Page 13 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Jed grins. “You can’t argue with your protectors, Natia. They want what’s best for you.”

“And you’re counting yourself amongst the protectors?”

Jed shrugs. “Makes sense. I felt connected to you straight away and experienced an overwhelming need to protect you.”

“Doesn’t make you the boss of me,” I grumble.

“Sit down, Natia. You’re not going,” Zee says, making me squeeze my eyes shut to temper my anger. After several deep breaths, I snap my eyes open, cock an eyebrow at Jed, twist on my bare feet and stomp around the waterfall to view the incredible sunrise streaking across the sky and giving birth to the day, its timing and surety, secure and safe. If all else fails, the world will keep turning, right?

Blocking out the landscape, my eyes drift closed. I draw in a steady, salty breath and search for the mental link with Archan. “Don’t you dare,” Duncan shouts as boots scuffle on the dirt. A rush of sound precedes the overwhelming safety and caress of shifting time and space, and I marvel at how my method of teleportation is so much more badass than Duncan’s. I must take him, and with that thought my head rams against something hard and unyielding. Strong arms grip my waist and a slight growl emanates from somewhere behind me. The arms tighten and several people chuckle, material caresses my back and ass in a now familiar gesture. “Why are you here?” Zac huffs over my head as he loosens his grip and fastens the first button of the shirt.

“I’m more interested in why she’s naked,” Barney’s voice rumbles from close behind me. Twisting my body away from Zac, my mouth tilts up in a smirk to hide the blush spreading up my neck.

“A complication of teleporting.”

“That’s a new one,” Zac mumbles, grabbing my arm and spinning me back round. A wall of muscle surrounds me in a circle, they are blocking me from him. It’s too late, I can feel him and like a magnet, he can feel me too.

“Visitors, what fun,” Evil Archan drawls from somewhere behind me, “and for the record I’m pleased with her method of entry.”

My heart picks up speed. I can tell it’s not my Archan from the cadence of his voice, plus ‘what fun’ coming from him doesn’t fit, but damn if my body doesn’t still react to his sensual tone and presence. “I want to speak with him,” I whisper and blink at Zac, his navy blue eyes soften and his ice mask slips as he sighs.

He sighs. “Ten minutes, Natia.”

“Thank you,” I mutter, patting his arm and spinning around to the men backing away from me to spread out around a circular room revealing a dome in the center. Visible wards spring from the runes etched into the stone floor surrounding the dome and touch the arched ceiling. Evil Archan sits dead center crossed legged and naked. So very, very, naked.

“Why haven’t you given him any clothes?” I ask Zac with a raised eyebrow. Evil Archan’s head tilts, causing his golden hair to fall away from his face and reveal the endless pools of black which showcase the monster lurking inside him.

“We did, he refused to wear them,” Zac says, pointing at a folded pile of clothing to the left of the dome.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“You wanted to speak with him, not us. Your ten minutes started a minute ago.”

He’s right. Priorities. Right now mine is to figure out the identity of the creature we’ve let loose and how to get rid of him without hurting Archan. With a confidence I don’t feel, I strut towards the edge of the dome and circle it. Evil Archan tracks me with those creepy eyes and a pang of sadness almost makes my step falter as I crave the endless pools of molten gold; whether they are mocking me, drawing me in, bossing me around, or giving me the most pleasure I’ve ever known.

“Missed me, beautiful Pandora?”

“My name is Natia,” I grind out as I come full circle, stand in front of him and place my hands on my hips. His gaze saunters down my bare legs where the shirt has hitched up.

“Natia,” he says, rolling it off his tongue in a caress. I blink at the Archan grin he gives me. It’s clear he’s a master manipulator inside a dangerous body.

“What do you want?” I ask.

He tips his head to the side and a solid push on my shields makes me grit my teeth. “You put your pretty colors away, and with it, your power. Let it out to play. I swear we’ll have fun.” I bolster my shields and recite Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle”. I’ve been saving that one, much to the amusement of several men in the room given the snorts that echo. Evil Archan frowns. Guess being cooped up in a Jar for several thousand years will put a dent in your current music knowledge. It’s not like he could get Spotify in there.

“Who are you?” I try.

His frown turns into a grin. “Who am I? Who are you? Not the same sweet innocent sent as a sacrifice. No, you’re so much more. The power which courses through your pure soul is bound by your own ridiculous restraint. Let go, Natia.”

My entire body stiffens with the memory of Archan whispering those words to me as I came apart in his arms. He regards me, cataloging my reaction before he chuckles. The sound raises the hairs on my arms. “He played you. Seduction is a weapon he broke you with, Natia, and you were magnificent when you broke apart.”

In opposing emotions, I swallow the lump in my throat and roll my eyes. “When you’ve stopped offering relationship advice, Dr. Phil, can we move this conversation along to more pressing matters which a self-absorbed asshole like you will be more interested in,like what you want?”

“Who is Dr. Phil, and why would he be giving relationship advice?” Evil Archan asks as a small frown line forms between his brows.

Several snorts of laughter bounce around the room. I groan and flip my hand out. “We have doctors who are specialists in matters of the heart.”

Evil Archan nods. “I see. And do these doctors dissect the heart to understand what is wrong? Why not kill your woman if you aren’t happy with her?”

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