She swallowed. “How did you get this?” He must’ve spent all his money from working with the Realm soldiers.
He shrugged. “Wanted you to have a good birthday.” His cheeks turned red.
“I am.” She smiled at him. What a good friend. Her stomach went all fluttery. “Okay, but I wanna ask for something else from you both also.” She held her breath, waiting for her friends to nod. “We have hours before the party, and I want to go and meet Drake in real life. But I need you guys to help me get there.”
Libby bounced on the bed, her twin ponytails bobbing. Her soft brown eyes widened. “Are you for real? You can see him?”
Pax frowned and shook his head. “Are you kidding? He’s a Kurjan. There’s no way your parents are going to let you go meet him. What’s he doing nearby, anyway? The Kurjans don’t live here in Idaho. Last I heard, they lived somewhere really cold up in Canada.”
Hope clasped her hands together, trying to be cool like the kids on television before they went off on an adventure. “I know, but I talked to him in a dream last night.”
Pax’s eyebrows slashed down even farther, making him look like his dad. “You said you weren’t meeting in dreamworlds anymore.”
“I never really said that.” Hope clutched the box closer to her chest. “I need your help to do this.”
“Okay,” Libby said, bouncing again.
Paxton shook his head. “No. Definitely no.” He picked at a scab on his elbow, his silver-blue eyes looking more silver than blue as his face got redder. “The Kurjans aren’t even supposed to know where we live. Our headquarters and demon headquarters are secrets. How could you tell him?”
Her stomach hurt. “I didn’t, Pax. I promise.” She waited until he looked up before trying to explain better. “He guessed when we were talking. Said they knew we lived by this lake and had for a long time. They don’t wanna be enemies anymore, and I think it’s up to us to find the peace.” She’d always known that would be her path. She rubbed the deep blue marking down her neck and side that proved she was one of the three prophets chosen by Fate.
Pax looked at Libby and then back at Hope. “We’re just kids, you guys. We’re not supposed to do anything but train right now.”
Training was boring, and Hope wasn’t as good at it as Libby. Neither was Pax, since his big feet tripped him all the time. Hope was a hybrid and the only living female vampire in the history of the entire world. All vampires, even hybrids, had just made boys until she was born. She might suck at training, but she must be special in a different way. It had to be her ability to meet Drake in the dreamworld. He was a Kurjan, and he was her friend. “You know my mama and daddy met in dreamworlds, and they saved the entire world when they got together.” Why did she hafta always remind Pax about that?
Pax’s lips got a white line when he pressed them together. “This is not a good idea.”
She had him. Right then, she knew she’d get what she wanted for her birthday. “Okay. I have a plan. The hardest part will be to keep our dresses from getting dirty, Libby.”
* * * *
Ivar knocked and stepped into Promise’s cabin, stopping short when he caught sight of the torn-off yellow papers everywhere. The woman sat on the floor, furiously scribbling a mathematical equation on another pad, an empty cup of wine next to her. It was one of the sexiest sights he’d ever seen. She looked up, and her pretty brown eyes focused. “I need more information.”
He lived with obsession daily and recognized the signs. This side of her was way too enticing. “Sure.” Shutting the door, he stepped over various pages and reached her, dropping to his knees to face her. “When did Faith and Grace leave?”
“Don’t know.” She looked down and shuffled papers. Her scent of heather filled his senses. “I need to experience teleporting.”
He took the papers from her and set them aside. “Yes.”
She blinked, surprise lifting her eyebrows. “You agree?”
“I didn’t earlier, but when everyone laughed at me, I figured I wasn’t thinking clearly,” he mused. “I’ll work harder to regain the ability, and then I’ll take you.” That had to be a good plan. He hadn’t found