Page 40 of Cerulean Truth
Sending that message must’ve taken a significant amount of time and energy. Obviously.
Me: Hello to you too.
I noticed three dots appearing on the screen, signaling she was composing a reply. It was clear her reply would be more extensive since it took her nearly five minutes to answer.
Emma: Are you well?
Or not…
Me: Sure, how are you doing?
I extended the text with a few words… How bold of me. She’d better not reply with “fine.”
Three dots appearing…
Emma: Fine.
Godsdamnit.Even through text, she had a knack for making me want to strangle her. It was like her special superpower. But before I could respond, I saw another set of those three pesky dots pop up.Wow, two texts in a row?Someone was feeling ambitious.
Emma: I was just thinking of you.
Fuck. I swallowed. That text took me off guard. What the hell was I going to reply?
Another three dots appearing.
Emma: So sorry to disturb you but I was thinking of you and the whole magical uproar and I was wondering if you had any news?
Me: Not yet, more news in 48 hours, call you then.
Emma: Ok thank you… for everything. X.
The “for everything” was clearly conveying more than she could write. And then there was the X at the end… Hell, I was turning into a thirteen-year-old. I threw my Nexus on the nightstand with more force than necessary and went to sleep, frustrated with myself.
I dreamt of her all night. Of course. Thirteen-year-old brain, what did I expect? I was half surprised I didn’t wake up to a pool of sperm in my pants the next morning.
The memory morphed rightinto another one later on that day, after the Council had come to their decision.
I stood in Maria's office, a faint tremor in my voice as I tried to reason with her. The Great Exposure was looming on the horizon, and the news on the growing resistance against it was disconcerting. But none of it was a good enough reason for Emma to suffer.
"Maria, I understand the severity of the situation, but we can't just strip Emma of her human connections. She has friends, a job, and parents who care about her. You can't expect her to give all of that up. The Council is being unreasonable!"
Maria, her stern face etched with concern, shook her head. "James, this is not solely about Emma. It's about the safety of our entire kind. The untraceable translation she's using is a disaster waiting to happen. Plus, you are aware one of themain reassurances we can provide to humans upon the Great Exposure, is that we are not able to translate in their world without any trace of it? In light of our wonderful encounters with the Radicals, you don’t think this information could be a goldmine for the opposition?"
I clenched my fists, struggling to hold back my anger. "Emma's a good person, Maria. She would never put our plans for the Great Exposure in danger. We can keep her untraceable translation a secret. Only the Council knows about it anyway.”
Maria's tone hardened. “It’s not only that. We have a twenty-three-year-old maga, translating in the Human World without proper training. You think her accidentally killing humans is going to do any good for the Great Exposure?”
I growled, “She's been living in the Human World for years without incident." I didn’t see any harm in keeping some of Emma’s secrets to myself.
Maria didn’t waver. "Which is exactly the problem, James. We can't afford to wait for an incident to occur. Resistants and Radicals are out there, actively opposing the Great Exposure. We need to eliminate any risk."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Eliminate? Is that what we've become? Heartless, soulless enforcers of a draconian code? Emma's translation is untraceable, yes, but she's not a threat, and she deserves to have a life, just like the rest of us."
The irony of me defending Emma against the same reaction I’d had to Stephen’s news a few days earlier wasn’t lost on me. But something had shifted since our “bloody” encounter. And there was no way back.
Maria's eyes flashed, and her voice grew cold. "James, you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment. Our duty is to protect our kind and the Great Exposure we’ve planned so meticulously. If Emma's presence in the Human World puts it all at risk, we can't afford to be sentimental."
I pointed an accusing finger at Maria. "You talk about duty, Maria, but what about loyalty to our own? What about showing compassion to someone who has no other connections in life than those in the Human World? Her well-being is our responsibility, no matter how big a threat she is to the Exposure. You're so focused on eliminating risks, you're willing to sacrifice one of our own to do it."
