Page 84 of Cerulean Truth
With cautious but firm steps, we approached the source of the noise.
"Make sure you don't kill her," a voice echoed through the shadows, causing me to clench my jaw.
"I won't, but how much do we need?" another voice responded, the conversation betraying their intent.
"I don't know, it has been almost ten minutes; let's go for fifteen just to be sure."
Their voices grew nearer. They were almost in our line of sight.
Taking two more measured steps, I found myself face to face with the most horrifying scene imaginable, costing me every ounce of willpower not to unleash death and destruction on everyone on sight.
Emma—my Emma—was helplessly pinned to a tree, unconscious, a bag hanging from her arm, her life force draining through a tube. They were tapping herfuckingblood. The realization slammed into me like a sledgehammer, igniting an overwhelming thirst for vengeance that consumed every fiber of my being.
"What. The. Actual. Fuck." The words escaped my lips in a low, seething whisper as fury ignited within me.
I turned sharply, my gaze locking on Maurice. "Tell Maria to lift the bubble. Now." My voice was low but edged with steel, leaving no room for negotiation."Make sure she's upright enough; it'll make the blood run faster," the third voice chimed in. They shoved her rather roughly, prompting a soft whimper to escape from Emma's lips.
Something unhinged inside me. Since I started training as an Offensive, I had prided myself on maintaining control over my anger. Every action and emotion, carefully measured and intentional. Every translation, I always remained in control.
But watching her suffer like that, hearing them talk about her life, every ounce of fear, anger, protection I heeded, came raging through, and without another thought I lunged myself forward, a primal roar escaping my lips, completely forgetting about Maurice and everything else.
All that I was, all I aspired to be, and every iota of my knowledge manifested in that moment.
My rage haze came over me and greeted me like an old friend. All that time spent, trying to contain it, learning how to control it. All that time was now in vain. I surrendered to it. I let it out. I let it all out. My rage was pure, unadulterated power and those three assholes would bear the full force of its wrath.
It took no more than a few seconds. A few seconds of translation, powered by my rage and those three guys were lying on the ground, bleeding out. Alive but barely. I hadn’t even broken a sweat, and without acknowledging them further, I rushed to Emma’s side.
I checked her vitals quickly, and relief flooded my system when I found her breathing and with a steady heartbeat.
"I've got her, you check on them," I ordered Maurice, dismissing any notion of his so-called superiority.
Maurice nodded. He, being a Healer once upon a lifetime ago, patched the three Radicals up quickly and portaled them to the Bastille.
“I want to question them!” I hissed menacingly at Maurice right before his departure. I caught another nod from him out of the corner of my eye before he vanished.
Emma was still unconscious as I pulled the tube out of her arm.
“Emma,” I whispered her name, my voice thick with worry. But she didn’t respond. With a swift motion, I translated away the ropes binding her to the trunk, freeing her from the tree's grasp. I caught her as she slumped forward, her weight collapsing into my arms.
I held her up with one arm, as I destroyed the blood bags lying next to it, ensuring my promise to her no one would ever use her as a lab rat.
“Emma,” I spoke with heightened urgency, anxious for her to wake the hell up.
Maurice reappeared. “Let’s get her to her dorm,” he instructed when he returned. "I'll inform Maria."
Carrying her in my arms, I observed her unnaturally pale and still body. The indescribable impact it had on me resonated through my entire being… I was going to torture and kill every one of them who had dared to touch her. And I would fucking revel in it.
We portaled out. On entering her dorm, Maria was already there, sealing off the room and rendered it soundproof. I gently laid Emma on her bed and covered her with a blanket. Despite her regular breathing, she still remained unresponsive.
Maurice promptly attended to her, reassuring me that while she had lost some blood, her life wasn't in jeopardy. "However, it's best for her to rest," he advised. I nodded, settling into a chair across the room. There was no way in hell I was leaving her before she woke up.
The Maumars exchanged glances, and I thought I detected a hint of a smile in their eyes. They maintained their silence, translated two additional chairs and seated themselves across from me.
"What happened tonight..." Maurice began, his voice laden with concern.
"Is deeply troubling," Maria concluded with a stern expression.
I clenched my jaw, acknowledging that their declaration was an understatement of monumental proportions.
