Page 69 of Scarlet Wars
Rachel—tall, striking, the kind of beautiful that made even battle armor look like a runway piece—didn’t slow, didn’t flinch. She simply pushed forward into the storm as if she could bend the world to her will through sheer force of stubborn determination.
Meanwhile, I trudged along in her shadow, five-foot-nothing and looking more like a pissed off garden gnome than a warrior.
Fucking perfect.
Rachel raised a fist ahead of me, signaling a halt. The line of Offensives behind us slowed, and I scanned the tree line ahead, the Metasphere border barely visible through the swirling snow, a thin shimmer of distorted air, like heat rising off asphalt.
James was the first to spot it. His body tensed, his arm shooting out his Skindo.
“There,” he said, his voice low and lethal. “Two o’clock.”
A figure moved through the trees, too fast, too purposeful to be lost. A human. Dressed in military attire, face obscured beneath a hood, rifle ready in arms.
And then another figure emerged. And another. Shadows multiplying between the trees, gray and green uniforms bleeding into the snow until I couldn’t tell where the forest ended and the soldiers began.
My stomach tightened. My breath puffed white in the freezing air as I turned to Sean.
“They are all human, right?” The question came out a little hesitant. “Since we’re more powerful, shouldn’t we…go easier on them?”
Sean’s jaw clenched, his focus never leaving the advancing line. The crunch of boots on snow carried across the silence, rifles glinting dark through the flurries.
“In my experience,” he muttered, the words like frost snapping brittle, “us being more powerful makesthemmore dangerous.”
“He’s right,” James said, low and grim. “The more scared people are, the more volatile they become.”
A gust cut through us, rattling the trees, sending snow hissing across the ground.
I cocked my head, and Caden’s gaze clashed with mine for a second, a quick current of understanding passing between us. Even with him ignoring me for the last few hours, we’d been on too many missions together for me not to know what he was thinking.
“No mercy,” I whispered, acknowledging his silent command.
His eyes darkened, a brief flicker of something dangerous passing over his face. He gave a single, curt nod before turning his back to me again.
“Okay,” Sean breathed. His hand flexed at his side, light flickering between his fingers as translation energy crackled to life. “Let’s have some fun.”
Rachel’s order cut through the wind. “Positions.”
We all moved as one. James slid into place at my left flank, Skindo-blades unsheathing with a smooth metallic hiss.
Sean fell in behind me, his invisible energy already buzzing with restrained violence. My own Skindo burned beneath my palm as I shot it out, the cold metal warming instantly to my touch.
“This is Kanata C’s First Offensive speaking,” Rachel’s voice rang out across the frozen field, while her attention never wavered from the line of humans ahead. “You are trespassing, and we are within our rights to defend our home.”
A figure stepped forward, crunching over the ice, rifle slung at his side but his presence no less hostile. “We do not wish to attack you,” he said, his voice hard enough to carry. “We are not here for war. We do not care what you are. We are only here to arrest Emma Thompson.” He paused; his stare fixed like a sight. “But be advised, wewillfight our way to her.”
I moved forward, but James’s hand shot out, clamping hard around my arm. “Take another step, and I’ll drag you through a portal back to your room.”
I ripped free of his grip, annoyance flaring in my chest. “I can very well decide for myself, thank you.”
Rachel’s declaration rang out clear. “Your accusations against her are unsubstantiated. We will protect Ms. Thompson’s freedom with the full force of this Collective.”
“She’s killed humans on US soil. She killed her own parents!” another voice snapped from behind the tree line.
I flinched, breath catching, my stomach dropping to ice. That’s what they thought? That I killed my own parents?
Not now. No weakness, Emma.
“Final warning,” Rachel called, her threat razor-sharp. “Turn back. Now.”
