Warrior's Hope (Dark Protectors #16)(2)

“I’m sure you must,” Lisa said. “You’re the only one of your kind. Is it a genetic thing?”

Hope savored the delicious cocktail. “Yes. Vampires usually only give birth to males.”

“What’s an enhanced female?” Lisa looked back at the tree.

Ah. Hope had wondered when the questions would come. Lisa had accepted the reality faster than most. “Somebody with extra abilities. We don’t know if you’re cousins to the witches or are your own species like vampires or demons.” Hope’s gaze caught on the many handmade ornaments hung on the massively tall tree.

“This is adorable.” Lisa pulled at a pine cone that had been dipped in silver.

“My brother made that last week.” Hope admired the ornament. “He turned two not too long ago, and the kid’s really gifted.”

Lisa gingerly set it back in place. “Two? You have a two-year-old brother? How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-four. Same age as you,” Hope said. “It’s common for immortal siblings to be born many years apart.”

Lisa leaned closer to study a crystal globe ornament. “I don’t know if I can go back to teaching high school history and just pretend I don’t know all of this.”

“You have some time to figure it out. We need to keep you off the Kurjan radar for now.” At this very moment, experts in the computer center were working on an exit plan for the woman’s current life that would appease anybody who knew her—just in case she needed to hide for a while.

Lisa shuddered. “Kurjans. That’s how I pictured vampires. Pale skin, black hair, creepy purple eyes. I mean those dudes were terrifying.”

Hope agreed completely. “A lot of them are, I admit. It used to be that they couldn’t go out in the sun, but they’ve figured out a way to protect themselves, and now they can survive daylight for several hours at a time.”

“How did they find me?” Lisa asked.

It was a fair question. “Enhanced females set off vibrations, and Kurjan technology has advanced to the point that they can detect them. I can’t tell you what they wanted with you because I don’t know. We’re trying to figure that out.” Her people had battled the Kurjans before, and she was trying to avoid another war.

Lisa grasped a hand-whittled guitar ornament. “This is cute. Who did this?”

Fond memories swept through Hope. “My friend Paxton.” Her best friend actually. “He wanted to be a rock star when we were young.”

Lisa peeked under her lashes. “Sounds like he means a lot to you.”

“He does,” Hope said, her chest aching. “I miss him.”

“Is he one of the soldiers out there fighting for kidnapped women?”

“Oh no.” Hope couldn’t imagine Pax with a gun. “Paxton is a scientist. His uncle studies the migration patterns of insects and is very fond of butterflies. He took Pax under his wing when we were teenagers, and now Paxton gets to travel all over the world, which is good for him.”

Lisa nudged her with a shoulder. “But not so good for you?”

Hope looked at the tiny guitar. “I miss him,” she admitted. “My life feels more settled when he’s here, but my team just became mission ready yesterday, so we’re out on our own soon. There are a lot of enhanced females who need to be rescued, and that’s my primary objective.”

She felt his absence daily. It had been nearly a year since they were in the same place at the same time, but they spoke often via teleconferencing or by texting nearly every week. His anecdotes about following his uncle around chasing butterflies were often hilarious. Sometimes Hope wished she could be with him, but she had a job to do, and she was good at it.

Lisa reached for another ornament. This one was a framed picture of Hope, Paxton, and their best friend, Libby, when they’d been in elementary school.

“Is this him?” Lisa tapped on his smiling face.

“Yeah,” Hope said.

Lisa winked. “I bet he turned out cute.”

“He really did.” Heat filtered up from Hope’s neck to her cheeks.

“So he’s the one, huh?” Lisa cocked her head.

The question was like a dash of cold water. “My path lies another way.” She absently rubbed the marking on her neck that declared her one of the three prophets of her people.

Lisa followed her motion. “That’s a heck of a tattoo you’ve got there.”

“Thank you.” The marking wound from her shoulders up both sides of her neck to beneath her ears. The intricate blue design seemed to dance on her skin. She’d worn the brand since before she was born, and she felt the weight of it often.

“Tell me about this Paxton,” Lisa said.

“That’s about all there is,” Hope murmured. “He’s a scientist, he’s a free spirit, and he’s just a great guy. He’s sweet.”

Lisa rehung the ornament. “He sounds wonderful, and if he turned out as cute as he looks here, I’d say you’re missing out if you don’t go for it.”

Time to change the subject. “What about you?”

Lisa rescued a Santa ornament from tipping over. “My boyfriend and I broke up a year ago. I was thinking about maybe trying a dating app, but I don’t know. Now that I know I’m being hunted by super scary, creepy, vampire-esque monsters, I may just lie low for a while.”