The Burning Shadow

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  His grin kicked up a notch as he started to sway his body in tune to the beat of drums. His eyes closed, thick lashes sweeping down, and as his body moved fluidly mere inches from mine, my heart rate kicked up.

  “Close your eyes,” he repeated.

  Heart thumping, I did as he said. I closed my eyes and focused on the feel of his heart thrumming under my palm. He was dancing, and I was just standing there. And I could dance. I knew I could, but I wasn’t even trying.

  I could at least try.

  And I had a feeling that Nadia tried everything.

  “You don’t have to be like you were.” His lips brushed my ear. “You just need to be you.”

  Drawing in a stuttered breath, I found the beat and started to move against him, and it felt like an eternity for me to lose the stiffness in my legs and my arms and to find the beat of the music, but I did.

  And the music, the beat of the drum and the rhythm, unlocked something deep inside me—something that tasted like freedom, and that feeling resonated through me, my limbs and my body.

  Luc didn’t speak as I danced with him, and I didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t let myself think that I was in Luc’s apartment, dancing with him in yellow tights and overalls. I didn’t let myself think about the past—our past—or the future. There was nothing but the music and the beat of the drums, the beat of Luc’s heart.

  I let go.

  Moving my shoulders and my hips, I slid my hands down Luc’s flat stomach and then I lifted them above my head, because that’s what I felt like doing. What I wanted. I spun around, and Luc’s hand slid from my hip, across my lower stomach, sending waves of tight shivers throughout my entire body. I felt his chin graze my neck as the beat picked up.

  I didn’t know how much time passed, but the song became something else and the air around us became thicker. Sweat dotted my forehead, and when I reached up to free my hair from the pigtails, I didn’t stop dancing.

  Neither did Luc.

  My back was pressed to his front, and as our bodies moved together, there was a different kind of heat invading me that had nothing to do with embarrassment or self-consciousness and everything to do with the feel of him, the unique scent of him. The heavy air shifted around us, and when Luc spun me back to him, I knew this was no longer about proving I could still dance.

  That I was still her, because that was what this had been about.

  Now it was about something more.

  There was a power in this. A freedom I relished. I was on the tips of my sneakers as I slid my arms around his neck. His head lowered, forehead pressing against mine. A rush of power flowed through Luc, transferring to my skin as our bodies surged with the beat, fusing together in all the right, interesting places. It was like the night on his bed, when there’d been less clothing between us. Memories of that night danced in my head like half-naked Luc sugarplums.

  Feeling dizzy and warm, I opened my eyes. Luc lifted his head, and there were pinpricks of white light in his pupils.

  One large hand drifted up my side, following the dips and rises of my body all the way up, over my neck. His thumb stopped briefly on my pulse and then continued until his fingers splayed over my jaw, cradling my cheek.

  My fingers curled around the short strands of hair at the nape of his neck.

  “I think…” His thumb dragged along my bottom lip, causing me to suck in a short breath as he brought my chin down. Our gazes connected and held. “I think I’m getting a little distracted.”

  “By what?” I asked as I pressed into him—

  The arm around my waist tightened as a low sound rumbled from him. “By this.”

  I froze, eyes widening as my cheeks flushed. Oh my, holy llama babies everywhere, I could feel just how distracted he was.

  I didn’t pull away from him. Instead, I got even closer, which didn’t seem possible before but was. We were chest to chest, hip to hip. Heat seeped through my skin, turning my muscles to liquid. There was a rush of new and powerful sensations. I felt empty and aching and wanting.

  Groaning, he dropped his forehead to mine once more, his hand sliding to my hip, guiding mine against his. A sharp burst of pleasure lit up my veins. Our mouths were so close, I could taste him on my tongue.

  Kiss me.

  I didn’t speak those words. They never left my mouth as my hands opened and closed against the cotton of his shirt. His head tilted and his nose skated over my cheek and then to the other side of my jaw. His lips brushed the hollow just under the bone and then again above the place where my pulse beat wildly. I couldn’t breathe. My eyes drifted shut. I wanted him to kiss me. I needed him to—

  Luc shifted, and suddenly, we were moving. I was up and then I was down, and a stuttered heartbeat later, I was on the couch, lying on my back. Luc hovered over me, one hand planted in the cushion next to my head, the other gliding down my throat, his touch as light as wings, and his hand didn’t stop there. It coasted down the center of my chest, the soft contact burning through the denim and the thin, loose shirt. He was barely touching me, but my back arched as I clamped my mouth shut, sealing off the sound and the words I knew were seconds from spilling from my lips.

  I like you.

  The music stopped as his gaze followed his hand, leaving a wake of throbbing heaviness that was full of promise.

  I want you.

  A tremble coursed through his arm as his fingers reached my navel and then slid along my side, to my hip. Slowly, he lifted those impossibly thick lashes, and the pupils of those extraordinary purple eyes were diamond white, intense and consuming. I became aware of my hands resting on his chest, his stomach, and as he leaned in, my blood thundered through me.

  “You,” he spoke. “It’s only ever been you. Before. Now. Later. There’s been no one else. There … just can’t be.”

  My lips parted as his words sank through the haze. Wait. Did he mean what I thought he did?

  A knock on the door jolted both of us. Disbelief thundered through me as Luc swore under his breath and his eyes drifted shut. His striking features were all hard lines and lush, parted lips.

  The knock came again, and this time a voice followed. “I’m sorry. I know you’re busy, but this can’t wait.”

  His eyes opened, and those pupils were still a shining, bright white. He didn’t look like he was going to move.

  I wasn’t sure I wanted him to.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, and in a blink of an eye, he was on his feet, pulling me upward into a sitting position.

  “It’s okay.” Dazed, I shoved several strands of hair out of my face as Luc made his way to the door, opening it.

  A tall form stood there, and I immediately recognized the black, wavy hair and stunning green eyes—eyes that widened as they caught sight of me sitting on the couch, most likely looking like a sweaty mess. He stared at me like he’d never seen me before, but that wasn’t the case.

  “Daemon?” I hadn’t known he was back in the city, especially after he’d said he wasn’t leaving his wife.

  “No.” He continued to stare at me, looking a little thunderstruck. “I’m Dawson.”

  Whoa.

  Good thing I was sitting. It was Daemon and Dee’s brother—the rare third Luxen sibling. Having now seen all three of them, two in person and one on TV, it was like spotting a unicorn.

  I’d never seen a full set of Luxen triplets. Daemon, Dawson, and their sister were the first, and I knew they were a rarity since most were killed in the invasion and afterward.

  I blinked several times, stunned that they were nearly identical like Luc had said. Good Lord, it was like seeing a mirror image of Daemon. I squinted as I studied him. Well, there were small differences. Dawson’s hair was slightly longer and curlier, and his voice wasn’t as deep as Daemon’s.

  But that was all.

  Freaky. Cool. Also, again, sort of freaky.

  “Have we … um … met before?” I asked, feeling awkward, but we could’ve been best friends forever when I was Nadia and
I’d have no idea.

  “Briefly,” Luc answered as he shifted so that he was between Dawson and me, and I could no longer see the Luxen. Luc was just as tall and marginally broader. “This is Evie,” Luc said, stressing my name as I rose from the couch and stepped to the side so I could see Dawson.

  Dawson nodded. “Nice to meet you, Evie.”

  “Same.” I smiled at the Luxen that was somehow familiar and yet a stranger.

  “Sorry to have bothered you two, but this can’t wait. Something’s happening with the girl,” Dawson explained. “I think she’s dying.”

  13

  “Girl?” My stomach dropped all the way to my toes. Immediately, I thought of my friends, but if it were one of them, wouldn’t Dawson have said so? Plus, they were down below, having fun. They were fine. “What girl?”

  Luc hesitated.

  My gaze flicked from Dawson to him. “What’s going on, Luc?”

  “Her name is Sarah,” Luc answered as he stepped out into the hallway. “And I thought she had the flu or something.” He said the last part to Dawson.

  I had no idea who Sarah was, but the flu? “Like the flu from Kansas City kind of flu?”

  “I don’t know, Peaches.”

  Following Luc out into the hall, I realized Dawson hadn’t come here alone. Grayson was waiting.

  “What is she doing out here?” he demanded.

  My eyes narrowed, but then Luc looked over his shoulder at me as if just realizing I’d followed him out into the hall.

  “Give me a moment,” Luc said, and then he took my hand, taking me back into his apartment. The door mostly closed but didn’t shut the whole way. “You should probably stay here, wait until I get back. This shouldn’t take long.”

  I stared at him for a long moment, somewhat stuck between disbelief and irritation. “Just a few minutes ago, we were on that couch and your hands were on me—my hands were on you.”

  Luc’s eyes slammed shut as he made a low growling sound. “Don’t remind me. I’m trying everything not to think about it at the moment.”

  My cheeks flushed at the sound, sending shivers down my spine. “The point is, we were just really, awfully close right then, and we’ve been closer—”

  “Not helping,” he all but moaned.

  The tips of my ears burned. “And something is obviously going on and you want me to just sit here and wait for you to come back?”

  His eyes opened, and the pupils were bright white again. “Pretty much.”

  “That’s not how this works, Luc. I want to go with you.”

  “Not sure if that’s wise, Peaches.”

  “Why?” I planted my hands on my hips.

  “Because if there’s even a small chance that girl does have some kind of weird virus, I don’t want you to get exposed to it.”

  I didn’t want to be exposed, either. “I didn’t catch anything from Coop, and he sat right next to me.”

  “Maybe, but it’s more than that. You were a part of this world before, but you’re not anymore. What goes on here doesn’t touch you. What I do doesn’t touch you.”

  “But I am a part of this world. My mom is an unregistered Luxen. One of my best friends is an Origin, and the other is dating a Luxen. I’ve been shot up full of alien DNA and not in the fun way.”

  Luc opened his mouth as his brows lifted.

  I didn’t let him say anything. “And then there’s you—there’s you and me, and I’m trying to figure out what you and I mean. I can’t do that if you push me out of this world—your world.”

  “Okay.” Something akin to respect glimmered in his eyes as a slow smile tugged at his lips. “Then let’s get you knee deep in this world.”

  * * *

  The moment Luc and I stepped back out into the hallway and started toward the stairwell door, Grayson opened his mouth, and I knew he was about to say something ignorant. Luc silenced him before he could.

  “She’s here because she wanted to be.” Luc’s tone brook no room for argument, and I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at Grayson. “What’s her condition?”

  Dawson was watching the three of us curiously as he easily kept up with Luc’s long strides and they started down the steps. “She’s awake, but, well, not quite sure that’s a good thing.”

  “Can you walk any faster?” Grayson snapped from behind me. “You’re about as slow as a three-legged turtle.”

  The corners of my lips pulled down. The way he said you was as if he were speaking of a mutant cockroach crawling along the floor. “You can always walk in front of me, you know.”

  “I don’t trust you behind me.”

  I laughed. “What in the world am I going to do to you?”

  “Anything is possible,” he shot back.

  “Gray?” Luc called out from several steps ahead.

  “Yes?”

  “Shut the hell up.”

  Grayson muttered a curse under his breath, and then he said, louder, “Look, I’m just not sure you want her to see this.”

  “See what?” I held on to the railing as I rounded a landing. Grayson was still behind me, and I was willing to bet he was engaged in a massive internal debate over whether or not to push me down the steps.

  Dawson glanced at Luc before speaking, and I supposed whatever he saw in Luc’s expression was interpreted as permission.

  Everyone always looked to Luc first before doing anything.

  Well, everyone except for me.

  “I was moving a group yesterday, and there was a couple—a Luxen and a human girl—Sarah,” Dawson said. “We ran into some problems and had to come back here.”

  Was it the relationship between this Luxen and human girl that caused a problem? Relationships between Luxen and humans were currently illegal. If the human was under eighteen, their guardians faced substantial fines, and if they were over eighteen, they could face prison time.

  Heidi was taking a huge risk to be with Emery, but love was worth it. I truly believed that, so I was thrilled for Heidi. She had the kind of love for Emery that made a slicing motion in my chest that was both scary and hopeful, and it was obvious Emery felt the same way … but that didn’t mean I didn’t worry about them.

  We reached the third floor, and my eyes tracked Luc down the wide hallway, my gaze lingering on the breadth of his shoulders. Since the general public didn’t even know Origins existed, they’d assume Luc was a Luxen if they saw his eyes or caught him using the Source. So, if we got together, it would be a risk, too.

  Wait. Was I planning to get involved with Luc? Well, I’d just told him I was trying to figure out what we were, and that was the truth. Maybe I hadn’t realized that until this very moment. Plus, a couple of minutes ago, I’d been willing to wrap myself around him like a horny octopus, so …

  Luc slowly turned his head and looked over his shoulder at me, his eyebrows raised as he mouthed, Horny octopus?

  Oh my God! My hands curled in fists, but before I could yell at him, Dawson was speaking again.

  “We ran into trouble just outside of Virginia,” Dawson was saying. “One of those damn recovery teams spotted us, and there was a fight. Two Luxen were killed, one of them being the human’s boyfriend.”

  My heart clenched for the couple I didn’t know as I looked at Luc again, surprised that he hadn’t mentioned any of this since I showed up at Foretoken this evening. Dread formed like lead balls in my stomach. Did Luc go out on these missions? He hadn’t mentioned it, but Luc never really said what he did with his time, and he sure as hell hadn’t told me about any of this.

  Instead, he took me into his apartment and danced with me.

  “Was she hurt in the fight?” I asked, refocusing on the topic at hand.

  Dawson shook his head, sending black waves in every direction. “Archer met us halfway and took the rest of the Luxen, but the girl…”

  “What?” Confusion swirled.

  “Without the Luxen to vouch for her, she wouldn’t be welcome where they were going,” Luc a
nswered, slowing his steps so I was now beside him. “And like I said, she’s sick.”

  Luc had said that.

  The door suddenly opened at the end of the hall, and I saw Kent and his emo Pennywise face pop out. “I have never been happier to see you guys than I am right now. Even happier than if you’d brought me a bucket of Popeyes chicken,” he said as Grayson snorted behind me. “There is some really weird shit going on in here, and I feel like I need an adult, and I also wish Chas had never come down to get Grayson and me.”

  Chas? It took me a moment to place a face to the name. He was the Luxen that had been beaten so badly by Micah, I was still shocked that he was alive. I hadn’t seen him in what felt like forever.

  Kent stepped aside, opening the door wide so Luc could enter, and I could finally see into the room. A harsh gasp parted my lips the moment I saw this girl. She was in front of a narrow bed, stringy blond hair hanging around her sunken face in thin, limp clumps.

  Sarah was standing, but like Dawson had said, I wasn’t sure that was a good thing. She looked like death stood beside her. Coop hadn’t looked like this, and I thought he’d appeared bad. This was far more severe.

  When Luc spoke, his voice was quiet and soothing as if he were speaking to a cornered, sick animal. “Hey, what are you doing out of bed? Did you need something? We can get it for you so you can rest.”

  The girl staggered to the side, shoulders hunched forward as she lifted her head. Thick, black veins appeared under her skin.

  “Good God,” I whispered, taking a step back, but I bumped into Grayson as he came forward. He crowded me into the room. This was not the same as Coop. He did not have black veins.

  A ragged, wet-sounding cough shook the girl’s entire body. “I … I don’t feel well.”

  “Understatement of the year,” Kent murmured as Dawson edged around the wall.

  Luc ignored him. “I know. That’s why you should be back in bed, so you can get better.”

  I didn’t think she was going to get better.

  “Should I get her something?” I asked, wanting to help. “Maybe water?”