She felt for him. “Why? What’s his grand plan?”
“I don’t know.” A breeze picked up and wafted shiny blue leaves across the river. He laughed. “Those are pretty. Everything else looks so real.”
“I thought I’d add some whimsy.” She had a feeling that Drake didn’t have much whimsy in his life, and she’d always wished she could lighten his load. She didn’t think it had been easy for him, being the only son of the Kurjan leader and then having to step into his father’s shoes when he was so young. She had once thought that the three of them, four including Libby, would save the world. She’d been na?ve. Right now, she didn’t think Drake and Paxton could coexist in the same world. Paxton probably wanted Drake as dead as Drake wanted Pax.
“Stop worrying so much,” Drake said, his grin widening again. “I think it’s time we met in person, don’t you?”
Heat wandered through her along with curiosity. “We have met in person once.”
“I remember,” Drake said. “That was the first time I ever thought there might be peace between us, when your soldiers captured me and then let me go.”
“You were just a kid,” she said.
He snorted. “We were both kids. Remember how much trouble we got into?”
Yeah, she’d been grounded forever, if she remembered right.
“I don’t have a lot of time to mess around,” Drake said. “You and I are fated, and it’s about time we met. Don’t you think?”
She looked up at him, letting the weight of his words sink in. “How do you know we’re fated?”
He brushed her hair back from her shoulder. “Come on, Hope. It’s always been you and me. If we’re ever going to have peace between our people, and if we’re ever going to actually take Ulric down, which is something I now want to do as well, then we have to do it together.” His gaze flicked to the rocks where the green book sat open. “Don’t you agree?”
She thought about it. She thought about Paxton’s betrayal, and she felt the weight of destiny pressing in. Could she trust Drake? Her mind told her to trust Drake rather than Paxton. Yet her heart was telling her something else. “I don’t know.”
Drake leaned down and kissed her, his lips soft. It was a nice kiss. “You’re meant to be a queen. You have to understand your place in the world.”
She didn’t care about being a queen. She believed her role was to broker peace. “Yes, I do.”
Chapter Ten
Early in the morning, Drake studied the map on the wall of the small control room, noticing the different energy signatures and vibrations going throughout Spokane, Washington. It wasn’t a place he would’ve thought to find several enhanced females, but it’d be an easy place to reach.
Most soldiers weren’t up yet, so he had the place to himself.
His fingers still tingled from holding Hope’s hand the night before, and he marveled at the memory. Not much moved him. She was powerful and would make the perfect queen—and if that brought some peace to their people, so be it.
First there would be retribution and rivers of blood. It was the only way to avenge his father’s death.
The outside door opened, and power instantly slammed inside. He knew who it was before turning, so he didn’t bother.
“You found three more?” Ulric clomped down the stairs to the lower level, where Drake stood.
“Yeah. Spokane, Washington,” Drake said. “I’ll send a squad in about an hour.”
“Good.”
Drake spared a glance at the Cyst leader. He’d regained all of his strength, despite being held in a horrific prison world for a thousand years. His appetite was unseemly, ranging from food to females. But at the moment, he was revered not only by the many Cyst in the coalition but also by the Kurjans—his people, who should be looking to Drake.
“How is your house coming along?” Ulric sneered.
Drake looked squarely at the Cyst leader. He had grown even broader, wider, and stronger as he recuperated. He stood at least six foot nine and was probably the largest soldier Drake had ever seen. He was pale, unnaturally so, even for a Cyst, and one long line of white hair bisected his otherwise bald scalp and was braided down his back. His eyes were a terrifying hue of so many colors, Drake couldn’t choose just one. “My house is lovely, thank you.”
Ulric snorted. “To think you believe that you’ll make a Realm female happy just by giving her a house. She can’t live here. She can’t live the way we do. You know that, correct?”
“She’ll live any way I want her to,” Drake responded. Hope had been his from the moment she’d been born; they were destined for each other. Not only did he feel that in his gut, but fate whispered the truth on the wind. “You know the only way to take down the Realm is from the inside.”
Ulric glanced at the screen. “They still don’t know the plan, do they?”
Drake shrugged. “I don’t believe so. As far as I know, they still think your grand scheme is to kill all enhanced females.” Which was just stupid. The Kurjans needed to mate enhanced females just as the vampires and demons did. “It’s a good way to cause war between the shifter, demon, and vampire nations. They won’t be able to help themselves once we’ve finished this campaign.”
“Have you ever thought that your mate will try to stop you?”
“Of course she’ll try to stop me,” Drake said. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Sometimes he didn’t have patience for ancient soldiers who were unable even to text on an iPhone. “She’ll make a fine queen, and she’ll learn her place soon enough. She’ll be an excellent mother, and the power our sons will hold shall impress even you, General.” Not that he gave two shits whether he impressed the general or not, since he fully planned on killing him once he figured out how.
Ulric leaned down and typed rapidly on a keyboard to bring up a square on the monitor. “Paxton Phoenix is back in Realm territory. To think you almost had him in Nuremberg.”
Blood rushed through Drake’s veins with the need to exact revenge. Paxton would die, many times over. Drake would bring him back each time, until at some point he’d finally give up. His fangs dropped low with a need to taste blood.
“I thought you were going after the girl in Nuremberg,” Ulric said evenly.
“I was actually following the girl to get to Paxton,” Drake admitted. “I’m not ready for Hope yet. We might as well let her have the freedom she enjoys as long as possible.” Because there was no doubt, once she was his, that would change.
Ulric seemed amused, and yet anger, as always, flowed from him. Furious seemed to be his default setting. “Are we prepared for the attack on the Seven headquarters tonight?”
“Yes. The Defenders in demon territory came through with the intel.” Drake clicked on another monitor and surveyed the location an hour from Denver. “Soldiers are in place, and air support is ready to go. We have missile lock.” Even though the scientists had enabled the Kurjans to spend a limited time in the sun, they were stronger after dark. “Go time is midnight.”