Page 91 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

I shrug. “Two, why on earth would you think I did anything with Archan?”

“The swollen lips speak for themselves,” Jed says from his slouched position on the sofa.

I touch my hand to my lips, the denial unable to tumble from them. I spin to face Nathan, who’s sitting on the stairs. “Can you still gift me with deceit?”

He frowns as Zac barks out a laugh. “Why am I not surprised that this is what you would ask a god to gift you with?”

I spin back to face Zac and stomp up to him, pushing my finger in his chest. “Go beyond your narrow minded incorrect views for one second. I can’t lie.”

He shrugs as his stormy eyes glare at my finger. “I’m not seeing the problem.”

I scoff. “Of course not, because you aren’t thinking beyond your own agenda. You want me to trap Ty, yet to do so will involve me deceiving him to fall into said trap. Do you know what the common thread is with any trap?”

He shakes his head as his scowl deepens.

“The commonality is deceit. He’s hardly going to turn up with me laying my cards on the table.” I crouch on the floor. “Here, here King of Monsters, please won’t you crawl willingly into my little Jar? I know you’ve enjoyed your time out amongst the living, but now it’s time for bed until another idiot and his sidekick made the stupid decision to release you.”

Chuckles sound from around the room as I straighten and Emi comes to stand at my side. “Nathan can’t gift you with anything now, none of us can. We will have to find a workaround,” she says.

“What did you discuss with Archan?” Zac pushes.

“How he worships the ground I walk on. Sorry, Zacy, he’s found a new playmate. You’ll have to suck someone else’s lollipop to get your kicks.”

The roar he releases might have scared the crap out of me a few weeks ago, but after facing down Archan’s wrath and being toyed with in hell, I’ve decided I’m made of sturdier stuff. I fold my arms and smirk at the raging bull in front of me. “Has anyone ever told you that you would benefit from anger management lessons?”

Emi snorts a laugh. “Girl, they were invented for him.” She shoves her hand up for a high five which I oblige.

“Fuck my life,” Zac mutters, backing up like he might explode.

“That’s right, Zacy, fucking your own life is about the only thing you can do now Archan has declared himself as mine.”

Everyone godly freezes, me and Zee glance around, and find Duncan and Aaden looking curious too. “He said that?” Emi whispers.

“Yup.”

“Whilst in the other realm?”

“Erm no, in the bath upstairs.”

“You were in the bath?” Zee asks.

“Dirty girl,” Jed teases, the tense set of his shoulders dropping.

“Why, what difference does it make where he declares himself as mine, and me as his?”

Emi studies the blank wall, whilst Jed looks at the floor. Zac turns his back on me, whilst Barney finds the ceiling interesting. I spin towards Nathan, who is looking right at me. “Spit it out,” I snap.

“That kind of language in our world is similar to a declaration of marriage here on Earth.”

I blink. “But he didn’t say it there, he said it here, in the bath.”

He nods. “Yeah.”

“So what does that mean?”

He runs a hand over his head. “Did you agree and claim him in return?”

I replay the conversation. “I said I would fight for him until my last breath and the world ended. Does that count?”

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