up, climbing back into the helicopter so fast that she had to shut her eyes to keep from puking.
Seconds later, Libby and Pax were right next to her, and Drake was across from her. Vampire and demon soldiers crowded in, and they zoomed off.
Drake had gone stark pale, and he looked around.
“It’s okay, Drake,” Hope said, her voice shaking. Her entire body shivered.
Her daddy’s green eyes had turned nearly black, and he looked super dangerous with his gun strapped to his thigh and his black hair tied back. He looked at the Kurjan boy. “Who are you?”
Drake’s voice came out all funny. “Drake, son of Dayne, leaders of the Kurjans.” His chin went up, and even though he seemed scared, he looked her daddy right in the eye.
“Ah, shit,” Uncle Max said from the other side of Hope. He was her main bodyguard and the bestest Gold Fish player in the universe. He looked kinda mean, but he was always nice to Hope. “Just holy fuck.”
Her daddy cut him a look and then stared back at Drake. “We won’t hurt you. I want you to know that.” Then he looked at Hope, Pax, and Libby. “We had no clue you could get to town like that. Not one clue. You three might’ve just started a new war. Welcome to your first international incident.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ivar kept the scratch marks from a wild night with Promise on his shoulders all the next day, not wanting to use healing cells on them. He’d bitten her again, his fangs going deep. Her blood tasted like the finest of wines, and he found himself wanting to bite her throughout the day.
He’d never felt like that before. Sex with her was unique, and he was starting to crave more.
After suppertime, he leaned back at the fire, sitting next to Adare, who stared broodily at the flames. Mercy sat on his other side, all but bouncing next to him.
Promise had spent all day with her equations, and by dinnertime, every board was covered with them. Watching her work was the most fun Ivar had had in years. She’d asked them more questions than he could count about the Seven ritual and the other ritual that had bound Ulric, Ronan, and Quade in different worlds.
He’d interrupted her every hour so he and Benny could take turns messing with her brain, and she’d quickly learned how to block out the pain. Benny could teleport, but he sucked at it, so it had been easy for her to learn to block him. She needed to try with Adare and then finally with Mercy.
Ivar finished warning both of them not to hurt her. “You’re up, Adare.”
Adare remained sprawled in his chair. “If she can block Benny, she can block me. It’s time to hit the ground running with Mercy.”
What the hell? Ivar partially turned to look at his old friend. He’d gotten the Scottish bastard out of more scrapes than he could count. Now Adare was refusing to help? “What is going on with you?” Ivar asked.
Adare yanked his black hair back into a ponytail at the neck. “You don’t need me.” The bottom of his boots started smoking again. Instead of pulling them back, he watched the melting rubber with a dispassionate glare, his eyes somehow blacker than usual.
Ivar studied him. “What’s going on?”
Adare hunched his shoulders. “Don’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Ivar said. “Explain now, or I’m tossing your ass in the fire.”
Adare sighed. His chin went down. He turned toward Ivar, his expression tortured. “I’m drawn to her.”
Ivar lifted his head. Now Adare wanted to take about his mate? Talk about crappy timing. “Well, all right. You’re mated to the woman, so is it so bad to be drawn to her?” The guy was nuts.
Adare dropped his gaze. “Not Grace. I mean, I am drawn to Grace, but not like this.”
Not his mate? Ivar took a second to comprehend. Wait a minute. “What? You’re fucking kidding.”
Mercy tensed next to him, looking past Ivar to Adare. “You’re drawn to Promise?”
Adare nodded, looking more miserable than Ivar had ever seen him. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
Mercy hopped in her chair. “I’m drawn to her too. Big-time.”
Adare straightened. “What?”
Ivar pivoted toward her. “What?”
Mercy shrugged, her one blue eye bluer than usual. “Can’t explain it. Whenever she’s close by, I want to be there. At first, I figured I just wanted another friend or felt left out that I couldn’t be in the room with her like Faith and Grace can. But