Page 104 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“As in, I don’t know of any in existence.” I blink several times; it’s too much. He kisses the top of my head. “We’ll figure it out.”

I quirk an eyebrow. “No wonder everyone was staring at me like I was Lucifer himself.”

He chuckles. “Your eyes were shining with cobalt flames. They may have thought you were.”

My eyes go wide. “No way.”

“Yes way. Don’t take it personally; they were just shocked. Conjuring a banishment circle for a high-level demon was pretty impressive for your first outing with fire—most just light a candle.”

We both snort. “They could have thanked me for it, though.”

He looks at me seriously. “They’re grateful, Locks. Although they did want him detained, not banished.” He pulls on the end of my braid. “You know Archan said those things to save your life. He wanted to make it seem like you weren’t important to him. If you paid attention, you would have seen the tension in his body and felt the waves of anger pouring off him. The man was barely restrained.”

“He was angry that I was about to banish his precious demon, and the things he said were too personal after rejecting me. So deep down… maybe. But right now, he confuses me. It’s best he stays away.” A lump forms in my throat at the thought of never seeing him again. I remind myself that I’m planted firmly on the ground rather than being bounced around in the violent storm that is Archan.

“I’ve got to go back to Aaden and Zee, and you need to rest. I’ll update Charlie and come and find you later. You okay to get back to your room?”

“Yeah, I feel stronger, thank you.”

I blink as he disappears—nope, still not used to it.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Natia

Taurus—under the anger, there’s hurt. Under the hurt, there’s pain. Under the pain, there’s love.

Jack eyes me over the breakfast bar for the sixth time as I sip the coffee he made me and relax into the familiar surroundings. His aura floats between a dull brown and an angry red. He’s all over the place.

I sigh, the steam billowing across the space between us. He slides me a plate with some cookies. Grabbing one, I stuff it into my mouth, accepting the peace offering. “Thanks,” I mumble, concluding there’s no time like the present to figure out his issues. “Everything okay?”

He grabs a cookie and leans back. “Sure, why wouldn’t it be? How’s the case?”

I sigh and roll my neck. How do you sum up the events of the last few days? We teamed up with the enemy, who may or may not be the enemy—but is definitely powerful. Then we got tossed into the middle of a biblical prophecy foretold to destroy mankind. We found a magic Jar but handed it over to our enemy/non-enemy, and we’re searching for someone named Pan, who may or may not be here to end the world. I just banished a powerful demon. Did I mention I’m a full elemental witch with the power to make small earthquakes and lightning? “Umm… complicated.”

He shoves his stool back, and the metal screeching against the floor makes me wince. “Right. I get it. I’m not part of the team.”

I grab his arm. “Jack, wait—” He shakes me off and storms down the corridor toward his room. I should go after him, but exhaustion tugs like lead on my limbs, so I make my way to my room, pull on old pajamas, and climb into bed, leaving my door open so Zee, Duncan, and Aaden will wake me when they return. I collect my Kindle from the floor and catch up on some much-needed time with my favorite books, relishing reading battle scenes I’m not involved in. My eyelids grow heavy, my head foggy. My hand goes lax before I finish one chapter, and I drift to sleep, dreaming of gold eyes and heated hands caressing my body, setting it alight with blue fire. Slowly, my dream shifts, becoming malevolent, as cold steel presses against my throat. I try to scream, but it won’t leave my mouth. A solid weight presses against my body, making it difficult to breathe.

“Stupid bitch, thinking you’re special waltzing in like a princess. No interview, no testing, no pain of not knowing if you’re good enough. It’s time you hurt a little to understand what the rest of us had to go through,” a rough voice hisses.

Realization hits—I’m not dreaming. I fight my way back to consciousness, dragging open my eyes to reveal Jack’s angry stare boring into me, his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. I try to speak, but a cloth chokes the back of my throat. My head lolls to the side; my Kindle is lying on the floor, while my reinforced steel door is closed and locked. Help isn’t coming.

I clench my fist and swing to punch him, but something constricts around my wrist. I glance up. My hands are secured tightly to the top of the bed. I try to lift my legs to kick him, but they’ve been bound to each side of the bed, too.

The air shimmers next to me, revealing the outline of a humanoid figure. I squint, trying to make sense of the shape, when Jack roughly squeezes one breast; I groan at the wicked pain. “You’re not meant to be so awake, but it’s okay… If you relax, you might enjoy it,” he hisses, winking. The humanoid figure becomes more solid, and a shiver racks over my body. Jack cups me, hard, making me twist my head back to him. “I doubt you’ll relax, frigid bitch. I’m going to enjoy knocking you off that pedestal.”

The knife leaves my throat. Fabric tears, then cool air breezes across my bare skin as he forces his fingers inside. A soundless scream vibrates through me, and I tense as pain lances through my gut. He smiles, a violent lust clouding his eyes.

I squeeze my eyes shut, and a tear slides down my temple.

He punches me in the face, and I inhale through my nose sharply as the crunch of my cheekbone follows a blinding pain. “You need to be reminded you aren’t that pretty,” he grunts, as he strikes me again, making me see stars, and begins thrusting his fingers. Warmth spreads between my legs as agony spears my abdomen. He removes his fingers, unbuckles his jeans, and pushes my knees further apart.

“Seems I’ve already wrecked your pussy,” he laughs coldly. I feel pressure at my ass, and I tighten reflexively, struggling against bonds that I should be able to break. Frustrated he can’t progress his assault, he pummels my stomach, over and over.

The shimmering figure finally appears—Lawrence’s terrifying true form comes into focus as he whispers into Jack’s ear and grins at me.

My mind has broken, it must have. The living quarters are warded against demons. I’m sure I must be placing the trauma of four years ago with now and trying to make sense of Jack’s violence.

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