Page 56 of A Touch of Gold and Madness (Celestials of Arcadia #1)

Chapter 55

Gray

T he familiar stench of the King’s Palace prison made me nauseated. It burned my nostrils and throat as I fought constant gags.

It seemed that I discovered the same teleporting ability that Chrome had during the battle. Naturally, I would fade all the fucking way to the King’s Palace and not just a few feet away for my first time like Chrome had. But since I was there, I decided to get Scarlett, Cotton, and Hazel out.

But the main question plagued my mind: if they were all locked up in the dank cells of the prison, then why did Chrome make me believe one of them was the scout who infiltrated the Hollow’s grounds? Who was the scout? And what was Chrome hiding? I wouldn’t let this go when I got back.

The complex system of cell blocks made it take forever to find where my friends were being held. I had already scoured every cell on every block for the past forty-five minutes, and I was no closer to placing them than I had been when I arrived. I didn’t have my bracelets on, so I was surprised I hadn’t been stormed by guards yet. Surely, my father and Amethyst knew where I was.

I tightened the cowl over my nose, but it did nothing for the stench of rot and death. If I didn’t find them soon, I would pass out from this shit .

I jumped at every creak and shuffle across the concrete floor, thinking it was guards who’d found me. When in reality, it was only non-Endarkened prisoners, sensing someone in their presence and eager to set eyes on a fresh face. I blocked them out, focusing on finding the energy of my friends’ auras.

A gentle breeze wafted through my hair, making me freeze in place. The air down here was as stifling as a thick swamp. I summoned two daggers to my hands with my element and called forth my Kinetic electricity as I dropped into a defensive stance.

Pieces of ash swirled together and began to form a corporeal body, beginning at the feet. As soon as he stood beside me, he grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into a hard kiss with a desperation that ached my heart. The relief from his agonizing fear struck me.

Pulling back to rest his forehead against mine, he rumbled, “Thank fuck.” His breaths were frenzied and harsh in his panic.

“Cardinal found you, I see.”

“More like I found him after I mutilated Golden,” he growled. His nostrils flared, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he worked to contain his anger.

“Did you kill Cardinal?”

Chrome clenched his jaw and roughly shook his head. “No. Although, I probably should’ve before I faded here. He’s still on the Hollow grounds.”

“Fuck,” I hissed out before I registered something he’d just said, crinkling my forehead. “Fade?”

“Yeah, it’s what I’m officially terming our new teleporting ability.”

I mulled over it for a minute. “Makes sense, I guess.” I shrugged.

“Of course, it makes sense, Princess. I don’t simply do things for no reason,” he scoffed, almost offended.

I ran my hands over my face, not in the mood to bicker with him right now.

“We need to hurry and get back to the Hollow in case Cardinal has something up his sleeve,” Chrome said, his voice returning to seriousness.

I tensed. “I’m not leaving here without them, Chrome. ”

A grin slowly spread across his beautiful features. “No shit, little savage. I’m not here to save you. I’m here to help you.” A heavy weight lifted from my chest, thinking he was going to turn into a caveman as he dragged me back kicking and screaming.

Chrome teased his tongue across his bottom lip. The action was so predatory, with the gleam of violence in his mercurial eyes. “While we’re at it. We’re going to kill the fucking king.”

We didn’t speak as we began our search for the three Kinetics. As we passed cells full of rotting Endarkened, the memory of the kneeling, Endarkened woman when I was last here with my father and Grim lit ablaze with a sudden realization.

Even through her descent into madness, her Elemental essence had recognized me as her Elemental queen. Despite the fact that kneeling to royalty didn’t seem to be custom anymore, something told me that this was something far deeper than I could imagine.

As Chrome and I made our way through the dim corridor, the darkened cells silenced at our sides. We skimmed inside each one, looking for Scarlett’s vibrant ruby tresses or Cotton’s snowy hair.

I sought their specific energies using my Kinetic magic, trying to pinpoint Scarlett’s potent, bright aura and Cotton’s subdued one. Hazel’s gentle aura had a subtle nuance that had always made it easy for her to sneak up on me. But they were absent.

We ran on precious seconds with each step. Our fade—as Chrome insisted on calling it—inside the prison had surely tripped the security measures in place, so we didn’t have time to waste. My muscles were coiled tight, ready for the unexpected. My hearing was expanded, as I took in any invading sounds.

Chrome grabbed my hand and jerked a sharp right toward a cell.

My heart froze .

A female lay sprawled on the putrid cement floor, a splash of color staining the drab concrete like a pool of blood. Scarlett lay unconscious, her currents repressed by a thick metal bracelet.

Chrome nodded to me, motioning for me to move on and find Cotton while he handled Scarlett. It hurt me to leave her there unconscious, but I trusted Chrome to get her free.

Before I could turn around, Chrome already had the metal bars crumpling at his command to open a gaping hole large enough for him to enter.

I found the next cell and came face to face with a bleary-eyed Cotton. His colorless hair and pallid skin was caked with dried blood and dirt. He strained his neck to see what was happening in the cell beside him, but I grabbed his hand through the bars in silent reassurance.

I looked to the cell beside us and spotted Chrome’s foreboding silhouette exiting with Scarlett’s limp form draped in his arms, her ruby hair swaying with the movement. I motioned to him with my head to signify I’d found Cotton.

Cotton’s olive eyes widened in fear as he launched himself backward at the sight of Chrome, obviously recognizing him as the deceased legend.

I’d never seen Cotton show so much emotion.

I held up a placating hand to calm him. I didn’t want to risk speaking, but I would have to if we wanted to get out of there soon.

“Cotton,” I whispered. “It’s okay. We’re here to get you out.” Cotton darted his suspicious gaze between Chrome and me, wondering how it was possible. His stare lingered on my bloody appearance. Shit, I probably looked horrific. “I’ll explain later, but we gotta go. Now.”

I moved out of the way while Chrome warped the metal bars on Cotton’s prison cell, as he had with Scarlett’s. Cotton hesitated for a few breaths. Each one felt like another second closing in on our lives. “Come on .”

Shaking out of his stunned state, he pushed off the cinderblock wall of the cell and hurried out. In the faint light of the hallway, I spotted dark bruises marring his cheeks and jaws, as well as deep cuts and a swollen eye.

“Where’s Hazel?” I asked, searching the cells beside his .

Cotton’s features fell, and then he dropped his gaze to the floor, a heartbreaking sadness washing over his defined features. I reached for his shoulder, anxious for a response. He raised his sodden head and narrowed his eyes toward a cell across from his. I followed his gaze, my heart plummeting as bile rose in my throat.

My hand covered my mouth. “Hazel… no ,” I whispered. The bronze-haired beauty hung from a noose crafted out of the thick linen of her pale blue dress. Her body dangled, hanging lifelessly from the horizontal beam that supported the vertical bars of the cell door.

Chrome spun with Scarlett in his arms. “Fucking shit,” he spat. He squeezed his eyes shut, bowing his head to his chest. “Godsdamnit,” he growled to himself.

I felt the onslaught of his warring emotions as they passed through him: anger, shock, sadness…guilt.

The elevator doors ground open down the hall, snapping us out of our moment of shock over Hazel’s death. Chrome pivoted to face Cotton. “Can you carry her? I have a feeling I’ll need to fight.”

We needed to get to Forest, but I wasn’t sure how we were going to manage that with Cotton and Scarlett in this state.

Cotton hesitated, shaking out his arms, which I assumed had been injured. He nodded, extending his arms to cradle his closest companion.

I pinned him with scrutiny. “If anything happens to us… run . Get the fuck out of here. Do you hear me?”

Cotton studied me with his head cocked to the side, and his eyes squinted in thought. I assumed he was trying to figure out my motives, but he nodded again.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway toward us. I released a small blast of magic with the jerk of my hand while summoning a breeze to carry my electrical strike far enough to hit the suspecting guard. The footsteps halted, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor.

“Okay, let’s go,” Chrome said, turning to me. Before he continued onward, he did a double-take in a nearby cell, squinting his eyes into the darkness. Suddenly, he spun around to face another cell. A look of confused shock painted his expression, and then he rotated to face another.

I followed his gaze, curious about what threw him off. A motionless, shadowed figure knelt hunched over in the first cell. Squinting to see through the darkness, I saw that they knelt with their forehead pressed to their knee. I spun in a slow circle, noticing all the remaining figures mirroring the gesture.

The groaning had ceased once we made our way deeper into the prison. The sight was as eerie as they came. Had the Endarkened filling these cells been kneeling this entire time for us? I locked eyes with an unnerved Chrome. “Rise,” I said, and they did. “At ease. And go rest.” The moaning continued, but the shuffling of feet told me they followed my command.

“Let’s go,” Chrome said, his voice unsteady, clearly perturbed by the sight of so many kneeling Endarkened.

I nodded and cast one last glance at Hazel’s limp corpse hanging from the cell door. I was gutted. It was another Helair taken from this world. My stomach burned at the thought of leaving her here like that, knowing she wouldn’t get a proper burial. If only I could’ve gotten here sooner…

I let the emotion sit heavy on my heart as I began to half-walk and half-run down the corridor with Chrome at my side.

With a glance over my shoulder, I saw Cotton following behind, squeezing Scarlett protectively against his chest as he worked to keep up with our pace.

“We’re gonna try and make it to the lobby, and when we do, you run. Do what you have to do to escape with Scarlett. Okay?”

Cotton’s expression was hard and focused. If he was at full health and didn’t have his magic suppressed, he’d be a huge ally to have on our side. He and Scarlett both, but I wouldn’t risk them when facing against Forest and, more than likely, Amethyst, too.

Our new fading ability was untested in many ways. I’d only done it once. And even though I’d witnessed Chrome do it with Onyx during the battle, it wasn’t worth the risk in this type of situation .

As we rounded the corridor to the stairwell, a familiar voice that oozed down my spine like dirty oil broke the silence. “Ah, so nice to have you back, Princess. Things have been quite interesting in your absence.” My magic went cold in my veins, completely shut down while my currents and gilded skin winked out.

The three of us slammed to an abrupt halt. Chrome drew two swords free from the holster strapped to his back. “Touch her,” he challenged, a viciousness I hadn’t yet heard coming from him. It was hair-raising. “I fucking dare you.”

Grim Valor leveled his beady black eyes toward Chrome, and an excited smile spread across his gaunt face. A smile like that on a man like him was nightmarish. Nothing good ever came from it. “Ah, well, if it isn’t my favorite stepson returned from the dead! Welcome home, Chrome. Or should I say, Griffin ? I believe we have a fine score to settle for the murder of my daughter.”