Page 6 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Pulling my hand out of his, I tilt my head. “Hey buddy, this isn’t a Tinder hookup. If you think introductions are playing hard to get, then you must target easy women.”

“Or… I’m that good.” He winks as he twists to grab an unlabeled bottle containing transparent liquid. Next he grabs a martini glass and pours the unidentified drink. I notice the star shaped scars on the side of his neck. Some kind of surgery? His aura indicates he’s not human, but he’s also not anything I’ve encountered before. The mash of colors is unique.

He pushes a glass towards me. “On the house.”Here little rabbit, consume the unidentified liquid and fall into my trap.I open my mouth to refuse, but I’m cut off by a deep masculine voice which vibrates through me.

“She’s not here for you, Frank,” the newcomer declares as he slides onto the stool next to me and kisses me on the cheek. I startle and grab the bar as a zing of electricity travels through my body. If that isn’t a sign of his power, then his inky deep aura surrounded by gold is. Metallic auras depict an unearthly force. Archan and his gang have this; then again, so do I. Frank tilts his head in deference, and spins around to tend to a pair of brunette girls who have the obligatory cleavage on show.

“I’m Ant,” he says, sweeping his long, midnight, wavy hair to show silver eyes and cheekbones which could cut glass.

“Natia,” I croak, inhaling the scent of pure sin.I slow clap myself as I demolish my confident badass image. He smiles and shifts to face me. Low slung dark jeans outline his slim hips, his waist is encircled with a leather belt displaying a silver skull, and a deep red shirt does nothing to hide his toned body. He’s the epitome of a bad boy rock god. A swirl of tattoos peek out from the collar of his shirt. An urge to follow them makes me blink in confusion. I snap my gaze to his and raise an eyebrow.

“Compulsion? Wow. Way to bring your A game.”

Plump sensual lips spilt into a grin. “A test, Natia. I wanted to see how your infamous shields hold up.” I send a silent thank you to Duncan for helping me rebuild my mental shields.

“And?”

He tilts his head and scans my body, taking in my outfit. Leather may be sexy, but there’s a reason motorcyclists wear it. Although in this sweltering crypt, I might pass out. “You don’t disappoint. Well… apart from unleashing Hell on Earth.” He rolls his eyes like I made a mistake a kindergartener wouldn’t make.

I chuckle. “This time, it wasn’t my fault. Anyway, isn’t that a win for you guys?”

He shakes his head, shifting his dark hair across his shoulders. “Hell is precisely where it should be. The status quo is important for balance.” There’s that word again. Balance. So it wasn’t only humans fighting for it. “However, not only have you unleashed the beast, you’ve gifted it one of the most powerful beings in existence to inhabit. Lucky for us, someone took precautions.”

I frown. “Precautions?”

He runs his fingers along my arm, causing my hair to stand on end from the trickle of power he leaks. He lifts the same fingers against his lips. My eyes track the movement. “You have spirit, you’re going to need it.”

“I’m going to need it? If you need him stopped, why can’t you do it?”

A small frown appears above his dark eyebrows. “It’s forbidden. It must be you, Natia. That’s your purpose. Your destiny.”

“My destiny is to be human chow for the last evil?”

He smirks. “You’re so much more than human, Natia. You never were, but your ingestion of the Etir poison made you stronger, faster, and more likely to succeed in this war.” Etir is the Poison of the Gods I got stabbed with a few weeks ago and was lucky to survive.

“So I’m a weapon of destruction for whatever climbed out of my Jar and buried itself in Archan?”

He nods. “You need to be smart and play this game three steps ahead of everybody else. This isn’t just good versus evil, Natia. This is a War of the Gods.”

By some miracle, I keep my face blank. “Gods? As in plural? Do you think this thing is a god?”

He sighs, as if dealing with a child and not a grown woman scrambling to keep up with her beliefs being obliterated and pieced back together. “Research your Greek mythology. It will help you understand what you’re up against.”

“If Lucifer is so set on helping me, why isn’t he here himself?”

A small grin tilts one side of his mouth. “Eager to meet the King of Hell?”

The lump in my throat sticks as I swallow and shake my head. Frank shoots us a curious expression from down the bar. “So you’re what, a liaison?”

Ant nods. “If you like.”

“What about me? Pan-” Ant slams his hand across my mouth and a firm tug on my mind declares his intentions. I let his deep sensual voice in.

“Do not say your true name out loud. You are in enough danger. You’re a weapon many would kill to own.”

“And what of Lucifer? Wouldn’t he kill to control such a weapon?”

“He wishes to direct you, not own you. Your freedom makes you far more powerful, and you already hunger for what he wants.”

---