Page 122 of Scarlet Wars
“When Caden saw yer arm, he went fuckin’ feral. I’ve never seen him like that. I thought he was going to kill me.”
“He told me he’d fix it. He made me swear to never tell anyone what really happened. He took the fall, made it look like it was his decision—an unhinged, cruel act by an unknown Radical—not a screw-up by Crown’s second in command.”
Finally, my best friend looked up at me, eyes glassy and raw. “He lied to protect me from the United Chiefs. To protect Crown.”
My mind was spinning.
“Saoirse didn’t know about my arm,” I said quietly. “When I told her last year…she didn’t know.”
Sean shook his head. “No one knew. Only me and him.”
A small ounce of relief coursed through me.At least Saoirse hadn’t been lying.
I was starting to understand. “Caden pretended to be Logan Stark so no one would know who was really responsible.”
Sean nodded. “He made everyone believe Radicals were the ones behind your abduction and only showed ye his face. Since James already knew what I looked like, Caden was afraid he’d recognize me from yer description. So he made sure ye never saw me.”
My brain was on full alert, chasing one impossible memory after another. “You… You came to Cyclos. After Maurice died,”I whispered, the image of Sean’s unexpected arrival flickering through my thoughts like a puzzle piece I’d overlooked.
He nodded again. “When James fought the Radicals at Crown with us, he told us about yer arm, about yer nightmares. I couldn’t stomach it, Emma. I asked Caden to let me check on ye, made it look like a diplomatic mission. But then we met, and ye were…ye. I didn’t expect us to become actual friends so fast.”
All the memories of Sean in Cyclos—his unexpected kindness, his concern—rushed back. Things I hadn’t understood now clicked into place.
“You wanted me to find out the truth about James…”
Sean let out a deep breath. “Ye wanted answers so badly, and I thought maybe if I helped ye get them…”
“You thought I’d forgive you for ruining my arm?” I snapped, my patiencegone.
Sean winced as if I’d struck him. “I love ye, Emma. Yer like the sister I never had. And I will spend the rest of my life tryin’ to make this right.”
I shot to my feet, my heart pounding with rage and betrayal, emotions swirling so violently I could hardly breathe. I stared at him, my mind a whirlwind of memories and lies, anger and sadness.
Without another word, I opened a portal and stepped through, leaving Sean behind, his devastation etched into his face like a permanent scar.
I foundCaden later that night in his quarters.
He was in the bathroom, the sound of the shower running behind the closed door. I waited—impatiently, anxiously—while standing in the middle of his bedroom with my face turned away,focus locked on the window as if it could distract me from the storm building in my chest.
Five minutes later, the water shut off. A moment after that, he walked out: dark jeans slung low on his hips, his upper body bare, steam still clinging to his skin like a second layer. That stupid, insane body on full display, as if the universe needed to make this harder.
He froze when he saw me. Blinked. Then rearranged his features in his mask of boredom.
“What are you doing here, Emma?”
Clearly still pissed at me for ignoring him. I didn’t reply, then turned my gaze back out the window.
“Emma. Get the hell out,” he demanded, his voice hard.
And just like that, the tears started. I hadn’t felt them coming. But they were falling, fast and hot and impossible to stop.
I turned around slowly.
The second he saw my face, wet and streaked, his anger twisted into shock, confusion, and something dangerously close to fear. He crossed the room in two quick strides, his eyes scanning me, frantic, checking for wounds like he expected to find blood.
When he reached me, his hands came up to cradle my face. His fingers were warm against my skin, anchoring me like he didn’t even realize he was doing it. His gaze darkened, until it looked almost completely black.
“Who?” he growled, the threat to annihilate anyone who’d dared to hurt me, clear in his voice.
