Page 81 of Cerulean Truth (Sapere #1)

FORTY-FOUR

JAMES

What the actual fuck?

In the span of three weeks, the whole world had gone mad. The Elder turned out to be Emma’s oldest friend, instead of my long-awaited idol.

The Board of Directors had suddenly decided they wanted to speak with her, which had my anxiety skyrocketing by the way, fearing they found out about her untraceable translation.

And now Antwerp had fallen? What did that even mean?

I watched Emma in her dorm as she packed her things, too stubborn to let me help her translate whatever she needed into a suitcase. Apparently, me not seeing her lingerie was more important than the center of the entire magiworld fucking imploding.

This woman.

“What do you think happened?” she asked softly, her hands trembling slightly as she grabbed some clothes off a chair.

“I have no fucking idea,” I replied honestly.

“I thought you said Antwerp wasn’t a Collective. That it only housed about five thousand magi?”

“It does,” I confirmed.

“So why were they targeted? And by whom?”

“I don’t know Emma, but Antwerp is where our Board of Directors and United Chiefs headquarters are located. My guess would be that it was a political attack.”

Emma’s voice trembled. “The Board sounds kind of scary. They’re just magi like you and Stephen, right?”

I nodded. “Fifty of the most powerful magi to have ever existed, but yes. Magi like me and yourself.”

Halting her movements, she raised her head slowly, meeting my gaze. “Why do you think they want to talk to me?” She swallowed and something akin to fear etched itself in her eyes.

I crossed the room in two strides and took her face between my hands.

“You are trained by me and will have me by your side every fucking second. I’m not letting you out of my sight.

And if it turns out they know about your untraceable translation, we make a run for it.

Together.” I spoke with all the conviction in the world, cursing my inability to comfort her more.

“If you don’t want to go to Alliance and meet with the Board, I’ll fight every magi on this earth so you don’t have to. It’s your choice.”

She smiled sadly. “I want to go.”

My anxiety rose at her words, but I pushed it swiftly aside. It had to be her choice. I kissed her cheek, a little proud of the courage she displayed.

“You’re Emma fucking Thompson,” I continued softly, “you went head-to-head with Radicals twice now and came out on top each time. You’ve successfully shaken the entire magi world to its core, simply by walking in. There’s nothing you can’t do, you hear me?”

She nodded, the fear in her eyes slowly being replaced by thankfulness.

I retracted my hands but she quickly moved in closer and kissed me softly on the lips. The kiss was quick, almost like a habit and I dropped my forehead onto hers.

This woman and her effect on me.

“We’ll be fine. We’ll listen to what the Board wants, we’ll come back here after, and I’m taking you on that date. What do you say?”

Emma chuckled softly. “You really are the worst when it comes down to timing.”

I snorted. She wasn’t wrong.

Letting her finish packing, I quickly sent a message to Stephen’s Nexus, informing him of what we’d learned. He didn’t reply but I had heard he was high up somewhere in the mountains of Japan, struggling to get them on board.

I had three escape-plans ready just in case it turned out the intel on Emma’s translation had leaked. I was going over them in my mind, when Emma interrupted my musings.

“That Dennis Dale…” Emma began and my heart sank, wishing she wouldn’t ask me too many questions about him.

So far, I had lied to her by omission about the death of her former boss and about the discovered mole in our Council who had leaked her untraceable translation to the Radicals.

I really didn’t want to pile on even more but if she pushed it…

“It seemed like you two know each other?”

I nodded once. “Please hurry with the suitcase.”

“How do you know him?” she pressed.

“He helped me gain my position.” That wasn’t a lie.

She frowned. “As First Offensive?”

I shook my head. “Leader.”

She sighed. “You’re being cagey again. Every time I ask you questions you don’t want to answer, you reply with one word-sentences.”

Furrowing my brow, I looked at her in confusion.

“Like, whenever I ask you whether or not you’ve managed to figure out why those Radicals bled me out?”

Shit .

A harsh knock on the door saved me from having to answer impossible question, and opening it, I had never been so happy to see Julian standing there. Maybe not “happy” but there was definitely some relief.

“You guys ready?” he asked, while Emma slammed her suitcase shut.

We portaled quickly into the Basilica, where Dale, Maurice and Maria awaited us, and I grabbed Emma’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

“Right. This is the address,” Dale began, translating the location with the yellow drops of his Nexus. “We’ve arranged the accommodations for you upon arrival, and we’ll meet up after an hour at this address,” Dale continued, nexing the second location to us.

I glanced sideways, noticing Julian stare at Emma. Again. I’d noticed that throughout these last few weeks. How he stared at her. Not like she was his, would have killed him if he had, but like he expected her to…something. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was and it was driving me insane.

Before I could get lost in another mental rant about Julian’s real intentions, the Maumars disappeared through the first portal.

I quickly drew my own, squeezed Emma’s hand and jumped through it with her, clutching my arm, navigating my drops to Alliance.

As we stepped through, the world around us dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. When the disorientation faded, we found ourselves standing on the edge of a cliff, the rugged coastline of Upper Corsica stretching out before us.

The evening sun still shone on the cliff, which rose steeply from the azure waters below, its face weathered by centuries of wind and sea spray. This was the natural rocky foundation upon which the entire Collective of Alliance was built.

“Wow,” Emma breathed and I nodded. It wasn’t my first time at Alliance—I’d been a few times with Councilmember Ana?s Dubois—but its beauty still shook me to my core.

I gestured towards the cliff, its sheer walls rising high.

"This is where it begins," I explained to her.

"Every magi family in Alliance lives within these rock formations, hidden from the prying eyes of the outside world.

Each enclave is nestled within the cliffs, invisible to those without magic. "

I pointed towards a faint shimmer in the air, barely discernible to the untrained eye. "That's the ‘secret’ pathway," I continued. "Without translation, it's impossible to navigate these rocky heights. It's their first line of defense, a barrier that keeps them safe from intruders."

“Now what?” she asked, her eyes wide, taking it all in.

“We can’t portal through Layers of protection. So, we climb.” I grabbed her hand and lead her toward the pathway.

As we passed the first caves, Emma seemed shocked by their simplicity. “Magi live inside these caves?” she whispered.

I nodded. “Yeah, but don’t let those fool you. The inside of these caves are all magically enhanced. Most magi in Alliance live in greater luxury than Cyclos’s newest Leader.” I winked and Emma grinned.

“But they don’t have the luxury of eating your steak.”

I let out a laugh. “That is true. I guess there’s no greater luxury than savoring my…meat.”

Emma punched my upper arm. “That was very crude of you, mister Leader.”

I grinned. “Crude but true.”

She rolled her eyes, but her blush had spread from her cheeks to her entire face, and my heart raced at the sight of her beautiful features. Damn, I am falling hard for this woman.

“There’s something else, “ I changed the subject swiftly. “Not that it should matter, but Alliance is the only Collective where the haze is visible inside the sphere. Not traceable, except for yours maybe, but still visible.”

She frowned. “Why?”

I shrugged. “Something about educational purposes. Don’t really care, but keep it in mind, if we need to be stealthy tonight, your haze will be visible.”

She nodded in understanding. The rest of the climb we spent in comfortable silence, hoping we’d arrive to our destination before dark.

Reaching the top of the rock, we found ourselves in the midst of… nothing. I frowned. Had Dale steered us wrong?

It was now completely dark out, so I couldn’t entirely see where we were but it seemed like we were standing in a clearing, surrounded by trees on one side, a steep cliff downward on the other.

I quickly translated some light and ran a location-diagnosis, gathering all the intel I could over a ten mile-radius.

“We still have to walk up a few yards,” Emma stated, completely ignoring my efforts.

“How do you know? I haven’t analyzed all the data yet?” I asked confused.

She smirked, pointing her finger upward. “There’s light coming from there. I’m willing to bet those are our accommodations.”

Fuck me. I almost grinned sheepishly, before I remembered I didn’t do anything sheepishly. Nor did I grin.

We trekked another mile uphill until we reached a small cabin, where Julian greeted us already waiting. His demeanor was anything but calm, triggering my Offensive instincts.

“What is it?” I inquired.

He shook his head, muttering, “Bringing her here was a mistake.”

People, let us all take a good look at the newly crowned king of stating the obvious.

I rolled my eyes at him. “No shit.”

“Guys, I'll be fine,” Emma interjected, her voice carrying a hint of determination. “I've got Cyclos's First Offensive and the world's oldest magus on my side. Plus, I'm pretty badass myself, remember?”

Emma's words were meant to reassure, but I caught the flicker of doubt in her expression. We were walking into an unknown situation and every fiber in my being screamed at me to turn around.

“First sight of danger, we’re out of here,” I seethed, cursing myself for agreeing to this ridiculous venture. “We’re not taking any unnecessary risks.”

Emma sighed. “Coming here without any intel was already risky. Let’s just find out why we’re here and work with what we’ve got.”

Her head held high, Emma led the way to the cabin, with Julian and me trailing behind.

I noticed Julian's fidgeting and frowned.

“What's with you?” I whispered sharply.

“Nothing. I'm just worried about Emma,” he replied, visibly agitated.

“No, I'm worried about Emma, and that’s because I don't know what we're getting into,” I retorted. “You look nervous because you do .”

I halted, my voice strained with tension. "Do you?" I asked, my gaze piercing, the threat of retribution simmering beneath the surface. If he somehow lured us into a trap, I’d pull out his testicles through his mouth.

Julian snorted dismissively. “You don’t have to trust me, James, but at least trust that my intentions toward Emma are genuine. I wouldn’t want a single hair on her head harmed.”

“I'll believe that when I see it,” I muttered, unwilling to entertain further conversation with him.

Entering the cabin, Dennis Dale and the Maumars sat around a table, clearly waiting for us to arrive.

“Good. You’re all here,” Dennis Dale began. “We've brought your belongings upstairs to your rooms. Take some time to settle in, and we'll reconvene down here in an hour. The Board has been notified of your arrival, and we'll escort you to them once you're ready."

His address was directed solely at Emma, a fact that didn't escape my notice. I narrowed my eyes, recalling every shitty thing this man had ever done.

A petite woman in her late fifties then entered the room, warmly welcoming us into her home before leading us upstairs.

“This will be your room,” she said, gesturing towards a door, her attention clearly directed at Emma and me.

“I’m sorry, mine or hers?” I asked, feeling a wave of confusion wash over me.

The woman blinked in surprise. “They told me you’d be sharing a room?”

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly parched.

“That’s fine,” Emma replied, her voice barely audible, her gaze fixed on me expectantly.

I gave a brisk nod, suppressing all my emotions and locking them away in a tight, small box.

As we entered the small but cozy room, I noticed instantly...only one bed.

It took all I had to shove the surging feelings back where they belonged.

“Well,” Emma said, a smile tugging at her lips, “this should be interesting.”