Page 36 of Scarlet Wars
My brow furrowed. “Who?”
James blinked, as if he’d just realized he’d spoken out loud. Then, after the tiniest beat: “Rachel.”
Which made absolutely no fucking sense.
NINE
CADEN
A few days later, we’d just come out of another long meeting with Rachel, who, surprisingly, had been nothing but accommodating to our military demands.
Her Offensives and Crown’s Offensives were cooperating well, and as long as the humans hadn’t figured out where Emma was hiding, the threat on her Collective was nearly non-existent.
I was grateful to her, just not as grateful as she wanted, considering I’d turned her down for the second time since my arrival.
Crown was also safe for now, with European human leaders talking and negotiating, mostly trying to figure out which Collectives had paid taxes over the last hundred years. But the bubble over the US was still intact, and we needed to find the magus responsiblefast.
Five days after our meeting with Sinclair, I was reading in Rachel’s library when James barged in like he was contractually obligated to cause a dramatic scene.
“I just got nexed by the United Chiefs.”
That made me look up, startled. A direct nex from the very people still running the Magi World since they’d wiped out the Board at Alliance was almost unheard of.
“Three kids in Cyclos.” He sounded hollow. “Translated.”
My blood went cold.
“Their parents couldn’t stop them, their haze shot out too quick.”
I didn’t ask. I knew what it meant.
James’s gaze caught mine. “They incinerated on the spot.”
I closed my eyes, pushing the bile back in my throat.
James started pacing, his boots echoing against the floor. “My Council found a way to contact the United Chiefs. My people are demanding I return immediately to declare war on whoever’s behind the bubble.”
“So nothing more than a nice, casual war with the president of the United States,” I muttered, already trying to piece together what it would mean for the rest of us.
James’s mouth tightened, his demeanor anything but calm. “Which is exactly what the Chiefs told the Council. They’ve bought me some time, but not much. We need to find the magus behind the bubble, and fast.”
I stepped toward him and grabbed his shoulder—a rare moment of comradery. “Then let’s do so.”
We didn’t say anything else, but the same unspoken worry pressed down on both of us.
At this rate, war between species was becoming inevitable.
On top of it, we still had no answer for why the president labeled Emma a terrorist and signed off on the execution of her parents.
And more urgently than all of it, we needed a way to keep her safe. Somewhere secure. Somewhere far from the bullshit she was being dragged into.
Which is exactly what James and I were discussing later that night in Arbor Hall, alone. The fire crackled in the background as we ran through options.
I was about to suggest contacting Slava for help when the door swung open.
Emma walked in, and for the first time in weeks, there was something in her eyes, something that wasn’t numb or distant. My heart jumped into my throat, hope and relief rushing through me.
The icy mask she’d been wearing was gone, replaced by one hell of a fierce expression.
