Then, right as I thought we wouldn’t make it, Caden let out a sharp exhale. A split second later, a portal ripped open beneath us.
The world lurched, chaos folding away into nothing. One moment, we were drowning in destruction—the next, we were spit out onto solid ground.
I hit the dirt, gasping, my lungs seizing as I sucked in open air. My body trembled, chest heaving, the raw adrenaline still running wild in my veins. Behind us, the structure continued to crumble, reduced to a cloud of dust and ruin.
Caden rolled onto his back, his body shuddering with exhaustion. For a long second, neither of us spoke, only breathing,existingafter coming so close to the edge. Then he turned his head toward me, his face still etched with strain, but something else too—relief. Concern. His breath was ragged, but his gaze trailed over me, like he needed to be sure I was really here.
The intensity of what had just happened sank in, and I found myself moving slightly into him, grateful for his rescue and overwhelmed by yet another near-death experience.
I could see the exhaustion in Caden’s features as he wiped the dirt from his face. “You okay?” he asked, his worry evident in his furrowed brow, and in the unexpected softness of his voice.
I nodded, trying to hide the tremble in my hands.
He rose to his feet, pulling me up with him. As he glanced around, he shifted back to his familiar, icy mask.
“You mind telling me why the fuck you didn’t portal out of there?” His voice was cold, detached—the flicker of kindness from moments ago already buried beneath irritation.
It was the perfect moment to reveal my translation was traceable within the Metasphere. Caden had saved my life because I hadn’t used it, but I was stubborn, a little ashamed of myself, and still hesitant to trust him, to tell him the truth. So, I remained silent.
“Couldn’t focus enough,” I mumbled, offering the vaguest excuse imaginable.
“You couldn’t focus enough to save your ownlife?” Caden’s disbelief was palpable. His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized me. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing!” I snapped, my frustration boiling over. “Not everyone is keeping secrets. I know this might be a surprise to you, but I’m actually telling the truth here.”
A lie—a massive lie.
“Fine,” he growled. “Next time, I’ll let you figure it out yourself. Maybe you’ll learn tofocusa bit more when I’m not breathing down your neck.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I muttered, realizing with a jolt I hadn’t even thanked him for saving my life.
Dammit.
“How did you know to come find me?” I asked.
Caden rolled his neck, a subtle crack breaking the silence. “I didn’t. I came to get you to move out to the Human World. WhenI didn’t find you and heard the noise, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Figured you had to be stuck or some shit.”
His glare bore into me as I pulled oxygen into my lungs, struggling to suppress the emotions behind my carefully maintained mask of indifference.
“Anyway,” I said, my voice regaining its neutral tone, “Iamgrateful for you showing up in time and saving my ass. So, thank you.”
Caden’s expression shifted abruptly from anger to something almost charming, his entire demeanor changing in the blink of an eye. It was unsettling, like he could flip between personalities with the ease of a switch.
Until he said, “Of course, wouldn’t want those ovaries to go to waste.”
My jaw dropped in shock. I was about to punch him in the face when a green portal swirled open, and Sean stepped through. He blinked a few times as he took in the scene of chaos before him.
“The fuck happened here?” he asked, visually calculating the damage and the people still standing in its wake.
Caden shrugged. “Apparently, when Emma’s bored, she blows up stuff.”
I let out a sharp gasp. Sean arched a brow at Caden’s flippant delivery, but the amusement vanished from his face almost instantly, replaced by a more serious composure.
“We need to move,” Sean said with urgency. “Enya just nexed me. The Radicals are threatening Slava with the Amplifier and are demanding they retract their consensus.”
Caden’s posture stiffened for a second, before he gave a curt nod. Without wasting another moment, we jumped through Sean’s portal, back to Caerleon Manor.
TWENTY-SEVEN
