“Fine, I’ll tell you,” Caden finally said, low and guarded. “But keep this between us for now. Not for my sake, but?—"
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul,” Sean interrupted, the promise landing without hesitation.
Caden sucked in a slow, deliberate breath, heavy with resignation, then quietly closed the door.
“You know that guy from the future? The Krait? The one with untraceable translation?” Caden began, his voice almost a whisper now.
“James and Emma’s son?” Sean’s confusion was palpable.
“Yeah,” Caden replied, then paused for a beat to choose his words carefully.
“What about him?” Sean pressed.
“As it turns out, Stephen hasn’t been entirely truthful about him being James’s son,” Caden revealed, his words hanging in the air like a dark secret finally exposed.
“What do you mean?”
I heard the creak of the leather as Caden sat down. “When we were in Switzerland, Stephen admitted he doesn’t actually knowwho Alek’s father is. All he knows for sure is the father is—or was—a First Offensive, and at some point in his life, he was trained by Stephen himself.”
“Holy shit… which means…” Sean trailed off, the realization dawning on him like a thunderclap. “Oh my fucking gods, areyouthe father?”
“No! Of course not! At least, I don’t think so,” Caden quickly responded. “Apparently, there are three candidates who fit the description: James, myself, and the Elder.”
“You mean the Elder you killed off for Emma?” Sean asked, his voice sharp with implication.
“I didn’t kill himforher,” Caden growled. “That sicko mind-raped her as a newborn. He had to die. You know he had to.”
“Sure, you keep telling yourself so.” Sean’s words were dripping with skepticism. Then there was a pause, followed by a sudden intake of breath. “Oh my fucking gods.That’swhy you brought her here. It all makes sense now!That’swhy she came!”
“What?” Caden sounded confused and I couldn’t blame him.
Footsteps—Sean had started pacing, the agitation clear in the rhythm of his movement. “I wondered why she would even come here after what we did to her at Coastal. Now it makes sense.”
Caden’s tone hardened. “You mind explaining what you’re going on about?”
The pacing stopped abruptly, followed by a moment of tense silence before Sean’s next few words dropped like a hammer. “She must think you’re the father!”
What?
“What? Are you insane? Why would she think that?” Caden’s voice rose, disbelief thick in every word. “Emma’s in love with James!”
Sean didn’t miss a beat. “Are you sure about that?” he asked, the edge in his delivery unmistakable. “Because his betrayalmust’ve hurt. Maybe even more than what we did to her at Coastal.”
True.
Caden stilled, Sean's statement clearly sinking in. “She might have mentioned something along those lines…” He trailed off as if piecing together fragments of past conversations.
A heavy silence stretched between them.
“Caden?” Sean’s voice broke the quiet, softer now, almost hesitant.
“Hmm?” Caden’s response was distant, his mind clearly elsewhere.
“When people find out about the future—and her role in it—and by people, I mean both humans and Radicals, we’re going to have a full-time job protecting her,” Sean said, his tone taking on a serious, almost foreboding edge.
“You don’t think I know that?” Caden snapped. “Why do you think I agreed to have her come here? We need to secure her bloodline.”
Ouch.I swallowed hard, trying not to let it affect me I was still no more than a future incubator to him.
