Page 36 of Kingdom of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos #2)

Twenty-Two

“We’re not going in there half-cocked, yelling Becks’ name,” Talon reminds me unnecessarily.

I shoot him a sideways glance as we weave through the throng of New York City evening commuters, dodging briefcases and coffee cups, as they rush to catch their trains home. He’s watching me like he expects me to lose it at any second. Like I’m a ticking bomb.

“Yes, Dad , I know.”

Talon’s lip curls and his nose scrunches in disgust at being called “Dad,” and the sight makes me laugh. My heart feels impossibly light, like nothing in the world could bring me down.

Ensley and Titus staked out the café across from the Order’s headquarters.

They watched two humans exit the three-story building and cross the street to grab coffee.

Thanks to their enhanced hearing, they overheard the pair discussing an injured creature brought in earlier that week.

The two were arguing about whether their leader, someone named Kade, made the right call by bringing the creature back to headquarters.

There’s no doubt in my mind they were talking about Becks. The timing and everything lines up perfectly. Which means he’s not only alive, but close.

“I know you want to get your princeling,” Talon says, giving me an uneasy look. “But we have to be strategic about this. The members of the last Order chapter were hostile. We need to move forward assuming the same of this group.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” I say, waving a dismissive hand. “We’ve been over it already. We’re just going to try to find a way into the building. We’re not going to engage or stage a prison break . . . yet.”

I expect Talon to make a remark about the whole prison break thing, but when he doesn’t, I glance over and notice he looks a little worn out. There are faint shadows under his eyes I hadn’t seen earlier, and his skin is pale again.

He got plenty of rest last night and hasn’t done much physically today. We spent hours working on my magic, but I was the one expending most of the energy.

Is he getting sick? Or are his wounds not healing like they should be?

“Hey,” I say, laying a hand on his arm. “Are you okay? How are your wounds? Are they healing?”

He nods. “Yeah, they’re fine,” he says, but he angles away from me, giving me the impression he doesn’t want me checking.

“If you’re not up to this, we can go back and see if Ensley or Titus want?—”

Suddenly a stabbing pain drills into my temples, forcing me to my knees in the middle of the busy sidewalk. Talon calls my name, but I can’t concentrate on him over the red-hot agony. I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my hands against my head.

Talon scoops me into his arms and starts running, but I don’t open my eyes to see where he’s taking me. The pain intensifies until I think I may pass out, before it disappears as quickly as it began.

“Freckles, look at me,” Talon begs, carefully setting me down on what I hope is clean ground.

I’m scared to open my eyes, but the fear in his voice forces them open. The moment I see Talon crouched in front of me, I gasp and jerk back, only to slam my head into a brick wall.

“Whoa, whoa. Careful.” He cradles my head, probing the back where I hit it against the wall. His gaze skims over me, checking for injuries he won’t find.

“Talon.”

Reaching up, I grab his wrist to get his attention.

“What?” he asks. “Are you okay? What just happened?”

I stare at him with wide eyes, confused as to what I’m seeing. “You’re . . . glowing.”

His brow furrows as he glances down at himself, then back at me like I’ve lost my mind. “You hit your head pretty hard. Maybe we should get it checked out at a human hospital.”

He tries to get me to my feet, but I swat his hands away and stand on my own.

“No. I mean yeah, I did hit my head, but that’s not it. I swear, it’s all around you. Like a soft glowing blue and white halo or aura.”

As Talon stands before me, a shimmering halo that looks like captured starlight rings him.

Its outer edges are soft icy blue and pulse gently like the rhythm of a heartbeat.

Closer to him, the glow brightens into a radiant white, almost too pure to look at it directly—like moonlight reflecting on fresh snow.

The two colors blend seamlessly, giving the illusion of movement, as if the air around him is alive with energy, bathing him in an ethereal light.

Faint wisps of luminescence curl off its edges, trailing like smoke in slow motion.

It might be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

And it’s really freaking me out.

“An aura?” he asks, freezing.

I nod, and as I do the brightness flickers and then disappears.

“Wait, it just went away.” I search for the light, going as far as circling him to make sure it’s truly disappeared.

“It’s okay. I know what’s going on,” he says when I finish circling him.

“You do?”

He nods. “You just picked up another one of my powers. The ability to see magical auras.”

My mouth drops open. “That’s what that was?”

He plows a hand through his hair. “Yeah, that’s what that was. You were seeing my magical signature.”

“That’s fae magic,” I say in awe. “ Rare fae magic.”

“It is.”

And I just stole it from Talon.

The pit of worry grows in my gut. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to stop taking your magic.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. You’re not doing it on purpose.”

“I’m not, but still. How do we stop it?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know that we can.”

“Talon, what if it doesn’t stop until I take all your magic? Including your own?” I say, voicing a concern that’s been bouncing around my head since I told Ensley what’s been happening.

He thinks about it for a second and then shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. My best guess is that you’re going to keep absorbing the powers I obtained through Shadow Striker, but not my own.”

“But you’re not sure.”

Sighing, he shoves his hands in his pockets. “No. I can’t be. This isn’t a scenario that’s happened before. Unfortunately, we can’t be sure of anything when it comes to this.”

I worry my bottom lip, and Talon’s eyes drop to my mouth.

His pupils dilate before he clears his throat and lifts his gaze. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll take it one day at a time.”

“I just feel so bad. It’s like I’m stealing from you.”

“You’re not. Those powers were never truly mine to begin with. You’re acting like I’m going to be left defenseless if you take them all. I was pretty powerful before I ever laid a finger on Shadow Striker. I can still best your princeling without any of my borrowed magic.”

I snort. Becks is the most powerful dragon shifter of his generation. “Sure you can,” I say sarcastically.

“Maybe one day I’ll prove it to you,” he says with a smirk.

“I hope not.”

He tilts his head, then steps in closer. “How’s your head?”

Before I can answer, his fingers brush lightly against my scalp, searching for the spot I hit. I flinch when he finds it, and he immediately pulls back.

“Sorry,” he murmurs. “You’re probably going to have a bump.”

“Yeah, probably,” I say, trying to sound casual. “It’s not that bad. I’ve had worse in sparring matches.”

He studies me for a beat longer, then straightens. “Okay. Let’s go. We’ve got a princeling to save.”

His smile is there, but it’s dim, like a shadow of itself.

“I’m going down there,” I say. I start to stand and Talon grabs my arm and pulls me back down to my stomach.

“Freckles, you promised,” he says, giving me a stern look.

“I know, but he could be right there,” I say, pointing at the squat, three-story brick building we’ve been watching for the last several hours from the roof of the neighboring apartment complex.

A few humans came and went earlier, but even with Talon’s enhanced hearing we were too far away for him to catch any of their conversations over the constant hum of the city.

Now that it’s late and nearing midnight, no one has entered or exited the building in over two hours.

All this watching and waiting has gotten us nowhere, and it’s killing me to think that Becks might be so close, just out of reach, while I sit here. Doing nothing.

I know what I told Talon, but I’m done waiting. It’s a risk, but we need to get into that building and look for Becks.

“Look, there’s a window on the second floor that’s cracked open. If we climb the drainpipe, I think we can get inside.”

I’m not even finished before Talon is already shaking his head. “No. It’s too risky.”

“Well, what else are we supposed to do?” I ask, throwing up my hands.

“Sitting up here has gotten us nothing. We have to get inside and start looking for Becks, otherwise what’s the point of even being here?

It’s not like they’re going to walk him out the front door.

If he’s in there, we need to act. It’s a risk, but it’s one we have to take. ”

From the look on Talon’s face, I can tell he’s not convinced, so I try a different approach. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go in alone. I want his help, but I don’t need his permission.

“What are you worried about anyway?” I ask. “They’re just humans. They don’t have magic, but we do. If it comes down to it, we can easily overpower them.”

I’m confident I can handle myself physically, but when I talk about magic I really just mean him. I still can’t use my new powers reliably.

“What am I worried about?” he asks. He lifts the bottom of the shirt high enough that the edges of the gauze and tape he has covering his gunshot wound are visible. “I’m worried that they’ll have guns and they’re going to shoot first and ask questions later.”

Right. I forgot about that .

Getting to my feet, I twist out of the way when Talon reaches up to grab me again.

“Listen, I came to this world to save Becks, and to do so I need to know if he’s in that building or not. If he isn’t, then we’re wasting time looking for him in the wrong place. I’m going in. You can come with me or stay here. Your choice.”