Chapter 11
ELEVEN
EMMA
James stopped dead in his tracks, his attention snapping to us instantly. His expression darkened, as he glanced between Sean and me, then to the scattered files and papers on the table. For a moment, no one moved.
“What the hell is going on here?” James’s voice was dangerously low, a mix of agitation and shock coloring his words.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My throat tightened, as raw panic started creeping in. Sean, for once, was silent, the usual lightness in his demeanor gone as he slowly stood up from the table, raising his hands in mock surrender.
“James—” I started, but he cut me off, his volume spiking like a slap to the face.
“You went through my things? You broke into my loft?” His words cut through the room, razor-edged and laced with disbelief. His looked straight at me, the hurt and betrayal etched across his face making my stomach drop. I could almost feel the heat of his anger building, ready to explode.
“Hold on, mate,” Sean said, holding his hands up, his posture tense but composed. “We didn’t mean any harm. We were only lookin’ for some answers.”
James turned on him, energy bristling off him like a live wire. “Answers?” he spat, stepping closer. “You think this is how you find them? By going behind my back? By breaking into my home?”
My utter shame made me want to cut and run, but I forced myself to stand. “James, we didn’t know how else to find out what’s going on. I needed to know the truth.”
James glared at me, his face twisted almost in disgust. “The truth? You didn’t trust me enough to come to me directly? You thought this was the way to find it?”
“I didn’t know what to do!” I burst out, my breath catching, emotion cracking through every word. “You’ve been shutting me out, not telling me anything. I had to take matters into my own hands!”
“That’s not how this works, Emma!” James thundered, his frustration bubbling over into pure fury. “I would have told you in my own time. But you—both of you—crossed a massive fucking line here.”
His eyes locked onto mine, blazing with pure darkness and agony. “After everything we’ve been through, getting answers was what mattered? It mattered more than me? More than us?”
I shook my head, the sting of his accusation igniting my own anger. “After everything we’ve been through, did keeping secrets matter more than me? More than us?” I shot back, my hands shaking with emotion.
“You broke into my loft, Emma!” James roared, his rage no longer held in check. His energy surged, his cerulean haze spiraling out of him like a tempest unleashed. The force of it crackled through the air, slamming into the furniture, shattering it into splinters.
Sean jumped in between us, his own emerald haze counteracting, trying to keep the debris from hurting me. “Emma, get out of here!”
The room trembled under the sheer force of their combined power, their translation sparking across the walls, tearing through the space as if it were made of paper. My breath hitched as the devastation unfolded around us, but I stood my ground. I was not leaving.
“I didn’t know what else to do, James!” I yelled over the chaos, my heart pounding. “You’ve been shutting me out for weeks, not telling me anything! How am I supposed to have faith in you when you won’t even talk to me?”
His blue haze continued to swirl violently, but he didn’t look away. “You should’ve trusted me anyway! I would never hurt you!”
“Then stop keeping secrets!” I shouted, frustrated with his lack of understanding.
Sean retreated his haze, sounding a bit calmer. “James, this isn’t about betrayin’ ye. Emma has a right to find out the truth when yer not willing to provide it. And we found somethin’ that didn’t add up.”
James whirled on Sean, shoving him back a step with a sharp jab to the chest. “What the hell makes you think you have any right to talk to me right now?”
Sean stumbled but caught himself, jaw tightening as he straightened.
He then cracked his neck, and chose to ignore James’s question.
“We found documents—about Dale’s abduction.
It said you and Jackson were both cleared to be in the Diamond City that day.
We don’t understand why it was never mentioned before. ”
James’s face paled visibly before he took a slow step back, running a hand over his mouth like he was trying to hold something in. “You can’t even begin to comprehend what you’re messing with.”
I stepped forward, my desperation growing. “Then tell us! Tell me! What are you hiding?”
He shook his head. “I can’t talk to you about this.”
“Why not?” I demanded. “Why can’t you just tell me what’s really going on?”
“Because!” he shouted, his fists clenched at his sides. “I’m trying to fucking protect you, Emma!”
“From what?” I yelled back, my anger boiling over. “The facts? You’re not protecting me by feeding me lies!”
Our fight was escalating, each word pulling us closer to the edge. I didn’t know where this was headed, but I couldn’t stop myself from pushing further.
“Why won’t you tell me about Dale?” I almost pleaded, the name cutting through the air like a blade. “The guy died fighting for me! I think I deserve to know. So come on, what is it, James? What aren’t you telling me?”
James shook his head once more, and for a brief moment, he looked like he was on the verge of exploding.
Then, suddenly, he snapped. “Who the hell cares about Dale?! You want to know about his abduction? Fine! It was a fucking setup! There, now you know!”
I went still, his words slamming into me with the force of a storm. “What? What do you mean it was a setup?”
Before he could answer, another portal swung open with a sharp crack, and Matthew and Nino burst into the room.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Matthew said quickly, glancing between us, the urgency clear in his entire manner. “But we’ve got a situation.”
“What is it?” James asked, the words strained from the remnants of our fight.
“Radicals,” Nino cut in, brushing past Matthew and slamming a folder onto the nearest table. “They’re spreading across Europe like wildfire. The Council is getting calls from Coastal, Alliance, and Sisu—all asking for help.”
I blinked, my mind spinning from the sudden shift. “Sisu?”
“Scandinavian Collective,” Sean answered quickly. “They’re located in Greenland.”
Right.
Matthew nodded. “The Radicals are threatening the Collectives with an Amplifier. They’re trying to force them to withdraw their consensus. They’re calling us for reinforcements. Apparently, hundreds of magi have died in the last few hours.”
I gasped, clutching my mouth in shock, and Sean cursed some foul words I could never repeat.
James, pale and drawn, set his jaw like a man holding back a reckoning. His features hardened, as though sheer force of will could keep the darkness inside from slipping free. For a moment, he looked ready to break from the strain of whatever he was burying.
He mumbled under his breath, barely audible. “I never wanted this.”
I frowned, as confusion flooded my thoughts. “Never wanted what?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned to me, his gaze still edged with vehemence—but beneath the fire, another current ran through him. Was it grief? Or guilt? I wasn’t sure.
“We’re not done talking about this,” he said, before lifting his hand and slicing a portal open with a single, fluid motion.
Without another word, he stepped through, taking Sean and Nino with him. The portal closed behind them with a loud crack, leaving the room eerily quiet in their absence.
I stood frozen, my mind still reeling from the confrontation. Matthew lingered, his eyes sweeping across the room, taking in the wreckage left by James’s earlier outburst.
“What the hell happened here?” he asked, disbelief etched across his face as he zeroed in on the debris.
I let out a long, shaky breath, still trying to make sense of it all.
“I have no fucking clue.”
I was shaking. Shaking with remorse, fear, and the lingering rush of adrenaline. The crushing realization of what I had done—and what I now knew—pinned me in place.
Pacing my own dorm aimlessly, I was almost relieved when Jackson nexed me, agreeing to meet me at the Cube.
After filling him in on the events of the last few hours, he drew in a slow breath, every part of him wound tight with restraint.
“Let me get this straight,” he said, shaking his head with disbelief. “Sean, an Offensive from Crown, who we know nothing about, convinced you to break into the loft of your boyfriend, our next Leader and the current First Offensive?”
“Yes,” I mumbled, almost unable to hold his gaze.
“And you didn’t stop to think it could’ve been a setup?” Jackson’s voice grew harsher with every second. “For gods’ sake, Emma, you know James! Better than anyone! How could you believe a stranger over him? Again?”
“Sean is not a stranger,” I shot back, a defensive edge creeping into my words. “I’ll admit, I haven’t known him long, but there’s something about him I trust! Unlike James who’s been cagier than ever these last few months. And what do you mean again?”
Jackson’s eyes flashed with frustration. “I mean, like you trusted Julian! You know, the guy you formed the True Bond with and then disappeared?”
I gasped, the shock hitting me like a slap. “You know about that?”
“Of course I do!” he practically shouted. “Why do you think I agreed to help you with your research? I’m as curious as you are—how was it even possible to form the True Bond when you were so obviously in love with someone else?”
I stared at him, my mind blank.
Before I could stop myself, the question that had been gnawing at me for weeks slipped out. "Do you think he could’ve forced it?"
Jackson shook his head firmly, and with it, whatever twisted shred of hope I had left crumbled. Did I really want to believe I’d been mind-raped? No. But the idea that I’d willingly bonded with Julian while loving James seemed even worse somehow.