“Hope. Oh, God. You’re not dead.” Tears streaked down Paxton’s face as he held her. His knees were under her head, and his hands were against her cheeks. “I was so scared.”
She swallowed and tried to sit up. A thought struck her. “Where’s Libby?”
“Hope!” her daddy yelled, roaring toward her down the trail.
Oops. Paxton turned pale. “Libby went to get your mom,” he whispered.
“Hope.” Her daddy dropped to his knees, his big hands already running over her arms and legs. Rain splattered his thick black hair to his head. “How badly are you hurt? Where were you hit?” His green eyes were darker than usual, and his voice had gone demon hoarse.
“I hit my head.” She let her daddy help her up.
Paxton let go of her and shuffled to his feet, his head down. “I’m sorry, King Kyllwood. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.”
Her daddy lifted her against his wide chest and held her close. Strength and really hard muscles surrounded her. His forest scent covered her, and she snuggled into safety. “It wasn’t Pax’s fault, Daddy,” she whispered. “He told me not to jump, but I didn’t listen. Don’t blame Pax.” It seemed like Pax was always in trouble, and this was her fault. Not his. It took her a second to realize her daddy was shaking a little.
She blinked, looking up into his hard face. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
He nodded, and his huge chest shuddered. “I know. I can see.” He turned and ruffled Pax’s hair, even while holding Hope up so high. “Stop taking blame you don’t deserve,” he said gently.
Pax looked up at her. “I didn’t want you to be mad at Hope.”
“I’m not mad at either one of you. And you can call me Zane. You know that.” Her daddy started down the trail, where Libby was waiting, wringing her hands. “Janie Belle is in town at a movie with her mom, so I’m making grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Pax and Libby, why don’t you come keep Hope company and eat with us.”
Pax’s smile was a little wobbly, but he nodded.
Her daddy kept walking. “And then we’ll have a little talk about biking and safety.”
Hope sighed. She figured there would be a talk. There was always a talk. Too many talks. That’s why she couldn’t tell her daddy about the new dreamworld.
For now, it had to be her secret. But maybe she could find out if he’d talked to his brothers, Sam and Logan.
Her stomach hurt again and she closed her eyes.
Where were her uncles?
Chapter 10
The male kept her gaze after ordering her from the pool. Lightning flashed across the sea, temporarily turning the sky purple.
Something had just shifted in Logan. Mercy eyed him from beneath her lashes, trying to gauge his mood. Mentioning his niece had probably been a bad idea, but honestly, she’d wanted to warn him from the very start. Kids should be left out of wars. But this wasn’t a war, was it? This was the survival of pretty much everybody. “I like it here in the hot springs,” she said, a chill wandering down her back, even with the warm water.
Pressure instantly throbbed in her temples. She gasped. Then more, like a thumb pushing past her skull to slide along her brain. She gaped at him.
He kept her gaze, and her brain started to itch.
“Stop it,” she snapped. At the moment, he was just tickling her mind.
Irritation darkened his eyes. “You have no shields. No defenses whatsoever against a demon mind attack.”
Why did that make him angry? He should be glad it’d be so easy to fry her brain. “Then go ahead and do your worst.” She’d known taking on Logan Kyllwood might end like this. Supposedly when a demon attacked minds, they came out of their bodies a little, so perhaps she could somehow knock him out the second he attacked.
He laughed.
She blinked. “What’s so funny?”
“Come attack me. Please.” His amusement combined with the rise in atmospheric pressure around them as the wind kicked in and started battering the surrounding trees. Branches waved and several cracked.
Her stomach dropped. “Wh-what do you mean?” He couldn’t have read her mind. That was impossible.
