Chapter 40
FORTY
CADEN
The green portal spat me out into the harsh, clinical light of the hallway outside the command center.
My fists curled tight at my sides as I moved—fast, focused, but barely holding it together.
Every step echoed the restraint burning through me like a slow fuse.
There was a smoldering ache under my skin, and it carried her name like a sin.
Emma—pinned to the wall, eyes glassy with adrenaline and liquor, her laugh hushed and loose—it all flashed through my mind like a godsdamn fever I didn’t want to break.
Her fingers on me, the soft drag of heat and boldness.
The way she’d whispered I was hot, like it was some half-kept secret she couldn’t hold in.
It was branded into me now, hot and scalding and fucking dangerous.
That grin—teasing, reckless, like she knew exactly what she was doing—had slid under my defenses, making me question everything I thought I’d buried deep.
The way she’d talked about Saoirse, so casually revealing intimate details I hadn’t expected to hear—it was maddening. The way her mouth shaped those words, describing something I would never be allowed to see but now couldn’t stop picturing. Saoirse’s hands on her. Emma curious. Willing. Learning.
It was unbearable.
A visceral blend of jealousy and arousal coiled low and taut inside me, like I’d been set alight from within. I hadn’t felt that kind of need in years—not like this. Raw. Unfiltered.
Cursing under my breath, I stalked toward the command center. I had to clear my head, get it back into the game before this all got out of hand.
Right before reaching the door, I stopped. Leaned my head back against the wall. Closed my lids.
Fuck.
I had to shove it all down. Bury it. Drown it in ice.
I drew in a breath through clenched teeth as I pushed open the doors, then entered the room with a steely resolve to focus solely on the matter at hand.
Which was easier said than done, especially when I saw Emma already waiting for me in her Offensive attire, as I’d instructed.
She sat with a tense posture, her eyes bright and alert despite the lingering haze of our earlier encounter.
I gave her a curt nod, no more than a simple acknowledgment of her presence.
Rocco sat next to her, his expression a mix of irritation and curiosity. Saoirse slumped beside him, clearly still drunk, her head resting on his shoulder.
“How the hell are you sober?” Rocco whispered harshly to Emma, his attention darting between her and Saoirse.
Before Emma could respond, I snapped, “Can everyone shut the hell up?”
The room fell silent, the air taut under the clear edge of my irritation.
“Emile and Enya returned from a Radical camp in the Human World, near Japan,” I began, each breath in the room seeming to stall around me.
“By sheer luck, they discovered the whereabouts of a high-ranking Radical and tracked him into the Himalayas, where they overheard a conversation about the Amplifier’s current location. ”
A collective murmur swept through the room as I conjured an in depth map of the range, the contours and peaks appearing with crisp clarity.
“As Enya correctly deduced a few months ago,” I furthered, “the Radicals have hidden their nuclear weapon in the Human World. More specifically, it’s encased in ice somewhere within the Karakoram range.”
“What do you mean, ‘somewhere within’?” Rocco interjected, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“Emile will explain,” I said firmly, then took my seat next to Sean.
Emile rose and projected a detailed scan of the Karakoram range, zooming in on Batura Sar. The image shimmered as he enhanced the view to reveal a concealed path within the mountain.
“Here,” Emile pointed to a narrow trail on the scan, “is where the Radicals created an invisible breach. It’s nearly at the heart of the massive, but entering without clearance is a guaranteed death sentence.
They’ve retrieved protections from various Collectives’ Layers and molded into one Layer of Protection, surrounding the entire summit.
We need to find a way to cut through these defenses, retrieve the Amplifier, and portal it out without triggering any LiaPrisms.”
Emile sat back down, and I inhaled sharply before speaking. “We also need to move quickly. Emile has assured me it’s turned off for now, but we have no way of knowing how long it will stay that way.”
I scanned the map. “We’re splitting into two teams: I’ll head the retrieval, and Sean will handle the extraction.
Emile and Enya have gathered as much intel as they could, but we’ll need to adapt and collect more on the ground.
Losing this Amplifier again is not an option, and we can’t delay any longer—we can’t risk it being moved, nor can we risk it being activated. ”
The room nodded in agreement, determination and apprehension visible on their faces.
“Sean,” I called out, and he stood up. “Assemble your team.”
He nodded and swiftly summoned the seven individuals I knew beforehand he would pick, though he switched out Kate for Saoirse, the latter now drooling on Rocco’s shoulder.
“Excellent,” I said, studying his team. “As you’ll be handling the extraction, I need a comprehensive strategy for transporting the damn thing out of the mountains with and without translation.”
My eyes found Emma’s—she already knew what was coming.
“We know the Radicals have acquired a LiaPrism,” I continued, my fingers thrumming on the table once.
“Only one of us can bypass its protections, which means Emma will be the sole translator once we’re out there.
She and I will portal directly into Hunza, where she’ll handle all magic and lead us through the peak to retrieve the Amplifier. ”
The room erupted into gasps and murmurs, as I’d expected.
“Only…only the two of you?” Enya’s voice was barely a whisper, her tone laced with disbelief.
“Emma’s the only one who can translate without setting off the LiaPrism. I’ll be there as her backup if needed, but we can’t risk more people. The situation is precarious enough with the limited intel we have.”
I paused, making sure I had their full attention for this next part.
“We’ve managed to keep Emma’s translation a secret so far, but after this mission, the Radicals might discover her translation is untraceable.
If that happens, she’ll become the biggest target in the history of magi.
If we need to go into hiding, I’ll take her to a safehouse myself.
Bringing more people would complicate that as well. ”
Emma swallowed hard, her shoulders tensing slightly. I caught her gaze for just a second, trying to convey reassurance with a single look. Her eyes flickered with uncertainty, but I hoped my silent message was clear—I would be by her side, and we’d face whatever came next together.
Staring at the clock, a constricted knot formed in my stomach. “It’s nearly two a.m.,” I said, as I rose back to my feet. “Since they are four hours ahead, the sun is already rising in Hunza, which means we need to be portaling out, right the fuck now.”
Emma nodded; her expression resolute as the team began discussing the exit strategy.
I strode over to her, my focus dark and intense. “Emma, once we’re in the Human World, we must remain undetected. Your haze needs to be invisible. Our success depends on it, I can’t stress enough how critical this is.”
She met my stare with unwavering determination. “I understand.”
I nodded, recognizing her resolve, and then turned to the rest of the team. “Let’s finalize our preparations. Sunrise is approaching, and we need to be in position.”
Sean approached Emma, looking like concern and apology. “I hope you’re ready for this, it’s going to be intense.”
Emma’s response was steady, her voice betraying no hint of the pressure she must have been feeling. “I’m ready.”
That’s my girl.
We portaled into Hunza not ten minutes later, and Emma—as usual—nailed the landing.
We arrived inside an old fort clinging to a cliff’s edge, like it had been placed there by someone with a death wish and a view fetish.
The air hit cold and thin, biting with altitude, and the scent of dust and moss lingered in the chill.
The place had been abandoned for centuries, but it still held its spine.
Thick stone walls, chipped and weathered, rose around us like the ribs of some ancient beast. Wooden balconies sagged on rusted nails, creaking softly in the breeze, and the narrow corridor we’d landed in looked one good tremor away from caving in.
I stepped forward, boots crunching softly over a scatter of fallen mortar, and followed Emma through an archway into a ruined lookout tower. From there, we could see everything.
The Hunza River cut through the valley below, like something straight out of a travel brochure. The water shimmered under the early morning sun, which would’ve seemed peaceful if it hadn’t been for the nuclear weapon lying around.
The mountain ahead didn’t just hide the Amplifier. It was guarding it—cold, silent, and unforgiving.
“We’re about seventy kilometers from Batura Sar,” Emma whispered, pointing toward the distant snow-capped peak visible on the horizon, partially shrouded in mist.
I couldn’t help but tease her. “The metric system, Emma? Damn, you sure know how to turn a guy on.”
Emma stared at me; shock edged in her features. “Flirting right now? Seriously?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “If we’re going to die today, I want to go out as me.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re not dying today. Nor are we flirting.”
“Oh, really?” I prodded. “Because I remember you mentioning something about me being hot and a beast in bed, not even an hour ago.”
Emma’s cheeks flushed an adorable crimson. “Shut the fuck up,” she hissed, her voice a sweet blend of embarrassment and irritation.
I grinned. This was going to be fun.
Emma opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, then seemed to reconsider.