Page 25 of Scarlet Wars
The door to the Healer’s room burst open. Hillary Hugh, the red-haired Healer we’d found after portaling back with Emma, walked in briskly. “Good afternoon Mr. Walker,” she said, all calm. “Any changes?”
I shook my head. “She’s still out.”
Hillary sighed softly. “That’s to be expected. She’s severely dehydrated, hypoglycemic, suffered from hypothermia and sleep deprivation. Among other things. She was lucky you found her when you did. Another hour and she might not have made it.”
Fuck. That was hard to hear.
“If she doesn’t wake up on her own, we’ll wake her in a few hours. Until then, let her sleep. Her body obviously needs it.”
I gave her a tight nod as she left the room, the words still trapped in my throat.
Leaning my elbows on my knees, I stared at her pale face, searching for some sign she was still with me. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” I whispered to her ear. “I’m not leaving you this time.”
How many times had I godsdamn promised her so? How many times had I let her down?
A firm knock on the door shattered my thoughts.
Without leaving her side, I shot out my haze and unlocked the door.
Caden stood there, dark and broad, his eyes wild with barely contained frenzy. The cold, calculated edge was gone. He almost looked human,finally. Like a man on the verge of losing it. And for his sake, I wished I cared. But I didn’t.
He cleared his throat, the question clearly burning. “How is she?”
I shrugged. “Still asleep.”
“We need to talk.”
“I’m busy.”
“James.” His tone held a warning, one I wasn’t in the mood to entertain. I glanced up, meeting his gaze. His jaw was clenched, impatience radiating off him, but whatever else was burning inside him was important enough to push past his desire to rip my head off. That alone made me pause.
With a heavy sigh, I reluctantly let go of Emma’s hand and stood.
Caden stepped aside, motioning me into the hallway. Once we were in the adjoining room, he sealed it off, his black haze rippling through the air, ensuring no one could overhear us.
I crossed my arms. “What is it?”
Caden didn’t waste a second. “I have Crown Offensives deployed across the United States. When I first arrived here, I redirected five of them to Boston. They just got me some intel on Emma’s last known location.”
“Her parents’ house?” I asked, feeling a knot form in my gut.
He nodded once to confirm.
“What kind of intel?”
He exhaled sharply. “What they found was fucking horrendous. Bits and pieces of people, blood everywhere. The entire ground floor was blown to pieces. Human authorities were already on the scene, investigating.”
“What?” I hissed, my pulse spiking. “Who the hell attacked the house?”
“As far as my team could reconstruct…Emma.”
I let out a disbelieving, humorless laugh. “Emma? My Emma, attacking her own home? Yeah, that’s unlikely.”
Caden’s jaw tightened, but he let my possessive remark slide. “Saoirse hacked into US securities. Picked up chatter about the mass murder of soldiers, sent to her parents' house to arrest Emma Thompson.”
“What? Why the hell were they after her?”
The asshole shrugged. “All I know is she’s been branded an enemy of the state. There’s a national warrant for her arrest. And after killing almost a dozen soldiers, that warrant isn’t going anywhere.”
