The Darkest Star

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Unless he was lying about his age.

  “Emery is my age,” Luc replied, and my entire body jolted. “And I was more than capable of helping her out.”

  My eyes narrowed on his profile. Seriously. It was like he was inside my head, because I knew damn well I didn’t ask that question out loud. Wait. Could he be?

  No. I’d never heard that any Luxen could do that.

  A half smile appeared as his gaze slid to mine. Our stares connected, and the effect was instantaneous. Everything around us faded, and there was just us, and this … this sensation of falling. I couldn’t look away as this feeling surfaced, rushing to the top.

  I’ve been here before.

  My breath caught as a wave of tight shivers rippled over my skin. That thought didn’t make sense. I hadn’t been here with him before.

  Luc inhaled sharply, and he moved without me noticing. He was closer. His warm breath danced across my cheeks and then my mouth. Air hitched in my lungs for a second time. Those well-formed lips of his parted, and now I really wished I had my camera. And I … I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what those lips felt like—tasted like—because that brief kiss-that-wasn’t-a-kiss hadn’t told me what I needed to know.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked in a soft voice.

  The hold that seemed to have forged itself out of the tense air around us was broken. I snapped out of it, jerking back and nearly smacking into the window. What was going on in my mind? Nothing but stupid—a whole lot of stupid.

  My gaze swung across the table.

  Heidi and Emery were staring at us like they were watching one of those really terrible but addictive reality shows.

  Warmth exploded across my cheeks as I decided staring at the table was an awesome thing to do. My heart was pounding in a silly way. What in the world was I thinking? Luc was attractive. In all honesty, he was truly beautiful, and he apparently had a nice streak in him. Somehow he’d taken care of Emery and Kent when they needed help the most, and I’d seen him with Chas at the club, but I wasn’t even sure I liked Luc.

  I wasn’t even sure he liked me.

  Thankfully, the food showed up at that moment, and I focused on shoving as much waffle into my mouth as humanly possible while Heidi and Emery chatted. I stayed quiet, as did Luc, but every part of my being was painfully aware of his every movement. When he picked up his glass or cut into the omelet he ordered. He’d shift, and I’d catch that woodsy pine scent of his, and when he did speak, the deep timber of his voice echoed through my veins. By the time breakfast wrapped up, every muscle in my body was stiff and sore. I felt like I’d run a marathon as we filed out of the restaurant.

  I lingered behind, giving Heidi and Emery some space as they walked ahead. Luc apparently was of the same mind, because he slowed his long-legged pace, walking beside me.

  Walking beside Luc was … interesting.

  People had one of two reactions when they neared Luc. They either gave him wide berth, nearly stepping into the street to avoid brushing up against him, or they did a double take, male and female. Their gazes would glance over him and then bounce back and they wouldn’t be able to look away. With his sunglasses on and contacts in, no one should be able to tell what he was by appearance, but it was the vibe he emitted, even with his lazy swagger.

  We didn’t speak, not until we neared the entrance to the garage. Luc easily glided in front of me, stopping so we were standing next to the building, away from the foot traffic.

  My heart was tripping all over itself as I lifted my chin. “Do you need something?”

  “I need lots of things,” he replied, and warmth cascaded through me, because my mind belly-flopped right into the gutter. The grin that appeared made me wonder just how apparent my thoughts were. “They seem to really like each other.”

  “Oh.” I glanced around him. Heidi and Emery had already entered the garage. “I think they do.”

  “You know what that means?”

  “They’ll start dating?”

  Luc chuckled as he stepped in. “We’ll be seeing lots of each other.”

  “I don’t know about that.” I folded my arms.

  “I do.”

  I tilted my head to the side and lifted a brow. “I think you’re wrong.”

  “Hmm,” he murmured, looking out toward the street as a car zoomed by, blaring its horn. A moment passed and then his head turned back to me. Even with the sunglasses, I could feel the intensity of his gaze. “You don’t like me, do you, Evie?”

  The bluntness of his question was jarring. “You weren’t exactly nice to me when we first met. Like, at all.”

  “I wasn’t,” he agreed.

  I waited to see if he would add on to that statement, and when he didn’t, I sighed with irritation. “Look, I could go into extensive detail about all the signals you’ve been throwing off, but I really don’t feel like putting that much effort into it. You don’t seem to like me either, Luc.”

  “I like you, Evie.” His hand lifted with startling quickness and he picked up a piece of my hair. “Lots.”

  I snatched my hair free. “You don’t know me well enough to like me, and if you do like me, you have a terrible way of showing it. Terrible.”

  Somehow he got closer, and I didn’t even know how, but when he spoke, his voice sent a shiver curling down my spine in an oddly pleasant way. “You’d be awed and amazed by what I do know.”

  I resisted the urge to retreat.

  “And I already told you. I don’t people well.”

  “Not peopling well is a crap excuse,” I retorted, and started to step around him, but a sudden thought occurred to me. I stopped, refocusing on him. “Were you in my house last night?”

  That half grin kicked up a notch. “If I was in your house last night, you would’ve definitely known.”

  My stomach dipped like I was standing too close to the edge of a steep cliff. “I don’t know what that means.”

  Luc opened his mouth.

  I lifted a hand. “I don’t want to know what that means.”

  He dipped his chin. “I think you know exactly what it means.”

  I thought I did, but that was beside the point.

  “Why would you ask if I was in your house last night?” he asked.

  When I started to tell him it didn’t matter, I stopped myself. I found that I wanted to tell him—tell someone, to see if they, too, thought it was my imagination, like Zoe had. “When I was home last night, I heard a crashing sound downstairs, and when I went down there to check—”

  “You hear a random noise in your house, you go downstairs and check it out?”

  “What was I supposed to do? Call the police and say, ‘Hello, officer, I heard a noise downstairs. Can you come check it out?’”

  “Yes,” he said. “Unless you’re equipped with a shotgun, and you just might be because of Sylvia, you don’t go downstairs.”

  I shook my head. “Whatever. I went downstairs, and the back door was open even though I know damn well I’d closed and locked that door. And while I was standing there, I felt someone standing behind me, but when I turned around, no one was there. Then the back door slammed shut.”

  Everything about Luc changed in that instant. The teasing quality to his voice and the curve of his lips were gone. “What else happened?”

  “My … mom’s office door was open and it’s always locked. Always.” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other as the scent of exhaust fumes rose. “One of my friends, Zoe, actually came over, and I think she thinks I was overreacting, but I know what I saw. What I heard and…”

  “And?” he asked quietly.

  I leaned against the side of the building and looked away. “I felt … I swore I felt someone touch me.” I waited for him to say something obnoxious, but when he didn’t, I drew in a shallow breath. “Mom went into her office last night when she got home, like she always does, but she didn’t mention anything. If something was taken or messed up, I think she
would’ve said something to me. Like, asked if I’d been in the office.”

  Luc was staring at me.

  “I know Zoe thinks I left the door open, but I know I didn’t. It had to be a Luxen. How else could someone move so fast without me ever seeing them? I know it sounds bizarre, but—”

  “No.” Luc’s jaw was as hard as his tone. “If you think someone was in your house, Evie, then someone was in your house.”

  My heart turned over heavily. It was equally nice and disturbing to have someone believe me.

  “You didn’t see anyone, though?”

  I shook my head. “Like I said, they were fast. But why would a Luxen come into my home and not take anything and just leave?”

  Luc didn’t answer for a long moment. “Well, that is the question of the day, isn’t it?”

  I nodded.

  “But you know what the more important question is?” he asked. “What if a Luxen was in your house and they did take something? You said Sylvia’s office door was open, but it’s normally locked.”

  “It’s always locked.” My gaze flew to his. “Why wouldn’t she mention that then?”

  Luc didn’t answer for a long moment, and when he spoke, he didn’t answer the question. He posed another one. “How well do you think you know Sylvia Dasher?”

  14

  Wednesday morning’s local news was consumed by what had happened to Colleen, and Amanda’s disappearance.

  Murder.

  Kidnapping.

  The reporters openly speculated that it had been a Luxen attack—an unregistered Luxen attack—and that one was also behind Amanda’s disappearance. They didn’t say why they thought that, but the why didn’t seem to matter to them. They’d already made up their minds.

  When I arrived at school later that morning, news crews from every major network were parked out front, grabbing and interviewing students as they stepped off the buses.

  The whole day felt off. At lunch, even James was subdued. I imagined it would be that way for a while. No one had heard from Amanda, and without anyone saying anything, I knew we all feared the worse.

  She would turn up just like Colleen.

  Mom had texted saying she wouldn’t be home until late, so I was left to my own devices. After everything that had happened in the last week, that meant my brain was working overtime and what Luc had asked me yesterday had haunted me on and off over the last twenty-four hours, and it was back with a vengeance, pecking away as I walked into the quiet house. Why would he ask me something like that about my mom?

  Why hadn’t I asked myself that yet?

  Because I’d learned firsthand this weekend that there was a lot I didn’t know about my mom or my father. I had no idea they’d been involved in the Daedalus—hell, I hadn’t known about the Luxen making this planet their home sweet home for decades.

  Mom was a bucket of secrets.

  Dropping my keys and bag on the dining room table, I shivered as I stood in the same place I had last night when I’d felt the presence behind me. Someone had been in here and they had been in Mom’s office.

  Why?

  Maybe focusing on this was pointless, but it was better than thinking about what had happened to Colleen and what could be happening to Amanda. That was what I didn’t want to dwell on while I was home alone.

  I walked through the living room and into the foyer. Bright light streamed from all the windows and everything was where it should be, but the house seemed strange to me now.

  Cloudy, somehow.

  The glass French doors were closed, and a thick white curtain shielded the little square windows. I’d never been in Mom’s office. Never had a reason to. Someone could be living in there for all I knew.

  Biting down on my lip, I reached out and wrapped my hand around the cool, tarnished gold handle. My wrist twisted. The door was locked, as always.

  Would be really nice to have that nifty Luxen ability right about now.

  “Wait,” I whispered. Luc had that awesome breaking-and-entering talent. He could easily get into her office.

  But seriously? Would I ask him to do that? I didn’t even know how to get in touch with him.…

  Actually, I did know how to get ahold of him. There were two ways.

  I pivoted and went to where my bag was on the dining room table. I snatched my phone out of the top pocket, ignoring the little voice in the back of my head that was demanding to know what the hell I was planning to do. I hit the second contact on my phone.

  Heidi answered on the third ring. “Hey, girl, what’s up?”

  “Um, nothing. I was wondering if Emery was with you?”

  There was a beat of silence. “Yeah, she’s right here.”

  “I know this is going to sound really weird, but can I talk to her for a moment?” I folded an arm over my waist and started pacing.

  “Is this about Luc?”

  I tripped over my feet. “What? Why would you ask that?”

  “Why else would you be calling me to talk to Emery?”

  She was right, but I still lied. “There could be tons of reasons why I’d want to talk to her. Like your birthday is coming up. Maybe I want to plan something with her.”

  “My birthday is in April, Evie. It’s only September.”

  “Yeah,” I drew the word out. “I’m just planning ahead.”

  “Uh-huh,” Heidi replied. “So, this is about Luc?”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Yes, but it’s not what you think.”

  “Sure.” She laughed. “Hold on a second.”

  Before I had a chance to reply, Emery was on the phone. “What can I do for you?”

  What in the world was I doing? I had no idea, but I was pacing again and my mouth was running. “I know this is going to sound weird, but I was wondering if you could…” I trailed off as I stopped in front of the couch.

  The cushions were where they were supposed to be, but all I could see was Mom whipping the one cushion off, pulling out a shotgun—and pointing that shotgun at Luc.

  “If I could what?” Emery asked.

  Squeezing my eyes tight, I shook my head. “I was wondering if you could give me”—I cringed—“Luc’s phone number.”

  “Yeah,” she answered immediately. “I can have Heidi text it to you.”

  I started to tell her that would be fine but stopped. Again, what was I doing? Besides the absolutely insane fact that I was about to reach out to Luc and invite him to my house to help me break into my mom’s office, how would I know if anything was missing? I didn’t even know what the inside of her office looked like. What could I find when I didn’t even know what I was looking for?

  But I still wanted in there.

  “Are you still there, Evie?” Emery asked.

  I nodded and then rolled my eyes, because duh, she couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I’m still here. It’s just I … I don’t know why I’m asking for his number. I needed help with something and could use his unique … talents, but I … I don’t really know him and this was probably a really bad idea. I’m sorry to bother you two.”

  “You’re not a bother.” It sounded like she moved and then I heard her say in a low voice, “Is everything okay?”

  A weak smile crossed my lips. That was sweet of her to ask. “Yeah, everything is fine. I’m just being dumb.”

  “All right, so now it’s my turn to sound weird, but hear me out. I don’t know what you need help with, but whatever it is, Luc will do it,” she said. “You can trust him. Out of everyone you’ve ever met, you can trust Luc.”

  * * *

  Heidi texted me Luc’s phone number and I ended up staring at the text for five full minutes, unable to bring myself to call him. I really felt like something was wrong with me, because there was a huge part of me that trusted what Emery had said in spite of everything that indicated otherwise.

  There was no good reason to believe what she said.

  I’d met Luc just six days ago and it had been a rough six days, but in a way, it felt lik
e I’d known him a lot longer than that, and that probably wasn’t a good thing.

  My phone rang suddenly, and I almost dropped it. An unknown number had popped up with a local area code. It took me a second to vaguely recognize the number.

  “Oh crap,” I whispered, my eyes going wide. It was Luc’s number. Of course, Emery had probably contacted him and told him I’d asked for his number.

  Scrunching up my face, I squeezed my eyes shut as I squeaked out, “Hello?”

  “So, I got this interesting text from Emery,” came the deep voice that twisted my stomach all up in knots. “She said you asked for my number.”

  Why did I do that? Why did I answer the phone? “I did.”

  “And she said you needed help with something,” he continued. “However, that was about five minutes ago, and you haven’t texted or called, so I’m dying of curiosity.”

  I walked over to the couch and plopped down and closed my eyes. “I had a temporary moment of insanity.”

  Luc chuckled. “I think I should be offended by that statement.”

  “Probably,” I muttered, pressing my fingers to my forehead. “You didn’t have to call me. I would actually prefer that you forget I asked for your number.”

  “Well, that’s never going to happen.”

  “Great.” I sighed. “Couldn’t you just lie to me?”

  “I would never lie to you,” he replied without a second of hesitation.

  I frowned. “Why do you say things like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like…” It was hard to put into words. “Never mind.”

  He sighed. “What do you need help with, Evie? Tell me. The world is your oyster and I’m your pearl.”

  My frown increased. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Makes perfect sense.”

  “I just want you to know that I rolled my eyes so hard, they rolled down the back of my throat.”

  His answering laugh tugged at the corners of my lips. “Tell me why you need my help.”

  Falling back against the couch, I sighed again, heavily. “I wanted to get into my mom’s office and see if there was something in there that would explain why someone was in the house on Monday, but I don’t even know what to look for.”