Page 128 of Scarlet Wars
The one who had scarred me, yes, but also the one who’d pieced me back together more times than I could count. I was still furious with him, the lies still raw, but watching him come apart like this—terrified for the man he…cared for—was its own kind of torment.
I didn’t want this for him. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, least of all my brother. Which he still was, despite every reason I had to be angry with him.
Rachel’s voice cracked through the din like a whip, yanking me out of thoughts. “What do we know?”
Sean’s answer came fast, his tone clipped, each word strung tight with panic. “They were scoping out a building in Alberta. Out of nowhere, a group of magi hit them: an ambush, clean andfast. They don’t know who or what; they were sedated before they could see anything clearly or fight back, and when they woke, they were locked inside a holding cell.”
His throat bobbed as he forced the next words out. “They don’t know where exactly. Only…” He broke off, then cleared his throat once. “Only that they’re beneath the bubble. Which means they’re somewhere in the US and can’t translate their way out.”
The room erupted again, nervous chatter rising like a tide until it pressed against my skull.
“Silence!” Rachel’s command was loud enough to jar everyone back into stillness, before her gaze snapped to Sean. “How do we know this? Where is our intel coming from?”
For a long second, he stared at her, then at me; before his focus shifted to Caden and stayed there.
“From me,” Sean whispered, his voice low but carrying in the charged quiet. “The intel’s coming from me.”
Rachel’s impatience flared. “How doyouknow this, McGrath?”
Sean’s jaw flexed, as if he somehow doubted the words before they left his mouth. “Because Jackson and I are in contact right now.”
Rachel frowned, confusion creasing her features. “How is that possible if they’re beneath the bubble?”
“Because the bubble doesn’t affect the True Bond.”
Sean’s answer dropped like a hammer. My brain stalled, the words landing heavy, almost incomprehensible.
“You formed the True Bond with Jackson?” There was no accusation in Caden’s tone, only genuine, startled surprise.
Sean gave a single, grim nod.
“When did you guys have a wedding?” I blurted, too stunned to ask anything smarter.
But Rachel’s hand shot up, slicing the question off before Sean could answer. “Not now. We don’t waste seconds by reconstructing the past. What matters is getting them back as fast as possible.”
She planted her hands on the table, shoulders taut. “No magi would voluntarily venture into a country where all magic leads to implosion and death. I think it’s safe to assume there are only two options. Either the people who took James and Jackson are working with those responsible for the bubble—in which case they might have magic in the US since only its creator is able to translate—or it has nothing to do with the creator, and they’re probably human.”
Sean leaned forward, his chair groaning under the movement. “Why would humans abduct them? What use are James and Jackson to anyone outside our world?”
A murmur rippled across the table, boots scuffing, arms crossing, weight shifting.
“Maybe to lure out Emma,” someone suggested, and the room seemed to tilt toward me. “If they learned about Emma and James’s history, they might think he’d make for the perfect bait.”
Caden stiffened for a second, and I sat a little straighter, heat crawling up the back of my neck, but I kept my face blank.
Rachel’s eyes flicked to me briefly before sweeping the rest of the team. “Would make sense, since they can’t cross the border anymore. That way, they force you to go to the one place where they’re allowed to arrest you.” She paused for a beat. “If it’s bait for Emma, then they know what they’re doing.”
Caden sat rigid beside me, elbows on his knees, his tone cold when he finally spoke. “If they’re human, there will be trails. Trucks, ports, IDs, something we can track. If they’re not…” His jaw tightened, the muscle there flickering. “Then they’ll be hiding in places only magic can carve out.”
I swallowed hard, every instinct screaming at me to move, to run after my friends right now. “We can’t just pick one scenario. We have to prepare for both.”
Sean dragged his hand over his face. “Then we assume the worst. If they have magic below the bubble, chances are we’re dealing with Collabs. Who we know nothing about.”
“Actually,” I cut in, the memory hitting me hard and sudden, “Caden and I found something…interesting about Collabs.”
“Possibly interesting,” Caden muttered beside me. “It might end up having nothing to do with them.”
Rachel’s stare sharpened. “What is it?”
