Page 89 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

He shakes his head. “Hell, no—I want to control its destruction. Done my way, we can slaughter the part of humanity that is rushing the human race toward its end.”

The pool’s entire body of water rises above me in a twirling cyclone, leaving me standing in the middle of an empty pool. Khalkaroth looks up in shock, just before the water crashes and throws him against the wall. Blood drips down the tiles where he lays, and scarlet water streaks toward the pool. Arms grab me from behind, but air expels from me in a sharp burst, casting the stranger away. I feel the power swell inside me, pressing against my skin, my bones, my entire being.

I scream from the sudden pressure in my skull and collapse into warm arms as darkness claims me.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Natia

Tauruses aren’t overly emotional, but they are easily hurt.

Pain threatens to shatter my skull into a thousand-piece jigsaw. I try to run, but it grips me, rendering me paralyzed. The voices make it worse. I can’t tell if they’re just in my head or all around me, screaming at me. Using everything I have, I push them away, the agony demanding all my energy. Darkness pulls me under again, and I welcome it with open arms.

***

Awareness comes back as cold water drips into my mouth. The pain has mercifully lessened, but I keep my eyes firmly closed.

“Natia?”Archan’s mental voice pushes against my shields. I let him in, finding I have no energy to fight.

“You need to come back to me. Fight the darkness… I know it’s seductive, but it’s trying to control you. Find the light and follow it,”he encourages softly. I inhale his scent, the richness enticing but also comforting. The more I concentrate, the more light I can see. It’s coming closer, but the darkness clings tight, and invisible hands slide over my body.

“Hold me,”I mumble.

I feel Archan’s strong arms cradling me and nestle into his warmth. Chasing his scent with my nose until I come in contact with his skin, I breathe him in deeply. The light comes closer and closer, until the darkness is no more. The pain recedes, and I squint my eyes open to find I’m in my bedroom.

Archan’s chest rumbles as he tells someone to turn off the lights. People start talking at the same time, and I put my hands over my ears and push into Archan’s chest.

“Everyone out,” he rumbles. Feet shuffle across the carpet before the door clicks shut.

“Why are you in my bed?” I ask, my voice quiet.

He laughs low. “Saving you. Again.”

I push away from him. “Saving me from what?” My eyes focus, revealing his perfect features, and for the first time, his naked chest. I glance down, double checking that’s the only part of him naked. I’m kind of disappointed to find he has sweats on.

“From yourself,” he says, watching me carefully.

“Myself?”

He pulls me back to his chest. “What do you remember?”

I don’t have the inclination, or energy, to fight him. “Swimming, then Khalkaroth appearing… He said some crap about the poison and surviving it. He wanted me to go with him,” I chuckle, “like that’s going to happen.”

“Anything after that?”

I try to piece together the flashes of images in my mind.

Water in the sky… Air around my body… Blood running along the tiles…

“Did I do something with the water? And wind? I was trying to protect myself. I think I hurt him.” I look up into Archan’s golden eyes. “Did I hurt him? Is he dead?”

“Not dead, but you did hurt him. He escaped into the shadows before I could reach him.”

I ball my hands into fists to keep them from trembling. “If you find him before me, I want in. Promise me.”

He hesitates, and I elbow his side, earning me a soft growl. “I promise.”

“What about the water?”

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