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.”
Hope blinked. “So he’s getting worse?”
Emma finished tapping on her tablet and straightened. “I don’t know. It’s odd. The compound seems to affect people differently on a cellular and possibly genetic level. I’ve never seen anything like it. The good news is that you will have dispelled it soon. I’ll keep conducting further tests on Paxton.” With a quick hug to Janie, Emma turned and strode from the room.
Janie stared at her daughter. “You really care about him, don’t you?”
“Don’t you?” Hope asked.
“Yes,” Janie said. “I always have. Even when he was a scared little kid who jumped every time I tried to give him a cookie. I thought we were doing a good thing when we sent him to live with his uncle Santino. To think we had no idea about the Defenders.” She rolled her eyes. “What a stupid name.”
“He feels horrible about joining them,” Hope said, not quite sure if that was true. “Although he does have concerns about the Seven and the ritual.”
Janie reached out to smooth the blanket over Hope. “I do as well and I’m not even involved, but you are, and we don’t know what that means.” Her gaze turned piercing. “Do you have any idea?”
Hope rolled her neck, trying to ease some tension. “No. If I did, I would tell you. But I believe the ritual has to happen, or Ulric won’t be stopped. We have to do something about the enhanced females who are being kidnapped.” She rubbed her eyes. “I wish I understood his goals. None of it makes any sense, and of course the legends are all fragmented. Even the Kurjans don’t know.” She stilled after she spoke the words, knowing what they gave away.
Her mother sighed. “I knew you had returned to the dreamworld,” she said softly.
“How?” Hope asked.
Janie looked around the comfortable hospital room. “I feel it. There’s a change in the air, and I’ve always caught wind of it.” She grimaced. “It happened the other night, and honestly, I tried to join you. I tried to hop right in.”
“Now that would’ve been something to see.” Hope grinned. “I’ve tried to pull you in before, but I couldn’t.”
“I know. After I turned twenty-five, I’ve never been able to get back in. I don’t like that you’re doing it, but I understand.” Janie sighed. “Back when I had the dreamworlds and thought I could broker a world peace, I refused to stop and think of all alternatives. But, you really need to be careful. If you are truly human, then you could die in a dreamworld.”
Hope gulped. “I know, but you were human too, Mom.”
Janie didn’t have an answer because it was true. She held her daughter’s hand. “I know you. I know you’re full of light and, very appropriately, hope. I used to be that way too, but the Kurjans, they don’t want peace. Or if they do, their peace doesn’t look like ours. I need you to keep your eyes wide open.”
Hope flipped her hand around to entwine her fingers with her mom’s. They had the same hands. “You trust me?” she asked. “You’re not going to beg me not to go back into the dreamworld?”
An unwilling smile lifted Janie’s lips. “I would if I thought it would do any good, but I also know how determined you are. You’re going to find your own path, which is what I always wanted for you. I’ll worry, but in the end, I do trust you. Just know that sacrificing yourself is not the right path, no matter who you are.”