“No idea, actually. I struggled with translation back then, couldn’t project my haze unless I was literally terrified for my life. Maybe it had to do with it?”
Sean frowned, his expression thoughtful. “Maybe? Ye don’t know?”
I shook my head, frustration creeping in as I realized I still didn’t have answers to so many of the questions I’d been carrying since Coastal.
“Well, yer clearly not struggling anymore if yer redecorating the Academy,” Sean teased, and I let out a snorty laugh.
“Yeah, I think being hit with the Amplifier loosened up something in me. My translation’s been different ever since, but I’ve no idea how or why.”
I paused, not wanting to come off as bragging. “I did manage to project a choking haze when I fought the Radicals last year.”
Sean whistled, his brows lifting. “And ye say ye’re just getting started? Seems like we’ll be lucky to have ye on our side.”
I smirked and kept my tone playful. “You’d be very lucky.”
Sean chuckled, the sound light and easy, then without hesitation, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I leaned in, letting the casual contact settle, completely at ease.
“Have you seen Jackson since our last drink?” I asked, shifting the conversation.
Sean stiffened, only for a second, but I noticed it. “No,” he said, his voice tight. “I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting mister Orator and his inflated ego again.”
I laughed, picking up on his playful jab but also sensing an edge underneath it. “You’ll have to let me know how that reunion goes.”
He grinned, but there was something in his gaze—guarded, unreadable. “Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be memorable.”
The river flowed quietly beside us, and for a moment, we simply sat there, enjoying the view and each other’s company.
“Tell me more about Crown,” I whispered, taking another long gulp of the ungodsly booze in my hands. The burn trailed down my throat, its warmth spreading through my limbs.
Sean’s lips curled into a faint smile, the thoughts of his home clearly warm. “What do you want to know?”
“James said all Offensives live together in a castle. That true?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Caerleon Manor. Caden handpicked every single one of us, and most of us grew up together, so it’s more like a tight-knit family than just a unit.”
My fingers tightened around the glass. “Caden…” I hesitated for a second, before turning to Sean. “What’s he like?”
Sean’s expression didn’t change, but the look in his eyes shifted. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. What kind of guy is he?”
Sean tilted his head, considering. “You mean how he kills?”
I blinked. “That’s not even within a ten-mile radius of what I was asking, but sure. If that’s the part of him you are most comfortable describing, be my guest.”
He grinned, and a flicker of amusement crossed his features. “Well, weareOffensives. How we kill says a lot about us.”
I cocked my head, considering it, the thought slipping into my mind and turning over slowly, foreign but not entirely unwelcome.Huh. Never thought of it like that.
My gaze lifted to meet his, steady and curious. The question was already forming on my lips before I could second-guess it. “How doyoukill?”
Sean’s grin faltered, and a tension settled into his shoulders which hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Without pleasure. It’s a necessary evil I wish I could live without. My kills are often sloppy, unplanned—minimal damage, quick exits.”
I studied him carefully, watching the way he spoke about it, the way his eyes stayed fixed on a spot right over my shoulder as if he didn’t want to see my reaction. “Sounds a bit like James.”
Sean chewed the inside of his cheek, then replied slowly, “You don’t become First Offensive without a certain level of restraint. Your Leader-to-be keeps his emotions locked up tight, but his kills are fueled by them. James fights with anger, sometimes even rage. His kills are messy, like mine but they’re also brutal. Out of control.”
I swallowed and braced myself for the next question I wasn’t sure I wanted answered. “And Caden?”
