“Nothing?” I asked, while pulling my vest tighter against the cold as the wind howled around us.
Sean shook his head, frustration and resignation radiating from him.
“Camp A is only about five miles east,” Caden said before he directed his focus solely to Sean. “Let’s check that one out too.”
Damn it.I wanted to get out of the Collective, wanted to move as quickly as possible to the Human World where my translation was untraceable.
“Why? Enya told us there was nothing there. She just left it.” I tried to keep my voice casual, but inside, my nerves were buzzing.
Caden didn’t flinch. Whatever he was thinking stayed hidden behind that steely exterior. “Can’t hurt to make sure.”
I felt a flicker of frustration. “You don’t trust her intel?”
“It’s not about trust. It’s about thoroughness,” he replied, while straightening his spine. The implication was clear—there was always a chance we’d missed something, and that chance couldn’t be ignored.
“I don’t see any merit in taking the risk.”
Caden angled his head toward me, a smirk curling his lips like a predator toying with its prey. “Scared, Emma? Then why don’t you stay put. Guard it here until we come back for you. I’m sure you’ll be safe by yourself, what with all that Elder-power you possess.” The words dripped with mockery, but underneath it, there was a cold, sharp edge—a dare he was silently throwing my way.
“Yer leavin’ her behind? By herself?” Sean hissed.
Caden lifted a brow. “You voice a lot of opinions today, Sean. Any reason you’re doubting me for the first time in over three hundred years?”
Sean clenched his jaw. Then shook his head once.
They turned their backs on me without a second thought, discarding me like I was nothing more than an afterthought. “And remember,” Caden called over his shoulder, “stealth is key. Don’t draw any attention.”
I nodded stiffly, choking down the retort threatening to spill out. My stomach churned as the portal swallowed them, cutting me off in blackness so thick it felt like punishment.
Caden was testing me, I could feel it—a sick game to see how quickly I’d break. But leaving me behind, in the cold like this? Either he was hoping something would happen to me, or he was too sure nothing would. Or was it a test?
I knew it was the former. I’d seen it in his eyes—a gleam of satisfaction, as if he couldn’t wait to be rid of me.
A sigh escaped my lips, heavy with regret. Every choice I’d made up until then felt like it was tightening a noose around my neck. But even now, sitting in the cold, damp air of Crown—because, of course, it had started to rain—I still found a small sense of relief in being away from James.
My thoughts drifted to the revelations of the last forty-eight hours. Enya being on Caden’s team? That barely registered on the list of surprises.
James knowing I was mind-raped as a baby and keeping it from me… yeah, that one took the gold medal.
Him allowing Julian to do so again while I was in a coma, even if it saved my life?—
A soft rustle beside me yanked me out of my thoughts like a bucket of cold water to the face. My heart did a stupid lurching thing, and before my brain could catch up, I was already on my feet, scanning the obscurity like I was about to single-handedly take down a warlord.
The shadows, of course, were super helpful—pulsing ominously, making every tiny sound feel like an assassin creeping up to end me. If a Radical had been lurking, waiting for the perfect moment to attack, I’d be ready. Capture. Kill. The usual.
Except nothing happened.
I stood there like an idiot, every muscle tensed, practically vibrating with battle readiness—for what? A particularly aggressive leaf? A judgmental owl? My own overactive paranoia?
I cracked my neck, rolled my shoulders back. This was fine. Totally normal. Probably a rodent trying to ruin my life. But now that I’d worked myself up, I couldn’t shake the feeling something—someone—was watching me. The kind of gut-deep certainty which made you want to check under the bed with a flamethrower.
My fingers twitched, itching to translate, to do something, but I clamped down on the impulse. Last thing I needed was to set off a LiaPrism and basically send up a flare saying, Hey, Radicals! Free kill over here!
So, instead, I stood there in silence, on high alert, waiting for the inevitable. The wind ghosted through the trees, whispering like it had a personal vendetta against me. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Although beautiful by daylight, by night the Highlands gave way to a rather creepy vibe. Especially when alone at a hostile camp. And in that moment, it hit me—I was completely, terrifyinglyalone. Not only in the immediate sense, but in a much deeper, more unsettling way.
I had no one I could trust. No one to turn to when the darkness closed in. If things went bad, there was no safety net, no comforting presence to pull me back from the brink. Hell, I didn’t even have a friend I could call to cry my eyes out over James. My closest bond was with Jackson,hisbest friend. Good gods, did Jackson know? About me? About Julian? About the future and my role in it?
