Caden crossed his arms. “You’re not coming home with me.”
“Yes, I am,” I replied, resolute. “Out of the four of us, I’m the only one who hasn’t lied to any of you. I’ve never tortured or manipulated any of you. So, if anyone deserves to choose their own mission, it’s me. And I want to go to Crown. With Caden.”
Everyone fell quiet, my words casting a shadow none of us knew how to step out of.
Caden was the first to break it, his tone flat with the emotional weight of a grocery list. “Are you well-trained?”
I nodded, fully aware of the specific kind of training he was referring to. “I was trained by the Cyclos First Offensive and earned my own Skindo last month.”
I pulled up the cloth covering my mangled arm again, this time to reveal my Skindo tattoo. It wasn’t as elaborate as James’ssleeve, but it was still impressive. Shooting out the weapon, a small sense of pride surged at the ease with which I handled it.
Caden studied it with more interest than I’d expected before I quickly shot it back in and covered it up.
Hesitating for a second to tell them about my new healing powers, I opted not to in light of all the fucking betrayal. The next one I told anything would have toearnmy trust. “Also, I survived the Amplifier once, chances are I could do it again.”
James shook his head. “You survived it because of the damper Julian put on your powers. He got that out during your coma, so chances of you surviving it again, are now less than zero.”
“Ah, yes. He removed the damper on my brain. Remind me, how did he do that again?” I snapped at James, who flinched, but didn’t bother to answer.
My focus locked onto Caden. “Since the Elder is dead, I am now the most powerful maga in existence, and my translation is untraceable in the Human World. Any way you spin it, I’m an asset. So I’m coming with you.”
Caden said nothing, just kept his eyes on me, a flicker of intrigue breaking his usual stoic mask.
“Agreed?” I asked, matching his icy demeanor.
His gaze roamed my face, as if searching for something buried beneath the surface. Whatever he found—determination, maybe—seemed to be enough. He gave a curt nod, sealing the decision.
James, on the other hand, looked thoroughly panicked. I wished I could feel some sympathy for him, but all I felt was a grim satisfaction.
I was angry. And maybe, on some level, I wanted him to suffer, knowing I’d be by Caden’s side—the man who had apparently a fifty percent chance of becoming my baby-daddy. I almost hurled again.
Like I’d ever have sex with either of them! The thought alone made me shudder in disgust.
“Then it’s settled,” Stephen said, rising from his chair. “Emma and Caden will go to Crown, find the Radicals, and demolish their nuclear weapon. I’ll resume my consensus tour and search for Gordon while I’m at it. James, you’ll start destroying LiaPrisms.”
We nodded in agreement, though James looked more reluctant than the rest of us. His jaw clenched, his entire demeanor betraying the inner turmoil I assumed he was trying to suppress. Without another word, James vanished through his portal, following his mentor. The room suddenly felt smaller, and I found myself alone with Caden.
It was only then that it hit me—what I had done. What my anger, my thirst for punishment, had driven me to do. In my quest to hurt James, to make him feel the same pain he’d caused me, I had thrown myself into a situation I now dreaded.
Leaving with a man who still haunted my nightmares.
Fuck.
PART 3
RECLAMATION
TWENTY-THREE
EMMA
Was I certifiably insane following Caden instead of James? Yup.
Did I do it out of spite, abandoning all reason and rational thought? Yup.
Did I regret it the moment I stepped through the portal to Crown? Double yup.
What the damn hell did I just do?
