Page 138 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“Your aura,” he gasps.

Archan holds me tight to his chest in an attempt to protect my dignity, except my naked ass is on display—then again, who hasn’t seen my naked ass by this point?

“Get out,” Archan grinds through his teeth. Silently, Zac holds out the Jar toward us, which begins emitting a pure white light. I stare, wide-eyed.

Archan takes my face in his hands. “It’s you?”

I frown. “What’s me?” The hard look in his eyes makes me scramble off him, grabbing a sheet on my way to wrap around me. I back away toward the fire.

Archan runs his hands through his hair. “Your shields… I should have known.”

Zac takes a step toward me; I hold out a hand, and he pauses. “Known what?” I press, my voice shaking. Archan lunges for me, and I panic, scramble away, then appear on the other side of the bed, minus the sheet, which is dangling in Archan’s grasp. It’s my turn to stare in disbelief.

“What did you do?” I whisper.

“I did nothing, you flashed!” he roars.

“You were the one who grabbed the sheet!”

“Don’t be coy, Natia. The game’s up. I’ve found you,” he snarls, as various emotions play across his face: anger, hurt, and finally, determination. The weight of his terrifying power crushes me to the floor.

Shocked tears slide down my cheeks. “I’m so confused,” I manage to croak out.

A knife materializes in his hand, and I flinch, as understanding dawns.

“I’m not Pan!” I squeak.

He laughs, but it’s empty and cold. “I almost believed you. Hiding in plain sight. Trying to convince all of us not to kill you—clever, but foolish. And the decoy Jar.” He points the knife at me. “Don’t move.”

Zac empties my purse onto the bed, and Archan picks up the blue velvet pouch that tumbles out of it. Undoing the ribbons, he tips out the small star-shaped key I carry with me everywhere so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Seems like an idiotic thing to do now.

“Explain something. If you’re not Pandora, why do you have the key and why is the Jar calling toyou?” Archan spits, spinning the key around his palm in one hand and the knife in the other. Zac steps closer with the Jar.

I swallow at the obvious threat. “I was given the key. I have no idea about the Jar.”

Archan swaps the knife for the Jar with Zac.

Turning it upside down, he studies the key and the base. “Stop your lies. It is time to end this.”

I watch, horrified at his intent. “No, Archan… No, you’re wrong!”

He raises a mocking eyebrow. “I’m wrong? You want to continue to let mankind suffer? You think you have the right to withhold hope from a race struggling to understand right from wrong? There is so much hurt, desperation, and helplessness. You think if you keep it from them, they will survive?”

“Of course not! But I’mnotPan, and I haven’t lied to you,” I cry, stunned.

Ignoring me, he inserts the key into the base and turns. Nothing happens. The three of us take turns staring at each other and the inanimate Jar.

I blow out a relieved breath. “What the hell? If that had worked, you would’ve released the last evil on the Earth.”

Zac narrows his eyes. “You’rethe last evil on Earth.”

“I know we don’t see eye to eye, Zac, but that’s quite the insult.”

The Jar topples to the floor, and an inhuman, maniacal laugh erupts from Archan’s lips.

Zac and I swing our gaze to him. Strange obsidian eyes stare at us from a familiar face. Archan crouches next to me and grasps my chin, turning my head to the side and examining me. His eyes trail down my exposed body.

He smirks. “I’ve wondered for eons what my captor looks like. It seems I’ve been blessed—torturing you will be fun.”

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