Page 52 of Kingdom of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos #2)

Thirty-Two

The door bangs shut behind him, the echo ringing through the warehouse like a warning bell.

For a few heartbeats, I can’t move. Frozen. Caught between the intensity of what just happened with Talon and the wreckage Becks left in his wake.

The warmth of Talon’s hands still lingers on my skin, but guilt creeps in like a chill.

Talon exhales hard beside me, stepping back just enough to meet my eyes. “That went well,” he mutters, voice tight, caught between frustration and regret.

I press a trembling hand to my mouth. “He wasn’t supposed to see that. We weren’t even?—”

“Doing anything?” Talon finishes for me, but there’s no accusation in his voice. Only quiet resignation. “Didn’t look that way to him.”

I step away completely now, needing space to think, to breathe. “I should go after him.”

“Should you?” Talon’s voice is quiet, but the question lands hard.

“I’m sorry,” I say, not even exactly sure what I’m apologizing for as I backpedal away from him.

Talon doesn’t stop me. He just watches me go.

I push through the door after Becks, the cold night air crashing into me like a punishment.

I find him just outside the warehouse, pacing like a storm bottled in a human body. He doesn’t hear me at first, or pretends not to, until I step off the gravel path.

“Becks.”

He stops. Doesn’t turn. His fists are clenched at his sides.

“So that’s what I left you alone with him for?” His voice is low but sharp. “Training?”

I swallow hard. “It wasn’t planned. It just . . . happened.”

“Right,” he says, finally turning to face me. His jaw is tight, eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them. “You just accidentally climbed into his arms?”

“It wasn’t like that,” I say, but even I can hear how weak it sounds.

Becks lets out a hollow laugh. “You know what the worst part is? I knew something was happening between you two. I felt it. And when you lied and told me there was nothing going on, I silenced that voice inside because I didn’t want to believe that there was.”

“Nothing happened before today,” I say quickly. “You have to know that. I didn’t mean to hurt you?—”

“Yeah, well, you did.”

The words land like a slap. He shakes his head, looking away again.

“I thought I mattered to you.”

“You do,” I say, stepping closer. “You’ve always mattered to me, Becks. You’re?—”

“Not enough,” he cuts in, the words soft but brutal. “At least not anymore.”

We stand there in silence for a few seconds. Me still catching my breath, him trying to hold himself together.

“So . . . what?” he finally asks, quieter now. “Are you choosing him?”

I open my mouth, but no words come out. Because the truth is I don’t know yet.

And maybe that silence is all the answer he needs.

He nods slowly, lips pressed in a tight line. “Got it.”

Then he turns and walks away. This time, I don’t chase him.

After Becks leaves, I can’t bring myself to go back to the warehouse and face Talon. What happened between us was amazing, but it also unearthed things I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with, and now I’m completely overwhelmed by the fallout.

So I walk.

Brooklyn buzzes around me as I keep my head down, weaving through streets I barely register until the city starts to quiet and the river comes into view.

I follow the path along the edge, the water dark and choppy beside me.

It probably isn’t smart to be out here alone, not with everything going on, but right now I need space more than safety. I need to breathe.

The wind stings my face. The world feels too loud and too still at the same time.

Then my phone rings.

I pull it from my pocket, expecting a message from Talon—or maybe Becks—but it’s neither. It’s Titus, and for some reason my stomach twists before I even answer.

“Hello?”

Titus’ voice is sharp. Panicked. “Locklyn. It’s Ensley. She’s gone. Someone took her.”

My heart stops.

“What do you mean she’s gone ?” I ask, my voice shrill. “Gone where?” I’m already turning back the way I came, legs moving on instinct.

“We were scoping out the park and we were jumped. We fought, but there were just too many of them.”

“Tell me everything. Who took her? When did this happen?”

Not Ensley. Anyone but Ensley.

My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out everything but the voice on the other end of the line.

I can barely keep up as the words pour out.

Something about more than a dozen attackers.

All creatures. They’d ambushed them. Surrounded them.

Titus fought back, but they managed to split him from Ensley.

By the time he’d taken down enough of them, she was gone.

“Where are you now?” I ask.

“I’m still in the park. I can send you a pin.”

“Stay there. I’m on my way,” I say, even though I don’t know where I’m going yet. “Have you called anyone else?” I send a silent prayer up to the Creator thanking him that Kade gave us all phones so we can get in touch with each other.

“I tried Becks first, but he’s not picking up.”

I swallow down the panic that something might have happened to him too, telling myself he probably just wasn’t picking up because he was still upset about what he saw in the warehouse.

“Keep trying him. But call Talon first and tell him what happened.”

“Aren’t you with him?” Titus asks, confused.

I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “Not right now, but I’m headed back to the warehouse. We’ll both come meet you.”

There’s silence for a second and then Titus says, “What if they hurt her? I’ll never forgive myself.” His voice is broken. I’ve never heard Titus like this before.

“We’re going to find her and get her back, just like we did Becks.”

“Okay, just hurry.”

“I will,” I say, and then hang up without waiting for a response and break into a run, the wind burning my face, my boots pounding the pavement.

Because no matter what’s happened between me and Talon—or Becks—this isn’t about them anymore.

It’s about getting Ensley back.

I didn’t realize how far I’d wandered until it takes me over ten minutes at a dead sprint for the warehouse finally comes into view. I round the side of the building, breath ragged, legs burning, sweat clinging to me, and find Talon already outside, waiting.

The second he spots me, he pushes off the wall where he’d been leaning. I try to spit out what’s happened between pants, but he waves me off and says, “I talked to Titus. Let’s go.”

I nod, and we head to a more populated area to find a taxi. My anxiety spikes when it takes longer than I’d like. I start wringing my hands, pacing the sidewalk while scanning for headlights, until Talon finally manages to flag one down.

The ride from Brooklyn to Central Park feels endless, stretched tight with tension neither of us bothers to name. We sit in heavy silence, the weight of what’s waiting for us pressing in on every mile.

When the taxi finally rolls up to one of the park’s entrances, I have the door open and I’m jumping out before the car comes to a complete stop.

The driver yells at me, but I don’t pay him any attention as I break into a run, forgoing the paved path and heading over grass and through trees, determined to get to Titus.

We have to find Ensley. Nothing else matters.

Talon catches up quickly and grabs my arm, forcing me to stop.

“Locklyn, stop. Look at yourself.” His voice isn’t angry, it’s steady, but laced with an emotion that pulls me up short: concern.

I glance down and freeze.

Shadows are drifting toward me from all sides, curling off my skin in thin wisps. The air smells like smoke, and the grass beneath my feet is withering in patches, the tips browned as if scorched.

“I didn’t even mean to,” I murmur, breath catching in my throat.

“It’s hard to control magic when emotions are involved,” he says, his gaze locked on me. No judgment, just quiet understanding.

I nod, slowly, my pulse still racing, but now it’s not from urgency.

It’s fear.

Because no matter how hard I try to keep it in check, my magic keeps slipping loose.

It’s happened before, especially when I was angry, scared, desperate.

I already burned Talon once. And this isn’t some harmless trickle of energy.

I’m carrying power that was never meant for one creature, let alone one human, to hold.

Not like this. Not without consequences.

Talon steps in close enough that his presence anchors me. His hand lifts, slowly, deliberately, and cups the side of my face. His thumb brushes just beneath my eye, not to wipe away tears but to steady me.

“Hey,” he says softly. “You’re okay. You’re still in control. Just breathe.”

I do, because he asks me to. The quiet strength in his voice reaches through the panic clawing at my chest.

One breath in. One out.

The shadows unravel from around me, slithering back into the darkness where they belong, and the scent of smoke blows away with the next gust of air.

“See?” he murmurs. “You’ve got this.”

I nod again, this time more sure of myself.

“Okay,” I whisper. Every time Talon helps me rein in my magic, I feel a touch more in control. “Let’s go find Titus.”

When we find Titus, he isn’t alone. Imogen and Kade have beaten us there and are standing in a loose semi-circle around someone bound to a tree with thick vines and ivy. Titus’ handiwork, probably. As we approach, I have to choke back a gasp when I lay eyes on Titus.

One of his eyes is swollen completely shut, his lip split and crusted with blood. His shirt hangs in tatters, splattered red and torn across his chest. Through one of the rips, I catch a glimpse of a deep gash still oozing blood down his ribs.

He looks wrecked.

And the worst part? Titus is one of the strongest among us. Ensley is a powerful fae as well, but she’s not a trained fighter. Under normal circumstances I believe she could hold her own, but if they could do this to Titus, then what kind of shape is Ensley in?