The Burning Shadow

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “That makes no sense.” I sat in the front seat as Luc slammed the door shut behind him. “You healed me…”

  Luc’s intense gaze found mine as he turned the car on.

  My heart lurched against my ribs as I looked away and swallowed hard, my throat too dry. I couldn’t even think about that at this moment or even the fact that we hadn’t spoken since our argument Saturday night. All I could think about was Heidi.

  He pulled out of the parking spot. “You know that Luxen and some Origins can heal and that not all are good at it, especially when it comes to someone they … don’t feel strongly about. But when it’s someone they do care about, no matter how poor their skills are any other time, they can bring that person back from the brink of death. The Daedalus studied it extensively. There is a science to how we can heal a human.”

  That much I remembered. The energy inside them could repair tissues and damage done to the body. It’s how they could heal themselves, but none of that explained how Emery, who couldn’t heal my broken arm, could then heal a giant, gaping hole in Heidi’s shoulder and chest.

  “There is also mysticism to it,” Luc continued. “A part that not even the greatest of researchers or doctors can explain.” There was a pause. “Please put your seat belt on.”

  I laughed, and it came out sounding choked. Hands shaking, I clasped myself in. My hands … they were caked with blood—Heidi’s blood. If she died …

  I smashed my lips together, vaguely aware of my body slowly rocking back and forth. A numbness settled over me as Luc drove. I stared at my hands.

  “You need to tell me what happened,” he said after what felt like an eternity.

  I drew in a deep breath, but it went nowhere. “It was April. It was her.”

  “I need a little more detail.”

  A shudder worked its way through me, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I needed to pull it together. Luc needed to know what I saw. I took another breath and started at the beginning, with April’s pictures and the weird effect I’d seen. “I showed Heidi the pictures. I think I was focusing on it, because then I wasn’t thinking about everything else and Heidi … she knew that.” My voice cracked as a wave of hot tears crawled up my throat. “She suggested we go get a picture of April to see if it was some weird outdoor effect. It was stupid, but she was just trying to distract me.”

  Luc listened as he turned onto the street that led to the back of Foretoken.

  “We found her, and I took a picture of her. That … that was all.” Lifting my right hand, I wiped at my cheek. “The effect was the same. She had this shadow around her. April took my camera and saw the picture, and I don’t even know how it happened. All I knew was I had to get Heidi out of there, that I needed to call you, because it was bad. I pulled the fire alarm.”

  “Smart. You did good.”

  The next breath I took was steadier, but I didn’t feel like I did well. If I hadn’t had my head up my butt and Heidi hadn’t sought me out none of this would’ve happened. “It was like April put her hand through Heidi’s shoulder. Through it, and April’s hand … it was almost transparent. And her eyes … they were just like that girl’s—Sarah’s. Pure black with white pupils.”

  Luc pulled into a narrow space by the back entrance, and I could feel his gaze on me. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” I looked at him. “Her eyes were all black except for the pupils. They were white. Like a Luxen. And she was fast like a Luxen. Just like Sarah was, but neither of them are Luxen.”

  “No.”

  “And they aren’t Arum or Origins?”

  He shook his head.

  “Sarah got sick. We saw that with our own eyes, and even though I’ve never seen a human mutate and you guys said that wasn’t what it looked like, I think we need to reexamine the whole mutation thing,” I said, and Luc looked away, his jaw tight. “Because whatever the hell April is, it’s what Sarah is, and I know you guys didn’t hear Sarah, but I did. She said someone did that to her.”

  His gaze found mine as his head turned toward me. “I believe you.”

  “If that was done to Sarah and to April, then who did it?”

  Luc rested his head back against the seat. “There’s only one group of people that can … do something like that.”

  I thought I might already know. “The Daedalus?”

  “Yes.”

  * * *

  I sat side by side with Zoe in silence as we waited for an update. Luc had brought me up here when we arrived and then had left to check in on Emery and Heidi. We hadn’t seen him since.

  Kent had shown up at some point, and he was abnormally quiet as he stood by the window, looking out to the ground below, his blue hair pulled back in a small ponytail.

  Letting out a shaky breath, I rested my cheek on Zoe’s shoulder. Things were suddenly clear in those long, silent moments. There was a lot about the world I didn’t know. A lot about me I still had to figure out, but there was one damn thing I knew.

  I was going to straight-up kill April.

  And I knew Zoe would be right there with me when I did.

  I don’t know how much time had passed when the door opened and Luc entered. I lifted my head from Zoe’s shoulder, and she grabbed my hand as we stood together.

  “Is she…?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the question.

  “Come on.” Luc held the door open for us.

  Zoe squeezed my hand as we walked out into the hall and followed Luc down a flight of stairs and then to a room three doors from the entrance. Grayson stood outside, and for once, he wasn’t staring at me like he wanted to zap me through a wall.

  The door opened, and I was no longer thinking of Grayson. I felt sick as we walked through a dimly lit room and into another, my gaze bouncing around until it settled on a bed.

  I saw Heidi and Emery.

  They lay in the center. Heidi was on her back, and Emery was on her side, curled around her. Both were incredibly still. A blanket was tucked under Heidi’s arms. Her shoulders were bare, and I could see the angry, puckered skin of her right shoulder. It was a decent-size scar, but it looked like something that had happened weeks earlier, not hours.

  I pulled my hand free from Zoe’s. “Are they…?”

  “They’re okay,” Luc answered.

  Zoe moved first, walking around to the side of Heidi’s bed. She knelt, placing her hands on the bed. She didn’t speak, but Emery lifted her head slightly. Dark smudges marred the olive-tone skin under her eyes.

  I couldn’t move, rooted to the spot I stood on.

  Just then, Heidi’s lashes fluttered and her eyes opened. Her nose pinched as she looked at Zoe. “Hey,” she whispered.

  “Hi.” Zoe’s voice cracked. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like … someone had their hand inside me.” Heidi turned her head toward me. She wet her lips. “I had … possibly … the worst idea ever, didn’t I?”

  I let out a hoarse laugh that ended in a sob. My legs started moving, and I went to the bed, sitting carefully beside her. “I’m so sorry. I’m so—”

  “It wasn’t … your fault.” Heidi drew in a shallow breath as her lashes lowered.

  I wasn’t sure I could agree with that.

  Heidi swallowed as she glanced at Emery. “I always … thought April was … an epic freak.”

  Emery brushed a limp strand of red hair back from Heidi’s face. “I’m going to kill her. It’s going to be slow and extremely painful.”

  “You’re going to have to get in line for that,” Zoe said.

  I couldn’t believe Heidi was lying there, alive and talking—and joking. Awe filled me as I looked at Emery. When Luc healed me, I’d been amazed but somehow detached from it at the same time. Probably as a coping mechanism, but this was extraordinary.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Emery didn’t pull her gaze from Heidi. “You don’t have to thank me.”

  “Where … is she?” Heidi asked. “April?”

  “I don’t know.�
�� I swallowed and then glanced back at Luc. “But we’ll find her.”

  Heidi’s eyes drifted shut again. “It’s so strange.”

  “What?” Zoe asked, and I felt like there were a million things that were strange right now.

  “She hated Luxen. Right? She was leading protests and … she’s obviously not human.”

  Zoe’s jaw hardened as she met Emery’s gaze. “It’s awfully ironic.”

  “Yeah,” breathed Heidi.

  She fell asleep after that. It was hard leaving them, but it was evident that Emery was also exhausted. They needed to rest. Out in the hall, I leaned against the wall, nearly dizzy with relief.

  “I thought…” I shook my head. “I thought she was going to die.”

  “She would’ve if you hadn’t acted quickly.” Zoe rested her shoulder against the wall next to me. “You saved her.”

  “No, I didn’t. Emery did.”

  Luc and Grayson joined us, closing the door to Emery’s apartment behind us. Taking a deep breath for what felt like the first time in hours, I lifted my head.

  “You ready?” Grayson said to Zoe.

  Nodding, she pushed off the wall. “Yes.”

  “Ready for what?” I asked, straightening.

  “We’re going to go check out April’s house,” Zoe explained. “See if she’s there.”

  “What?” Concern exploded. “You’re going there? I saw what she was capable of, Zoe.”

  “We’re not going to engage,” Grayson interjected. “Not that you’re worried about my well-being or anything.”

  I shot him a look. I really wasn’t. “She put her hand through Heidi’s shoulder—”

  “And I’ll put my hand through her chest,” Zoe said, smirking. “Not that we’re engaging, but if I happen to get close enough and I accidentally kill her, then oops.”

  “You guys don’t even know what April is,” I argued. “April is not a Luxen, an Arum, a hybrid, an Origin, or a magical unicorn. She’s something even Luc hasn’t seen before.”

  “Really?” Grayson slid a long look in Luc’s direction. “That would be a first.”

  One side of Luc’s lips kicked up. “There is a first time for everyone.”

  My hands balled into fists. Nothing about this was remotely funny. “The RAC drones never hit on April,” I reminded all of them. “God only knows what she is, and you’re going to go looking for her. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “If we don’t try to find her, then who?” Grayson challenged. “Do we call the police? We don’t know if their weapons will stop her.”

  “But you guys can?” I demanded.

  Grayson lifted his brows. “Do you doubt our extreme awesomeness?”

  I stared at him a moment and then shook my head. “I’m not suggesting calling the police. I’m not an idiot.”

  “That’s good to know,” Grayson replied blandly. “I was beginning to worry.”

  Whatever tedious hold I had on my self-control snapped. “That is my friend who almost died in there, and that is my friend,” I said, pointing to Zoe, “who will be risking her life. So, if you don’t have anything of value to add, how about you shut the hell up?”

  Zoe had her lower lip sucked between her teeth. I knew that look. She was doing everything not to burst into laughter.

  “Well, now that we got that out of the way, I think it’s time for everyone to hit the road,” Luc announced.

  Lead filled my stomach as I twisted toward Zoe. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Neither will I,” added Grayson with a sigh. “But you don’t care.”

  “Nope,” I remarked, hating that I couldn’t do anything. I may have a tiny bit of alien DNA in me, but it did nothing to make me useful in these situations … unless there was a random fire alarm to pull.

  Snapping forward, I hugged Zoe, squeezing her tight enough that there was a good chance I’d crack her ribs. I’d seen what Luc was capable of, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t worry about her … or even him. Or any of them … even Grayson, contrary to what I’d just said. “Be careful.”

  “I will.”

  I glanced at Grayson. “Don’t get yourself killed, either. It might traumatize Zoe.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  Only then did I look at Luc, and there was an amused glint to his eyes. “Are you going with them?”

  “No, you and I have something to do.”

  We did?

  “Come with me.” Luc took my hand, not really giving me a choice. Probably a good thing, because there was a good chance I was going to run after Zoe and tackle her, preventing her from leaving.

  Luc didn’t speak as he led me upstairs to his apartment, nor did he say a word as he sat me on his wide, fluffy couch.

  Rubbing my palms over my knees, I looked behind me as he stepped up onto the raised platform of what was his bedroom.

  An image of me and him formed immediately. Us dancing and then us on the couch, so close to kissing.

  Damn, that felt like an eternity ago.

  I heard the water turn on while I thought about how fast everything could change.

  Luc walked back into the room, carrying a wet cloth. He knelt in front of me. My breath hitched as he picked up my hand and began to wipe away the dark stains. I’d forgotten that I was covered in blood.

  “Do you still have your stun gun?” Luc asked.

  It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. “No. I, um, I haven’t seen it since that night with Micah.” I watched him for a moment. “Why didn’t you go with them?”

  “I was needed here.” He went on before I could respond. “I’m going to take you home, but I need to get you cleaned up first. Once I’m done, I’ll get a clean shirt for you. Then we’ll get out of here.”

  “What about Heidi?”

  “She’s going to be weak for a little while.” Luc dragged the damp cloth over my hand. “Then she’ll probably feel like a million bucks.”

  “Like I did?”

  “Yes, but she has a trace on her. So, she’s about to come down with a nasty case of mono.”

  Heidi had a trace like a human was supposed to. I didn’t have one after Luc healed me because of the Andromeda serum.

  “So, she’ll stay at home where no Arum can see her?”

  Arum tracked Luxen and those close to them by the traces left behind that could only be seen by the aliens and Origins.

  Luc nodded. “Until it fades.”

  I thought of Lore. “Is that Arum still here?”

  His lashes lifted, and violet eyes pierced mine. “He left with Dawson, but she would be safe with Lore.”

  I had to take his word for it. “Will she … mutate?”

  He scrubbed gently between my fingers. “We don’t know yet. Probably not since this is the first time she’s been healed by a Luxen, but it was pretty substantial. It’s a wait-and-see kind of thing.”

  My stomach plummeted. “But if she does mutate, she could die, right?”

  “We won’t let that happen.” Placing my hand back down, he picked up the other. “We have the stuff necessary to aid in the mutation, to make sure it holds, if it comes to that.”

  “Stuff taken from the Daedalus?”

  He nodded.

  A long moment passed as I tried to make sense of everything, but then my attention got snagged. I finally read the front of his black shirt.

  There was a spaceship beaming up dogs, and it said WE’RE HERE FOR THE DOGS BECAUSE HUMANS ARE GROSS. A wild-sounding laugh erupted out of me.

  The corners of his lips tipped up. “What?”

  “Your shirt.” I blinked back tears—tears of laughter or stress, I had no idea. “It’s funny.”

  “Oh.” He glanced down at himself. “Kind of ironic, isn’t it?”

  I nodded.

  Luc studied me quietly for a few moments. “You okay?”

  Yes. No. Maybe? I didn’t know what I felt, so I said nothing.

 
; “Have you called Sylvia?” he asked.

  “She won’t even be home, but I texted her to let her know that I was with Zoe and Heidi. I didn’t tell her what happened.”

  “Part of me doesn’t want to even bring this up because of how things ended the last time, but I need to say this. Sylvia cannot know about this. Even if I trusted her, she’s in a very precarious position. There’s no way that everyone she works with and works for doesn’t realize what she is. For some reason, they’re okay with her pretending to be human, but if she started poking around…” His hand stilled. “She doesn’t need to know about this, and we need to be careful of who we trust and who we put in danger.”

  His gaze met and held mine. “It could put you in danger. Even with the Daedalus being no more, there are still people out there that would kill to discover how you were cured. They’d come for you.”

  A shudder worked its way through me.

  “They’d try to take you. Do you understand that?”

  I did. His gaze dropped as he seemed to focus on what he was doing. “Luc?”

  “Peaches?”

  That was the first time he’d used that nickname since he’d shown up in the parking lot. “I know things got … heated between us Saturday night, and I know you don’t trust her, but she can’t be involved in what happened to Sarah or whatever the hell April is.”

  “She was involved in healing you. She worked within the Daedalus in some capacity up until four years ago.” He stilled. “All I do know for sure when it comes to Sylvia is that she loves you very much and that she wishes you never walked into this club.”

  I gripped my knee with my free hand, unable to even fathom where I’d be if I hadn’t walked into Foretoken that night with Heidi.

  Luc looked up at me again. “I can count on one hand how many people I irrevocably trust, and she is not one of them. I’ve learned that people, no matter how much we love them or how much we think we know them, are truly capable of doing anything and everything.”

  The back of my throat burned. “If that’s true, then how do you trust anyone?”

  He lifted one shoulder as his gaze lowered. “You prepare for the worst and hope for the best, Peaches.”