intact. And because I had yet to see his gold-covered skin and wild metallic eyes, I knew he was glamoured, too. I almost got away with keeping a small knife, but he hadn’t been fooled and made me give it to him as we exited that decrepit home. Well, I might’ve gotten away with it if I hadn’t launched it at his head before he snatched it out of the air, stopping it from lodging between his eyes. He’d laughed. And I’d stood staring with an open mouth—shocked, angry, and deflated.

What was worse was that I was impressed by his reflexes.

With no other options at the moment, I was stuck with Griffin. At least with him close, I stood a chance of killing him. Running would only put me at a disadvantage with the Guilds and militia rebels hunting us down. Sticking with him had somehow turned into the lesser of the other evils in this world. What an ironic twist my life had taken.

I adjusted my duffel on my shoulder when the sound of the train roared in the distance. My body was still weak and aching, but I had to push through. Most importantly, I would show no weakness to this asshole. Well, no more than I already had.

The train announced its arrival, and Griffin ushered me to hide inside the tree line. My heart pulsed, and all lethargy faded away with a spike of adrenaline. I nearly died the last time I pulled this stunt, but I didn’t let that unease take root as I focused on staying hidden and making the leap.

As the train hauled past, Griffin launched into a sprint in its direction with me right on his heels. He didn’t hesitate to vault through the air at full speed with ease, landing crouched inside. I was right behind him as I made the jump a foot closer. I wasn’t nearly as graceful as he was, thanks to my short legs, but I made it inside with a hard thud and a roll.

I plopped onto my back to catch my breath, even with my duffel still strapped to me, and took in the empty metal container. I glanced over to see Griffin squatting by the opening of the train car. A few black strands hung around his lean, defined face. He wasn’t even winded .

“Take a nap; you need it. The chloroform is still in your system with your magic suppressed,” Griffin said, his head bowed and hands clasped together.

My brows furrowed, trying to figure out his endgame. But he was right. If I was to make this brief journey and kill him at some point, I needed to rest. I was still drained, more so now that the adrenaline had worn off.

I nodded and sat up to take off my duffel to use as a makeshift pillow. It wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep. Exhaustion claimed me before dark thoughts could consume me.

A firm hand jostled me awake. My eyes were heavy and burning as I sat up in a panic and slowly registered my surroundings. Crystal-blue eyes framed by thick, black lashes captured my focus and held me back from leaping to my feet.

His large palm remained on my shoulder. I broke his penetrating stare to look at the tan hand that touched me. It was so tempting to break it. Faint white marks scarred his skin and small, intricate designs inked themselves permanently there. I mentally slapped myself in the face.

“Don’t touch me,” I snapped and met his gaze again.

He said nothing; he just held my glare in a challenge. As soon as I shifted to remove his hand from my body, he stood and looked out the opening of the moving train car. “Be ready to jump in a few minutes.”

I stood up and tossed my bag onto my back again. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He turned around and took a step toward the edge of the container. Griffin observed the landscape for a moment before he looked at me over his shoulder. “But I’m gonna need you to be on your best behavior. Think you can manage that, Princess?” A one-sided smirk smeared across his face.

Before I could retort, he jumped .

Moving to the spot Griffin abandoned, I quickly scanned around, gauging the speed and landscape before I followed suit, leaping from the train seconds later.

I bounced off my feet before rolling across the sharp gravel, careful to protect my head with my arms. When I came to a stop, I looked around and spotted Griffin’s dark form approaching.

I brushed the dust and stray debris from my clothes as I pulled myself to my feet while fixing my cowl. “Where are we?” I asked as he closed the distance between us.

“In Macon, about thirty miles south of where we just were. We’re close to our destination.” Griffin’s perceptive gaze scanned the area for any threats.

“And where is that destination exactly?”

In response, he turned his back on me and walked away. I reigned in my temper at the blatant dismissal. My jaw ached from grinding my teeth together. But after taking a deep breath, I followed suit, jogging to catch him in stride.

“Speakeasy.”

“What’s there? Besides the ‘shine?” I pushed, trying to pry any information about his plans.

“Why else would I go to a speakeasy if not for the drinks or women?” He looked down at me as we walked. Amusement sparkled in his riveting eyes, hiding secrets that taunted me.

I scoffed, ignoring the comment to press on, “What do you want with me if not to either kill me or hold me as leverage against the king?”

Griffin inhaled deeply and didn’t answer right away as he stared at the path ahead of us. “I need your help.”