Page 43 of Scarlet Wars
“What do you need to know?”
The whisper was so low, it barely registered over the pounding in my ears. For a moment, I thought I’d imagined it, wishful thinking clawing at my exhausted mind. But then I turned, and saw her eyes locked on mine, not as hollow as they were before.
“We need to know what happened to your parents, how you got to the border, and we need your help tracking down the asshole who bubbled in the US. We also need your expertise on human politics.”
Sean shifted beside her, his expression darkening. “Caden, this isn’t?—”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snapped, cold enough to cut steel. My gaze never left Emma. “She decides. Not you.”
Emma’s fingers twitched against the blanket, the smallest movement, but it pulled all the air out of the room. When she lifted her gaze again, it wasn’t glassy anymore. It was more clear, threaded with pain and anger and something harder underneath… Resolve.
“I’ll help,” she spoke with force, pinning me where I stood. “But I want something in return.”
Sean looked like he wanted to argue, but I held up a hand, silencing him. “Name it.”
“I want the people responsible for my parents’ death,” she said, her tone determined. “I need to know who ordered the kill. And when I find out…” Her entire demeanor hardened, turning ice-cold. “I get to make them pay.”
I nodded slowly. “We’ll find them, Emma. And you’ll end them. And when you do, they'll wish they’d died in their sleep.”
Emma’s breathing was shallow, but her focus never wavered. “Good,” she said. “That’s the only way I’ll do this. I’m not just some pawn in your plans.”
“You’re no one’s pawn, Emma,” I said firmly, leaning into the words so she knew I meant every damn one. “Never again.”
For the briefest moment, her gaze softened, a crack in the armor. Then it was gone, replaced by steel she was pulling around herself piece by piece. “Count me in,” she said, steadier now. “But don’t ask me to care about anything else.”
“Fair enough.”
I nodded once, unable to find the words to respond, and stepped out, leaving her with Sean.
ELEVEN
EMMA
The soft click of the door shutting behind him felt louder than it should have, echoing in the hollow silence of the room. I didn’t move.
Caden’s words lingered, hanging in the air as a heavy fog I couldn’t quite see through. He’d given me a choice, but it felt more like a lifeline, frayed and brittle, stretched out over a chasm too deep to measure.
Sean shifted beside me as the warmth of his arm still draped over my waist grounded me a little.
“Yer not really considering it, are ye?”
I didn’t answer.
He sat up, his weight shifting the mattress as he ran a hand through his hair. “Emma, whatever they’re askin’ of ye, it’s too fuckin’ soon. Rachel and her damn team can wait.”
I closed my eyes, his words washing over me like static. Sean was wrong, even if I wanted to believe he wasn’t.
And then it hit me: the world had been moving on without me.
Even when mine had crumbled to bits, even when my life had become nothing but pain, rage, and nightmares, the rest of the world just kept going.
I sucked in a shallow breath, the realization harsher than I’d expected. My grief, my anger, my broken pieces… They meant nothing in the grand, chaotic scheme of things. The earth still turned, people still lived and died, and somewhere, a future was racing toward us all, whether we were ready for it or not.
And with magi coming out of the closet on nearly every continent, it wasn’t just moving, it was movingfast.
I pushed off the bed, ignoring Sean’s startled, “Emma?” as I got to my feet.
The bathroom was small, sterile, the kind of place that made everything feel colder than it already was. I flipped on the light and shut the door behind me, leaning against the sink for support. The mirror above it caught my reflection, and I froze.
