Page 71 of Cerulean Truth (Sapere #1)

I swiftly moved to position myself between Emma and the approaching threat, my senses on high alert.

"What the hell do you want?" I demanded, my voice cutting through the night while the spokesman's expression remained unreadable.

Emma clutched my jacket, her eyes wide with fear. I could feel the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. It wasn't about getting her home anymore—it was about getting her home unharmed .

Their spokesman continued as if I hadn't spoken, his tone dripping with arrogance, "This doesn't concern you. We only want the girl. Leave us be, and we'll part amicably."

Amicably? He had just threatened Emma, and now he wanted to be friends? I would've laughed if my fury hadn't overridden all sense of amusement.

They took a step forward, clearly closing in on us.

I did a quick headcount—it was seven to one. I couldn't rely on Emma translating, and although she could put up a fight, I had no idea how the X would affect her reflexes.

"If you want her, you'll have to go through me," I declared in a low, threatening tone.

I sized up the situation real quick, mapping out how to take down all seven of those bastards before they could come within two feet from Emma. Somehow, the thought of defeating these seven to keep them away from Emma felt far more daunting than fighting off fifty of them without her.

Out of nowhere, two assholes at the front made their move, lunging at me in unison. I barely had time to react when a primal roar erupted from behind me. I whipped around and shouted, "No, Emma, don’t!" But it was already too late.

Her dark red haze, the one up until then solely witnessed by Stephen, erupted from her like fire from a dragon. No magi could doubt the raw and incredible power that fueled a haze of that color. If I wasn’t so terrified, I would’ve been amazed.

She was doing it. She was translating. I should’ve been relieved, it was all I had asked for these past few weeks, but fear gripped me in a way I never thought possible. She had no control whatsoever and could easily kill herself. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Emma's body lifted from the ground, and I observed the fear in the eyes of the seven hostiles before us, giving me a strange sense of satisfaction.

Realizing they needed to escape, they attempted to run, but before they could take a single step, Emma unleashed her power with the intensity of a very old and formidable maga.

Instinctively, I ducked down, bracing for the impact, but her energy whooshed right over my head, only reaching the seven Radicals before us.

When I looked back up, the scene before me mirrored the bathroom incident, multiplied by seven. The sheer force of Emma's unleashed translation painted an awe-inspiring yet terrifying scenery, and I couldn't help but marvel at the untamed force she wielded.

It was over in a matter of seconds. What I had warned her about for months, had happened: one second we were in danger, the next, there were seven bodies on the floor, all bleeding out.

When I turned to face her again, my heart clenched when I saw the damage her unleashed power had done to herself, the brutal toll it had taken on her body; her hair was all messed up, her hands were shaking too hard and blood streamed from her nose and ears.

As she stumbled forward, I moved at lightning speed, catching her right before she crumbled.

"Don’t be scared, your translation was too much for your body.

You’re going to be okay, but I'm not a Healer," I said softly, forcing calm into my voice as I fought to push down the overwhelming worry.

Supporting her as best I could, I added, "I can't fix you.

We have to get back immediately, and I'll nex Justine to help us.

She won't like it, but she won't talk either. "

Emma looked up at me, her lip quivering. "I thought they were going to attack you," she confessed in a small voice. The anger, fueling my actions before melted slowly away, making room for a deep sense of gratitude and a joyous understanding of the lengths she would go to ensure my safety.

I felt like cheering. I had finally witnessed her translation, and it was nothing short of magnificent. She was magnificent. And she had done it to protect me, to save me...

Reaching out, I gently wiped away the blood on her face, and whispered, "You saved us, Emma.

You're incredible." The words carried the weight of genuine appreciation, a recognition of the strength which resided within her. As she looked at me with a mixture of exhaustion and relief, I couldn’t help but feel pride and even joy.

With my arm wedged under her shoulder, I guided her to the nearest rock and carefully helped her sit.

I let her go for no more than a minute to check up on the Radicals. Kneeling down beside the seven barely conscious bodies, I felt their pulses, relieved to find them all alive, albeit barely.

Quickly, I created a green portal, dispatching them to the Maumars with a note to rush the Radicals to the Healers, then on to the Cave beneath the Bastille. Emma's untraceable translation would make sure no one could connect her to the incident.

I would claim self-defense, recounting how I had received information about nearby Radicals, decided to track them for recon, and, inevitably, been discovered (that part would be a little hard to sell but I was highly motivated).

There was a (small) moral issue I was ignoring, as Emma had now again hurt people quite severely, but I had a hard time giving a shit about it. Who was I to judge anyway?

I quickly portaled Emma and myself back to my dorm, frantically reaching out to Justine for help.

To her credit, she arrived in under a minute.

The moment she saw Emma, nearly drenched in blood, Justine didn't waste time with questions.

She swiftly laid Emma on my bed and ordered me to wait outside.

As the door closed behind me, I paced the hallway, my mind consumed with worry for Emma, pushing aside the ethical dilemma, looming in the background. The lines between right and wrong got all blurred tonight, but I couldn’t find it within myself to really care. All that mattered was Emma.

"She'll be fine," I mumbled, my words an attempt to reassure myself.

Leaning against the wall, I let my head hang, feeling the exhaustion hit hard.

I was running on pure adrenaline, the chaos of the encounter replaying in my mind like a broken record.

Ten minutes later, Justine came out, her face tight with unspoken thoughts.

My heart pounded, bracing for bad news, but she quickly gave me some reassurance.

"She'll be all right. I think her translation used up too much energy, as if she didn’t know how much of her emotions she needed to channel.

" Before I could respond, she added, "Whatever you two were doing, it's none of my business.

I fixed the bleeders, and she should be as good as new.

Just let her get some sleep." I nodded gratefully as she walked away, but I called her back.

"Thanks, Justine. I appreciate it. And, seriously, please keep this under wraps, okay?" My concern for Emma overrode any desire for explanations or judgments. Justine nodded. I didn't linger on it; I rushed back inside, relieved to find Emma sitting up on my bed.

“How are you doing?” I asked gently, closing the door behind me.

“I’m fine… is that awful? I know I should feel terrible, and I do, on some level but…” She hesitated.

“But you’re relieved to have translated, effectively confirming you actually can,” I finished her sentence, smiling. She nodded shyly.

I exhaled before continuing. “I should be angry at you, for leaving in the first place, without notifying me and without any means of returning,” I started, “but,” I raised my hand before she could retort, “I’m not…

not really… I’m feeling relieved, to have seen you translate, and gods, Emma, that shit was impressive!

You have the raw power of an at least five-hundred-year-old maga!

It’s insane! Those Radicals are lucky they’re still alive!

” I spoke almost enthusiastically and Emma blushed.

She was cute when she blushed; horrible timing though.

“This is the second time they came after me…” she looked down at her hands, and my heart sank, hoping she wouldn’t ask questions I didn’t have the answers to. Or worse, those I did.

She looked back up at me, eyes filled with worry. “You really think there could be another reason than my untraceable translation?”

I shrugged, trying to ignore the knots in my stomach that formed at the tremble in her voice.

“It’s clear you have incredible power; they might only be after you for that.

But whatever the reason, we need to get you into extreme training mode and fast. Not just for protection against them but also…

” I let out a deep sigh, "You could've hurt yourself immensely, though.

You're lucky you got away with some small bleeders Justine could fix.

But without urgent training, next time, it could end quite differently. "

To my surprise, Emma agreed. “You’re absolutely right James, and to be honest, I can’t wait! I really hope this somehow… I don’t know, opened up some jammed magic I had all along or something.” Whatever she wanted to say next was lost in a big yawn.

“Let’s get you to your dorm” I instructed. “You need to rest and heal.” I started opening a portal.

“Can I… can I walk there?” she asked softly. “I don’t want to portal there. I don’t want any magic right now, if you don’t mind.”

I raised an eyebrow, then nodded slowly. “I understand, don’t worry, I’ll walk you.” She got up too quickly and nearly collapsed. My instincts kicked in as I moved to steady her, preventing another fall. Damn it, Emma.

“Careful, Emma. You lost some blood; are you sure you want to walk?” I inspected her, worry flooding my system.

“Yes, I really am,” she answered sternly, conviction in her eyes, as she leaned on me for support.

Holding her steady, I couldn't help but feel admiration for her strength.

I wanted to reprimand her for telling Enya about the untraceable nature of her translation, but figured another authoritative speech could probably wait a few hours.

Arriving at her dorm, she turned to her door and opened it, but before she could go in, I firmly closed it again. She looked at me in surprise, and I offered a reassuring smile, hoping to convey the noble intentions behind the action.

“I uhm…after everything, and before you go in, I wanted to thank you for also saving me tonight…” I uttered difficultly.

She smirked at me, obviously knowing those words hadn’t come easily. “You’re welcome. Honestly, I felt it was due.”

I chuckled.

She raised her hand all of a sudden to touch my face, and I instinctively backed away; I hadn’t expected her to do that.

There was a brief moment of vulnerability in her eyes, as she paled at my reaction, realizing her unexpected gesture had caught me off guard.

She dropped her hand instantly, a mix of understanding and regret in her eyes.

Fuck, I think I messed that up.

“Goodnight, James” she muttered under her breath, turning around back to the door. I should have stopped her, I should have grabbed her, should have turned her around. Back to me, maybe even kissed her, but I was dead in my tracks.

I watched her go in, hating myself deeply for my inaction. I’d always had such game with women, I had no idea what was happening to me.

Standing there for a full minute, I stared at her closed door, contemplating whether to knock and fix my mistake. I didn’t. I turned around and portaled back to my dorm without rectifying my ball-less moment.

Fighting off Radicals, getting a maga back home from the Human World at three o'clock in the morning, leading a whole Collective–no problem! But, my gods, letting Emma know I liked her... There was nothing scarier in the world.

The next day, I met up with Justine for coffee before my training session with Emma.

I wanted to thank her again for her help the night before and for handling everything with such discretion.

She was incredibly gracious, never once making me feel guilty for putting her in a tight spot.

Instead, she reassured me of her discretion and reiterated she didn’t want to know any details about the previous night’s events.

We made our way back to the training room in silence, and when she dropped me off, I thanked her for the escort. Just as I was about to step inside, she snagged my arm, catching me off guard. I shot her a questioning look, and after a moment's hesitation, she spoke softly.

"I can see how much she means to you... There was a time when I wished for that same level of care from you. But now, I value our friendship above all else. You can always rely on me, even in situations like this. Just make sure she's worth it."

I was touched by her words, by her honesty, and by her concern. I took her hand in mine. "She is..." I whispered, "And so are you. Don't ever settle for someone who doesn't recognize that."

She smiled, her beautiful eyes saddened by my conviction. I hugged her tightly, whispering in her ear about how special she was. I cared for her, just not in the way she wanted, but she was an amazing friend. She kissed my cheek, and we parted when Emma turned the corner.

Emma looked… off. I raised an eyebrow in surprise, but she deliberately ignored me and mumbled a quick thanks to Justine.

I held the door open for her, and she walked in with an air of barely-contained fury.

Given the raw power she’d shown last night, she could probably unleash hell on earth if she wanted to.

I was confused. We had ended the night on a high note, hadn’t we? The awkward goodbye lingered in my mind, but considering her translating, saving my life, and me carrying her home, surely my stupid reaction hadn’t overshadowed all that?

Walking through the door, I saw her with her arms crossed, waiting for me. Even from across the room, it was clear she had her walls up and was in full-on defensive mode. I guess it had overshadowed everything. I sighed—this was going to be a long day.