So yeah, it hurt. But the sour taste in my mouth had nothing to do withjealousy. The knot of anger twisting in my stomach was irrational. Completely. I was being stupid. Not jealous.
“Fucking Saoirse,” I muttered under my breath, bitterness creeping into my words before I could stop it. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Zip it, Thompson,” I scolded myself, trying to get a grip, trying to push down whatever strange mix of feelings was bubbling to the surface. Talking to myself certainly wasn’t going to help.
“Ye all right there?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Sean was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching me with that familiar grin of his, clearly amused.
“I’m fine,” I snapped, trying to keep my voice steady.
Sean’s grin widened. “Whatever ye say, Saoirse-hater.”
Fuck. He’d heard me.
I swallowed hard, as I looked at Sean, trying to push down the building unease. "Doyouknow why Caden decided to take her on this op?"
Sean shrugged casually. "Not really. Why do ye care?"
I huffed, trying to sound indifferent. "Idon’tcare. I just find it strange, that’s all."
Sean nodded slowly, studying me for a moment before pulling out his Nexus. His fingers moved quickly over the screen, sending off a message before I could ask what he was doing.
“There,” he said, tucking the device back into his pocket. "This should do it."
I frowned, my confusion deepening. "This should do what?"
As if on cue, my Nexus buzzed to life. Caden’s face appeared. "Emma, I’d like you to go with Saoirse to Slava instead of me and look for the energy signature."
I blinked, my eyes darting to Sean, who shook his head once, seemingly amused. I cleared my throat before answering, trying to keep the surprise out of my tone. “Uhm, you sure?”
Caden’s voice was steady, almost clinical. “Petru likes you. If you need any backup over there, he won’t hesitate to send it. Plus, the mission crosses into human territory, so your translation will remain untraceable.”
Right. My chest tightened, unsure if it was his cold detachment or the sudden shift in our dynamic that bothered me more. “Yes.”
“I can count on you?” His words were sharp, almost as if he was testing me.
I nodded, still caught off guard by how distant he seemed. We’d worked so hard to build something resembling friendship, and this felt like a slap in the face.
Before I could respond, the annoying man cut the line.
I stared at my Nexus, frowning as I glanced at Sean, still processing what had just happened.
Questions swirled in my mind, but before I could voice them, Sean shook his head once again, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “Don’t ask me what I don’t know.”
I let out a slow breath, my mind racing.
Why was Caden suddenly pulling away? And why was he acting like I’d done something wrong when I was the one left in the dark?
None of it made any sense.
When I met Saoirse a few hours later in person to discuss the details of our strike, she instantly stunned me with her raw beauty. I recognized her as the fiery redhead who’d approached Caden my first night at Crown.
One of his regulars, indeed.
The next day, as discussed, Saoirse and I portaled to the Slavian border, keeping well clear of the energy signature in case it was, in fact, the Amplifier and somehow activated. I had spoken with Petru directly, and he’d assured me backup would be on standby, ready to deploy the moment I called for it. But for now, we were on a stealth mission—strictly recon, no backup needed.
Crossing into the Human World on foot was about as fun as it sounded—every step carried us further from safety and closer to potential disaster. Yay.
