Page 33 of Red Dreams

“What kind of men is she finding?” I ask, more to myself than Kaden.

“Ones who will do anything for their daughters.”

Kaden lowers his chin and rubs his weary eyes with a fist.

“Yes, butwhoare they?” My vision unfocuses as I ponder this. “Cassie likes to talk to me when she—well. When she’s in here visiting. I’ve come to learn she doesn’t do anything without reason. She wouldn’t just be collecting random men who have kids. She’d be doing her research.”

Kaden grabs my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “Cassie wants us to know she’s building an army of men loyal to her not out of greed or fear but out of love. The most dangerous kind of devotion.”

“The AI I tried to destroy.” My spine goes ramrod straight from the implication. With an army of broken fathers at her command, men in positions of power and influence, Cassie could reshape the very fabric of society. CEOs, politicians, judges…

“By controlling key players in the economy, they could help implement the AI's influence over markets, elections, and God knows what else.”

And at the center of it all, Cassie herself, a queen of shattered glass, ruling over a kingdom built on the bones of innocence.

I’m cold, almost numb, but I force myself to ask the question that haunts me. “Kaden, if she’s using me…”

My voice cracks, the rest of the sentence sticking in my throat, but I don’t need to finish my thought.

Kaden’s eyes snap to mine. His squeezes my hand to the point that it hurts, then pulls me into his chest, his startling warmth seeping into me and keeping the chill at bay.

“I would tear apart both heaven and hell to protect you. I don’t give a shit that these men started off innocent. I will burn each of these fathers alive the very second I have an opening. And I swear to you, on everything I have left, that I will not let her destroy me.”

He tips my chin up, his eyes boring into mine. I reach up, my fingers tracing the hard line of his jaw.

“I know,” I say. “I know because I would do the same for you.”

Something flares in his eyes, hot and bright. His arms tighten around me, drawing me closer until our breaths mingle. “You are my fucking universe.”

I surge onto my tiptoes, capturing his mouth in a bruising kiss. He groans, crushing me to his chest. I pour everything into that kiss—my fear, my love, my desperate need for him. He meets me with equal fervor, his tongue sweeping into my mouth, claiming me, consuming me.

I cling to him, my lighthouse in this storm of madness.

Another scream rips through the air, closer this time. Another girl we can’t save.

The pain and exhaustion finally catch up with me, and my body sways where I stand. Kaden notices immediately.

“When did you last sleep, Wraithling?”

His voice carries an edge I recognize. He's realizing how much Cassie's “visits” have deprived me of basic needs.

The photos still litter the bed, evidence of other women's suffering that I can't bear to sleep among. As I reach to clear them, my hands shake with fatigue.

Kaden's hands, strong and sure, close over mine, stilling their trembling. With a gracefulness that belies the fury simmering beneath his skin, he guides me to sit on the edge of the bed, then gathers the pictures himself.

He stacks them in his hands, his jawline so pronounced I fear his teeth might crack from the pressure. Every line of his body is taut with barely contained rage, a predator poised to strike in a depleted, controlled environment. He prowls to one corner and tosses them in a small trash can so hard, it nearly tips over. But when Kaden turns back to me, his expression softens, the typhoon in his eyes calming to a soft rain.

“Let's get you to bed,” he murmurs. “It’s not ideal, but you’ve got to sleep. I’ll watch over you.”

He eases me back onto the pillows, drawing the covers over my abused body.

I wince as the fabric brushes against the raw wounds on my skin, a whimper escaping through my teeth.

Kaden stills. For a moment, I think he might put his fist through a wall. Or worse, tear the door off its hinges to hunt down every man who hurt me and tear them apart with his bare hands.

But I’m aware that he won’t. Because the real perpetrator, the one responsible, is the very woman he can’t hurt.

Kaden takes a deep breath, then perches on the edge of the bed, his hip pressing against mine. He runs his fingers through my hair, carefully untangling the damp snarls.

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