Page 216 of Scarlet Wars
“Maybe they saw you coming?” one of the Kanata C Offensives offered.
James shook his head. “Negative. Emma cloaked us from the start. And she did it well.”
I smiled gently at my ex-boyfriend, grateful for the small acknowledgment.
Across the table, Caden’s jaw flexed, subtle but not lost on me. His gaze lingered a second too long before he turned away.
A quiet thrill curled through me. Was he…jealous?
I hid my grin behind a sip of water. Look at how giddy that made me.
Maybe he’d make me pay for it later. Punish me severely.
I certainly hoped he would.
“Do we have any idea who’s leading the Collabs?” Rachel asked, her tone clipped but wary.
Caden leaned forward, elbows on the table. “No. I’ve had feelers out all over the world as soon as we heard of their existence, but nothing’s popped up. No names, nothing about any kind of structure or hierarchy. It’s like they’re completely off grid.”
“But if we’re working from the presumption the Collabs are behind the bubble, then they’re responsible for the blue portal Emma had to jump through as well, since only the bubble’s creator can translate within it without getting hurt.”
I nodded slowly, feeling every set of eyes on me.
“Emma,” Rachel said, softer now. “What did you see, when you jumped?”
Fuck me.I was grasping for something neutral to say while my thoughts tangled themselves into knots.
Because first, I couldn’t tell them without exposing what Caden and I were. And second…it was fucking personal.
“It was personal. But whoever opened that portal,” I replied in a firm tone, “believes Caden to be Alek’s father.”
Rachel frowned. “Which rules out the Collabs. If they truly believe Caden Colt to be the Krait’s father, they would never show you. They’re working alongside the humans; they’d be in favor of those Trackers you told us about.”
Caden went still beside me.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low, measured. “Unless the Collabs found out about the Krait—and they believe Walker’sthe father, like the Chiefs do—then they’d have more than enough reason to keep Emma and James apart.”
I met his gaze. “So, if the Collabs are behind the bubble, they were trying to convince me you’re the father, to keep me away from James?”
His jaw tightened. “Possibly.”
I stared at him for a beat longer than I should have, the silence stretching between us until it felt like a conversation of its own. Through sheer will—or some pathetic stab at telepathy—I tried to send one clear thought his way:There is no reality in which James is Alek’s father.
He didn’t respond, but something in his expression flickered, and I chose to take that as understanding.
I exhaled, then dragged a hand down my face, grounding myself in motion. “Okay,” I said finally. “What do we really know about the bubble’s creator?”
“Nothing,” James grunted, thrumming his fingers on the table. His chair screeched when he sat up straight, the picture of stressed out. “Except he is very powerful, and probably close to ten cycles old.”
“We also know they grabbed me and James, opened a portal to lure you, Emma, and wanted you convinced Caden is Alek’s father,” Jackson added without hesitation.
“Right,” I said. “Which means we can rule out the Chiefs.”
Rachel folded her arms, exhaustion hanging off her like armor she couldn’t take off. “And the Radicals. They’d never incapacitate their own species by creating a bubble around an entire country. It defeats the entire manifesto.”
Caden’s head tilted, a slow, measured movement. “You cross them off the list pretty fast.” He held her stare. “I agree it sounds unlikely. But let’s not forget the Radicals are currently led by your sister. Maybe you’re too close to it to see the angle.”
Rachel’s jaw ticked. “Don’t do that.”
