Her lips tingled, but guilt grabbed her. “I don’t mean peace between us,” she said, her mind reeling from the events of the last couple of days. “I mean our people. If we agree not to kill Ulric, can your people agree to stop coming after the Seven and the Keys as well as me?” It was time she applied her strategic ability to every area of her life.
Drake rubbed his chin, studying her intently. “I can definitely take that to my people, but you still have a decision to make. Fate is calling us both. Peace means we mate. I’ll make you happy. I promise.”
“I know.” She’d always known it was her duty to catch peace with both hands and hold it tight, and Drake had been put in her dreamworlds for a reason.
“We’re meant to be together, Hope.”
She’d always known that to be true. She cared about Drake, even though they had never spent much time in the same place. Confusion blanketed her. She wanted to share the fact that Paxton thought he might be her brother, but that would feel like a betrayal, and she couldn’t do that to Pax. As if Drake were reading her mind, he brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. When had the breeze picked up?
“How is Paxton? Has he recovered from the darts as well as you have?” he asked.
Should she tell him that Pax had not recovered? “No,” she said, taking a chance. “There was something in those darts that is hurting him. It’s poisoning his blood and hasn’t disappeared as it did in mine. Do you know why?”
She studied Drake’s facial expressions and his eyes, trying to find an answer.
His eyes remained clear. “No, I have no idea. I don’t even know what was in the darts,” he murmured. “You know I want Paxton dead, but not from a silly drug. I plan to be there as he breathes his last breath. He’ll pay for killing my father.”
A chill swept down her back. It was time to stop waffling. “Find me the cure for Paxton, promise you won’t kill him, and I’ll mate you immediately.”
Drake’s gaze darkened until the purple rim swallowed up the green. “I accept half of your terms. While I don’t know what was in those darts, I’ll tear the Cyst world apart to find a cure.” He was quiet for a moment. “Ulric is working on his own. In fact…”
She touched his arm. “What?”
“I’m not opposed to him being killed,” Drake said slowly as if savoring the idea. “I hadn’t really thought it was possible, but I don’t need him, do I?”
“No. You don’t.” Hope grabbed his arm, her mind calculating different scenarios as fast as a computer could. This was an idea she’d never contemplated. What if she and Drake worked together to bring down Ulric? If the Realm and the Kurjans focused on a common enemy, that would make them allies. If they could learn to trust each other, then going forward, they could live together in peace. “Would you set him up for us?”
Drake clenched his jaw before speaking. “I just might, but first I have to know that you can actually kill him. Do you have a viable plan?”
She winced. “We’re still trying to figure it out. I was hoping you would know of a way.”
“I don’t. I am familiar with the same legends you have learned, the ones that say he’s impregnable. That only the blood of the three Keys can kill him, along with the blood of the Lock. You.” His gaze flew up to the tree where the book glowed in the sunlight. “To be honest, I always thought the answer would be in that annoying book.”
Hope sighed. “So did I.” She had to get her hands on those pages so she could find some direction. The smartest people on the planet couldn’t figure out her role, and even her instincts weren’t helping her. The answer was in that book.
He studied her for another moment. “You and I have always known it would be up to you, Paxton, and myself to figure this out. Maybe what we’re supposed to do is combine forces and take out Ulric. A temporary truce, if you will.” He spoke slowly as if puzzling his way through the matter. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” she said, “but I’m all for it. If we could only be sure we can kill that monster.” The last thing she wanted was for Ulric to learn that Drake had betrayed him. Ulric was powerful and more ancient than all of them put together. He would not hesitate to kill one of his own. If Drake went down, who would take his place? She didn’t know him well, but he seemed to be a kind person. Or at the very least, one open-minded enough to envision a new future. She had to protect him. “We need to plan.”
“Agreed,” Drake said. “How about you bring Paxton in, and we’ll come up with a plan? I give you my word that I won’t exact revenge upon him until Ulric is dead, and then I’ll give Paxton a fair chance. This destiny, one of many I’m sure, has always come down to the three of us.”
That was what she had been trying to say for nearly two decades. If they worked together to destroy Ulric, perhaps Paxton and Drake could then reach an alliance. Or at least a wary agreement not to kill each other. “Okay. How about tomorrow night?”
“All right.” Drake glared at the book and sighed, turning his focus to her. “I’ll discover what I can about the drugs affecting Paxton. Maybe there’s some sort of antidote.” He stared at her for a long while. “I can’t wait until you’re mine, Hope.”
She turned to see a crown full of emeralds, diamonds, and sapphires cresting the waves of the pink ocean.
A crown.
Fate couldn’t be more obvious than that.
Chapter Twenty
It was after midnight when Zane Kyllwood returned from the battlefield outside of Denver. Paxton lounged against a mature cedar tree across from Zane and Janie’s house. It was a two-story with a lot of glass and stone, and he actually didn’t mind standing guard outside it. Much of his time as a youth had been spent making sure the house and its occupants were safe.
Zane parked his vehicle in front of the home, stepped out and stiffened before turning and instantly spotting him. It was like a physical punch of power.
Paxton shoved away from the tree and strode across the street to meet him, noting they were the same height and had the same black hair. He wasn’t as thick as Zane yet, but he probably was exactly as Zane had been at his age. He’d never noticed the similarities between them. It made sense, since they both had demon and vampire lineage, so what was there to notice?
“Paxton,” Zane said, shutting the door. “I have intel that your father is in a cell.”
He felt like puking. How was he even going to ask this question? Did he truly want to know the answer? “Paelotin is in a cell,” Pax corrected. “I brought him in. He’s been working with the Kurjans and was their liaison with Henric, but he didn’t have any high-up contacts. Or at least those higher up didn’t let him know who they were.”
Zane took in the bumps and bruises still showing on Paxton’s face. “It looks like it was a tough takedown.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Paxton said. “I dropped by to see Emma before waiting for you out here. The Kurjan concoction in my blood is worsening. The drug has infiltrated my muscle fibers and should be hitting my organs next.”