Chapter 45
FORTY-FIVE
EMMA
Cold. I was so cold.
“Fight it.”
Why couldn’t I breathe?
“Come back to me.”
The darkness was so tempting, like a siren's call, urging me to let go. But then, I felt a touch—soft lips pressing against mine, breathing life back into me.
Did I dream all that?
“Emma?” a known voice whispered near to me.
I blinked awake, my eyes fluttering open to a room unfamiliar yet somehow comforting. I was nestled in a luxurious four-poster bed with richly embroidered pillows and soft linens, the heavy drapes drawn back to reveal the grandeur of the room.
Stone walls, adorned with intricate drawings depicting Scottish landscapes and mythical beasts, gave the space a timeless, majestic feel. The large fireplace across from me crackled warmly, its glow dancing across the dark oak furniture and the polished surface of an antique wardrobe.
I squinted through the haze and saw Sean’s concerned face hovering above me. “Hi,” I croaked.
Behind him, another figure came into focus. I frowned. “Jackson?”
Jackson exhaled deeply, the relief he felt evident. “Fuck, Emma. You had us worried there for a second.”
Emotion tightened in my core at the sight of Jackson, my friend whom I hadn’t seen in months. “What are you doing here?” I asked quietly.
Jackson took my hand gently. “You think you can nearly die on me and not have me by your side?”
My mind was struggling to catch up. “I nearly died?” The words felt foreign in my mouth, like they didn’t belong to me.
Sean and Jackson exchanged a glance, the worry etched deep in their expressions. “You don’t remember the hypothermia?” Sean asked, his voice gentle but carrying an edge of seriousness.
The memories hit me like a sudden wave, crashing over me with a cold, sharp clarity. The freezing air, the numbness creeping through my body, the overwhelming fear. My heart kicked up its pace, pounding against my ribs.
“Caden!” I gasped, instant terror surging through me. “Where’s Caden?”
“Emma, calm down,” Sean urged, stepping closer, his tone low and soothing, though I could see the alarm tightening his features. “We’ll tell ye everything ye want to know, but ye still need to pace yerself.”
Without thinking, I threw off the blankets and scrambled to get out of bed, my movements frantic and uncoordinated.
“Whoa, where do ye think yer gong?” Sean’s question snapped through the haze, as he reached for me, holding me back.
“Where is Caden?” I demanded harshly, but my hands shook as I tried to steady myself, and the room started to spin.
Sean’s expression darkened, rubbing at the back of his neck. “He’s not back yet.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“What do you mean he’s not back yet? What are you saying? You left him in that mountain?” I roared, still dizzy as hell and trying not to fall on my ass as I did.
Sean rolled his eyes, though the stiffness in his posture was undeniable. “Dial down the dramatics, will ye? And sit yer ass down, or I’ll make ye.”
I clenched my jaw, then sat on the edge of my bed, waiting for him to continue.
“We split up. Caden traveled human-style with the Amplifier so I could portal back and get ye to a Healer.”
Sean’s words didn’t soothe the anxiety churning inside me. Instead, I looked over at Jackson, searching for confirmation, needing reassurance, but his solemn nod and the grave look on his face only made the knot in my core tighten.
I let out a shaky breath, trying to process, but my mind was racing, spinning with a hundred different worst-case scenarios. “When will he be home?”
Sean and Jackson exchanged another glance, the kind that made my stomach drop. Something’s wrong.
“Okay, spit it out. What’s going on?”
Jackson moved a little closer to me, his expression strained, his voice heavy with concern. “We haven’t heard from him yet,” he admitted.
The ground beneath me seemed to tilt. “Since when?” I asked, struggling to keep my impatience and rising panic under control.
Sean cleared his throat, a flicker of unease passing through his features, and for a moment, I saw his usual bravado crack. “Since I dropped him off at the nearest airport.”
“Which was when?” I hissed, while my hands were visibly shaking now.
Sean hesitated, just for a split second, but it was enough for me to know something was very wrong. “Two days ago,” he finally admitted, the words barely audible over the pounding in my ears.
Two days? I went still for a moment, the words ringing in my head, and then, without warning, the terror and fury that had been simmering inside me exploded.
I went fucking feral.
“Two days?” I thundered as I jumped off the bed. “You’ve gone two whole days without hearing from him?” My chest heaved, every breath like fire in my lungs, rage and hysteria flooding through me in equal measure.
Sean took a step back, his face hardening defensively. “Emma, please don’t freak out—”
“Freak out?” I was already halfway through the room, my hands clenched into fists. “He could be hurt! He could be—” The words stuck in my throat, too terrifying to say out loud.
Jackson moved toward me, hands raised, trying to calm me down. “Emma, please—”
“Don’t,” I snapped, stepping back from both of them. “We need to find him. Now.” I was shaking, my heart racing, but the dread was too much to contain, too overwhelming to think straight. I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit here while Caden was out there, alone.
I didn’t care if they thought I was being irrational. I didn’t care about anything except getting to him. Caden needed me, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.
Not even bothering with the fact that I was standing in front of these men in some questionable lingerie, I started to look frantically for my clothes, the urgency clawing at me like a wild animal.
Before they could respond, my frustration boiled over. “Why the hell didn’t he portal out with me? He was in need of medical attention too! No way he was fine after we spent that much time in that fucking ice-box!”
“He was perfectly fine when I last saw him, Emma. We thought—”
“That’s not possible, Sean!” I cut him off, the words tearing out of me before I could stop them. “How could he be fine when I almost died out there? He would be suffering from hypothermia, just like I was!”
“Emma, listen. Caden’s at least twice your size. We’ve all been trained for extreme conditions. It would’ve taken hours for the cold to even start affecting him.”
I shot him a glare, feeling very frustrated with my best friend at the moment. “Training or not, McGrath, he’s not invincible! If he’s still out there, alone—he could be in serious trouble.” I grabbed my shirt, pulling it on haphazardly. “We need to find Caden, now!”
Right as I turned to them to demand more answers, a deep voice I knew all too well rumbled behind me, catching me completely off guard.
“Did I hear someone whisper my name?”
I froze, heart hammering like crazy as I spun around.
My breath caught as I finally laid eyes on him—Caden.
Standing right there, stepping through a portal into the room like he hadn’t just scared the living shit out of me. He looked tired but intact, his familiar dark eyes locking onto mine.
“Caden,” I whispered, barely able to get the word out through the lump in my throat. My voice broke, but I didn’t care.
Without hesitation, I stumbled across the room, my legs shaky beneath me, and leaped into his arms. Tears streamed down my face as I buried myself against his chest, clinging to him like I’d never let go.
“I was so worried,” I sobbed, my words muffled against him, the overwhelming mix of relief and anguish spilling out in waves.
He wrapped his arms around me tightly, holding me like I was the most important thing in the world. “I’m okay, love,” he murmured in my ear, his voice low and soothing. His hand moved gently up and down my back, grounding me. “Don’t you ever worry about me.”
I pulled back just enough to see his face, and he gently took my chin in his hand, lifting my gaze to meet his.
His eyes, warm and reassuring, crinkled at the corners as he smiled.
With his thumb, he wiped away the tears still falling down my cheeks.
“You’re crying? Over me?” he teased, chuckling softly. “I’m honored.”
The wave of relief crashed into a surge of frustration, and without thinking, I punched him in the shoulder. Hard.
“There she is,” he groaned with a grin, rubbing the spot where I’d hit him, before he lifted me in his arms, and carried me back to the bed—his motions so effortless, I even forgot to protest.
“What the hell happened to ye?” Sean’s tone was clipped, cutting through the room like a blade. It was laced with both anger and concern. “Ye couldn’t let us know ye were all right? We were worried sick.”
Caden, unfazed by the outburst, lowered me gently onto the bed. His touch was soft but firm, guiding me as I settled in under the covers. He tucked me in with surprising care, then gestured for Sean and Jackson to sit beside me.
“I managed to get the Amplifier to Stephen,” Caden began, sounding weary, and the exhaustion clear in every word.
“It was activated the entire time, so I had to use human transportation. Sixteen hours just to reach him, and another fourteen hours to figure out how to neutralize the damn thing.” He exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Only after we destroyed it could I portal back home. Nice to see you guys all hanging out in my room, by the way.”
Sean scoffed, folding his arms, but the anger had softened, replaced with relief. “Ye could’ve given us a heads-up.”
“I could have,” Caden said, his voice steady but tired. “But time wasn’t exactly on my side.”
I shifted under the covers, my worry still fixated on him. “How are you feeling?” I asked, my voice softer, more focused. I didn’t give a shit about the Amplifier at that moment; all I cared about was him.