Page 17 of Scarlet Wars
His smile stretched wider. “Two things.” He crouched in front of me, too close for comfort, his breath reeking of alcohol and rot. “First, you’re going to make me filthy rich. I’ve seen what you freaks can do—turn nothing into something, making the impossible happen. You’re going to conjure up some money, enough to make me a millionaire.”
I swallowed back my revulsion, keeping my face neutral. “There’s a bubble in place right now, I can’t translate,” I said carefully. “It’s not?—”
“Don’t,” he snapped as sharp as a whip. “Don’t start with your excuses. I know what you’re capable of. You’ll figure it out.”
His posture shifted, leaning in closer, and the grin that followed sent a chill down my spine. “And then, you’re going to make Amy fall in love with me. She might have refused me over and over again in the past, but you’ve got magic, so I’m sure you can work that into your little tricks.”
Amy stiffened beside me. “I’d rather die,” she spat, trembling with fury.
He turned to her, his grin never faltering. “Oh, sweetheart, you won’t feel that way for long. Once this witch works her magic, you’ll even thank me.”
“I can’t make someone fall in love,” I said, sickened by the idea. “It is not how this works.”
“You’ll find a way,” he said, his tone dark and final. “You do what I want, and maybe you’ll see daylight again. You don’t? Then get comfortable in your new home.”
He gestured toward a grimy bucket in the corner of the room. “There’s your bathroom. Get used to it.”
My stomach twisted, but I refused to let the disgust show on my face. “And if I try and fail?” I asked, buying myself some time while my mind raced for any angle to manipulate him.
His laugh was low. “Then you’ll stay here until you succeed. I’ve got nothing but time.”
He stepped back, towering over us as his shadow swallowed the remaining light. “Make me rich,” he said, sounding almost conversational. “And make her love me. Or don’t and stay here with her until she does. Your choice.”
He turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him. The sound of the lock clicking into place echoed in the suffocating silence.
Amy exhaled slowly, her shoulders slumping as soon as he was gone. “He’s insane.”
“Can you fight?” I blurted out.
Her one brow inched upward as her gaze swept over me like she was trying to decide whether I’d lost my mind. “You want tofightyour way out of here?”
“I say we use his insanity to our advantage. I don’t care what he thinks I can do. We’re getting out of here. Together.”
Amy stared at me, the spark of defiance flickering in her hollowed face once more. And for the first time since I woke up in this nightmare, I felt the faintest glimmer of hope.
FIVE
EMMA
Two days prior
There was no warning before the door flew open, only the sudden crash of wood against stone and the blur of a body moving faster than thought.
The shape of his shoulders, the way he moved as though the whole world had narrowed to this single point, tome. And then that face—thatface—somehow still so stupidly, heartbreakingly beautiful, even streaked with blood and lit by the flickering lights. The sight of him shattered something in me.
“Caden!” I cried out, my voice breaking. “Caden, in here!”
His gaze locked on mine, and everything about him shifted. His whole body went taut, like the sight of me undid something inside him. Then he launched himself off the stairs as if gravity didn’t apply, hitting the ground hard and sprinting toward me like he’d tear through hell itself if that’s what it took to reach me.
By the time he dropped to his knees in front of me, I was sobbing so hard I could barely see.
He didn’t hesitate. Didn’t speak. He simply ripped through the chains as if they were paper and pulled me straight into his arms, wrapping me up like he never wanted to let go.
“Shh,” he whispered. “Baby, I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
I clung to him like a fucking koala, buried my face in his chest and let everything go—the fear, the cold, the grief that had been crushing me since the moment my parents died.
“I knew you’d come,” I sobbed. “I knew you’d find me.”
