Page 233 of Scarlet Wars
My stomach plummeted.
Not because of her words, but because of what I saw behind them.
Hillary.
Always in the background.
Always second to Rachel’s role.
Always quietly accepting the secrecy that came with loving someone powerful.
Suddenly it hit me like a punch to the gut: I was doing the exact same thing to Caden.
Hiding him. Asking him to hide us. Letting fear dictate what he was allowed to claim.Whohe was allowed to claim.
Forcing him into the shadows even though he’d never once hesitated to stand in the light with me.
Fuck.
Rachel tapped the end of her staff against the mat, jolting me out of my internal spiraling. “Caden is all yours, Emma. I’m sorry if I’ve caused any kind of friction, that was never my intention.”
I blinked a few times before hastily lying, “Oh, no. We’re not together.”
Rachel deadpanned at me in silence so thick it became its own form of judgment.
“Right,” she said finally. “And I’m a fucking houseplant.”
I stared at her, completely thrown, unsure how to even begin climbing out of the hole I’d dug myself.
“It’s okay, Emma,” Rachel said, waving a hand like she was soothing a child. “I understand wanting to keep a relationship between the bedroom walls. No one will hear it from me.”
I hesitated for a second before I spoke. “The United Chiefs… As you know, they believe James to be the father of the Krait. Why they’re so sure of it, I have no idea. When they came here, they threatened to kill everyone I love if I didn’t bond with him.”
My throat tightened. “I bought myself a year, but that was months ago, and I’ve never been further away from wanting it. If they find out I?—”
Rachel didn’t let me finish. She tossed her staff aside with a sharp clatter and grabbed my arm, pulling me toward her with a grip that was terrifyingly fierce.
“No one,” she said, every word clipped, “not even the fucking High Chief, gets to dictate who you bond with. If they so much as try to threaten you into it again, we’ll raise arms against them. All of us, together with every Collective that has the smallest sense of decency. You have my word on that.”
My breath caught. She looked like a fighter, a leader, and someone’s deeply protective wife all at once.
And for the first time, I saw her fully.
Thus, I did what I’d been wanting to do for quite some time. I stepped forward and hugged her.
She chuckled, surprised, but her arms came around me without hesitation.
Which is exactly how Hillary found us a second later. “Okay. That’s a lot of touching.”
Rachel sighed into my shoulder. “Hillary.”
“No, no, don’t ‘Hillary’ me.” My Healer stepped inside, squinting at our embrace like she was assessing a suspicious rash. “So first you want to go to dinner with Colt and now you’re cuddling hisare they or aren’t theydisaster? Really?”
Rachel groaned. “Honey, please?—”
“No, it’s fine,” Hillary said in a tone that indicated it was certainly not fine. “You know what? I get it. She’s adorable. Trauma-riddled. Has big blue eyes and a tragic backstory. Of course everyone wants to hug her.”
I blinked. “You think I’m adorable?”
