Page 266 of Scarlet Wars
Too fucking long.
Then, finally, I heard voices.
Faint at first, just enough to make me think I’d imagined it.
I slowed, listened harder as the sound sharpened by degrees—low, muffled, bleeding through metal and stone—but unmistakably human.
Clearly not my brain snapping under pressure.
My pulse picked up as I faced the heavy metal door, its surface dull and dented, its edges corroded, decay trailing into the floor like a long-standing warning no one had bothered to clean up.
And because nothing says “excellent decision-making” like barging into a room without knowing who’s in it, I took a deep breath, shot my Skindo back out, then wrenched open the door from hell in a single, brutal pull.
The room beyond was packed.
Every Chief stood inside, all lined up behind one another in a loose formation, weapons visible, bodies still, all their attention fixed squarely on me.
Crappydoodle.
There were too many of them. Enough to overwhelm me, and end this before it ever really began.
But we were still beneath the bubble, where I had my powers. The United Chiefs did not.
I stared at the tall, gray-haired man at the front I didn’t recognize, while taking in the way the others were angled toward him, the subtle deference written into their posture. Power radiated off him, quiet and absolute.
Not a Chief, but I knew who he was: the only other person with access to their translation.
“Gordon,” I said, holding steady despite the storm coiling tight in my chest. “I presume.”
He didn’t answer, but I caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth, the telltale sign of a smile he was trying very hard not to let show.
I shifted my stance, feet spreading slightly, knees bending as my weight settled low and grounded. My shoulders loosened, my hands flexing as I dropped into a fighting stance. “Where are Caden Colt and James Walker?”
The Richard-Gere lookalike smiled this time, like he was enjoying himself.
“Took you long enough to find us,” he said mildly. “Tell me, which one of them finally got you off your ass?”
“Neither,” I said coolly, letting the lie settle into place. “I came here solely for retribution. Came to avenge the only sister I’ve ever known.”
That part, at least, was true.
I tightened my grip on my weapon as I turned to the High Chief. “I’m surprised to findyouhere, standing beside the man you had us chasing for almost an entire year.”
“You chase a lot slower than I do, Ms. Thompson,” the High Chief replied evenly. “And over the span of a year, priorities inevitably realign.”
I nodded once, unimpressed. “Still. One might wonder why you’d choose to work with the same man who tried to sell me a future where Caden and I end up together.” My gaze cut backto Gordon. “Considering all the effort you put into forcing me to bond with James.”
Before the High Chief could respond, Gordon spoke, softly, almost conversational.
“But he failed, didn’t he?”
His stare was almost invasive, like he was trying to strip the truth straight out of me.
“You are not bonded to Mr. Walker,” he said. “Are you?”
I felt the smirk curl across my mouth before I could stop it.
“No,” I said sweetly. “I am not.”
