He jolted. “You always need me.”
“No, I don’t. Haven’t needed you for years,” she lied.
The door opened, and Dage Kayrs stepped onto the snowy deck. “Paxton,” Dage drawled, his gaze dropping to their joined hands. “I suggest you release her before I takeoff your arm.”
Shockingly, Pax didn’t so much as twitch. Instead, he cocked his head to the side and stared at the king. “We’re in the middle of something, King. Give us a minute.”
Hope’s breath quickened, and she hurriedly jerked her hand away. The last thing she wanted was for Dage to kill Paxton right outside the lodge with all the Christmas decorations proclaiming ita merry place.
There was no doubt Paxton could fight, and he’d probably even do some damage to Dage, but the king was hundreds of years old, plus...he was the king.
Irritation and something else glowed in Dage’s silver eyes. Admiration? Respect? Yeah, it was there. Oh, he was pissed. There was no doubt about it, but he was looking at Paxton as if he’d never seen him before. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
“To the lab,” Hope said, grabbing Pax’s hand again and all but dragging him up the stairs and past Dage to the interior. “We both want to have more blood taken. We have to figure out what this drug is. I don’tfeel so great.”
Instantly, Dage turned all business. “All right, let’s go.”
As he led the way down to the lab, Hope was unsurprised to see fierce-looking armed soldiers along the way. Paxton loped easily beside her, not seeming bothered by the fact that every one of them wanted to put a bullet between his eyes. Her heart hurt, but she couldn’t find a solution totheir problems.
Emma was already waiting for them in the lab. No doubt somebody had signaled they were coming. She also looked tired, and her dark hair had escaped its clip to fall around her face. Her lab coat had what appeared to be coffee stains on the left sleeve. “You two want to give more blood?”
“Yes,” Hope said just as Paxton said, “No.”
“But we will,” he added. “We need to know what they shot into us—I’m concerned.” He flicked his gaze to Hopeand then back.
Emma nodded. “As am I. I haven’t identified that ingredient yet. Let’s see if the drug is still in your systems.” She drew blood from both of them and directed them to the waiting room outside her main lab. “You two go rest on one of those comfy sofas and try not to get shot. I’ll needa few minutes.”
Pax brushed Emma’s arm once. “Thanks, Queen.” He slid an arm around Hope’s shoulders. “Come on, Hope.” He led her into a waiting room where plush leather seats awaited. A TV was already droning on about Christmas sales.
Unsurprisingly, Dage leaned against a far wall near several of his soldiers.
Pax pulled Hope down to sit next to him on a sofa. It felt right to be next to him, even though they were so disconnected right now. “What did Drake want last night?” he asked without preamble.
She jolted. “He wants to meetme in person.”
Across the room, one of Dage’s dark eyebrows slowly rose.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she said.
“Hell no,” Paxton and Dage said atthe same time.
Amusement ticked through her. She couldn’t help it. Why was everyone’s reaction the same? “I’ve been training since birth—I can handle a Kurjan.”
Dage’s gaze firmed. “Honey, he’s the leader of the Kurjan nation. You know, the people who sent that squad after youthe other day?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so, Uncle Dage. The Kurjan nation is experiencing an internal war. I think some of the Kurjans are following Ulric and the Cyst, but I don’t think Drake is. It wouldn’t hurt tomeet with him.”
“Wrong,” Paxton said, his voice a low growl.
“You always knew it would come down to this,” she said forcefully. “We have to negotiate peace between us and figure out why they’re taking enhanced females. Drake didn’t know anything about it.”
Paxton sat back and closed his eyes. “That’s insane. There is no way he doesn’t know what’s going on within his own nation.”
Hope looked toward her uncle. “We could choose the place, and I could be well covered. I think weshould do it.”
“I’ll considerit,” Dage said.
Paxton sat straight up and looked at the king. “You have lost your mind.”
