“Stop it,” he growled.
Interesting. “No,” she retorted.
Instant invisible shields went up between them. “I told you to stop it.”
Zane finally straightened and opened his eyes, looking around Hope toward Paxton. “What is she doing?”
“She’s trying to take my pain,” Paxton said wearily.
“Tattletale.” Hope looked up at him. He was pale, far too pale, and it looked like there was blood at the ends of his hair. Maybe down his neck. Kurjan blood burned. “You need to wipe that off,” she said.
“I’m fine,” he said.
She looked around at her group. “Anybody else have Kurjan blood on them? We should have a wet wipe around here somewhere.”
“It’s in my hair,” Libby said. “But it doesn’t burn there. I’ll take a shower when we get back.”
“You need any help?” Derrick joked.
Libby snorted. “Like you would know what to do with a woman in the shower.”
The group chuckled as some of the tension abated. Hope shook her head at them. They were the best of friends, and while she would love to see friends turn into lovers, the feeling just wasn’t there. They teased each other like brother and sister. Although it would be fun to see a witch and a cougar shifter in love. The relationship would be explosive.
Liam finished repairing a cut to his skull, his skin stitching itself together. “Nice job with the Kurjan soldier, by the way.”
Hope splayed a hand across her sternum. “Thanks, but he broke all my ribs.”
“Yeah, but you killed him.” Collin joined his brother in grinning at her. “That was pretty freaking impressive. That guy was twice your size.”
Warmth filled her. She might not have super strength or speed, but she had taken out a Kurjan soldier. “He started it,” she said, her lips twitching to a smile.
Libby chuckled. “Well, you finished it.”
She was nowhere near the fighter that her friends were, but she had protected herself.
“I’m proud of you,” her dad said, nudging her with a shoulder.
“So am I,” Paxton whispered.
Now she was just going to get a big head. “You all did a good job on the field,” she said. “I was proud of all of you. How come we didn’t have intel on the attack a week ago?” she asked. Thank goodness Pax had gotten the information from Henric in time.
“I don’t know,” Zane said. “We’re going to have to check with Hunter and figure out why he didn’t know.”
Her cousin Hunter was undercover in the Kurjan nation, and he stayed close to Vero, who was Drake’s cousin. “I think he didn’t know because Drake didn’t orchestrate the attack,” Hope retorted. “He and Vero stay right on Drake’s heels. They have been at the main headquarters for several days. I feel they would’ve known if he’d ordered this attack.”
“They’ve only been back a couple of days,” Paxton corrected. “This campaign took weeks to plan.” He shifted his weight and his leg popped again. “Stop giving Drake the benefit of the doubt.”
Libby rolled her eyes. “Boys,” she mouthed. Hope couldn’t help but grin.
It was incredible, really. Hope’s body hurt. Her head was aching, and she was worried about everybody she knew, and yet Libby could always make her smile. She was the best of best friends. Her other best friend was obviously cranky and still in pain. He wouldn’t let her help, and frankly, she hadn’t developed the ability yet, although she’d been trying. So maybe she wasn’t so human. Maybe there was a chance for her after all.
She steeled her shoulders and looked at her father. “Dad, the Seven are now in our territory. We have all the ingredients to take down Ulric.” She held up a hand when he started to protest. “I’m not saying that we go kidnap the guy, even if we could. What I am saying is that it is time for the vampire and demon nations, the entire Realm actually, and the Seven to get on the same page. We need to work together and figure out what to do. If a peace treaty is the way to go, then that’s what we do. If war has to happen, then we agree first. The time for different factions is over.”
He looked at her, his green eyes somber. “I think you’re right.”
Libby perked up. “Hey, don’t forget the shifter nations. We made a promise that if we went after Ulric or did anything, you would let Jordan know.” Jordan was the leader of the feline nation, and Libby was loyal to him.
Zane nodded. “I’m aware. We should let the witch nation know as well.”
“Don’t forget the Fae people,” Derrick said, grinning. Fairies were known to be a bit explosive and unpredictable.
“Ah, damn it,” Zane muttered.
Streaks of pink and gold highlighted the sky as the helicopter landed. Hope blinked. It was later than she’d realized, or rather, earlier. Anyway, it was no longer dark.
The door opened, and she stepped out, nearly falling back when a bundle of energy rushed at her. She laughed and leaned down to pick up her younger brother, happy that she could do so without her arm killing her.
“Where have you been?” he asked.
She cuddled him close. “What do you mean where have I been? I was out doing tough girl stuff.”
He leaned back to look at her, both of his chubby little hands cupping her face. “You are a tough girl,” he said.
“Yes, I am.” She kissed the top of his head.
At two years old, Andrew Scott Kyllwood, also known as Drew, was pretty much the cutest thing on the planet. He had Zane’s black hair and Janie’s blue eyes, and already he could speak at a fifth-grade level. He was kind, and he was funny, and he was all his father’s son.
“Dad!” he yelled, partially turning in Hope’s arms.
Hope tossed the boy to Zane, who easily caught him and swung him in a circle. “How quickly they move on,” she said, looking over to see her mom lounging against the outside of the hangar. The crew would unload the craft before putting it to bed.
“Hey, Mom,” she said, walking up to give Janie a hug.
Janie wore a thick green sweater and light jeans, looking young and a mite tired. “Hi. Your brother was not willing to sleep in today,” she said, rubbing her head. She looked at Hope and then over at Pax. “Paxton, you’re too pale.”
Pain pinched the skin by his generous mouth, but he still appeared ready to fight, his body tense and prepared to uncoil. “I’m okay, Janie.” Pax strode toward them, looking graceful and deadly. He dropped a quick kiss on Janie’s head. “I just need to rest.” He continued walking away, tossing over his shoulder, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours to review the campaign. I just need to go heal a few things.”
Janie’s brow wrinkled, and her gaze sobered. “I’ve never seen him so pale. Is that drug still in his system?”
“As far as I know,” Hope said, giving her mom another hug. “I’m going to go walk with him.” Without waiting for an answer, she issued instructions to the rest of her team. “Let’s recoup and meet around noon. We can have lunch in the conference room and figure out our next steps.”