Page 326 of Scarlet Wars
She hit him with bone-jarring force, tackling him sideways right as the bolt cut through the space where he’d been standing. They crashed together onto the stone, rolling hard across the square as the air above them detonated. The blast exploded only feet away, heat and pressure rippling outward like a physical wave.
For a second, I couldn’t hear anything.
Then Cara’s voice cut through the chaos.
“You all right?”
My head jerked up, and I watched as they both pushed up on their hands amid the dust and debris.
James’s answer came out broken. “He’s gone.”
My chest tightened at the sight of him, but Cara didn’t look away. Instead, now seated beside him, she reached out and gripped his hand, hard, and grounding.
“The dead leave behind more than silence,” she said quietly, as she brushed her fingers over his clenched fist. “What we do with their echo is up to us.”
James’s head snapped up, then surged to his feet so fast it must’ve hurt. “How the hell do you know that saying?”
For a moment, Cara stayed where she was, looking up at him, holding his gaze.
“I’m not your sister,” she said softly.
What?
“And I’m not who you think I am. But this isn’t the time or the place.”
Then she let go, pushing herself to her feet in one fluid motion, already turning back toward the fight.
James stayed frozen for a heartbeat longer, like the ground had shifted under him and he hadn’t caught up yet.
I swallowed hard and pushed through the chaos toward him. “You okay?”
His eyes were glassy, unfocused, but his hand shot out and gripped my arm with surprising force.
“For Stephen. For all of us,” he said hoarsely. “End this, Emma.”
His voice cut through my skull, loud and clear despite the roar of the battle raging around us.
I didn’t have time to unpack the way those words landed in my chest, his trust in my abilities,finally.
I simply answered with the only reply I had. “I will.”
My focus locked on the man who held my heart for a second, and I watched as Caden gently—almost reverently—translated Stephen’s body away.
I was still ambivalent about the Specialist who’d retrieved me into this world. I hadn’t forgiven him for all the lies and manipulations. But I also hadn’t wanted him dead.
Whatever else he was, he’d jumped in front of that haze for Caden without hesitation. And that meant something.
A lot, really.
But now wasn’t the time to figure outwhat.
James’s eyes locked with mine before we shared a short, silent nod, an understanding that didn’t need words.
And then we ran.
There was no space left for grief. No breath left for forgiveness. Only battle. Only forward.
On my left, a sudden surge of wind split through the space, and a beam of green light spiraled down from the sky. The High Chief portaled in, landing hard beside Caden, his cloak still rippling with kinetic energy.
