Page 92 of Scarlet Wars
And yet, the moment some pathetic human bullet was fired vaguely in my direction, the latter tackled me like I was no more than a fragile little bird, in need of saving by a big broad deceivingly charming hero.
I groaned as I hit the ground, more from irritation than impact, his entire stupidly massive body covering me like some overprotective human shield. His breath was hot against my ear, his arms locked around me like he was personally offended by the concept of personal space.
“Are you kidding me?” I hissed, trying very hard not to enjoy how his ridiculous amount of muscle pressed against my back. “Get the helloffme.”
“Shut up and be brilliant,” he snarled with that signature mix of arrogance and exasperation.
Well. Thatdidshut me up. You know, because I wasbrilliantand all that.
I quickly found James, and judging by the storm brewing in his expression, he was less than pleased to find me slightly crushed under Caden’s entire body.
“Everyone okay?” I grumbled, still pissed at Mr. Spends-Too-Much-Time-in-the-Gym practically smothering me.
“Well, my jacket has seen better days, but the rest of us are just peachy,” Sean drawled, his tone thick with sarcasm as he dusted himself off.
Caden finally moved off me, and the second he did, James thundered through the clearing. "Portal her out! Now!"
I blinked, stunned at the absurdity. Portalmeout? Like hell! I was about to hunt these humans down and make them suffer. For what they did to my parents. Tome.
Let them run. Let them hide. I’d find them. And when I did, I’d make sure they’d beg me for the solace of death…and be fucking denied.
But before I could move, the bored mask slid off Caden’s face like a curtain. For a breath, the man I knew—the dangerous part of him—stepped forward.
His eyes were bright with the faint, ugly thrill of it. Then, he opened his arms like he was embracing the sky. Something in him unfurled—dark, liquid, and impossibly fast—his obsidian haze blooming from his palms and ripping outward at a speed that made the air scream.
It shot across the clearing in black streaks, folding and snapping into itself like spilled ink obeying an unseen hand. The sound followed, a low, rolling thunder that seemed to rise from the earth itself, the ground shivering under our boots.
I felt it in my teeth, a pressure that dragged inward, as if the whole forest were being pulled into a void. Then the energy hit the tree line. Branches rattled. Leaves tore free. The sound deepened into something cavernous, like cliffs splitting apart, like the earth itself had cracked open just beyond sight.
Caden’s lips curved, not quite a smile. “No one’s portaling out. We have hostiles in the area; we’re tracking them down. Right now, there’s a chasm surrounding the forest. No one can get out. Not without translation.”
The words landed like a verdict. I couldn’t see it, not through the wall of trees, but I could hear it: the groaning earth, the echo of depth, the panic of human voices cut short as the drop swallowed their cries. In my mind’s eye it formed anyway—a canyon-scale wound, circling us rim to rim, a prison carved into the world itself.
“Sean, draw a perimeter around us. Emma and I will hunt down anyone who’s still in the forest and deal with them.”
Sean gave a tight, professional nod and launched himself into the trees, boots whispering over leaf-litter, a spray of frost spitting from his heels as he slipped between trunks. The sound of his sprint dissolved into the woods: a steady thud, then distance.
Caden turned. “Walker. Go back to the team. Keep them on standby until I give the signal.”
James’s jaw flexed, the muscle ticking hard. “You are giving me orders now?”
Caden didn’t flinch. “I’m making sure no one else gets shot.”
For a moment, the air between them tightened.
Then James exhaled through his nose, a short, scathing sound. “Fine. But don’t take too long playing hero.”
Caden didn’t bother answering. He only gave me a curt nod and pulled—slightly—until I stepped up beside him, the muscles in my calves waking with a tight, hungry jolt.
We moved as one, shoulders low, the snow underfoot crunching with every planted step. Branches snagged at sleeves; cold bit the tip of my nose; and the air tasted like metal and promise.
“You ready for some vengeance?” Caden’s voice was low, and the words skittered down my spine, leaving goosebumps that had nothing to do with the Canadian cold.
I shot him a small smile—a silent, fierce thank you for backing meagain—as the heat of his words coiled in my chest, the promise of what was coming thrumming beneath my skin.
“Hell. Yeah.”
The forest pressed close around us as we moved, shadows stretching long between the trees. Caden led, his steps silent, predatory, like the hunt was written into his bones. I trailed just behind him, as every rustle and shift in the undergrowth made my skin prickle.
