“I’m trained to handle those situations,” I countered.
“Maybe,” Caden replied, barely pausing before adding bluntly, “but you proved you’re not always capable of doing so. And I’m not putting you and whatever state you could be in at risk again.”
“Mystate?” I hissed, my tone threatening. I hoped.
“Yes. By taking forever to figure out how to portal out of a collapsing building, you put yourself and your body at risk. Especially if there’s even the slightest chance you’re pregnant. I’m not risking you having a miscarriage.”
I’m what now? Pregnant? What the hell?
Had I put on some weight since Coastal I was unaware of?
Sean chimed in; wariness clear in his voice. “Wait, ye think she might be pregnant with the Krait already?”
“I’m not pregnant,” I bit out, as I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks.
Caden crossed his arms, keeping his expression maddeningly stubborn. “Have you seen a Healer?”
“No, but?—”
“Then you can’t be sure,” he cut me off, his tone harsh and ice-cold. “And until you are, I’m not taking any more chances.”
My hands clenched into fists. “I am not fucking pregnant.”
“Fertility suppressors aren’t a hundred percent effective,” he said flatly.
“They are when you don’t have sex,” I snapped, as I glared without blinking.
His eyes widened, clearly blindsided by it. “You… What?” His confusion was obvious, but there was something else there too—something I couldn’t quite place.
Grinding my teeth, I felt the frustration boil over. “Not that it’s any of your business, but James and I never had sex.”
Caden rubbed the back of his neck, his brow creased like he couldn’t process the information. “You two were together for months.”
“Yeah,” I said through gritted teeth, “and in case you missed it, he was fighting a war overherealmost the entire time.”
Our eyes locked, and for a brief moment, something shifted between us.
“You’re still not coming,” Caden said, jolting me back to reality.
Anger surged inside me again. “Why the hell not?”
“Because,” he leaned in closer, his voice low and hard, “you’re a lot less powerful than I thought. If you can’t even portal yourself out of danger, I can’t trust you to save yourself. And we kind of need you, and that body of yours to save our whole fucking future. So you’re not coming.”
His words landed like a slap in the face, and I wanted nothing more than to punch him out. But I couldn’t let him see me being rattled.No weakness.
I held his gaze, not letting any emotion slip through. But inside, I wasfuming. Anger. Humiliation. Maybe even a hint of betrayal. I nodded, though, keeping my voice level. “Fine. If that’s what you think is best.”
Caden seemed momentarily taken aback by my lack of resistance, but he didn’t push further. Instead, he gave a curt nod and left the room. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone with Sean.
Sean turned to me, a playful grin on his face. “What’s got his knickers in a twist?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.
I sighed, then shrugged as if I didn’t care. “Apparently, I’m not living up to his expectations.”
Sean chuckled, flopping onto the couch beside me. “Caden’s always been a bit of a perfectionist. Ye should have seen him trainin’ me and the rest of the team back in the day. He had us running drills until we were half-dead.” He shook his head, still smiling. “He’s tough, but it’s his way of pushing us to be better.”
“Yeah?” I was struggling to hide my irritation. “And how did you all feel about it?”
“Oh, we hated him,” Sean said with a chuckle. “But we learned. Even if we did plot to swap his shampoo for horseshit more than once.”
