Page 168 of Scarlet Wars
Until another Chief stepped forward.
“In the future where Emma Thompson chooses Caden Colt,” he said evenly, “the latter dies. Since the father is one of both, James Walker remains the only option.”
The words landed like a strike.
I felt the blood drain from my face, the world narrowing to a sharp point in my chest. But beside me, Cadensnorted. A defiant sound that managed to mock and dismiss all at once.
“Yeah, right,” he said flatly. “Like anyone’s going to believethat. You’ll have to do better than ‘trust us’ as a source.”
“We have proof of this.”
“Show me.” My command came out hard, but my hands were trembling where they hung at my sides. “Show me thisso-called proof.”
The Chiefs stilled. All of them.
Then, the High Chief turned toward Petru. “For reasons we cannot yet divulge,” he said, measured and cold, “this proof cannot see the light of day. But it will in the near future. In the meantime, you must trust what we have seen is true. The Krait is our best hope for survival, and he is conceived by Emma Thompson and James Walker.”
For a heartbeat, nobody moved.
Then Caden and I both let out quiet, disbelieving laughs.
Because with that single refusal, the Chiefs’ credibility didn’t just crumble, it disintegrated.
“Seems to me,” Petru replied coolly, raising his weapon a fraction higher, “even if that were true which seems highly unlikely, it would earn Miss Thompson and Mister Walker some invaluable protection. Not you arresting her based on fabricated charges.”
“She translated beneath the bubble and survived,” the High Chief bit out like a cornered animal.
“And I couldn’t care less.”
The silence that followed was instant. Tense. Electric.
All Offensives shifted uneasily, fingers twitching toward triggers.
A low hum started up, one of the Corona’s powering, whining softly like a warning.
Sean stiffened beside me, his posture tightening.
I saw Caden’s hand slip behind his back, quiet and controlled, before retrieving the small knife he always carried somewhere on his body.
One wrong word. One wrong move. One wrong breath.
And the next move would be open war.
Right when I thought the whole thing was about to escalate, another portal burned into existence next to James, searing bright green.
Rachel stepped through first. Jackson followed a step behind her, his broad frame casting a dark shadow across the ground. He sized up the Chiefs, thoughtful and rational. As always.
Kanata C’s First Offensive’s focus flicked toward the United Chiefs. “Sorry we’re late,” Rachel said, her smile widening with just the right edge of mockery. “You know how traffic can be.”
She stepped in between the two groups, clearly to shield the three of us still stuck under the bubble. Jackson flanked her side; his back turned to us.
“So,” she drawled. “What did we miss?”
My heart hammered against my ribcage.
The United Chiefs stood like statues, weapons raised with lethal determination. My haze still burned beneath my skin, a dark red glow humming at my fingertips, ready to ignite at the flick of a thought.
“Who areyou?” one of the Chiefs spat at Jackson, the question laced with contempt.
