Page 66 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“Questions, comments, fashion advice?” I quip, jutting my hip out in a catwalk-worthy pose. Archan’s eyes begin to lighten.

I groan. “I don’t have time for this. I’m working. Take me back, Smoothie.”

Archan leans back in his leather chair. “That’s warm enough for our date.”

I roll my eyes as Jed grabs my arm. We appear in the middle of the living room, startling Zee so much he spills his coffee.

“Fucking hell! We need a warning system if people are going to literally start popping in and out of thin air,” Zee grumbles.

I smack Jed over the head again, and Zee breaks into a slow grin. “What did you do?”

“I took her to see Archan for fashion advice,” he snickers, as they both crack up laughing.

“Dude,” Zee says, fist bumping Jed.They’re going to drive me insane.Duncan suddenly appears in the kitchen, making me and Zee jump.

“What the hell!” Zee and I shout in unison. Duncan frowns, confused.

“Let’s just go,” I sigh. We do need a system—cow bells, maybe?

Duncan unravels an old map on the dining table, placing cups on the corners to stop it rolling back.

Jed points to a red arrow. “This is the cave we need to search.”

Duncan runs his finger over a small clearing. “And this is where we’re going to arrive.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just go to the cave directly?” I ask.

“It’s warded from people teleporting inside, and it’s likely the indigenous tribe will have sentries around the cave. We need to do some reconnaissance first,” Jed says.

I nudge Duncan’s shoulder. “Who’s taking me?”

Duncan wraps his arms around my waist. “Me.”

“Oh, wait.” I dig around in my pockets for Emi’s card and hand it to Aaden. “Emi’s number. Her exact words were, ‘If you’re interested, give me a call.’” Aaden flushes, and I shoot him a wink.

Duncan tightens his hold and teleports. I’m sucked into a dark vortex and immediately thrown down what feels like a long vacuum, twisting and turning as wind roars in my ears.

Disorientation hits me, and my stomach churns. Just as I’m sure I’m going to vomit, my feet hit the ground, hard; I bend my knees to absorb the unexpected impact.

Duncan grins. “It takes a little getting used to.”

Jed appears and immediately scans the area. The small clearing is enclosed by thick trees and shrubs. I reach out with my senses, sorting through all the background noise. Nothing but the flutter of birds’ wings, their tweeting, and the crunch of small animal feet on the ground. No murderous natives—yet. Duncan points in the direction we need to go.

It takes several minutes of hacking the greenery with my swords to exit the clearing onto a worn dirt path. We have two options: follow it and risk running into the tribe, or veer off in the hopes of staying hidden. Duncan touches my arm.

I tilt my head at the path. Jed seems content to follow our lead.

Treading lightly, we walk for five minutes before the path widens and forks to the left. One path has recent footprints, while the other is dusty, unused.

Jed steps closer, and I catch his eye. I point at the recently-used path and put my hands together on the side of my cheek, indicating this is where I think they live and sleep. Then I nod to the other path and form a triangle with my hands—I’m almost positive the cave is this way. I swirl my finger in the air and point to the right path.

Jed screws up his face and looks between us incredulously, while Duncan simply stalks off into the forest.

Grasping Jed’s hand, I stride into the trees but don’t go as deep as Duncan. Thirty meters in, the air currents shift in front of us.

I put a hand on Jed’s muscular chest and crouch down; he copies me.

I quickly close my eyes and concentrate. Large enough to be human—could be an animal, but they aren’t making any sounds… so an animal would be unlikely.

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