Page 101 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

I glance around. “What now?”

He waves his fingers around his face. “Your eyes… they’ve changed.” I glance at Zee and Duncan for confirmation.

Zee edges closer. “Cool, you have white lightning in them.”

Everyone leans in. “Like Thor?”

“No, more like forks of lightning crackling around your irises,” Zee mutters, grasping my chin and moving my head side to side.

“They were emerald earlier, when you were training,” Jed comments.

“They change with the elemental power she is commanding,” Archan says, tracking Zee’s hand on my chin.

“Okay then.” I shrug, pushing Zee’s hand away. Silently, I try not to panic—one problem at a time. And in the grand scheme of things, my eye color isn’t even in the top ten. I’ll add it to the ever-expanding memo for the mysterious being in the cave. “We aren’t waiting outside. I’ve proven I can be of use.” Little sparks of static electricity jump between my fingertips as I point behind me. Another lightning bolt strikes the ground. “And you know I can fight. If you need someone outside, use someone else.”

Everyone stares over my shoulder, watching the random sparks of lightning dance on the ground. Zac blinks and recovers first. “Fine.” He gives me a distrustful look and points to the door. “You and your men flank the entrance.”

“Stay close, and remember, it’s a capture, not kill mission. I need him alive,” Archan says, tilting his head the tiniest bit. He’s communicating with his team again. I narrow my eyes as he grins at me.

We move to our respective posts in the warehouse, and Archan stands twelve meters to the right of me. Nathan appears in the middle of the damp warehouse and places the Jar on the dusty floor, like a prize. I think it’s unlikely Khalkaroth will walk into such an obvious trap, but Archan and his men seem sure. So we hunker down and wait.

After two hours, I inwardly groan. My legs are cramping from my position on the floor. A familiar tug pulls on my mind; I’m tempted to ignore it, but it may be important.

“What?”

“Sore?”he asks, amused.

“Fuck off,”I snap.

He sighs mentally—how, I have no idea, but it’s there.“You’ve already acknowledged I didn’t reject you. I want you. When you come to my bed, you will have no regrets, no excuses for why you made that decision other than wanting me.”

“You might be waiting for some time.”

“What are you afraid of?”

Falling and never finding my way out. Loving you and not having it returned. Being made to feel like a possession, a prize, rather than a person.“Zombies.”His chuckle caresses my mind like silk, just as a sharp cramp in my calf has me gritting my teeth.

“The last time you had sore legs, you stripped and got into a hot tub. I could help after this is over.”My growl permeates the mental link.“Temper, temper, Natia.”

“I don’t have a temper—I just have a quick reaction to bullshit.”

“Your smart mouth is going to get you in trouble.”

“It’s when I’m silent you should worry.”I decide to play him at his own game.“You’re right, I am sore. Jed can help. He’s an excellent masseur… and the tub is big enough so he can get in with me, naked of course. He needs to be in the spirit of the occasion. Maybe I can retire the ice cream?”

He growls audibly.

“Temper, temper, Archan.”

He drops the link.

Twenty minutes later, minuscule changes in the air currents ripple over my skin. I experiment with my telepathic abilities and reach out mentally to the team.

“He’s here, left side of the front door. He’s stopped moving, but you can’t see him.”

“Are you sure?”Zac asks. I groan, trying to contain the sarcasm that begs to escape me.

“She’s having a sargasm,”Jed helpfully supplies to explain my mental grunt.

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