Drake reached them first, and Pax noticed the other male was at least an inch taller than he. Damn it. Although Pax was broader across the chest. Drake looked unusual for a Kurjan in that he had black hair and almost green eyes. If anything, he looked less pale than before. His father led the nation.
“Nice tan,” Pax drawled.
Drake tore his gaze from Hope. “How kind of you to say so, Paxton. I’ve been out in the sun. Bless the scientists, right?”
What a dick.
Pax nodded at the other Kurjan, who still looked around eighteen, three years younger than him and Drake. “Vero.” He’d met Drake’s younger cousin in a dream world eons ago.
Vero had grown to Pax’s height and was still pudgy around the middle. He looked at Hope and shook his head. “Why am I here? Again?”
She shrugged. “You must’ve been close to Drake when I called him.”
Vero rolled his odd blue eyes. His hair was pure black with no red, and he looked more human than Drake did. “We’re training and caught some shut-eye in a tent. Stop yanking me into your dreams.”
“This will be quick,” Pax promised, keeping his position in front of Hope. If Drake made a move, he could take off his head. “Hope was yanked into Ulric’s hell dimension again. Why?” Ulric was the head of the Cyst, who were the spiritual leaders of the Kurjans. Or their chief assassins. Pax had never figured out which.
Drake’s dark brows drew down, and he pivoted toward Hope. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Yes, but I’d really like to know how he did that.”
Drake reached for her hand, but Pax blocked him. The Kurjan rolled his eyes. “Get out of the way.”
“No.” Fire lanced through Pax, and he held his ground, his fingers curling into a fist. Yeah. He’d been waiting for this for a long time.
“Pax,” Hope snapped. “Knock it off.”
Drake’s smirk was going to get him punched. Hard. “I don’t know anything about Ulric’s powers, but I’ll find out. Next time, let’s meet just you and me.” His gaze was possessive as he studied Hope.
“Not gonna happen.” Pax had spent his entire childhood learning how to fight Kurjans. To protect Hope. He’d known since day one that was his destiny, and no doubt he wouldn’t survive the coming battle. But she would. He’d make sure of it.
“We’ll see,” Drake murmured. “You and me, Pax? We’re gonna happen and soon.”
“Can’t wait,” Pax said, going with honesty. If Hope wasn’t there at the moment, he’d take the first punch.
Hope hopped off the rock. Tension rolled through the three males.
She paused next to Pax, looking at Drake. “Get me information, and we’ll talk. Also, why or how would Ulric bring a human female in with me?”
Drake’s lip twisted. “He couldn’t.”
“He did,” Hope countered.
Pax needed to get more information about this woman who’d tried to kill Garrett. “Let’s go, Hope.”
“Wait.” She put her hands on her hips. “There has to be a way.”
Vero shook his head. “We’ve been studying the great Cyst leader, whom your people wrongly imprisoned. There is absolutely no way a human female could be drawn through dimensions to Ulric’s hell without being shredded.”
“Have your people found a way to banish enhancements? To take gifts away from humans?” Hope asked, going pale.
Drake frowned. “Of course not. If a female was brought through, she’s nowhere near human, Hope. At the very least, she’s an enhanced female, and some females can hide that. Or, she’s a shifter who’s learned to mask her nature. We’ve both seen that happen before. This one probably doesn’t trust you or your people and is deceiving you. Open your eyes.”
Pax jolted awake on the floor in Hope’s room, his ears ringing. “Hope?”
She sat up in the bed. “He might have been telling the truth. What if Dessie is a shifter and not enhanced? We didn’t even think of that. I have to call Garrett.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
