Chapter 8 #2
Cara snorted. "Please. You think stories don’t travel?
We’ve all heard of Crown’s First Offensive willingly subjecting himself to Rachel’s authority, only to help out Cyclos and the magi in the US.
Pretty sure you’re planning your own attack against those responsible for the bubble, once you figure out who they are. "
She wasn’t wrong.
"And this is your idea of forging an alliance?" I asked, my tone dry. "Come here and force us to work together? Otherwise, my secret’s out?"
“Force?” Cara’s mouth curved in a mockery of innocence. “No. It’s meant as an incentive. Just like this is: I have another piece of intel I’m willing to share with you, free of charge.”
James was about to explode. His jaw clenched, his body coiled like a wire about to snap. I cut him off before he could.
“This better be something worth my while,” I said coldly. “Or I’ll let the new Leader of Cyclos execute exactly what he’s itching to do.”
Cara’s eyes narrowed, but the slight tremor in her hands betrayed her. Smart girl. At least she wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate James’s lethalness.
“If you accept my proposal,” Cara began, “I’ll tell you who handed us the Amplifier. You know, the nuclear weapon we used to attack both your Collectives.”
James sat up a little straighter, tension snapping through his posture.
But to me, retribution... Since meeting Emma, vengeance wasn't my priority anymore. I simply shrugged. “The weapon’s gone. What exactly do you want me to do with such intel?”
Cara smiled, brushing invisible lint from her shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. Might be interesting to learn it was the same person who bubbled in the country for the president of the United States.”
What?
James’s attention snapped to her. “Who?”
Cara let out a low, velvet laugh. The kind that made my skin crawl like it had a trillion ants running over it.
She cocked her head. “I think I’ll keep his identity to myself for now. Call it my insurance policy for getting out of here alive.”
She paused, then added with a sly smile, “But I will leave you with this…”
Her gaze flicked between us. “You’ve both met him before.”
Him.
James stepped toward her, muscles flexing like he was barely holding himself back. I threw out an arm to stop him. His whole body vibrated with restrained violence.
“Why would you give this person up?” I asked.
“Because he’s a godsdamn Collab,” she spat, venom coating every syllable. “Do you even know what they do? In their so-called mission to keep ‘peace’ between species?”
She didn’t wait for an answer.
“They hunt us. Hunt magi. Run experiments on our kind. Torture us for data, to give humans answers no one should ever have. It’s monstruous. It’s pure, unfiltered evil.”
Cara leaned back without a care in the world. “One less? That’s not exactly a tragedy.”
Another pause. Calculated. Controlled.
“As I said: you recognize us as allies, we will respect that. Keep your secret. And we’ll give you the man who gave us the Amplifier, who also bubbled in your country.”
James’s jaw was still tight; his gaze locked on her like he was trying to peel back her skin with his stare. Cara, for her part, smiled, smug and unbothered, as if she hadn’t just dangled a live wire in front of us.
The offer was bait, and we all knew it, but the worst part was, it might work.
“Thank you,” I said smoothly. “We’ll consider your proposal and contact you soon.”
Cara’s smile widened, then stood, smoothing out her jacket with an irritating level of poise. Flicking open another portal, she glanced at me one last time.
“Don’t take too long,” she warned in an even tone. “Wouldn’t want people hunting you down for that special translation of yours.”
And then she was gone.
The moment the portal closed, James spun on me, rage pouring off him.
"What the hell, Caden?" His voice was a low, furious growl. "I don’t care how fucking hot she is, they attacked our Collectives. With a nuclear weapon. And you want to consider working with them? Are you insane?"
Sometimes, he really reminded me of a child throwing a tantrum over being refused a chocolate cookie.
And Sinclair was hot? Hadn’t noticed…
"James, calm down," I said evenly. "Think about this. Why would she come here and tell us about this?”
His scowl deepened. “To make sure we’d hunt down the magus responsible for creating the bubble.”
I nodded. “Exactly. Now ask yourself, why would she want that?”
James frowned, working through it. “Either he’s her enemy and she wants us to do her dirty work... Or she’s following his orders and this is all a setup.”
“If it’s the latter, she’ll lead us straight to the Collabs.”
James stilled, the pieces clicking into place. “To the ones working for the US president.”
“The same president who issued Emma’s arrest warrant,” I said. “So why would they go after her if they think I’m the one with untraceable translation?”
“They wouldn’t,” James said slowly, brows pulling together. “Unless…”
“Unless they’re hunting her for something else,” I finished, “or Cara’s not a Collab, and she’s telling the truth.”
James stared at me. “So which is it?”
I sank into the chair and rubbed my forehead. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”
With a flick of my hand, I translated myself some Scotch, and another, sliding it across the table to James.
He caught it without looking. Then, under his breath, almost too low to catch, he muttered, “I see why she likes you.”
My brow furrowed. “Who?”
James blinked, as if he’d just realized he’d spoken out loud. Then, after the tiniest beat: “Rachel.”
Which made absolutely no fucking sense.