Kat paced the living room, her husband’s eyes tracking her every move. “I cannot believe this is a conversation that needs to even take place.”
“You think discussing killing someone isn’t necessary?” Zouhour challenged from where she stood behind Cekiah.
“Not when it has to do with Blake.” She made another pass along the frayed throw rug. “You guys have no idea who you have locked up right now.”
“He was forced to work for the Daedalus,” Cekiah answered. “They held Chris as leverage. Yes, he told us.”
“And did he tell you what he did when he worked for them?” Kat demanded.
“He told us that he gained your trust and then betrayed you, subsequently causing the death of a friend and then your capture.” Cekiah stared up at Kat. “He told us that you were made to fight him, and you were led to believe you’d killed him.”
She stopped, hands curling into fists. “I know I killed him. I saw his body—” Her voice caught, and Daemon reached out, snagging her hand. He pulled her into his lap. A moment passed, and when she spoke, her voice was steady. “I saw what I did to him. No one bleeds that much and lives.”
“Apparently, he did,” Cekiah said gently. “Chris healed him, and he was moved to another location to recover. He says it took months.”
Kat rubbed her lips together as she shook her head. “I can’t believe this.”
“He cannot be trusted. The fact that he’s even here is already a huge risk to everyone.” Daemon smoothed his hand up and down her back. “He didn’t just accidentally end up here.”
“We searched both of them. Neither of them have any trackers on them,” Zouhour said. “The Luxen DNA would interfere with any of the bio trackers they’ve used in the past.”
“Not only that, they’ve been vetted,” Cekiah added.
“And look how that turned out last time,” Hunter said.
That was a good point.
“Be that as it may, we still do not kill people,” Zouhour retorted.
“All except Luc,” commented Daemon.
I glanced over at him. He was surprisingly quiet, shockingly so.
“That was a onetime incident none of us plan on repeating.” Cekiah tipped toward Kat and Daemon. “You just spoke about how you wanted what we were doing here to be different—building a world you wanted to raise your son in. I agreed with everything you said. How is killing him going to be a world any different from the one outside of here?”
“Because Blake should not be a part of that world or this world,” Kat said.
The argument continued around us, running in a vicious circle until Zouhour said, “It sounds like he has done enough in his past to warrant a death sentence, but we’re not just talking about him. Chris has been held hostage more than half his life. He has done nothing to any of you. We kill Blake, we kill him. Do any of you want that on your conscience?”
“It’s a weight I’m willing to carry,” Daemon said.
Neither Zouhour nor Cekiah seemed to have expected that answer. I wouldn’t have, either, if I hadn’t seen Daemon’s anger. I still had no idea how to feel about this. They were talking about capital punishment, but without a trial, and I’d always been conflicted by the idea of a life for a life. Part of me thought that some people had committed crimes so atrocious that they forfeited their right to life, but the other part? How did taking a life make things right? But then I thought of Jason Dasher. He didn’t deserve to live.
This was all too real, though. Beforehand, I would never have to seriously consider the idea of being a part of the decision to end someone’s life. Now, I was witness to it. I guessed that was a part of the normalcy of my old life that I missed.
Glancing over at Luc, I saw he was watching everyone, but I could tell he was barely following the conversation. I knew he had no problem with the whole eye-for-an-eye thing, but he also wanted Blake alive, at least for a time. It looked like he’d get what he wanted. Except right now, as I studied his profile, I couldn’t tell what he wanted. His expression was so unreadable.
Luc?
His lashes lowered and lifted. Yes?
Are you okay?
There was a beat of silence, and I heard his response. Yeah.
Heaviness settled in my stomach as I stared at him. I didn’t need to hear his voice or see his expression to know that he was lying. What Daemon had said—what I had said—was still tearing at him. I didn’t need to read minds to know that.
You want to get out of here? I asked.
Actually, I do need some fresh air.
I started to rise, but his voice stopped me.
Alone. I’ll meet you back at the house. Don’t wait up.
And with that, he left the room without a single look back.
36
I did wait up.
How could I not?
Having left shortly after Luc, I waited for hours, but Luc didn’t show. It had to be several hours past midnight before I finally caved to the exhausting worrying that had me pacing the length of the dark house.
At some point, I’d felt the bed shift and the warm weight of his arm settling over my waist. I’d started to turn to him.
“Go back to sleep,” he’d whispered, his arm tightening around me. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
Half-asleep and surrounded by Luc’s familiar scent, the smell of pine and fresh air, I’d done just as he’d requested. I wished I hadn’t. Luc was gone by the time I woke, and it was now past lunch. I hadn’t seen him since, but a box of hair color was on the dresser, the shade labeled rich mocha. I’d left it there, thinking now wasn’t the time for a makeover.
Concern wasn’t just a shadow in the back of my mind. It was a full-blown, tangible entity that made it difficult to pay attention to the conversation around me. I knew exactly what was keeping Luc away from me. It was what Daemon had said the day before.
It was what I had said to him.
Will that be worth causing your friends even more pain?
That was what I’d said to him, and I couldn’t take those words back. I wouldn’t. Those words were the truth. Luc’s attempts to keep me alive had put others in harm’s way. They had hurt people. They had led to death, and that was something he had to live with—we both had to live with—but I didn’t hold it against him. I couldn’t regret how far he had gone to keep me alive. Even without reading my mind, Luc had to know that. He had to know that if it had been him, I would’ve done the same. It didn’t matter who I used to be or who I was now, I knew I would’ve done anything to save his life.
“Do you really think they’re going to kill them?” Heidi asked from where she sat next to Emery. We were outside by the firepit. They had taken up the love seat, and Zoe was curled up in one of the other chairs.
Looking around, it was almost easy to pretend we were in any pretty garden and things were normal. Or at least the new normal. We were all together finally. Only we were missing James, and they were discussing whether or not Blake would be executed.
So, like I said, almost easy.
“I don’t know how they could let him live,” Emery answered as she toyed with a strand of Heidi’s hair. “Even if he’s turned over a new leaf, he can’t be trusted, and because of that, it’s not like he can just be exiled or whatever.”
“Because what if he’s still working for the Daedalus?” Zoe asked, her arms looped around her knees. “He now knows too much.”
Emery nodded. “Like what this zone is and who is here. The moment they learn this is where Daemon and Archer are? Kat? Dee? They’re going to take this place out.”
“Hell, Daemon and Archer? They hear that Luc and their missing Trojan are chilling here, we’re going to be knee deep in Daedalus officers,” Zoe said. “They’d already know if Evie hadn’t stopped Sarah, and I can’t help but think the entire zone is on borrowed time right now.”
My gaze shot to her. There was something about the way she said that that made me think she was talking about more than just B
lake. “What do you mean?”
Zoe nibbled on her lower lip as she shook her head.
“What?” I persisted.
“I don’t know. It’s just that I can’t be the only person who’s been thinking that Sarah had inside help. Even if the contacts out there, the ones at the resource centers, don’t know where the packages are being moved to, it feels mighty convenient that Sarah found her way here.”
I sank into the chair. “No. I don’t think you’re the only one.”
“But if they knew what was going on in the zone, you don’t think they’d be all over this place?” Emery asked.
“That’s what I can’t figure out. If they do know, why haven’t they invaded?” Zoe shrugged. “Which means I’m probably just being super-paranoid.”
“I don’t think you can be too paranoid,” I said, pushing back a chunk of hair blown into my face by the wind.
“But back to Blake?” Emery glanced at her girlfriend. “Things aren’t looking good for him.”
“I don’t know about that,” Zoe said, unfurling her legs. “Cekiah and Zouhour are not about straight up killing people, especially when it leads to the death of innocent Luxen.”
“Presumably innocent Luxen,” corrected Emery. “We really don’t know the truth. Just bits and pieces of the story they want told.”
And man, that was a truth that couldn’t be argued against.
“I just don’t know how I feel about that,” Heidi admitted. “I mean, I get that this Blake guy did terrible things and he can’t be trusted, but what if he’s been, I don’t know, reformed? Or what if he really was doing everything to keep his friend alive?” She looked around our small, incomplete circle. “We all would do anything to keep our loved ones safe. I’m here because of that. Not that I don’t want to be with Emery, but I left my family so they’d be safe. They’re now stuck in a city that’s closed off to the entire world. I have no idea how they’re doing or if they’re even—” Her breath caught, and my chest squeezed. “I don’t know if they’re even okay. I want to reach out to them, but I know it wouldn’t just jeopardize us; it would put them at risk if the Daedalus thought they could use them to get to us.”
Emery dropped the piece of hair she’d been playing with and picked up Heidi’s hand, her somber gaze latched to her face.
“The point I’m trying to make is that any of us, including probably half of everyone here, would do some terrible shit to save the ones they love.” Heidi’s eyes glittered with unshed tears. “We’re going to punish others for doing what they needed to do to keep someone else alive?”
“What would you do if he did something that ended with Emery being tortured?” Zoe asked.
“I’d want him dead,” Heidi said, causing Zoe to throw her hands up. “But I hope I’d have enough empathy left in me to try to understand why he did what he did if something like that happened.”
“I wouldn’t have that in me,” Emery admitted, squeezing Heidi’s hand. “I can’t even lie. I’m not as good as you.”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with being good or not, because you are good,” Heidi said, pulling their joined hands into her lap. “I’m just sensitive.”
Zoe snorted.
Heidi ignored that. “Look, I’m against the death penalty. Can any of you be surprised by my confliction?”
“What about you?” Zoe looked over at me. “What do you think?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. What did I think? There wasn’t an easy answer. “I don’t know, to be honest.”
“Cop out,” Zoe muttered.
“No. I’m serious.” I leaned forward in my chair. “Part of me thinks he should be, I don’t know, humanely put down. I have a feeling we only know half of what he’s done, and what we do know is terrible enough. No one here is going to trust him, so it’s not like he can be let out to roam, and we can’t release him back into the wild.”
“But?” Heidi said.
I sighed. “But if Blake dies, then so does Chris, and if Blake did do these things to keep Chris alive, then he was only doing what he needed to. The same thing any of us would do.”
Zoe eyed me. “I feel like there’s another but coming.”
“There is.” Feeling the prickly sensation of incoming Luxen, I glanced around as I lowered my voice, not knowing if Daemon was in the backyard next door. “But if he’d caused what happened to Kat to Luc or any of you, I’d want him dead. I just don’t know how to feel about this.”
Heidi nodded as she sat back, her gaze dropping to where she held Emery’s hand. “Things used to be so much easier.”
Understatement of the year right there.
Movement snagged my attention, and I glanced back at the house. Grayson stood in the narrow pathway that led to the front yard. My heart skipped a beat.
“Excuse me,” I murmured, jumping to my feet. I hurried over to him. “Do you know where Luc is?”
His cool gaze flicked across my face before settling an inch above my head. “He’s in the library. I thought you’d like to know that he’s getting ready to talk to Blake.”
I couldn’t believe Luc was going to try to talk to Blake without me. I also couldn’t believe that Grayson was telling me this.
Stomach twisting, I started to take off in a dead run but managed to stop myself. I turned back to the girls. “I have to go.”
Curiosity marked their expressions, but I faced Grayson. “Thank you.”
Grayson lowered his gaze, and I don’t know why I did what I did next, but I touched him. I reached out and took ahold of his hand. His skin was warm, which was at such odds with everything else about him. I squeezed it. That was all I did, but his entire body seemed to jolt as if I’d shocked him. His eyes widened as his entire body stiffened.
“Sit with them. Talk to them,” I said, letting go of his hand before he passed out. “I know they’d like that.”
Icy-blue eyes met mine. “You sure about that?”
Well …
“I’m sure Emery would love to talk to you,” I said, and then I grinned.
Only the corners of his lips curved up, but it was something. “You’d better hurry.”
* * *
I found Luc less than two minutes later, having run as fast as I could to the old library. He’d been on the first floor, speaking to Cekiah as I all but burst through the front doors.
“Yes, I promise I’m only going to talk to him,” Luc was saying as I skidded to a halt, a sheet of hair falling across half of my face. He glanced over at me, an eyebrow arched as I shoved the hair back from my face.
Our gazes connected, and for one heart-stopping moment, I thought he was going to ignore me. That he’d pretend that I wasn’t there, and I didn’t know what I’d do. Actually, I did. I would be pissed. I’d probably make a scene, and then I’d go hide and cry like a mature person.
“Correction.” He turned back to Cekiah. “We will not hurt a single hair on Blake’s head. We just want to talk to him.”
A rough breath punched out of my lungs.
Cekiah glanced at me, lips pursed. What felt like a whole minute passed before she said, “You guys have half an hour. That’s it. You know where to find him.”
I watched Cekiah walk back through open double doors that led to the main part of the library. From where I stood, I could see rows of books. Slowly, I shifted my gaze to Luc. He looked the same as he had when I’d seen him walk up the driveway, the same as he’d been before he’d left. The intriguing and stunning lines and planes of his face were all familiar, as was the breadth of his shoulders and the lean tautness of his body. Those eyes were still shockingly beautiful, a shade so bright that it looked like jewels has been placed there.
Something was different, though, as he stared back at me.
“I’m guessing someone alerted you to what I was doing.”
“I’ll never tell,” I tried to tease, but it fell as flat as a board in the space between us. I wanted to talk to him about what I knew was both
ering him, but now was not the time. “We didn’t talk this morning like you’d said we would.”
Luc said nothing.
I took a shallow breath. “You’re going to talk to Blake.”
He nodded.
“Did you think that maybe I would want to be here?” I asked, fully realizing that my voice was nowhere near as level as I wanted it to sound.
“I did.”
My brows lifted. “And?”
“And I figured since God only knows what Blake is going to say, I decided it probably wasn’t a good idea for you to be there.”
Irritation rose. “Well, good thing you don’t get to make decisions for me.”
An emotion flickered across his features, gone too fast for me to track what it was. His expression smoothed out. “Come on.”
Ignoring the tickle of unease and the ravaging flood of uncertainty, I followed him down the hall and toward the windowless door situated at the end, tucked beside an alcove that featured a glass case I imagined once showcased books. The hallway was dark and cramped, and even my new special alien eyes couldn’t make out a step from the darkness, but that didn’t last long. The glow of the Source spilled out around Luc’s hand, lighting the way. He started down the steps.
Telling myself yet again that now wasn’t the time to talk to him, I opened my mouth and blurted out, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” came his answer, and I knew it was lie.
“You sure?” I asked as we rounded the corner. “I’m worried.”
He was quiet for several moments, stopping when he reached the next landing. He faced me, the glow softening his features. “If you’re going to come in here and talk to Blake, you can’t be worried about me. I’ll know when he’s lying, but you won’t, and I might not be able to say anything before the damage is done. And then there is the truth,” he said. “You have to be present in what we’re doing. You understand?”
My heart turned over, but I nodded. “I do.”
The Brightest Night Page 44