Page 30 of A Touch of Gold and Madness (Celestials of Arcadia #1)

Chapter 29

Chrome

I stood in Orion’s office with Onyx sitting beside me. This time, Gray was in her room waiting for dinner. Her nervous anxiety thrummed through my body, making me wish I could ease her mind. I hadn’t been successful in blocking her emotions yet.

I couldn’t help her, though. There were things I needed to discuss with Orion and Onyx in private. Things we weren’t ready to talk to the others about yet.

Orion breezed in, sandy hair sweeping across his forehead. The door closed with a click. He flashed us a smile before moving to round his desk, dropping into his large leather chair. I took the seat Gray had occupied only two hours prior.

“I’m so glad you’re both back,” Orion said with a sigh, shoulders slumping.

I dipped my head. “As am I, Uncle.”

“Fuck. I’m glad to have a warm shower and Katia’s delicious food again. If I had to eat goopy slop that they try to call oatmeal one more time, I’d have vomited,” Onyx muttered next to me.

I chuckled. “Your entitlement is showing, Onyx.”

Onyx rolled his eyes dramatically .

Orion’s bemused grin said he missed our banter. “What is it you need to discuss, Chrome?”

I released a long sigh. “I met with my contact last night while Gray slept—”

“Still don’t want to give up this ‘contact’ of yours, hmm?” Onyx piped in, cutting me off.

“I’ve already told you, I can’t—not yet.”

“Continue, Chrome,” Orion encouraged. “What did you learn?”

“Well,” I started, trying to organize my thoughts. Another wave of gratitude washed over me that I was able to think lucidly now that the urge to viciously kill wasn’t taunting me. “My contact said that Arcadia is weakening, decaying more with each sunrise. It’s due to the Tempests, who are basically dark sorcerers and sorceresses. They practice blood magic that depletes the magic from the realm—including the wildlife—and in its wake, death and blackness are left behind.”

Orion’s eyes widened, “Like…the Endarkened?”

“Very similar, it appears.”

“So, what does this have to do with Forest and his plans here ?” Onyx asked.

I cleared my throat and sat up straight to deliver this next part. “It seems that the noble King Forest has been working with the Tempests since before Gray and I were born. Apparently, there’s something of great power, and he wants it.”

“I’m assuming he’s been promised that power if he helps them somehow?”

I nodded. “Weakening the veil.”

“How?” Onyx questioned, his voice pitching a little high.

I hesitated, trying to piece it together myself. “I don’t know. But I have a feeling it has a whole lot to do with Gray and me. It’s not a coincidence we were able to open a portal for the beastie-bear.”

“Beastie-bear?” Onyx said. And after pondering it over, he added with an approving nod, “I’ll allow it. ”

“Anyway,” I said, steering the topic back to the importance at hand. “The first time we met, our magic… reacted .”

“Reacted how ?” Onyx pressed, while Orion narrowed his eyes, wondering why I’d never spoken of this before, I presumed.

I blew out a breath, running a hand through my metallic strands, glad to have them back. “Like an explosion.” I relaxed into my chair, bracing for the barrage of questions that was to come as I recounted the story.

Orion’s face had gone sheet white, while Onyx gaped at me like I’d committed the ultimate crime against him. The Kinetic beside me asked, “Why haven’t you ever told us this before?”

“Because I didn’t think it really mattered,” I lied. “I thought it was a freak thing.”

Orion didn’t buy it, judging by his raised brows. “Well, that information is quite helpful. Apparently, due to your hybrid natures, your powers are intertwined, perhaps?” he mused.

“Maybe. But that’s not the only weird thing that happened that day,” I continued to confess, and went on to divulge the secret about feeling her emotions.

It typically took a lot to shock Orion, but it seemed this did it. Silence fell. “Chrome, you do realize what you’re saying has never been accounted for before, right?”

“I do realize that. Why do you think I haven’t said anything until now, Uncle?” I snapped, annoyed that they didn’t believe me.

Orion exhaled, poured a pinch of bourbon, and then tossed it back. “Okay, I believe you,” he conceded. “Does she know?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. I can’t bring myself to tell her, with everything she’s learned and has been through. She’ll likely feel like it’s an invasion. And it is. Which is why I’m bringing it up now, to learn how to control it.”

“What did your contact say?” Onyx inquired.

“He said he’d look into it, but it was new to him, so he didn’t have anything for me.”

Orion leaned back in his seat, head falling back on the chair. “Anything else?”

“Just that this magic-draining dark magic is killing off Arcadia. The beastie-bear is apparently considered a regal and honored animal there,” I explained. “But we do think there is a link between the Endarkened and the magic that the Tempests are wielding.”

“And if we fail in stopping Forest from opening the portal? Then what?” Orion pushed to get to the crux of it all.

“That’s the thing,” I said. “The magic they’re working with won’t just be opening a portal. The power is designed to obliterate the entire veil altogether, plopping Arcadia down right on top of this world. Our worlds would be merged. Tempests will attempt to drain what magic exists here. The poisonous residue left from their magic will infect this world, and the humans wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Wonderful,” Onyx hummed sarcastically, sinking into his seat.

Aella and River waited on me outside my room after my meeting with Onyx and Orion. Aella stood with her long, dark tresses full of voluminous tight curls resting on her waist. Her arms hung relaxed at her sides, but a hint of anxiety glinted in her eyes. River Oakland propped her shoulder against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, wearing her usual spearing expression that rivaled Gray’s.

“Ladies,” I greeted, my tone languid as I expected their pushback.

“We need to talk,” River demanded, while Aella nodded in agreement before casting her eyes to the floor.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. Not out of annoyance by their arrival, as it was expected, but I had hoped to grab a few minutes alone with my violin before showing Gray to the dining hall for dinner. “Of course,” I said, and used my magic to unlock the metal mechanism that composed the lock on my door. “After you. ”

River didn’t hesitate to stride through the doorway and make a beeline to my bed, where she jumped and plopped on top of the mattress. Aella moved like a wispy shadow, easing inside and sitting in a chair in front of my desk.

“What’s up?” I asked, glancing between the two before sitting on the sofa in the living area.

It didn’t surprise me that River spoke up first, her bright red lipstick vibrant against her brown skin and sleek black hair. “I know most of us here are happy about the princess’s arrival, but let’s not forget there are a few that are rightfully skeptical.” At the tilt of my head, River rolled her eyes. “Not me, I think I’ll actually like her. But some of the quieter ones here feel their opinion matters, too,” she explained before casting an encouraging look to Aella.

Aella nodded but refused to meet my eyes. “I don’t trust her. I mean, she’s…an assassin and the king’s daughter. She is known for killing our kind and wanting your head. What’s to say she’s not putting on an act to destroy us from within? Like the Kinetic delegates did all those years ago.”

I leaned forward, my forearms braced on my knees, and offered her a soft smile. “I hear you, Aella. And I understand where your worries stem from. You’re validated in that,” I assured her. I’d always made an effort to allow those here to feel like they could come to me with concerns, to be heard, and to have a voice in their home, to be the opposite of Forest’s iron fist rule.

A small breeze swept around Aella, lifting her long, textured hair in its wake, offering comfort to her in its embrace. “It’s just…are you sure that this is wise? To let the enemy inside our home?” she asked. She may be a fierce and a formidable warrior, but Aella didn’t like opposing me about decisions made regarding the Hollow.

I thought on my words carefully before answering. “The king tried to have her killed when she failed to kill me.” River looked taken aback, while Aella stared at me with a stoicism that matched my own. “I don’t know all the details, only that he had her drink poisoned with redfern at her birthday revel . He concealed the truth about her hybrid nature her entire life, and I think it’s safe to assume he was less than warm as a father to her growing up.” I took a deep breath to calm the surge of anger that shot through my body at the thought, only fueling my desire to kill him.

“She only learned of her origins two hours ago. And the remorse she feels for…” I trailed off, remembering the rush of overbearing guilt that sat heavy on her heart when she realized she had been killing pointlessly this entire time. It wasn’t much different than what I’d experienced when I learned the entire truth myself. “She feels duped by her father. He’s been lying to her and their people, using and controlling her for her entire life. Not only that, but he killed someone close to her and blamed me for it. You can bet she has redirected her rage at this point.”

Aella exhaled and looked away with a clenched jaw, an internal battle going on within her. The breeze picked up around her as her element responded to her conflicting emotions. The look in River’s eyes hardened, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

“I don’t expect you to trust her right away, Aella. You have every right to feel the way you do. But at this point, Gray has nowhere else to go. The Warrior Guild is hunting her now, and without connections to the militia, the black market won’t hesitate to capture her and throw her into slavery.”

“What if she throws off the balance here? This is our home, our refuge.” Aella’s hands fiddled in her lap as she worked to remain poised in the desk chair.

I offered her another gentle smile. “I don’t have the answer for that right now. All I know is we need to give her a chance to breathe for the first time. I’m sure she’s having a hard time coming to grips with everything she’s learned and experienced in recent days. Give her time to adjust to her new reality, and then we’ll play it by ear. But know that your opinions and feelings matter here. Everyone’s do. If she ever became a problem, I’d handle her myself. I may be the leader, but I’ll never be a dictator.”

Aella exhaled and then nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Chrome,” she said, her voice gentle and tinted with relief. “I’ll try to give her a chance, but she is going to have to work for my trust.”

“Noted. We’ll see if she lives up to the challenge. ”

River met my gaze in solidarity, silently conveying her confidence in me. I dipped my head in acknowledgement, to which she returned.

“Is there anything else I can help you two with?” I asked them.

River chewed on the inside of her lip, highlighting the sharp features of her face. “Nope. See you in the dining hall. Is the princess coming?”

“Yes, I’ll be escorting her there shortly.”

River nodded. “Sweet. See you, then.”