Warrior's Hope (Dark Protectors #16)(33)

Janie patted her arm. “I’ve been mated for twenty-five years, and I still can’t really create healing cells.”

“Me either,” Emma said. “It could take hundreds of years to develop that ability. We’ll get there.”

“Yes,” Hope said, plucking at a loose thread on the blanket. “But you were both human enhanced females when you mated. I actually have vampire and demon as well as shifter blood in me. There’s probably some witch thrown in too.”

Emma read her tablet. “I suppose so.”

“Then why can’t I heal myself?” Hope asked. She shook her head. “We know why. It’s because I’m human. I’m actually human,” she said to her mom.

Janie winced. “I know. I spoke with Emma about it. And frankly, honey, it does make some sense. Every immortal being of mixed heritage only takes on the aspects of one species. There can only be one, and I guess your body went with human. It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

“You mean I’ll mate an immortal and become immortal through him?” Hope grumbled. That was not the way she wanted to go.

“We don’t know that,” Emma interjected, her ever-present tablet in hand. She started pressing on buttons, looking up at the monitor above Hope’s head and then back at the tablet to make more notations. “You could just be slow to develop. Immortals live for thousands of years. Maybe you’re still in the infant stage. Maybe you’ll gain strength and speed and healing cells when you turn a 100 or 120 or 132. Who knows, honey? Just take a deep breath.”

“But what if I die?” Hope asked, voicing the question that was on everybody’s minds.

Emma and Janie exchanged looks.

“We don’t know,” Emma admitted. “I’d like to do a lot more tests on you. But the only way to know for sure is to try to kill you, and that is not happening. Ever.”

“Great,” Hope muttered. Now she’d never get out of Realm headquarters. There’d be guards on her for the rest of her life, however long that might be. She snorted. This entire situation was ridiculous. “Where is my brother?” She could use a hug from the two-year-old right about now.

“Baking cookies with Sarah and Max,” Janie said.

That just figured. Hope stretched her good arm. “Would you please tell me now why Uncle Dage knocked me unconscious?” Her mind would just not catch up. “I have a vague recollection of being under, but I’m really confused. Where is Paxton?”

Janie reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “When you left the lab earlier, Paxton slipped this to Emma.”

Hope reached for it, curiosity riding her hard. The paper was well worn, and she unfolded it gently.

Emma, i’m passing this to you without looking at it because there’s an implant behind my left eye. I believe it’s the same technology that was used on Karma Reese several years ago. They can see what I see and hear what I hear, and if they don’t like something, they can hit a button, and my head will explode like a melon.

Hope’s throat went dry. Each word had been written in a different ink and a different thickness. How long had it taken Pax to write this? She continued to read.

Three years ago, they injected a bomb in Hope’s head. A cluster bomb, minuscule, Kurjan technology. I didn’t know. Save her. Don’t worry about me. Paxton. Also, when you go after the Defenders, and there are several different factions around the world, my uncle was not in on this travesty.

Hope looked up. “He’s been living with this for years.”

“It looks like it,” Janie said.

Hope scrubbed her hands down her face, her entire heart shuddering. “I should have known. He hates puzzles, and all of a sudden he has a crossword or Sudoku book with him constantly? He was writing this note and camouflaging the action the entire time.”

“How could you have known?” Emma asked. “He’s been away. We thought he was on some scientific mission with his uncle. We had no idea he was training or fighting so brutally.”

Janie leaned forward. “This explains a lot, but it also tells you that Paxton isn’t the boy we knew and loved. You understand that, right?”

“Oh, I definitely understand that,” Hope said, swearing she could still feel his lips on hers and his hard body bracketing her. Her skin was electrified, even after brain surgery. Had she ever needed anybody like this? It was a little terrifying. She looked at Emma. “How is he? Did you get the device out of his head?”

“I did,” Emma said. “The thing exploded right afterward and destroyed half of the machinery in that lab.”

Panic slid through the haze of whatever drug had been used on her this time. “Is Paxton okay?” Hope asked, her voice hoarse.

“Yeah, he’s tough,” Emma said. “I had him partially shielded. One side of his body was burned, and his healing cells are sluggish. I’m afraid the Kurjan drug is affecting his ability to repair himself.”

Hope struggled to rise. “I have to see him.”

“Not yet,” Emma murmured. “He’s still under.”

Hope frowned. “You put him back under?”

“I did, so I could treat the burns. Also—” She swung her gaze to Janie and then back at Hope. “While that compound in your blood is dissolving, it’s actually gaining strength in his.”