Page 34 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

He shakes his head as his arms slap down at his sides. “Zac would want to keep it close and protected. It will be at the tower.”

“I’m coming,” Zee says. Of course he is.

Emi claps her hands. “Oh goody, a mission. Me too.”

“Not a good idea,” Jed mutters.

“What happens if Zac catches you trying to steal the key?” Emi says.

“It’s not stealing if it’s mine.”

She waves her hand. “Semantics.” She points at Jed. “I can distract him whilst you make a clean getaway.”

“How?” I ask.

The little goddess grins. For the first time, I see the power in her and struggle to not take a step back. “Why, my womanly wiles, of course.”

Jed snorts. The rest of them seem to be clueless as to whatever is going on here. Still, if she’s sure she can distract Zac, she’s worth taking. “Anyone else?” I ask. Aaden looks torn between his laptop and Emi.

“I’ll run interference with the security cameras,” Aaden says.

Duncan rubs the scruff on his chin. “I’ll drop you outside of Reinheart and Hunter. I need to chase up my contact.”

“Okay, back into the lion’s den we go.”

Jed chuckles. “Except the lion is possessed and his whereabouts unknown.”

Duncan grabs Zee’s arm and disappears. “I meant Zac, pretty sure he’s as much of a predator as Archan.”

Duncan reappears and grasps Jed’s shoulder. I shuffle on my feet, keen to be out of the cave. Duncan appears, looks between me and Emi, and grabs Emi’s arm. I almost roll my eyes, everyone before the dainty Pandora. Maybe I should wear petticoats and fan myself whenever a man walks past. Finally it’s my turn and Duncan grins. I hate his teleporting method, and my stomach revolts at the dizzying sensation before I’m dropped in a deserted alley with Jed, Emi and Zee. Duncan departs with some words of wisdom. “If you get caught Natia, try not to piss Zac off, we need the key. Oh, and Zee? Try not to manifest your magic in front of anybody, human or god. We need to keep it under wraps.” He blinks out of existence.

“Did Duncan just try to manage me?” Zee scoffs.

“Yup, welcome to the magic club, it comes with an overbearing father who knows more than you at all times.”

Chapter Twelve

Natia

Sometimes a Taurus wishes they had more middle fingers.

Shadows shroud the alleyway, the skyscraper that’s home to Reinheart and Hunter looming in front of us. I scan the building, my gaze resting on the top.

Jed’s arm brushes my right arm. “What are you thinking about?”

I point to the sky. “Breakfast, where it all began.”

He chuckles. “This all began with angry gods thousands of years ago.”

I wave my arm. “Not that, me and Archan.”

Emi does some jumping jacks and stretches out her limbs against the wall. “We aren’t going to war, we’re going to steal something. Stealth mode, Emi.”

With one arm stretched across her chest, she pulls it close and gives a little feral grin. “Always be prepared.”

“Like a true boy scout,” I mutter.

“What’s the plan? Teleport to Archan’s apartment? To the roof? An unused floor?” Zee asks Jed.

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