She sat up in bed, and her hair flew forward onto her shoulders. After the summer, she still had golden highlights through the chestnut color, which brought out the violet hues in her blue eyes. “We can’t save the world like superheroes if we avoid the work.” Her voice was light and teasing with a hint of steel beneath.
“We’re not going to save the world with the Kurjans.” Paxton pushed to his feet. They were going to save the world from the Kurjans. It was okay that Hope didn’t want to give up her grand plan, but he wouldn’t lie to her just to make her happy.
She narrowed her gaze. In her cute yellow pajamas, she looked delicious and kissable. He’d thought about their one kiss whenever he’d gotten together with other girls, but nobody compared to Hope. Nobody ever would.
“Paxton? What was Drake talking about?” She reached over and tugged on the little chain to light the pink glass lamp by her bed.
“What do you mean?” He edged closer to the window, ready to head back home. It was getting too difficult to control his body with such a pretty girl so close. Sometimes being sixteen really sucked. He’d love to be in that bed with her.
“You know exactly what I mean,” she said, her stubborn look pinching her face. “About your uncle, his lunatic friends, and the fact that you’re on the same side now. You’ve never been on the same side as Drake. What was he messing with you over?”
Pax’s own temper stirred. “What was he messing with me over? You. Of course. It has always and will always be you, Hope. Drake and I can never be friends, we can never be on the same side, and we can never agree on the future because of you.”
Her perfect bow-shaped mouth opened slightly. “Me? Seriously?”
“Yeah,” he said. How could she not understand any of this? For an incredibly smart and insightful girl, she sure was clueless sometimes. “I think Drake has a vision of your future that you might not like, regardless of your fantasies about the two of you finding peace for everybody.”
“We will find peace,” she said, blushing a little bit. “All of us. You, too.”
If she thought he was going to hang around and watch her fall for a Kurjan, be with a Kurjan, she was nuts. Oh, there might be a good Kurjan or two out there, but Drake wasn’t one of them. Paxton knew that to his very being, and not just because they both liked the same girl. How was he going to protect her when she kept wearing blinders?
“Nice deflection,” she muttered. “Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Not,” he said quietly. “I’ll never lie to you, and I hope you know that. But I don’t have to tell you everything, either.” He was sure she didn’t tell him everything, and that might be a good thing. He really didn’t want to hear about her feelings for Drake or any other guys she might be dating.
She blew right out of her bed and marched up to him, her eyes ablaze.
He went from relaxed to charged in a second and actually took a step back. “What are you doing?”
She put her hands on her hips and glared. “We have never kept stuff from each other, and we’re not starting now. I’ve always told you mostly everything I understand, even about the Seven. So here’s one more thing—I’m the Lock. In the ritual to kill Ulric, there are Seven males, three female Keys, and a Lock. That’s me.”
He already knew that, but she probably didn’t know that he knew. “I know,” he said softly, unable to lie to her.
She blinked. “You do?”
“Yeah. What exactly does it mean?” He grasped her upper arms, careful not to hurt her. “What kind of danger or sacrifice does that mean? To be the Lock?”
She didn’t look away. “I don’t know. Never have. I’m not even sure if the members of the Seven know I’m the Lock. If my uncles know, then they won’t let anything happen to me. If they don’t know, then they don’t know.” She paused, looked down at her bare feet, and then lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “What do you know about it?”
“Just that you’re the Lock,” he admitted. “That you have to be protected from that final ritual and stay far away from it. Hopefully the ritual will never occur.” He’d vowed to protect her the second he’d met her, and that had never changed. Even when they hadn’t been telling each other everything. “When the Seven distorted physics and elemental laws to become the Seven and fuse their torsos, they gave up part of their souls.”
“They did not,” Hope countered. “That’s not true. I’ve seen many members of the Seven, and they’re fully souled.”
He couldn’t help grinning. “That’s not a word.”
“It is now. Trust me. They didn’t lose their souls.” She smelled like vanilla beans and orange spice.
He released her arms. “My uncle and some of his friends know about the Seven and the ritual, and they want to prevent it from happening. So do I. If anything happened to you…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He’d rather see her with some other guy, so long as she was happy, than to see her hurt.
She shook her head. “I like your kooky uncle, and I’m sure his friends are goofy professors also. They don’t have to worry about me.”
He didn’t correct her about his uncle or the group. The truth was, Paxton hadn’t figured them out yet, either. Unable to help himself, he ran one finger down the side of her face.
She caught her breath. “Wh-what are you doing?”
He wasn’t sure. Then he leaned down and kissed her, slow and gentle. God. It was even better than before. How was he going to save her in the end? He’d give his life for hers, and something told him that was his destiny.
Unless he was wrong. Maybe she was his future.
He hoped.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Benny landed on the dirt floor of his cell with a muffled oof. His ears rang, and the burns on his body pulsed in pain. Man, he hated being tortured. Blinking blood out of his eyes, he rolled over. “Who’s around?”
“Me,” Logan groaned, sounding as if his throat had been sliced.
“Ditto,” Garrett said, coughing so hard he might as well just hack up a lung.
“I’m alive,” Sam moaned from across the way. “Who got Jaydon this time?”
Benny forced himself to sit up while sending healing cells to his brain. Had Terre smashed his skull? Yep. A hammer could do some serious damage. “I got Terre, and supposedly, Garrett ended up with Jaydon. Right?”
“Yeah,” Garrett moaned. “The bastard has fists like sledgehammers. But I did get in a couple of good kicks. His nose was broken when I was so kindly escorted out.”