"It's your call," he said apologetically.
Sure asshole, why not put this on me.
I was still in shock and not exactly able to process everything he had just told me, but I had to admit, removing the damper, whatever it was, sounded like the right thing to do, even if I didn't fully understand it.
"Fine," I said reluctantly, "you may use it one more time, but only to remove the damper."
"Of course," he agreed too eagerly.
"But, Julian, I mean it. After this, you leave this continent, and you do not come back ever. I cannot keep this from her if you are here. I need to be sure you can never use the bond again, and the only way is if you're far away from her. I swear onherlife, I will make you suffer in agonizing pain before I kill you slowly, if I ever see you near her again," I threatened.
He nodded in agreement. "If you keep your word, and don’t tell anyone, I promise I’ll never return."
TWENTY-ONE
EMMA
Present.
I stared at James. Then at Julian.
“You forced the True Bond on me when I was a baby?” I asked as dry as possible, trying to ignore my stomach churning.
Julian swallowed hard, then rubbed the back of his neck, before he gave small nod.
I never saw it, only heard the sudden sickening thud of Caden’s fist slamming into Julian’s face.
My body convulsed as I doubled over, retching violently, my stomach emptying itself in heaving waves.
“Shit,” James cursed, quickly translating a bucket into my hands. The metallic rim was cold against my trembling fingers as I clung to it, my body still racked with uncontrollable spasms.
When I had nothing left to expel, my stomach continued to churn, forcing out dry heaves as if trying to rid itself of the overwhelming truth I had just absorbed. My mind felt numb,unable to keep up with the torrent of revelations. My whole being was in revolt, struggling to cope with… Well, everything.
“Calm the fuck down,” Stephen hissed at Caden, his manner severe. “You four are the only chance we have to save our kind and our entire world.”
James reached out to hold my hair back, but I swatted his hand away with a force that surprised even me. “Don’t touch me!” I screamed, my voice hoarse and raw. James recoiled, his eyes wide with shock.
Caden translated a bottle of water into my hands, which I gulped down desperately, barely pausing to breathe. The soft liquid was a brief comfort, but it did little to nothing to soothe the cyclone of emotions raging inside me. Tears burned in my eyes, but I fought to keep them back.
Don’t you fucking cry, Emma.
Not here. Not now. Not in front of those responsible for theworstthings done to me.
I needed to breathe.
James was a bubbling pot of fury again, his anger impatiently waiting for its release. Julian was a sickening sight, his smirk now replaced by a look of resigned discomfort. Caden, on the other hand, was indecipherable—his face a mask of unreadable calm.
Stephen cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of control. “It seems all our work to uncover the reason behind your untraceable translation was unnecessary.”
Really? That’s what you have to say about that?
I turned on him, my tone a raw snarl. “Oh, I’m so sorryallthat effort to abduct and experiment on me didn’t pay off. Really, my heart bleeds for your wasted hours.” I could almost taste the bitterness on my tongue. “Why don’t you write Caden and his minions a scathing Yelp review: ‘Zero stars, terrible execution, wouldn’t recommend’—you know, to get it out of your system.”
Caden snorted, but I didn’t so much as flicker. I kept my focus trained on Stephen, forcing myself to block out James and Julian—because right now, I couldn’t fucking deal with either of them.
I needed… Fuck, what did I need? I had to deflect. To not think about my former best friend and my boyfriend, lying about me being fucking raped. Twice.
So I stared at the man responsible for the plan from hell, homing my emotions in on him.
