hair. “I should’ve seen it right away. I mean, I got that he was pretending to be mayor, but I didn’t think beyond that. They’re only killing some people without assimilating them. They’re targeting certain people. Same age group. People old enough to have . . .”
“Families,” I whispered. And that would be even worse than assimilating those in positions of power, because if they pretended to be mothers and fathers and teachers, they’d be everywhere, and no one would be able to tell, even if there were witnesses. Accounts of the Luxen snatching bodies couldn’t stop something this huge.
I looked at Daemon.
The Luxen had already been on this planet for decades and then some, and no one knew.
“Does the TV in that room work?” I asked.
“I think so.”
“I think we need to turn it on.”
After helping me up, Daemon rubbed his hands up and down my arms, chasing away the chill. “Take a shower, and I’ll find something for you to wear.”
I glanced at the door, hesitating. Stripping naked with a bunch of Luxen nearby who had no concept of personal space made me want to hurl.
Daemon dipped his head, brushing his lips across mine. “I won’t let anyone come in here. You’re safe.”
You’re safe.
Two words I couldn’t wait until I never had to hear again. Closing my eyes, I stretched up and kissed him softly. “Okay.”
He pulled me in for a quick hug, and then he started for the door. Stopping, he twisted at the waist, and his gaze drifted over me, warming my cold skin. “Kitten?”
“Yeah?”
His eyes were beautiful when they met mine, luminous and clear, and a long moment stretched out between us. “I love you.”
7
{ Katy }
Daemon had the TV turned on in the bedroom, volume low, when I walked in with a towel wrapped around me.
He glanced over at me, and his lashes lowered as his gaze moved from the tip of my now-clean toes, all the way to the top of my wet head. “Hey there.”
It seemed like he’d forgotten what he was watching, which was one of the world news channels. I hadn’t seen any reports since I’d left the cabin.
“Come here.” He extended an arm from where he sat on the edge of the bed.
The room had been restored to how it had looked before Sadi and I had gotten into it, with the exception of the curtains and the chair. They still lay in a pile on the floor. The sheets and pillowcases had been replaced.
Holding the towel where it was knotted, I padded over to the bed. I started to sit beside him, but he looped an arm around my waist and tugged me onto his lap. The room was chilly, but his body heat immediately seeped into me. He was like a walking, talking electric blanket.
On the TV, a silvery-haired newscaster solemnly stared into the camera as he spoke. At the top of the screen, there was a live video of an affiliated station in L.A. Filmed from what appeared to be a helicopter circling the distressed city, the snapshots of smoking buildings, bumper-to-bumper traffic on the major highways, and streets crowded with people didn’t bode well. Then the tiny screen on the right switched to a live stream of New York City, spitting out the same kind of images.
“Sources believe that the initial strike started in Las Vegas, and we’re trying to get confirmation of that.” Weariness etched into the lines of the newscaster’s face and clouded his tone. “It is now believed that the meteorite shower three nights ago was not, in fact, meteorites, but . . .” He cleared his throat and seemed to struggle with the next words. “But was the first arrival of a widespread . . . extraterrestrial invasion.”
“I think he just choked on the word ‘extraterrestrial,’” Daemon commented drily.
I nodded. The guy looked like he couldn’t believe he’d just said that on national television.
The newscaster glanced down at the papers in front of him, shaking his head slowly. “We’re still waiting on Dr. Kapur to see if we can gain any insight into the . . . biology and the possible endgame involved, but at this time, what we do know is that there was a period of silence after the mass arrival and then”—he looked up at the screen, his features tense—“a strategic, targeted attack all across the world, in every major city. There are no definite numbers, but we do expect that the loss of life will be substantial in the areas and the surrounding cities.”
I shuddered at the overwhelming horror of it all. Even being what I was and seeing so much in the last year or so, it was almost too much to fully wrap my head around. It wasn’t just my world that had changed anymore. Everyone’s world had changed.
Daemon’s arms tightened around my waist as he watched the TV. He didn’t say anything, because it was one of those moments where there weren’t any words powerful enough to describe what either of us was feeling.
On the television, the man’s fingers curled around the sheets of paper in his hands. “What we do know is the attacks on the cities lasted for a few hours, but this . . . this alien life-form has not been seen since.”
Glancing over at Daemon, I watched a muscle along his jaw flicker. I had a feeling why they hadn’t seen any Luxen. They were no longer in their true forms.
“We also have received word of a very frightening and . . . and frankly disturbing development. There honestly are no words for it, and if you haven’t seen this video yet, I will warn you that it may not be suitable for younger viewers.” He looked off-screen and nodded. “This was sent in by a viewer in the Miami, Florida, area. We believe it was captured on a camera phone at some point yesterday, during the attacks.”
The screen to the right switched to a shaky recording and then expanded, filling the television. My eyes widened.
It looked like whoever was filming had hidden behind a car on its side. A Luxen was on the screen, in full glowworm mode as it stalked a human male who looked like he was in his twenties. The Luxen’s movements were as fluid as sculpted water as it backed the human male up against an abandoned city bus. Horror etched into the guy’s face as the Luxen launched forward and placed a glowing white hand on the center of his chest.
I knew what was about to happen.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” whoever was filming whispered over and over again as the Luxen rapidly assimilated the DNA of the human male, taking on the physical form and characteristics until there was nothing left of the human but a dried-out husk crumpled on the ground.
The video started shaking more, and then I could tell the person was getting the hell away from what had just gone down.
When the video ended, the newscaster appeared as if he had aged a decade. “We are still waiting on the press conference from the president of the United States, but we have received word that many government figures in the sieged cities will be making statements later in the day.”
“How are they doing it?” I asked.
Daemon knew what I was asking. “When we arrived and were brought in by Daedalus, we were assimilated.” His hands slid down my arms to my cold hands. He folded his over mine. “We were exposed to a human—the three of us—over a period of time. It took several months, and when we finally shifted into our human forms, we had his characteristics—the dark hair, skin color, facial features. He was like a surrogate, but we didn’t kill him. At least as far as I know. Once we were moved out, along with . . . Matthew and the Thompsons, we never saw him again.”
Daemon had never gone into this kind of detail before, and trying to fully picture three little toddler-like aliens assimilating a human over a period of time made my brain hurt. How in the world had Daedalus gotten humans to sign up for that?
“So these Luxen are doing what you did but faster—too fast?” I said.
He nodded. “They’re doing exactly what we were taught to do.” He brought our joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss against my knuckles. “It’s strange. They know so much, too much for not being here, but then there’s a lot they don’t know. Someone or something had to be working with them from
here.”
“Sadi?”
His brows rose.
“I don’t mean just her, but haven’t you noticed? She doesn’t move or talk like the other Luxen,” I explained. “She’s more human. I think she’s been here.”
The corners of his lips pulled down. “I hadn’t noticed, but I try to stay away from her. She’s a little bit touchy.”
A slow burn of anger blazed through my veins. “I really don’t like her.”
“I know.” He kissed my cheek and then gently lifted me out of his lap. I swayed a bit on my feet, drawing a concerned look from him. “You need to rest. We have a few more hours before the sun breaks and the press conference happens.”
I folded my arms over the edge of the towel. “Why does he want us there?”
“That I can’t figure out. Rolland says he can’t get a read on me, and I can’t get one on him, either.” Daemon reached behind him, picking up a long shirt. “I was able to find this for you to sleep in.”
It was a man’s shirt, and I really tried not to think about where it came from when I took it and slipped it on over my head. I shimmied out of the towel, and the shirt almost reached my knees.
“I’ll stay with you.” He rose, glancing at the door. “I don’t think that will raise any suspicions.”
Not when they thought Daemon and I were banging our brains out. My cheeks heated, even though it was stupid to be embarrassed over it, but it was like the Luxen saw me simply as Daemon’s property and nothing else.
That made me itchy in my own skin and sick to my stomach.
I climbed into the bed and rested on my side. Daemon floated around the room, checking the door and the windows even though we both knew it was pointless, and then he turned off the TV. The bed dipped behind me as his weight settled. An arm snaked around my waist, urging me against his chest and into all his warmth.
He smoothed my hair behind my ear as his breath danced along my temple. My eyes closed when his lips brushed over my skin. “We’ve been in worse situations,” he whispered. “We’ll get out of this one.”
Had we been in worse? At least with Daedalus we knew they wanted us alive. Alive to do horrible things for them, but that somehow sounded better. With the Luxen, I knew deep down they couldn’t care less if we woke up dead tomorrow.
I think Daemon realized that, too.
“We need to get out of here.” I stared into the darkness of the room. “Tomorrow, when they take us outside, it will be the perfect opportunity.”
Daemon didn’t respond, and after a few moments, I squeezed my eyes shut. Tomorrow might be our only opportunity to get out of here, but there was one big thing in our way, one thing that would stop Daemon right in his tracks.
And that was Dee.
{ Daemon }
Dawson looked as antsy as I felt standing outside the room Kat slept in. I wasn’t surprised that he’d come to find me in the early morning hours, when most, if not all, the Luxen were asleep, completely unafraid that anyone would attempt to take them out.
People always thought I was arrogant, but hell, nothing touched these Luxen.
Taking them out while they slept was something we’d discussed the first morning we realized they all seriously went nightie-night, but neither of us turned out to be that stupid. We’d be able to take some of them, but there were more than two dozen Luxen on the grounds, and it wasn’t just our lives we’d be risking.
“How is she?” Dawson asked, voice low as he nodded at the closed door.
“She finally fell asleep.” I leaned against the wall, watching the end of the hall. No one else slept up here, not even Dee, but my guard was up.
“I really am sorry. She knows that, right?” Dawson thrust a hand through his hair, grimacing. “I owe her everything, and—”
“She knows.” I shifted my weight. “You know why she was at the grocery store with Archer? Turns out they were picking up prenatal stuff for Beth.”
Blood drained from his face.
“She’s been sick, and I don’t know if it’s normal or if it’s something more.” I thought about those damn kids back at Area 51, but I doubted this was the time to ask Dawson if he knew about them and really freak him out. “Kat isn’t sure, either. None of us knows crap about pregnancy.”
He squeezed his eyes shut as he blew out a breath. “I know we can’t leave without Dee, but . . .”
But how much longer was Dawson expected to stay away from Beth, the girl he loved, the girl who was carrying his child? The girl who needed him right now more than anything?
How long could I wait?
Before Kat had ended up here, I’d been willing to stick around to find out who was leading the Luxen and how he or she planned on carrying out the ultimate strategy, because I knew Kat was safe with Luc and Archer. I’d hated not being with her, freaking drove me out of my mind not even being able to think about her out of fear the others would pick up on it.
But now?
Screw the Luxen.
Screw mankind.
I wanted Kat out. Every cell of my being demanded that I protect her, even though I knew she was hella capable of doing so herself, but I wanted her far away from here. Hell, I’d keep her in Bubble Wrap if it weren’t so damn creepy and also inconvenient, considering I had a terrible habit of obsessively popping the damn things until not a single bubble was left.
Getting her out of here was what I wanted, but I couldn’t do it. How could we leave with Dee this way? We needed to break their hold on her, but neither of us knew the magic key to doing it. And what would Kat and I be running to? What future waited for Dawson, Bethany, and . . . and their baby?
I didn’t know.
In the minutes since I’d told Dawson about Beth being sick, dark shadows of worry had blossomed under his eyes, and I wondered if I should’ve just kept that part to myself.
Pushing off the wall, I clamped a hand on my brother’s shoulder and squeezed. As our gazes locked, pressure circled like vise grips around my chest. It wasn’t the first moment the thought popped into my head. Ever since I realized Kat was going to be brought back to the compound, it had been there, on the fringes of my consciousness. I knew it was the same for Dawson.
He shuddered as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can’t wait much longer.”
Meaning sooner rather than later, he would make a run for it, for Beth, with or without our sister.
“I know.” Real pain lanced through my chest at the thought of leaving Dee to these things I really didn’t want to claim any relation to.
Dawson nodded as he stepped back, lowering his arm. “This sucks.”
I choked out a laugh as I glanced at the closed door. “Can you hang here for a few minutes while I find her something to wear?”
“Sure.”
I left Dawson by the door and headed into a nearby bedroom where Dee had been pilfering clothes. The room was a mess. Bed destroyed. Dressers turned over and items spilled out. I stepped over bottles of perfume and pictures, and then entered the walk-in closet. Scanning for something that looked like it would fit Kat, I realized there weren’t many options. The original woman of the house was obviously a very small woman. Probably never ate a double cheeseburger, based on the size and style of the gowns.
I pulled out a dazzling, glittering blue gown. There was a split all the way up to the hip, and despite everything, I pictured Kat wearing it.
And then I pictured Kat out of it.
That image hit me like a punch in the gut.
Great. Now I would be a walking hard-on all morning. Just what I needed.
Finally, I found a pair of white pants that looked like they’d fit and a short-sleeve black sweater. There was also a pair of flats in her size. After gathering up the stuff, I turned and walked back into the main room, happening to glance down at the nightstand next to the bed.
I came to a complete stop.
Drawers were pulled open. One of them had an adult store’s worth of toys in it. Man, the mayor and his
wife sure liked to get freaky. In the top drawer were other . . . interesting things. Among them was a black box full of sealed wrappers.
Really not necessary, but . . .
I grabbed a handful and slid them in my back pocket.
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