Page 219 of Scarlet Wars
I swallowed hard, my throat dry.
“They came forme. My parents paid the price because they wanted to protectme.”
I pulled her closer.Tighter.Like if I held her hard enough, I could force the memories to back off. I buried my face in her hair, breathed her in like her scent was my oxygen.
“I thought they were over. I thought the nightmares were done. How am I ever going to sleep again?”
It wasn’t rhetorical.
She wasn’t just venting, she was really asking. As if I could fix this. As if I had the answer.
Little did she know…I did.
I exhaled slowly. “When my parents were murdered…”
Her head jerked back, eyes locking onto mine, so bright I could see their blue color even in the dark.
“It took me a year to avenge them,” I said, voice low and rough. “A year to find out exactly who was responsible…and to end them.”
Emma swallowed hard. “You never told me about that.”
“I don’t tell anyone.”
She nodded, a flicker of understanding in her gaze. “What happened?”
I let out a slow breath, my smile more shadow than warmth. “Nothing I can tell you now without adding to your nightmares.” I paused, watching her carefully. “All I’ll say is avenging them did help. It didn’t take away the pain, but it soothed the rage.”
Emma’s expression softened. She lifted a hand and brushed her fingers along the scar in my neck, gentle, careful, like she was afraid I might break if she pressed too hard.
“Is that why you fight at night?” she asked quietly. “Because you can’t sleep either?”
I nodded, startled she’d pieced that together so fast. “Yeah. The adrenaline drones out the…”
The rest snagged in my throat, sharp as barbed wire. One second, I was talking, the next it was like something inside me clamped shut. Not because I didn’t want her to know—hell, I did—but because dragging those memories into the open felt like scraping at a scar that still bled underneath.
I forced out a breath. “It helps,” I managed, the words thin and uneven. Anything more and I’d split myself open on it.
In true Emma fashion, she gave me a small, understanding smile. No pressure, no prying. Only quiet acceptance.
She was silent for a moment, then whispered, “I want to do the same. I want to find the people responsible, and avenge my parents, but it almost feels impossible.”
“You need to research it more properly,” I said, back in control. “It took me a year to build up a whole network to get the intel I needed.”
She stilled. Let that sink in.
Then nodded slowly. “Building a network. Sources.”
“Yes.”
“Will you help me?”
I reached out and gently took her chin between my fingers, lifting her face until her gaze met mine.
“Always.”
A small smile touched her lips. The tears that had streaked her cheeks had finally dried, leaving only the softness in her expression.
“Thank you for telling me. About your parents.”
