Page 26 of Scarlet Wars
I felt my heart drop, my mind racing with questions, but I forced myself to focus. “Okay, I’ve got a thousand questions about that, like why, but first… What about her parents? Where are they?”
Caden hesitated—only for a second—but it was enough to send a wave of dread through me. “It looks like her parents were among the casualties.”
The blood rushed to my head, and my fists clenched. “Are you insinuating Emma blew up her own fucking parents?”
“No. But it’s pretty damn clear she’s responsible for the others.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I don’t believe it. The US was already bubbled in. How would she have survived that?”
“Hell if I know,” Caden replied, frustration leaking into his voice. “Maybe the same way she survived the Amplifier? Maybe it’s all that Elder-power protecting her, keeping her alive through things that should kill her? Maybe because her translation is different? Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Jesus.” I leaned against the wall, trying to steady myself. Hearing it said out loud made it worse, it made it real. “Are you sure it was Emma?”
Caden nodded grimly. “There’s no doubt.”
I fought to keep myself steady. “How do you know?”
“The way the bodies were blown apart,” he said, his tone flat. “It was done by translation in the Human World, but it wasn’t traceable. Know anyone else who can do that?”
I clenched my fists tighter, anger and disbelief swirling inside me. “No. No one else.” I swallowed hard, the image of Emma standing amid the carnage flashing through my mind. I knew what she was capable of, but this...this was beyond anything I’d imagined.
Caden’s demeanor softened, a rare crack in his usual detachment. “She must’ve been cornered, James. Probably had no other choice.”
“Or maybe she just snapped,” I muttered, barely able to keep the bitterness out of my tone. But I knew Caden was right. Emma wasn’t a killer. Not by choice. Not unless she was pushed too far.
Caden took a step closer, his expression hardening again. “Whatever happened, whatever she did, whether she snapped or not, we protect her. Do you understand me?”
I met his gaze head-on. There was no question of loyalty here. No doubt about what needed to be done. Emma was ours to protect, no matter what she’d done. “You don’t need to tell me that, asshole. I will do whatever she needs me to do. Whatever it takes.”
Caden’s expression was grim but resolved. “So we agree. We bury this. No one finds out.”
I nodded once, but inside, the worry gnawed at me, and I couldn’t help but wonder... how much more could Emma take before she broke completely?
Sitting backby Emma’s bedside again, my mind was racing with everything Caden told me.
Why the hell had she ever been branded a terrorist in the first place?
Honestly, I didn’t care about her killing off those assholes sent to arrest her. I didn’t care she had fled the scene, running from the authorities. And as cold as it sounded, I didn’t even care about her parents, beyond the pain she must’ve felt when they died.
What I cared about was Emma. If the US government was hunting her down, we couldn’t stay in Kanata C. We’d have to move, maybe hide her somewhere in Europe or another Collective, somewhere out of their reach.
But I couldn’t lose focus on my mission either. Destroying all the LiaPrisms was already proving to be a bitch of an assignment. So many Prisms to track down, so little time.
And with Cyclos’ former Leader, Maria, out of the picture, her husband Maurice dead, and Stephen still out to find that mysterious Gordon-guy, I was the only one left to make sure they were all neutralized.
My Nexus flooded with Jackson’s worry, interrupting my spiraling thoughts.Now what?
“Is it true?” he whispered, as soon as I allowed the connection.
“What is?”
“Emma. Is it true she killed her own parents and blew up her house with fifty humans inside?”
“No!” I almost shouted, glancing toward Emma, hoping she couldn’t hear the ridiculous accusation. I quickly stood and left the room, keeping Jackson on the Nexus. “Where the hell did you hear that?”
“Sean.”
“Sean McGrath?” I asked, my patience wearing thin.
