Page 103 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Khalkaroth is sprawled on the ground, as Archan stares at me with a mixture of fear and awe. “Get out of the circle now,” he commands.

Duncan sports an equal look of fear. Guess being in here is bad. I move to step through the flames and jerk as Khalkaroth’s tail winds around my calf, the spikes digging into my muscle. My chin hits the concrete before I can get my hands out to stop myself, and I nip the end of my tongue between my teeth.

“Fuck,” I groan, spitting blood onto the floor. Grabbing the dagger from my waist, I lean down and flick it through his tail; he shrieks—a high-pitched sound that makes me wince. The severed end falls off my leg and flops uselessly to the floor, while the foot-length stub twitches as it leaks blood. Dragging myself to my feet, I step through the flames unharmed, and everyone, apart from Archan, takes a step back.

I pause. “What’s wrong?” I look at Duncan.

“You need to finish the job and put out the flames.”

“What job?” I ask, confused.

Archan steps toward me, slow and careful, as if scaring me will cause something bad to happen. It will if he gets any closer.

I put my hand out, watching the blue flames dance down my arm and around my naked hand. Looking down, I find my entire body is on fire and let out a little scream. I’m not burning, but it’s the natural response to being on fire, and my badass image shouldnottake a knock because of it. Archan takes another step toward me.

I glare at him. “Of all the people in this room, you’re the last person who needs to come near me.” I point at Khalkaroth. “Even he’s further down my shit list than you.”

He stops and, for once, keeps quiet; thank the Lord for small mercies. Jed steps forward, hazel eyes studying me like a frightened animal. I nod. “Tell me what I need to do.”

Archan’s jaw tics.

“You bitch, you can’t hide forever!” Khalkaroth shouts from the circle. I ignore him, concentrating on Jed and now Duncan, who’s found his balls and decided to approach me.

“He’s in a banishment circle… which you’ve somehow created. You finish it by saying a few words. Done correctly, he won’t be getting out of hell for a long time,” Jed instructs.

Cries of pain echo in the warehouse as Khalkaroth tries to use the shadows to escape, but the fire holds him down every time. Duncan and Jed agree on the correct words for me to chant.

“Let me out! Pan must die!” Khalkaroth screams at Archan.

Archan frowns. “I don’t know what you mean. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure Pan meets a swift end.”

I run through the words in my head several times—the slightest wrong inflection might cause the warehouse to go up in flames. I close my eyes and begin to chant.

Khalkaroth laughs maniacally. “You fools! You have no idea, do you?”

On my final word, the flames leap so high you can’t see inside the circle; just as fast, they drop to reveal an empty space.

“Now you need to put out the flames,” Duncan commands. I concentrate, grasping the tendrils of wild power snapping around like a crazy octopus, and yank them back inside me. The fire drops, revealing scorched earth. It takes more effort to pull the power back enough to extinguish the flames on my body, and by the time I’m done, I feel like I’ve run a marathon—not that I’ve ever run a marathon, but this is how I imagine it must feel.

My legs wobble. Jed and Duncan each grab an arm, and I lean on them, not caring that I look weak. I’ve just done what they couldn’t.

Archan approaches me—when will this man get the point? “How many times do I need to tell you to leave me alone? Haven’t you humiliated me enough in the last twenty-four hours? You’ve rejected me and described my unimportance and apparent failure to impress in the bedroom to everyone here. You just offered to pass me on like a possession. You’ve made it clear there are women less complicated and more beautiful than me at your disposal—so why bother with me at all? I knew it…” My voice catches in my throat, and I try to swallow past the huge lump that’s appeared there.I remind myself to breathe as I ride the final crashing wave that takes me to shore.“I knew you were like this. I knew you couldn’t be trusted. But you just had to have me, didn’t you? Archan and his little game…” Tears fill my eyes, and I struggle to blink them back. “Well, there are two things you need to know. One, you never had me, so don’t presume to know me. Two, you will never have me. The deal is complete. Stay away from me.”

Archan flinches, a look of pain briefly crossing his features. I assume it’s his ego taking some damage.

I let go of Jed’s arm and kiss his cheek. “Sorry, Smoothie, I’m going somewhere you can’t follow. I’ll see you soon. You have my number—use it.”

“Natia, you know full well I didn’t mean it,” Archan implores.

Ignoring him, I wrap myself around Duncan, taking comfort in his strength and familiar scent. “Take me back. I need to be alone.”

The odd sensation of twisting assaults me, making me dizzy as we land in the garage at HQ. I continue to lean on Duncan for a long time. Eventually, I look up at him, and he gives me a squeeze. “You did good today. You’re a full elemental witch, and your control is improving.”

“How many full elemental witches do you know?”

He shuffles his feet. “None.”

“None, as you don’tpersonallyknow any?”

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