Page 126 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

I cut him off. “As you recently pointed out, the deal’s over. I’m no longer obligated to share everything with you.”

His eyes harden. “You don’t realize the seriousness of the situation.”

I study my nails, scraping dirt from underneath one. “Actually, I’ve finally realized the seriousness of it for the first time since we met.”

“Then you know we need this information.”

“I’ve figured out youwantthis information, and something I’ve found must be important. We agree to share, or you can go home.”

He pauses with a slight tilt of his head. Barney and Nathan do the same thing. I smirk.

“What’s the consensus with your team?” He frowns, and I point to my head in answer. “I told you—you tilt your head.”

He glowers at me. “Are you going to share everything you know?”

Staring at Archan, I keep my head perfectly still and initiate my mental link with Duncan.

“What do you think?”I enquire.

“Jed’s so determined, it would be prudent to share some information. I don’t sense any malice from Archan or his team.”

I glance at Barney, Nathan, and Jed, paying attention to their auras. While weirdly beautiful and hypnotic with their various metallic shades, none of them radiate anything negative.“We stick with our theory of me being the warrior… if they ask. Let them do most of the talking. It helps that Zac isn’t here.”

“Agreed.”

“We’ll share whatever has Jed in such a state then take it from there. Let’s sit.” I wave my arm toward the living area. I head to the window seat, but Jed wraps his arms around me and drags me onto his lap on the sofa.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he whispers.

Archan growls, and large muscular hands lift me out of Jed’s arms. I smack at Archan’s chest. “Don’t manhandle me! I don’t want to sit on anybody while we have this conversation.” He sets me down on the chair vacated by Barney and perches on the side, wrapping his arm around the back. It’s the best I can hope for.

I nod at Jed. “Okay, start.”

“You need to release me,” Jed begins.

I frown. “Okay, I release you from the promise. You may tell Archan anything you’ve learned while you’ve been with us.”

Jed sighs, as if a great weight has been lifted. “We need the other Jar.”

I blink. “Why?”

Archan looks between us. “What other Jar?”

I nudge my elbow into his side. “This is going to be a long night if you don’t let us speak.”

“It needs to be fully deciphered, and Nathan needs to view it, to see if he agrees with my interpretation so far.”

I jerk my chin at Zee. His green eyes darken, obviously unhappy, but he gets up and heads to my bedroom. Jed opens his mouth to explain, but Barney cuts him off. “Wait, Zac will be here in three, two…” Zac appears in the kitchen and looks around the room.

“Wonderful, my day is now complete,” I mutter, glancing at Duncan. Our chances of hiding any information just diminished. He strides over to the side door and leans his back against it, placing a foot on the bottom.

I cock my head; as if he could stop me from leaving. He stares back at me with a stony expression. Zee appears with the Jar, rolls his eyes when he sees Zac, and hands it to me, reseating himself next to Jed on the sofa.

Archan, Barney, Nathan, and Zac gawk at the Jar. “We didn’t steal it from you. It’s a replica.”

Nathan holds his hand out. “May I?” Reluctantly, I hand it to him.

“Where the hell did you get a replica from?” Zac demands.

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