Page 72 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

My head falls in my hands. “I guess.”

“Do you think he’s a guardian angel?” Zee asks.

My head shoots up, and my eyes widen. “Do those exist?”

We stare at Duncan, who raises his hands. “I have no idea.” He pauses. “Contact Archan and see if he’s willing to share what the symbols on Mary’s heart mean.”

Grabbing my phone from the dining table, I return to sit next to Zee and put it on speaker phone.

“Yes?” is his greeting. I roll my eyes.

I opt for an equally irritating response. “It’s me.”

“Thank you for finding the Jar; you have no idea the help you have given us.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“It is not a bad reason—it’s the exact opposite, actually.”

“Then you’ll be happy to share.”

There’s a pause. “No.”

“Ah, so I’m taking your word that what you think is a good thing is also a good thing in my book?”

“You’re going to have to trust me,” he says, sounding irritated.

“Have you deciphered the symbols found on Mary’s heart?”

A few beats of silence. I’m about to remind him of his promise again, when he speaks.

“Roughly translated, it means, ‘All hope is lost’ or, ‘Mankind will lose all hope.’”

I tuck my legs under myself. “The first is present tense, while the other is a prediction. Which one is it?”

“I believe it is the future—a warning.”

“Is it literal?” I ask. It sounds like a doomsday prophecy.

“It needs to be interpreted with other information.”

“Information you have?” I probe.

He evades the question. “In part.”

“Are you willing to share that information?”

“No.”

“Figures,” I mumble.

“It doesn’t pertain to catching Khalkaroth, which is our agreement. If I find anything that does, you will be the first to know.”

I hate that saying. You’re not the first to know because the person telling you is the first to know. “Fine.”

“See you at seven.” As if I need the reminder. I disconnect the call.

“Me, Aaden, and Indiana Jones here will research while you’re out,” Zee says, nodding toward Duncan.

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