Page 24 of Scarlet Wars
Her knees buckled.
She collapsed in my arms, limp, every shred of fight ripped clean out of her.
Something in me split wide open and detonated.
My vision narrowed to a black-edged tunnel, my pulse roaring in my ears as her weight settled into my arms.
Every nerve burned, every muscle locked with the violent need todestroywhoever had put her in this state, until every last person responsible was rotting so deep the earth itself choked on them.
There was no more room for rational thought, only raw, primal instinct. My grip tightened around her, teeth gritting as a low growl rumbled from my throat.
Without a second’s pause, I lifted her into my arms. She fit there like she always had, her head lolling against my shoulder, her weight sinking into me as if even in this unconscious state, she knew I’d never let go.
I bolted for the bike, feet pounding the dirt, every jolt a reminder of how light she’d become, and how wrong it felt.
Her broken breath brushed warm against my shirt—small, and uneven, but alive—and beneath the sharp, copper tang of blood, her scent was still there, faint but unmistakable, hitting me like a memory I couldn’t afford to lose.
I swung onto the seat with her still curled against me, one arm locked around her as I gunned the throttle. The engine’s roar vibrated through us both, and I leaned into it, while I pressed her closer so nothing—not the wind, not the cold nor the dark—could touch her.
The road blurred under the tires, the night closing in on either side, but my focus didn’t waver. Every heartbeat against me was one more I refused to lose.
I jammed a finger to the earpiece. “Walker!” My voice tore through the comm. “Border. Now. Open a portal. We don’t have time.”
Static cracked. “Caden? Did you…did you find her?”
“She’s with me,” I snarled, leaning harder into the throttle. “She’s hurt. Badly. Get back to the border and get that portal up!”
“I’m almost there. Half a klick ahead.”
Through the trees, light flared, before a green portal shimmered into existence, wide and unsteady from how fast he’d ripped it open. James stood right beyond, blood streaking down his arm.
My chest seized at the sight, because for once, he didn’t look like the raging, asshole Leader. He looked like a man whose world was falling apart.
I didn’t slow. I tore straight through the portal, Emma’s weight crushing against me, her breath so faint it made my vision blur. The shimmer swallowed us whole, and then we were out the other side, Kanata C’s air hitting in my lungs.
James shot through a second later, slamming the portal shut behind him.
We drove like madmen straight into the Healer’s compound. My arm shook from holding her so tight, but I didn’t dare loosen it.
I glanced down at her face, pale and still against me, too still, until the memory of another night—one where she suffered hypothermia, her body ice-cold in my arms—slammed into me with the force of a tsunami.
Not again.
I wasn’t going to let her slip away. Not ever again.
JAMES
I’d never been a stranger to dark emotions. Rage, revenge, loneliness, they had fueled my actions for as long as I could remember. But guilt... Guilt was new.
Sitting beside her bed, holding her hand, I couldn’t shake the memories of all the times I’d held her like this before. All the things she’d suffered since I had ripped her from the safety of her human life.
I’d dragged her into this world, promising protection I’d failed to deliver over and over again.
My demons clawed at the edges of my mind, threatening to overtake me, and it took everything I had to keep my rage haze from pouring out.
The room was silent except for the steady rhythm of her breathing, too soft, too fragile. My hand tightened around hers, willing her to feel my presence, to know she wasn’t alone. I’d failed her too many times, but this... This felt like the worst of them all. She looked so small, so broken.
What could I say to bring her back? How could I fix this?
