The Darkest Star

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Mom nodded. “Daedalus had built those wings for his son.”

  “That’s a weird name for a department in the government.”

  “It was more of a code name. That’s how I met Jason. He also worked there.”

  I walked back to the chair, then sat down and listened, really listened, because Mom so rarely spoke about Dad.

  Mom’s gaze flickered away, settling on the television. “That’s how your father knew Luc. That’s how I met him, when Luc was younger.”

  “So … he wasn’t one of the invading Luxen? He’d been here?” For some reason, I hoped that was the case. I didn’t want to think of Luc as a homicidal alien hell-bent on killing us, even though he kind of came off as one.

  Her expression tightened and then smoothed out. “He was not part of the invasion.”

  That made me feel a little better, knowing I hadn’t been kissed by a killer alien from outer space. It was the small things that made one’s crappy life choices easier to deal with.

  I shook my head. “So did you guys help Luc assimilate? Or his parents?”

  Mom didn’t respond for a long moment. “Something like that.”

  That wasn’t much of answer. In fact, it was so evasive, I knew there was more to it.

  She tipped her head back as her shoulders stiffened. “Jason…” She dampened her lips. “Jason wasn’t a good man.”

  My breath caught. “I don’t understand. Dad was—He was a hero.” There was actually a statue of him in the capital! Well, not really a statue of him. It was a weird monolith-looking thing, but still. “He was awarded the Medal of Honor.”

  Her eyes yet drifted shut. “Honey, awards aren’t a true reflection of a person. There have been many, many people highly awarded and acclaimed throughout history who were, in the end, very bad people. Oftentimes people who were so convinced that they were doing the right thing, they were able to overlook all the terrible things they were doing in pursuit of the greater good.”

  “But…” I trailed off as my heart banged around in my chest. I didn’t know what to do with that piece of knowledge. I had never been close to Dad. Not really. He had never been home, but … “But you’ve told me he was a good man. You told me all the important—”

  “I lied,” she cut in, opening her eyes again and meeting my wide-eyed stare. “I lied because I didn’t want you to know the truth about him. And yes, it was a necessary lie, one I hoped you would never have to learn was a lie, but with Luc here, I’d rather you hear it from me than him.”

  “What … what does Dad have to do with him?”

  Mom rubbed her hands down her face. “Jason wasn’t very kind to the Luxen he worked with. He could … often be very cruel to them.” She paused, and I thought perhaps she was telling a lot by saying very little. “He and Luc had a past. It’s not a good one.”

  What Luc had said to me in the club rose to the surface. He’d said I didn’t belong there. I thought maybe he was just being a jerk, but what if it was bigger than that? What if he meant I shouldn’t be around him, because of whatever my dad had done to him or his family?

  But if that was the case, then why had he kissed me?

  I scooted to the edge of the chair. “Mom, what did Dad do?”

  “He made sure that Luc lost someone very dear to him,” Mom answered, and I jerked at the unexpected response. “And that is something Luc will never forget nor forgive. Because of that, Luc can be very dangerous.”

  My heart started thundering again. “Because he’s obviously not a registered Luxen?”

  “Because I used to fear that Luc would seek retribution for what Jason had done to him.”

  My eyes widened. “Retribution? Holy crap. Dad is—He’s dead. What did he do to Luc—”

  “Jason was responsible for a lot of things and he made a lot of enemies and he … made a lot of bad choices,” she said quietly, almost as if she were afraid she’d be overheard. If Dad had enemies, then I guessed that was why we had shotguns under couch cushions? “None of that matters. I just didn’t want you to learn from someone else that the man who so many people look up to wasn’t a very good person.”

  My head felt like it was going to implode. “Should we be worried about … Luc coming after us?”

  Her gaze held mine. “I said I used to fear that. The truth is, if he’d wanted to hurt you or me, he would’ve already done that.”

  “Wow. That’s reassuring.”

  “It’s not meant to be,” she replied. “It’s just the truth. If he wanted to use me to carry out some sort of vendetta, it would’ve already happened.” She rose, fiddling with the sash on her robe. “Luc would never hurt you.”

  I opened my mouth, but my tongue got all tied up. That didn’t make sense. Luc didn’t know me, and if my dad had done terrible things that involved Luc losing someone, I doubted he wanted to be my best friend forever. It didn’t require a leap in logic to assume that “losing someone” meant someone dying. “Are you sure we’re safe?”

  Mom smoothed a hand over her forehead. “Oh, honey, we are,” she was quick to reassure me. “It’s just always good to be prepared.”

  I wasn’t sure if I believed her. “Are there other methods of being prepared stashed around the house?”

  Another smile formed as she placed her hand on my knee. “I wouldn’t mess with the pillows too much in the window seat upstairs.”

  “Mom.” I drew in a deep breath. “Are there any more people Dad might’ve pissed off who we’ve got to worry about?”

  “We are safe, but just like anyone, we have to be careful. There are bad people out there, Luxen and human, you don’t want to draw attention from. The same kind of rules that applied before the invasion, you know?”

  I nodded slowly. “Stranger danger kind of stuff?”

  “Yes.” She moved over, sitting on the edge of the ottoman so she was directly in front of me. She picked up my hands. “What are you thinking?”

  A lot of stuff. “I never should’ve gone to that club.”

  “Glad we’re in agreement on that.” She squeezed my hands. “Right now I’m more concerned about what I told you about Jason. I know that’s a lot to process.”

  It was.

  She brought my hands up. “I’m going to be really honest with you. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  “I’m not sorry I lied about who Jason really was. You deserve to believe what everyone else does,” she said, her eyes searching mine. “Sometimes the truth is worse than the lie.”

  10

  “I thought Mom was going to straight up murder me,” I said, dragging my fork through what I thought might be spaghetti but had the weird consistency of soup. “Like, for real.”

  Lunch had just started on Monday, and Heidi sat across from me, beside James, who was brown-bagging lunch because he was obviously smarter than the rest of us.

  We were waiting for Zoe to join, but she was still in the lunch line, looking like she’d rather throw herself out the nearest window.

  Heidi handed my camera back to me. She’d been looking through my pictures. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I told her, placing the camera next to my tray. “You didn’t make Luc show up at my house.”

  I’d told them about what had gone down, leaving out the part where my mom had pulled out a shotgun and I’d thrown a candleholder. I also didn’t tell them all the secret stuff Mom had told me. Didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that I needed to keep that to myself. James had also kept quiet about Saturday morning, which I appreciated.

  Mom had shut down any further conversation by sending me to my room, where I stayed, the rest of Sunday.

  Which sucked, because I still had so many questions. Like, for example, how did Mom, once upon a time, work for an organization responsible for assimilating Luxen, which was how she and Dad—aka former national hero, now apparently a really bad dude—met Luc, but Luc remained an unregistered alien? And if Mom knew he was unregistered, the
n why hadn’t she reported him? We all were required to do so, especially her, considering Mom still worked for the military. What would happen if someone found out she knew him and that he was unregistered?

  Was it guilt? Guilt for what my dad did to Luc?

  I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was so much more than what Mom had told me.

  James picked up his peanut butter sandwich, and envy filled me. That looked so much tastier than what was on my plate. “I can’t believe he just showed up like that. Man, my dad would’ve called the police in a heartbeat.”

  That sounded like the reasonable thing to do.

  “How did he find out where you lived?” Heidi asked, fiddling with the lacy collar of her shirt. “Because I so did not tell Emery anything like that.”

  Unsure of how to answer her question, I shifted in the uncomfortable plastic chair. “I really don’t know.”

  Her brows lifted. “That’s kind of creepy.”

  “How long are you grounded?” James peeled the crust off his sandwich, dropping a long section of brown bread on his bag.

  I sighed as I fantasized about knocking James out of his seat and stealing his sandwich, but that would be kind of mean. “Here’s the bizarre thing: I’m not.”

  “You’re not what?” Zoe dropped into the open chair beside me as a teacher shouted at someone in the back of the cafeteria. Zoe had a slice of pizza on her tray. I shuddered. I hated pizza. James said that meant I had no soul, but whatever. It was just gross.

  “Evie is somehow not grounded,” James answered, now pulling his sandwich into tiny pieces. He literally had the eating habits of a three-year-old.

  Zoe’s dark, naturally curly hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail today, highlighting her cheekbones. Those suckers were high and sculpted. “Not grounded?” She sounded confused. “Is that a problem?”

  James finally popped a piece of sandwich into his mouth. “I’m wondering the same thing.”

  “It’s not. It’s just weird.” Truthfully, I thought Mom felt so bad about the whole Dad Is a Monster speech that she decided not to ground me after sending me to my room. Or she’d forgotten, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to remind her. I glanced over at Heidi. She was tapping away on her phone, and I was nosy. “Are you texting someone?”

  “Yeah.” She peeked up, grinning a little. “Emery wants to get together tonight.”

  “Like a date kind of thing?” I asked, excited and hopeful. “Like you and her having dinner together?”

  Heidi nodded, and I swear, her cheeks started to turn pink. “Yep. She wants to grab dinner at that new Thai restaurant downtown.” She paused. “And no, we’re not going to Foretoken.”

  I dropped my fork and clapped my hands like an overexcited seal as I saw April heading our way, her long blond hair swinging around her shoulders. “I expect minute-by-minute updates.”

  Heidi laughed as April sat down across from Zoe. “I don’t know if it will be minute by minute, but I will keep you updated.”

  “Awesome. I really wish I had a chance to meet her Friday night.” As I picked up my fork, I vaguely heard April snapping at Zoe.

  “Me too,” she replied. “But you’ll get a chance now. Especially since your mom really didn’t kill you and you’re not grounded.”

  “Wait.” James had moved on to a small bag of potato chips. “Who is Emery? Does she go here?”

  Heidi shook her head. “No, she graduated high school last year, but she’s from Pennsylvania.”

  He popped a chip into his mouth. “Is she hot?”

  I shot him a bland look. “Really?”

  “It’s a valid question.” He offered the bag to me, and I grabbed a chip or five out of it.

  “She’s hot,” Heidi answered, glancing down at her phone. “And she’s smart. And funny. And she likes cupcakes and Thai food.”

  And she hangs out with a giant jerk-face, but I kept that to myself. I was not going to crap all over Heidi’s happy parade. And besides, maybe I should cut Luc a bit of a break considering what I’d learned from Mom.

  Which wasn’t exactly a lot.

  “So…” April drew the word out, waiting until everyone had focused on her. “Just a friendly update that one of our classmates is still missing.”

  Oh hell, I’d completely forgotten about that with all my own personal drama. That meant it was official. I was a terrible person. I also hadn’t even thought about that poor Luxen who had had the crap beaten out of him.

  “But is she really missing?” Zoe asked, glancing around the table. “I mean, maybe she ran away.”

  “To where?” April challenged. “To join the circus?”

  Zoe rolled her eyes. “Wasn’t Colleen dating some guy who was a senior last year? And he went to a college in a different state?”

  “She was dating Tony Hickles,” James answered. “He ended up going to the University of Michigan.”

  “So maybe she ran away to see him or something,” Zoe suggested.

  April frowned. I guessed to her that wasn’t as exciting as someone going missing for nefarious reasons. “Well, that’s stupid.”

  James attempted to change the subject by asking Heidi for a picture of Emery, but it didn’t work.

  “You’re so ridiculous,” I heard April say, and I started praying to the cafeteria food gods that April wasn’t about to drag me into argument number 140,000 with Zoe. For some reason, she always did. I had no idea what they were talking about.

  I picked up my camera, pretending to be engrossed in it even though I wasn’t looking at anything. Maybe I’d get lucky and be randomly sucked into some kind of vortex before—

  “What do you think, Evie?” April demanded.

  Crap.

  The cafeteria food gods had let me down yet again.

  James ducked his chin, hiding his grin, and then he twisted, angling his body so he was fully focused on Heidi as she pulled up a pic of Emery on her phone that she’d taken at the club on Friday night.

  “Yes, Evie, what do you think?” parroted Zoe.

  I’d rather shave off all my hair than answer any question posed in that manner. Knowing how April hated it when I took photos of her without her having checked her makeup and hair first, I lifted my camera and pointed it at her.

  “You take a picture of me, I will throw your camera out the window,” she warned.

  I sighed, lowering that camera. “That’s excessive.”

  “And I asked for your opinion.”

  I picked up my fork and stabbed my noodles, pretending I basically had no idea who these people I was sitting with were. “Huh?”

  It didn’t work.

  April stared back at me with light blue eyes as she threw her hands up, nearly elbowing a guy squeezing into the seat behind her. She wasn’t even aware of him, but that was typical April. God love her, but she wasn’t aware of much of anything she didn’t believe affected her.

  “Have you not heard a single thing I’ve said?” she demanded.

  “She probably tuned you out.” Zoe plopped her cheek on her arm and sighed. “It’s a talent I wish I had.”

  While James was distracted, I reached into his bag, stealing another chip.

  “You know what I wish, Ms. Zoe Callahan?” April cocked her head to the side. “I wish you didn’t dress like a toddler who got to pick out her clothes for the first time.”

  A noodle slopped off my fork. “Wow.”

  Heidi got quiet.

  James suddenly decided that the people sitting behind us were more interesting, and turned completely in his seat. Hell, he was practically sitting with them now, which meant I couldn’t reach into his bag of chips anymore.

  Zoe leaned back, her dark eyes narrowing. “What’s wrong with how I’m dressed?”

  “You’re wearing a onesie,” April stated coolly.

  Zoe was totally wearing a onesie.

  “You look super-cute,” I told her, and that was the truth. I, on the other hand, wouldn’t be caught dead in a romper.
I’d look like someone who needed Child Protective Services if I stepped out in public wearing that, but with Zoe’s deep brown skin, she was rocking the pink frock.

  “Thank you.” Zoe flashed a bright smile in my direction and then turned a glare more powerful than the Death Star on April. “But I know I look cute.”

  April’s brows lifted. “You may want to rethink that assessment.”

  I honestly had no idea how Zoe and April were friends. I swore they bickered more than they ever complimented each other. The only time I saw either do something nice for the other was last year. Some guy had bumped into April in the hallway, knocking her into a locker. Zoe put the fear of God in that boy in, like, under five seconds.

  Zoe responded to April with something that was about as friendly as a kick in the throat. I started to intervene, because both could get loud, and I really didn’t want our table to be the center of attention yet again, but a tray clattered off a nearby table, causing my stomach to pitch.

  Classmates milled from table to table. Behind me, I could hear them talking about a party on Saturday night. Burnt food mingled with the scent of lemony disinfectant. Teachers lounged by the doors and at the back of the cafeteria, by the letters CHS painted on the wall. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, people sat on gray stone walls, laughing and talking, and the sky … I could see the September sky. It was blue and endless.

  My gaze landed on the table near the door. That was where they all sat. The Luxen who attended our school. Ten of them. All of them beautiful. It was kind of hard not to get a little lost looking at them, especially when they sat together like that. I was sure I wasn’t the only one gawking at them. I knew it wasn’t polite, but I wondered why they didn’t sit with anyone else.

  Luxen siblings always came in threes. Two boys and a girl. Or at least that was what was said, but I’d never seen a full set of Luxen triplets in my life. We knew how many humans had died, but no one knew the number of Luxen. I imagined that was why I’d never seen a set of triplets.

  I always thought they had been part of the invasion, just like everyone else believed, but now I knew differently. That entire table had probably been here since they were born, never once harming a human, but we … we were all afraid of them because the truth had been kept hidden.