He grinned. “Sorry. Now please, Emma, transport us—and my frozen shrimp—inside that icebox.”
I was still rolling my eyes at him while drawing a portal. My visual wasn’t perfect, but Caden’s description had given me a clear enough image to work with. With one large stride, we crossed the threshold and found ourselves only two feet away from the device.
“Holy shit,” I breathed, “I can’t believe that really worked.”
Caden started to circle the warhead, searching for any additional protections. “I can’t believe it was that easy,” he muttered, more to himself than to me.
After studying it for a few minutes, we couldn’t discern any more defenses safeguarding the weapon. Sharing a quick look and a shrug, Caden reached out and grabbed it with both hands. As soon as his skin made contact with it, a deep rumble flowed through the mountain.
“What the fuck was that?” I hissed, alarmed.
“Our cue to get out of here,” Caden said with more urgency than I liked, clutching the weapon of mass destruction to his body.
A massive tremor shook the chamber, the ice around us beginning to crack.
“Emma, grab my arm and get us out of here, now!” Caden shouted, but as I reached for him, the core suddenly flared to life.
“No…” he whispered, his face draining of color.
I knew it before he said it, but I needed to hear it out loud. “Caden,” I whispered, my voice trembling.
His eyes met mine, filled with guilt and regret. “Emma, I’m so sorry. I think… I may have activated the Amplifier. We can’t portal out of here.”
FORTY-TWO
CADEN
“Emma, I’m sorry,” I said, regret heavy in my throat. The motherfucking cold was bad, but not as bad as seeing the fear in her eyes. The same fear now slowly tightening my chest.
“Itold youwe’d get stuck!” Emma yelled, her voice panicked and filled with frustration. She darted around our icy prison, her movements frantic as she scanned the walls, searching for some kind of escape.
“What are you doing?” I asked softly, trying to stay calm despite the less-than-favorable situation we were in.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she snapped, not even turning to look at me. “I’m trying to find a way out!” She sounded frenzied, the emotions boiling over as she kept moving, checking for any crack, anything that could us get out of here.
I set the Amplifier down carefully, my focus locked on her as she moved around the cube like a caged animal, her breath visible in the freezing air.
I waited for her to reach the same conclusion I had: we were trapped—the Amplifier had made sure of it.
Realizing there wasn’t much more I could do, I decided to sit down, hoping to conserve some of my energy. It was freezing in here, and the cold was already starting to creep into my bones.
Emma whirled around, her jaw dropping with disbelief. “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded, her voice tinged with exasperation as she glared at me sitting on the ground.
“Waiting for Sean to arrive,” I replied calmly, leaning back a little, trying to seem as relaxed as possible. It wasn’t helping the situation, but maybe it would annoy her just enough to distract her from her fear.
“That’s it? That’s your plan?” She threw her hands in the air, pacing the cell again, clearly not satisfied with my answer.
I shrugged, keeping my voice level. “Well, we can’t translate our way out, so what do you want me to do? Scratch our way through the ice? I know you think I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but I don’t have any actual claws.”
Emma shot me a look of pure annoyance, the kind that would’ve sent a weaker man scrambling for cover. “Too bad we can’tlaughour way out of here with all that undeniable wit of yours,” she muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms and giving me a pointed glare.
I grinned, unable to help myself. Pissing off Emma had to be in my top five of all-time favorite things to do. Even in the middle of a frozen death trap, it was still worth it.
She huffed and continued to search the walls for any potential escape route, but I could tell the panic was starting to subside—a little. Her sarcasm was always a good sign. It meant she was thinking, not just reacting.
“Trust me,” I said, leaning back and crossing my arms. “Sean’s got a plan. He always does.”
Emma ran her hands over the walls again, frustration clear in every movement. “How the hell is he even going to find us in here?”
