Page 134 of Cerulean Truth
My stomach dropped. “It isn’t?”
“No Emma.” James smiled. “When I do take you on a date, I will ask you out properly and actually plan something for us to do. Not hijack a navigation-mishap.”
I snorted but didn’t miss how he’d said “when” and not “if”. There were some seriously winged insects flying around inside my stomach.
For the rest of the day, we immersed ourselves in the city's vibrant atmosphere, sampled mouth-watering barbecue, and laughed off our portal misadventure.
By the time we were ready to return to Cyclos, any lingering friction had melted away, replaced by the effortless connection which I hoped would define our relationship from then on.
Stepping through the green portal home, I couldn't help but smile. With James at my side, even getting lost had its undeniable perks.
THIRTY-FOUR
JAMES
Between the daily trainings with Emma, the ending of her remaining attackers, my own trainings and my work for the Council, I’d slightly forgotten about the joint-effort team I’d spearheaded to look for the Radicals in Kanata C.
Seeing Rachel in San Antonio last week was a wake-up call but it wasn’t until I received a message from Philip, asking me to meet him regarding said Radicals, I fully remembered the mission I’d sent out my own people on.
Cursing myself and my workload, I replied to him rapidly and agreed to meet him alone at the Basilica an hour later.
“We need to bring in Emma,” Philip greeted me, urgency lacing his voice.
My eyes narrowed as I sized him up. "Bring her in where exactly?" I asked, my tone clipped, defensiveness creeping into my voice.
If he was surprised by my harshness, he didn’t show it. "For questioning by the Council, of course," he replied, his voice firm and unyielding.
"Why?" I instantly felt a surge of anger and confusion at the sudden need to involve her.
“You remember the Radicals’first kill?” he asked, his expression grave.
“The human you mean? The one privy to early knowledge of our existence?” I furrowed my brow, recalling the incident.
“Yes.”
“What about it?”
“The victim was a lawyer in Boston, Bill Ferrars. Who just happened to be Emma’s former boss…”
My eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“Emma knew the first human victim of the Radicals, and we need to talk to her about it,” Philip reiterated impatiently.
“Are you telling me that out of all the law firms in the world, Emma was working for the one human who knew about magi?” I exclaimed, my voice rising in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“That’s not a coincidence,” I said, shaking my head
“We assume not,” Philip replied too dryly.
Something in his tone made me pause, and the look in his eyes made my jaw tighten.
“You cannot think she had anything to do with it,” I hissed.
“I don’t know whether that’s true, James. She’s been hiding from us for over twenty years, and the year we find her is the same year Radicals sprout all over the world… you don’t find it a bit peculiar?”
“She’s been right here all along,” I grunted. “Fighting every single day to figure out how to translate. I know more about her than you ever will, so don’t come near me with that bullshit!”
