"Then I won’t," I said tersely, motioning for her to head back inside, keeping my voice as neutral as I could manage.
Emma and I hardly acknowledged each other the rest of the night, but it didn’t stop me from watching her. Tracking her. Every glance, every subtle shift, every flicker of emotion she refused to show. It wasn’t even intentional—it was instinct.
And every damn time she laughed, every time she brushed against someone else, something in me coiled tight. My jaw clenched harder, the irritation simmering right beneath the surface.
People swarmed around me, drawn in like moths to a flame. They leaned in, eager for my attention, for a glance, for amoment of my time. My presence had always been magnetic. But none of it mattered.
Because she never looked back.
Not once.
It was like I didn’t exist. Like I was just another face in the crowd while she moved through the night, untouchable, unreadable.
And yet, despite everything, despite the way she shut me out so completely…I couldn’t stop watching her.
Couldn’t tear my damn eyes away.
THIRTY-TWO
CADEN
Before returning to Crown, Emma and I portaled out to the borders of Slava, crossing into the Human World. The air was colder here, the landscape stark and desolate, with little to suggest life except the faint rustle of wind through the barren trees.
Rumor had it there was a Radical camp nearby, and given the recent threats against Slava, I wanted to see if they’d left any trace behind.
It might not have been the smartest plan to go with just the two of us—especially given how quiet the area seemed, a little too quiet for comfort—but I did have the most powerful maga in the world by my side.
Though, to be fair, her reputation was based mostly on hearsay. I had yet to see her translation in action. There was a part of me that wanted to witness it firsthand, to see her unleash the kind of power everyone whispered about. Careful what you wish for, right?
“Want to portal us back?” I asked, after we had thoroughly searched the campsite and found absolutely nothing.
“Sure,” she replied, translating her Nexus into her hand. But before she could complete her projection, a piercing shrill cut through the air, startling us both.
“What the hell was that?” she hissed. Her body tensed, and a flicker of realization tightened her features.
I was at her side in less than a second. “Stay alert,” I commanded, scanning the surroundings as far as I could see, searching for the source of the sound.
Without warning, the air shimmered, and dozens of green portals tore open around us. Radicals poured through in a coordinated wave, their dark forms emerging one after another, a horde of at least twenty against our two.
“Fuck,” I muttered, dropping into a fighting stance and manifesting my Chela—just as Emma’s Skindo shot out, its deadly prongs glowing with dark red energy, pulsing and thrumming with impatience.
“We’re surrounded.”
“Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious,” she snapped, pressing her back against mine. I could feel her muscles tensing up, coiled like a spring, every fiber of her body bracing for impact.
And then, like a strike of lightning?—
The battle erupted.
Adrenaline slammed into my bloodstream, my pulse hammering so hard it nearly drowned out the chaos around me.
Hostiles kept portaling in, their faces masks of bloodlust and fury.
Five came at me first, moving fast, their magic flaring in flickering bursts, creepy and unfamiliar instruments of death morphing mid-strike as they lunged.
There was no time to think. Only instinct. Only survival.
My pitch-black haze lashed out, dark tendrils slicing through the air as Emma’s own red one shot out beside it, her Skindo shadowing the deadly rhythm of my own weapon. The enemy struck without hesitation, pouring their energy into attacks designed to overwhelm, a full-blown onslaught meant to obliterate us.
