Page 31 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

He chuckles. “Do you have a plan?”

“Natia wants to accidentally on purpose get kidnapped and offer an exchange for the Jar. We pretend we are going to make him whole, but we stuff him in the Jar with a theoretical spell, whilst hoping Typhon doesn’t smell a trap,” Zee snarls.

“He fell for it the first time around,” I mutter.

Zee pauses his aggressive pacing and stares at me like I’m an idiot. “Yeah, and he’s had thousands of years to ponder his mistake and become cynical and suspicious. It won’t work.”

Jed steps in between us and grasps my shoulders. “He’s right, plus having both you and Archan out of the picture makes the situation twice as bad.”

“It’s too risky,” Duncan agrees.

“Protective, aren’t they?” Emi mutters to me.

“You have no idea.”

Aaden slides into the chair next to mine and positions his laptop next to me. I gulp down my terror at the horrific images on display. “Is that real?” I ask.

Emi leans over Aaden’s shoulder, he smiles. “He was a big guy, but his head didn’t touch the stars.”

“And the one hundred snake heads?”

She nods. “That’s one of his monster forms.”

“And he breathes fire,” Jed adds. “But his hands being snake coils, that’s a myth.”

“Bonus,” I mutter.

Jed takes the seat to my left. “That’s your only plan? Offer yourself for slaughter?”

My head falls back and swivels to face him. “And what, oh mighty Primordial, is the cadre’s grand plan?”

“Fair point.”

“We need the key,” Duncan says to Jed.

Jed blinks. “Key?”

“The one which opens the Jar?” I say.

He shakes his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Seems Zacy has been keeping secrets. “Zac had it last.” Jed scowls. “Trouble in paradise?” I prod.

“I’ll ask him.”

“Oh no, we’ll ask him.” No way am I letting sneaky Zac get one over on Jed. Jed slides his phone out of his pockets with a sigh. The room falls silent.

“On speaker phone,” I demand.

He presses the screen and two loud rings echo in the room. “Yes,” Zac says, glad to know his snappiness isn’t reserved for me.

“Natia needs the key.”

A wave crashes outside the cave. “Key?” Zac says.

Jed scowls harder at the phone. “For the Jar.”

How long will Zac play dumb? “No,” Zac grinds out.

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