The Darkest Star

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “Then do it,” I spat back, digging my elbow into him. “I’d like to see you try explaining my splattered body on the sidewalk to the authorities.”

  Luc snorted. “That sounded really dramatic.”

  Fury burned my skin as he prowled down the hall. “My mother—”

  “Your mother isn’t going to do anything. You know why?” Luc shifted swiftly, and for a second I thought I was going to slide right off his shoulder. “Because your mother knows better.”

  I hit him again. “Let me go, Luc.”

  He stopped, and I felt his cheek press into my hip. “If I do, do you promise not to run off?”

  My face wrinkled. “Yes.”

  “You’re a liar, liar.” The door in front of him opened. “The moment I put you down, you’re going to run. Probably end up hurting yourself.”

  Groaning, I jabbed my fist into his lower back and was rewarded with another grunt. “I’m going to hurt you!”

  Luc chuckled.

  He actually chuckled as he walked into a room.

  I swore to God and the Holy Ghost, I was going to ninja kick him in the face.

  Luc stopped in the dark room, and I was suddenly sliding down him—down his entire front. The contact was like a brush burn, frying out my nerve endings. The moment my feet hit the floor, I swayed unsteadily as I reached out, finding nothing around me but him. I kept moving until the backs of my thighs hit something soft, and I plopped down.

  The overhead light flipped on, and my wild gaze darted around. It was a small windowless room with narrow beds pushed against the wall. It reminded me of a cell. Panic took root in my chest and blossomed.

  This isn’t happening.

  His expression was as hard and cold as a sheet of ice. “Stay,” Luc ordered, backing up.

  Stay? Like a dog?

  I sprung up from the narrow bed and darted to the side. Luc’s sigh could’ve rattled the walls as he snagged me with one arm like I was an errant child running amuck in the frozen food section of a grocery store.

  Tucking me against his side, he walked me back to the bed and deposited me there. “We can keep doing this all day if you want.” He let go, folding his arms across his chest. “But I really hope you don’t, because I have things to do. I’m kind of a busy guy.”

  “Then let me go,” I reasoned, clenching the edge of the mattress. “And you can get back to being the busiest guy in the world.”

  He arched a brow. “If I let you go, I have a feeling I’m going to be even busier.”

  I started to stand, but Luc lifted his arm. My hair blew back from my face. I sucked in a sharp breath as I tried to straighten out, but it was like there was hands on my shoulders, pushing me back down. Within a heartbeat, I was on my butt and I wasn’t getting back up.

  Luc wasn’t even touching me.

  No one was.

  He was just standing there, staring down at me with a raised brow. He even lowered his hand, but I couldn’t … I couldn’t stand up. A shiver danced over me as my heartbeat stuttered.

  Holy crap.

  I stared at him with wide eyes. This was how powerful he was, and it was terrifying.

  And it was also infuriating.

  I didn’t like to be told what to do or forced to do anything, and I sure as hell didn’t like feeling afraid.

  Sweat broke out across my forehead as I fought the unseen weight bearing down on me. Arms trembling, I managed to lift my hands from the mattress as fury poured through me.

  Luc closed his eyes, brows pinching as his shoulders tensed. It was almost like he was in pain—like he was the one struggling to stand. “You’re still so incredibly stubborn.”

  “You … don’t know me,” I gritted out.

  He didn’t respond, and I honestly didn’t care what he was talking about at the moment. I couldn’t move any farther against the force pushing on me. Desperation trickled in. I would wear myself out in minutes, getting nowhere while he just stood there, and then what? He was going to keep me here, against my will?

  “You’re hurting me!” I shouted even though it wasn’t true. I didn’t feel any pain.

  Luc moved so fast, I couldn’t track him. In a second he was crouched in front of me, eye to eye. The pressure was gone, but before I could move, he clasped my cheeks in an oddly gentle grasp.

  His stare met and latched on to mine. His pupils were black against the purple, the irises fuzzy. “I could do a lot of things. I have done a lot of things, and sometimes, I do hurt people,” he said quietly, softly. “But I could never hurt you.”

  I didn’t want to believe him, because it didn’t make sense. He could easily hurt me, but he sounded so incredibly genuine. Like he was speaking the only truth he knew. I couldn’t look away, even though I wanted to. An odd sensation washed over me. A sense of … a sense of awareness seeped in. Luc inhaled sharply as his eyes took on a hooded quality, as if he were suddenly half asleep. My heart stuttered and then sped up.

  “Luc,” a male’s voice came from the door.

  A muscle flexed along Luc’s jaw. “You couldn’t have worse timing.”

  “I like to think I have the best timing,” was the reply. “But obviously, I’m interrupting.”

  “And you’re still standing there because?” Luc’s eyes closed.

  “Because I’m nosy.” There was a pause. “And I have nothing better to do at the moment.”

  Luc swore under his breath, and his hands left my cheeks in a slow, dragging way that caused my skin to tingle. He rose, and I saw the tall man who stood in the doorway.

  He was … Wow, he was gorgeous.

  The stranger’s hair was dark and wavy, brushing his temples. His eyes were the color of polished emeralds, bright and shiny. The eyes were a dead giveaway. Luxen. But so was his chiseled, sculpted face, because it was almost too perfect, like Luc’s. As if there were no flaws to be found in how he was pieced together, and all humans had flaws.

  This guy appeared to be college aged, maybe a little older, and he seemed familiar, but I would’ve remembered him. I know I would’ve. No one could forget the name that belonged to a face like that.

  “What are you doing, anyway? Archer and I—” The man’s dark brows lowered and then his eyes shot wide open. “Holy shi—”

  “Don’t.” Luc turned to the man. “Don’t say what I know you’re going to say.”

  The corners of my lips turned down. Archer had had the same reaction to me. Was it so shocking that I was human?

  The Luxen snapped his mouth shut and blinked. “Now I know why you don’t visit anymore. Never call to chat with us. You’ve been keeping secrets, Luc.”

  “You know why I don’t come, Daemon.”

  A shadow crossed over the man’s face and then smoothed out, disappearing. “True.”

  Luc exhaled heavily. “Don’t you have something you should be doing right now?”

  “I do,” Daemon replied. “I’m here for the…” Those stunning eyes glanced off me. “Just getting things ready for the … package, but I heard a ruckus. Thought I’d check it out.”

  “A ruckus?” Luc repeated. “Have you been watching TV from the fifties?”

  “Well, you know how deprived Archer is. He’s on this Happy Days kick recently. Freaking annoying as hell. Every time we get out of the city, he’s watching it on the damn tablet. Then we get back, Kat wants a damn breakdown of every episode. It’s driving me insane.”

  “Good to know.” Luc sounded impatient. “Would love to chat more about Archer’s TV obsessions, but I’m kind of busy right now.”

  “Yeah, you’re busy with…?”

  “Evie,” Luc said. “This is Evie.”

  Daemon’s brows lifted. “Evie.” That eerie gaze settled on me again. “Hi, Evie.”

  I had no idea what was going on, but I was no longer frozen by super-special Luxen power or my own stupidity. I lurched to my feet and blurted out, “He’s trying to kidnap me.”

  “Is that so?” The brilliant green gaze slid to Lu
c. “I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff. Freaky.”

  Luc rolled his eyes.

  “I’m being serious.” I took a step forward and then stopped when Luc shifted toward me. “See! If I walk toward that door, he’s not going to let me leave.”

  “Well, Luc, you know that’s illegal, right?”

  “No shit.”

  “It’s totally illegal, but he’s trying to say he’s offering me a vacation—an all-exclusive vacation! In other words, he’s trying to kidnap me.”

  Daemon drifted into the room. “And why is he doing that?”

  “Seriously. You do have things to do, Daemon. Go do them.”

  The man pouted—actually plumped out his lips and pouted. “But this is really more interesting.”

  “He took my phone and won’t give it back.”

  Daemon cocked his head to the side. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “No. You don’t understand. I left my phone here last night and I came back to get it, because you know how expensive those things are,” I tried again, my heart thumping.

  “Uh-huh,” Daemon murmured.

  “That’s all, and everything has completely gotten out of hand. He sent my friend home with some blue-haired dude who looks a little serial killer-ish. I’ve seen a guy who I’m pretty sure is half dead,” I rushed on. “I’ve been picked up, carried around, and choked. And all I want is my damn phone and I’ve yet to see it—”

  “I have your phone.” Luc reached around, patting his back pocket. “I was going to give it back you.”

  Slowly, I turned to him. I couldn’t think of anything to say as I stared at him for what felt like an eternity. “You’ve had my phone in your pocket this whole time?”

  Luc lifted a hand, knocking a wavy tumble of hair off his forehead. A second later it fell back in place. “I have.”

  “In your back pocket?”

  “Yes.”

  My mouth dropped open. “And why haven’t you just given it to me?”

  His lips pursed. “I was planning to, but then I got distracted when you almost got yourself choked to death.”

  “That wasn’t my fault!” I shouted.

  “We’re going to have to disagree on that.”

  “Then why didn’t you give it to me afterward?” I demanded.

  A smirk formed. “Well, I was just messing with you then.”

  “Oh my God.” I shook my head, glancing over at Daemon. “Are you hearing this?”

  He held up his hand. “I’m just an innocent, enraptured viewer of this.”

  A lot of help he was.

  “But then you threatened to call the police and run your mouth,” Luc added, the smirk fading. Daemon’s gaze seemed to sharpen. “And that changed everything.”

  I stepped toward him, hands shaking. “I wouldn’t have threatened you if you had just given me the stupid cell phone!”

  “I have to say, Luc, that sounds reasonable.” Daemon leaned against the wall, idly crossing his arms. “You could just—”

  “I didn’t ask for your opinion.” Luc turned to him. “And why are you still standing there?”

  Daemon lifted a shoulder. “This is so much more entertaining than hanging around Archer and Grayson.”

  Violet eyes narrowed. “Daemon, if you don’t leave, I’m going to help you leave.”

  “Damn,” Daemon drawled. “Someone’s in a bad mood.” He backed up, a look of amusement settling into his features. “Talk to you later, Evie.”

  Wait. He was leaving me? Here? With the guy I just said was trying to kidnap me? What was wrong with these people? “But—”

  Daemon pivoted and was gone in the blink of an eye. I was left here, with Luc. Drawing in a deep breath, I faced him once more. “I wasn’t really going to call the police. I wouldn’t do that.”

  Luc pulled his gaze away from the now empty doorway. “Then why did you threaten that?” He moved toward me, stopping when I stiffened. “Do you know how serious that is?”

  “I just need my phone back. That’s all. I wasn’t going to breathe a word of this to anyone. I swear.”

  His jaw worked as he stared at me. A moment passed. “You know what the big problem is here?”

  I glanced around the otherwise empty room. “You trying to kidnap me?”

  “No,” he replied. “You know nothing about anything, and that makes you so incredibly dangerous.”

  I glared at him. “That makes no sense.”

  “It makes perfect sense.” He leaned against the bare white wall. “There are things you have no clue about—things that a lot of people have died to keep secret. What’s stopping you from running back to your friends—to the guy you brought with you?”

  “What would I tell them?” I threw up my hands, exasperated with him—with everything. “I’m not going to tell anyone about … about those Luxen. Just please give me my phone and I will be gone from your life. Forever.”

  An odd look flickered across Luc’s face, and then he reached around, pulling something out of his pocket. He opened his hand, and in his palm was my phone. My phone! “Here it is.”

  I almost fell over in a rush to snatch my phone, but I held back, staring at him warily. “So, I … I can have my phone and leave?”

  Luc nodded.

  Drawing in a shallow breath, I extended my hand and he dropped the phone in my palm. I started to pull my hand back, but he closed his fingers around mine.

  A slight shock of electricity traveled from his hand up my arm as he tugged me forward, into his side. Luc lowered his head to my ear. “You speak a word about what you saw today to anyone, you’ll be endangering innocent people—friends, family, strangers,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you. Ever. The rest won’t be so lucky.”

  * * *

  I was still in shock as I drove home. Part of me couldn’t believe I’d walked out of that club and was in my car, but Luc had given me back my phone and hadn’t stopped me from leaving.

  The first thing I did when I got in my car was call James. He was fine and had just been dropped off at his house. Of course, he had a thousand questions, but I made him promise that he wouldn’t tell anyone about the trip to Foretoken.

  I knew I’d never see Luc again, but I didn’t want to tempt it by either of us blabbing anything to anyone.

  But what had Luc meant about the deal? About him staying away if I stayed away? That made utterly no sense. I didn’t know him. Last night was the first time I’d ever seen him.

  “I doesn’t matter,” I said out loud. And it didn’t, because obviously there was something very weird and wrong with Luc, and whatever he’d meant by that was irrelevant.

  I just wanted to forget about this weekend, and I would. Heidi had reassured me that she wouldn’t step foot in Foretoken again, and I was convinced that I wouldn’t immediately blab the truth about last night and today to Mom the moment I saw her and she gave me that look.

  That Colonel Sylvia Dasher look.

  Luckily, I knew Mom was going to be at work and probably wouldn’t be home until late tonight. I had all day to not succumb to that look and confess every dumb thing I’d done in the last twenty-four hours.

  I couldn’t remember if Dad had ever mastered that look or not. Mom had always handled the discipline. Then again, I didn’t remember much about my dad anymore and that was sad.

  My hands tightened on the steering wheel. This car, an older Lexus, sometimes felt like the only thing I had left of Dad’s. I didn’t look like him. I took after Mom, so when I looked in the mirror I didn’t see him, and with each passing year, it was getting harder to remember what he looked like.

  My dad—Sergeant Jason Dasher—had died in the war against the Luxen. His service to our country, to mankind had been posthumously awarded.

  He’d been given the Medal of Honor.

  The thing was, when I thought about Dad, it wasn’t just hard to see him, but also to hear him. Before the war, he hadn’t been home often. His job had him all over the States, but
now I wished there had been more time, more memories to fall back on. Something more than a car, because when I thought about Dad, I had trouble piecing his face together in my memories and there weren’t any photos. All of that had been left in the house we discarded during the invasion.

  But I still had my mom. Not a lot of people could say that after the war, and she was a damn good mom.

  So much had been lost, but Columbia was one of those cities that had been lucky. For the most part, it was virtually untouched by the invasion. Only some of the buildings had been damaged, mostly due to random fires that broke out, and I heard that there’d been riots here, but there had been riots everywhere.

  Mom and I hadn’t been so lucky. We’d originally lived outside of Hagerstown, another city in Maryland, and nearly all the cities along the I-81 corridor had been damaged during combat. There’d been ground fighting and airstrikes.

  And there were other cities that had had it so much worse.

  Some had been completely overrun by the Luxen, and those cities where the Luxen had rapidly assimilated the DNA of humans, basically replacing them, had been total losses. Alexandria. Houston. Los Angeles and Chicago. Nonnuclear electromagnetic pulse bombs had been dropped on those cities, effectively killing every Luxen while also rendering every piece of technology useless.

  The newly formed Department of Restoration said that it would take decades to repair those cities, now referred to as zones. They were walled wastelands, empty of life and power. No one lived there. No one went there.

  It was hard not to think of them when I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the skyscrapers stretching into the sky like steel fingers. It was hard to not think of those days and weeks after the invasion.

  It was even harder for me to really process how it only had been four years and everything was almost normal. Mom had gone back to work at the United States Army Medical Research and Material Compound at Fort Detrick in Frederick the moment it was okay to return to the area. Around two years ago, movies had started getting made again and TV stations stopped showing reruns. New episodes of my favorite shows started airing with some new cast members, and one day, life was just back to the way it was before.

  At school, we’d just started meeting with college advisors on Tuesday. I was planning to apply to the University of Maryland next fall and would hopefully get into their nursing program, because even though I loved taking pictures, I knew I wasn’t good enough to make a career out of that. Though, after my reaction to the guy Luc was helping, I wondered if nursing was the right fit for me.