Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
EMMA
Caden and I had been going on mission after mission together for weeks, and life as an Offensive of Crown had been fucking awesome. Between his ruthlessness as First Offensive and my untraceable Elder-power, we turned out to be unstoppable, the perfect team.
I’d even helped him forge a new Chela. He told me it was illegal to own, let alone create, a weapon like that—a sleek, curved blade with a distinctive serrated edge near the tip, designed to siphon translation from anyone it touched. But I didn’t care.
With his third-cycle knowledge, Caden was a walking vault of insight, and I soaked up every bit he chose to share. He’d break down the theory, layer by layer, and I’d bring it to life—channeling the energy, shaping the impossible.
And gods, it felt incredible. Unleashing my power, giving it purpose—it made me feel alive. Whole. Like I was finally stepping into the life I was meant to live. For the first time, I felt like I belonged—like I was moving toward something that actually mattered.
Until, out of nowhere, he chose that gorgeous girl Saoirse as his right hand for the latest operation.
I wasn’t jealous. It wasn’t like that.
But I was surprised to find how much it hurt. Why? No idea. Not like I was jealous. I was still in love with James! Even if it was in a simmering, “I don’t trust you anymore, you broke me more than anyone else ever has” kind of way.
But still, I loved him. Even though it had been over a month since all his lies unraveled and he hadn’t even picked up the Nexus once to apologize. Not even once. Who does that?
Even if he clearly didn’t think about me anymore, I thought about him almost every day. I really tried not to but failed more than I succeeded.
So why did it sting when Caden chose her instead of me?
Maybe because it didn’t make any sense? Sure, Saoirse was one of his regulars—and not only on assignments, if the rumors were to be believed—but he and I had also had kind of a dynamic.
And now, all of the sudden, it was like I wasn’t even in the picture anymore.
It was the first time I felt left out, like I wasn’t the one he could depend on.
So yeah, it hurt. But the sour taste in my mouth had nothing to do with jealousy. The knot of anger twisting in my stomach was irrational. Completely. I was being stupid. Not jealous.
“Fucking Saoirse,” I muttered under my breath, bitterness creeping into my words before I could stop it. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Zip it, Thompson,” I scolded myself, trying to get a grip, trying to push down whatever strange mix of feelings was bubbling to the surface. Talking to myself certainly wasn’t going to help.
“Ye all right there?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Sean was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching me with that familiar grin of his, clearly amused.
“I’m fine,” I snapped, trying to keep my voice steady.
Sean’s grin widened. “Whatever ye say, Saoirse-hater.”
Fuck. He’d heard me.
I swallowed hard, as I looked at Sean, trying to push down the building unease. "Do you know why Caden decided to take her on this op?"
Sean shrugged casually. "Not really. Why do ye care?"
I huffed, trying to sound indifferent. "I don’t care. I just find it strange, that’s all."
Sean nodded slowly, studying me for a moment before pulling out his Nexus. His fingers moved quickly over the screen, sending off a message before I could ask what he was doing.
“There,” he said, tucking the device back into his pocket. "This should do it."
I frowned, my confusion deepening. "This should do what?"
As if on cue, my Nexus buzzed to life. Caden’s face appeared. "Emma, I’d like you to go with Saoirse to Slava instead of me and look for the energy signature."
I blinked, my eyes darting to Sean, who shook his head once, seemingly amused. I cleared my throat before answering, trying to keep the surprise out of my tone. “Uhm, you sure?”
Caden’s voice was steady, almost clinical. “Petru likes you. If you need any backup over there, he won’t hesitate to send it. Plus, the mission crosses into human territory, so your translation will remain untraceable.”
Right. My chest tightened, unsure if it was his cold detachment or the sudden shift in our dynamic that bothered me more. “Yes.”
“I can count on you?” His words were sharp, almost as if he was testing me.
I nodded, still caught off guard by how distant he seemed. We’d worked so hard to build something resembling friendship, and this felt like a slap in the face.
Before I could respond, the annoying man cut the line.
I stared at my Nexus, frowning as I glanced at Sean, still processing what had just happened.
Questions swirled in my mind, but before I could voice them, Sean shook his head once again, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “Don’t ask me what I don’t know.”
I let out a slow breath, my mind racing.
Why was Caden suddenly pulling away? And why was he acting like I’d done something wrong when I was the one left in the dark?
None of it made any sense.
When I met Saoirse a few hours later in person to discuss the details of our strike, she instantly stunned me with her raw beauty. I recognized her as the fiery redhead who’d approached Caden my first night at Crown.
One of his regulars, indeed.
The next day, as discussed, Saoirse and I portaled to the Slavian border, keeping well clear of the energy signature in case it was, in fact, the Amplifier and somehow activated.
I had spoken with Petru directly, and he’d assured me backup would be on standby, ready to deploy the moment I called for it.
But for now, we were on a stealth mission—strictly recon, no backup needed.
Crossing into the Human World on foot was about as fun as it sounded—every step carried us further from safety and closer to potential disaster. Yay.
The camp soon came into view, a “charming” little dystopian setup of ugly-ass bunkers plopped down in the middle of nowhere. The energy signature Petru had detected was definitely coming from here. It buzzed faintly at the edges of my senses, like an annoying mosquito I couldn’t swat.
Saoirse surveyed the base while carrying the face of someone realizing they had walked into a terrible decision. “We’re going to need a miracle to pull this off,” she muttered.
“Or at least a very good plan,” I replied, scanning the buildings for anything screaming super-secret-magical-doomsday-device inside. “Which one do you think is holding the Amplifier? There are, oh, only about forty to choose from.”
“It’s that one,” Saoirse whispered, nodding toward the structure that might as well have had a neon sign reading IMPORTANT STUFF INSIDE.
It was surrounded by at least twenty soldiers, all looking far too serious about their jobs.
“Though I have no fucking clue how we’re supposed to get in with so many guards standing around. ”
She wasn’t wrong; logically, if they were hiding a weapon of mass destruction, it made sense they’d keep it under the heaviest guard.
But something about it felt too…obvious.
“Why hide it in plain sight?” I murmured, frowning.
Saoirse shrugged; her eyes still fixed on the sentinels. “Maybe they’re not so clever.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to calm the nerves spiking at the sight of all the Radicals patrolling the grounds. There had to be hundreds of them, moving in well-coordinated patterns, and each one looking way too alert for my liking.
“We’ve got time,” I said finally. “Let’s lay low for an hour or two, watch their movements and see if we can pick up on anything. If it doesn’t give us any new leads, we’ll go for the bunker. But gathering intel first could give us a better chance.”
Saoirse clenched her jaw, clearly impatient. “One hour.”
“Fine.” I scanned the area for a hiding spot less likely to get us killed on the spot.
We tucked ourselves behind a stack of tall crates, deep in the shadows—close enough to see everything without being seen ourselves. Not exactly prime real estate for spying, but it still offered a full view of the camp while keeping us out of sight.
Ten agonizingly slow minutes passed. Every rustle, every stray sound was suddenly the most important noise in the world.
Anxiety coiled tight in my chest as I tracked the Radicals’ patrols, while Saoirse watched with the kind of intense focus that suggested she was either calculating our odds of survival or fantasizing about punching someone.
Finally, she broke the silence, her voice barely a whisper. “Well, one thing’s for sure—the Amplifier isn’t turned on.”
“How can you be sure?”
She tilted her head toward a group of Radicals stationed ahead. “Their hazes are visible—they’re translating. If it were active, they wouldn’t.”
I nodded slowly, a little relief settling over me. "Guess that makes our job a bit easier. As long as we can keep an eye on them, we’ll know for sure.”
A sly grin crept her face, and she switched topics without warning. “Speaking of keeping an eye on someone. What’s going on between you and our First Offensive?”
I frowned. “Nothing’s going on.”
Saoirse snorted, then shook her head. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
My eyebrows shot up. “How does he look at me?”
Saoirse turned to me with a smirk, but her confidence faltered when she saw the genuine confusion on my face. She blinked, her expression shifting. “Oh my gods. You really don’t know.”
I simply blinked, still baffled.
She cleared her throat. “I thought maybe that was why you came to Crown. After what we did to you at Coastal, I figured you and Caden had some kind of weird, Stockholm-ish relationship.”
I let out a silent laugh, the sound incredulous. “You think I’d ever have a relationship with the man who maimed my arm to the point of permanent disfigurement?”
“Your arm?” she asked, her tone suddenly serious.
I nodded, watching her closely.