The Darkest Star

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “Jason and I could never have biological children. I’m a … Luxen and he was human,” she continued. “Evelyn’s mother had died. Heart disease. Looking back, I can see now that was one of the reasons why Jason became so obsessed with finding treatments for diseases like that and cancer. He was in love with her long after she passed. I didn’t realize that at first.” She pressed her lips together. “Evelyn died in a car accident three years before the invasion. Jason had been driving. It was a freak accident. He only had minor injuries, but she … died at the scene.”

  I clasped my knees and squeezed tight. “And you all just replaced her with me?”

  “That wasn’t what we intended.” She placed the picture on the ottoman, image down as if that somehow erased it being there. “But I’m not going to lie now. That’s what happened. That was all me—”

  “Because you killed Jason.”

  If she was surprised I knew that, she didn’t show it. “Luc was honoring our deal. He was leaving, and Jason couldn’t allow that. Jason always had to win.” Her lips thinned. “He pulled out a weapon and was going to shoot Luc in the back. Not with a normal gun. It would’ve killed him.”

  “And you decided to kill your husband to protect someone you don’t even like?”

  Her gaze lifted to mine. “Did Luc talk to you about the Daedalus?”

  I nodded.

  “Everything he said about the Daedalus is true … and there’s more, worse than what he even has knowledge of. You may not believe me, but I swear I had no part in the horrific things they were doing.”

  I wanted to believe her, but how could I?

  “I live like a human, but I am a Luxen. I could never knowingly take part in those horrific experiments and the—” She cut herself off, shaking her head. “Our marriage was rocky before Evelyn died, but when I learned about the Origins and hybrids, it was basically over between us.” Her gaze hardened. “Killing him was no hardship.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. Damn.

  “That may sound harsh, but you did not know him.”

  That hurt more than she intended. I closed my eyes. I had no idea how to respond to that. It took a moment for me to find my voice. “Why did you give me her name?”

  “I’ve asked myself that same question a million times.” Her voice was hoarse, and when I opened my eyes again, I saw tears building in hers. “I think … I think I just missed her.”

  I started to stand but found that I couldn’t. What was I supposed to think? How should I feel about that?

  Was I even real?

  I didn’t feel real anymore.

  “I know this is a lot for you to process. I understand, but there is one thing I need you to know and it’s the most important thing.” She scooted forward. “Your name is Evie. That is who you are. I can understand the need to find out more about your past, who you were, and I support that. But you are Evie now, and I love you. That is not a lie. None of these past four years has been a lie. You’re my daughter. I’m your mother.”

  Emotion clogged my throat, and it wasn’t until that moment I realized how badly I wanted and needed to hear that, but what … what did it change? Nothing seemed real anymore.

  Words couldn’t change that.

  Words couldn’t make it easier to accept.

  But she was the only mom I ever knew.

  “I…” I cleared my throat. “I don’t know what to—”

  Glass shattered from somewhere upstairs. I twisted as Mom shot to her feet. “What was that?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.” Her features sharpened. “But get behind me.”

  I started to do just that, but something—someone flew down the steps, a blur of light that slammed into the wall beside the door, rattling the windows. The human-shaped light toppled forward, hitting the floor. The light faded out. Blond hair. Arched cheekbones.

  “Grayson,” I said with a gasp, starting toward him as he slipped in and out of his true form.

  “Evie!” Mom shouted.

  I skidded to a halt, but I wasn’t quick enough. Terror exploded.

  The Origin stood in front of me. A dimple appeared in his right cheek as he smiled. “Hello.”

  Mom reacted without question.

  I saw it out of the corner of my eye. The burst of bright light powered down her right arm. Knowing what she was still hadn’t prepared me to actually see it. Static charged the air and the light crackled as it exploded from her palm.

  This Origin was fast.

  He spun out, and the bolt of energy crashed into the office doors, knocking out several small windows. Twisting around, he threw out his arm. The blast hit Mom in the shoulder, lifting her off her feet and throwing her over the chair.

  “Mom!” I shouted, starting toward her.

  The Origin appeared in front of me. No sunglasses. Him. Brown hair. Handsome features. A stranger. “Mom? Now I know that’s impossible.”

  Stumbling back a step, I cursed under my breath. “Yeah, well. Welcome to my life.”

  “My world surely beats your world.” The ottoman lifted up and flew across the room, slamming into the TV. The screen cracked. “Did you give Luc the message I asked you to?”

  I backed up, stepping around the edge of the couch. I bumped into my bag. “Yes.”

  “And what did he say?” he asked politely.

  Anger was like an erupting volcano. “He said you sounded psychotic.”

  “Liar,” he said, and chuckled, taking a step toward me. “I know Luc. That’s not what he said. It should’ve sparked a memory for him. An important one.”

  It had, but I wasn’t telling him that. “I’m so not in the mood for this.”

  He stopped, his brows flying up. “Not in the mood?”

  “Yes.” Behind him, I could see Mom’s legs. One started moving. I needed to buy time. “My life has imploded. Like, for real. Did you know I’m not even real?”

  He blinked. “What?”

  “Yeah. My name’s not Evie. I’m a dead girl. So I have a lot to deal with, and you’re running around killing innocent people.”

  I’d never seen someone so homicidal before look so confused. “I know who you are. We’ve met.”

  A trickle of unease curled its way down my spine. He’d said that before, and I’d forgotten.

  “You just don’t remember me.” He paused. “But I remember you. We briefly met, right after I was freed. You were so sick.”

  A weird sensation unfurled in the pit of my stomach as I saw Mom draw her leg up.

  “You reeked of death.” His head tilted. “What did they do to you? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  There was no warning. He moved fast, his arm and hand striking out. The impact of his fist sent me sprawling to the floor. The burst of pain stunned me and the taste of iron filled my mouth.

  “I don’t like doing that,” he said. “I really don’t.”

  I rolled onto my side and spat out a mouthful of blood. My teeth had cut the inside of my cheek. Heart pounding, I lifted my head as my hand dragged over my backpack.

  My backpack.

  The stun gun!

  I ripped open the front pocket of my backpack and reached around until my finger slipped over the slim device.

  “I would like to say it’s not personal.” He gripped the back of my shirt and lifted me clear off the floor with one arm. “But it is. He chose you over us—over me.”

  I didn’t even have time to process that. I hit the couch and rolled as I slid the button down, turning the stun gun on. He leaned in as I pushed down on the button. The stun gun spat out electricity, sounding like a thousand little fireworks going off at once. His eyes widened with realization the second before I slammed the business end of the stun gun into his chest.

  He dropped like all the bone and muscle had been sucked out of his body. He hit the floor, twitching.

  Scrambling from the couch, I stumbled as I made my way to where Mom lay on the floor, moaning. The room tilted weirdly as I dropped to my knees b
eside her.

  “Mom!” I started to grab for her, but the entire shoulder of her blouse was charred and smoking. “Come on, Mom. I need you. Please. Wake up.”

  Her lashes fluttered, but her eyes didn’t open. Oh God, I didn’t know what to do. I looked to the front door. Grayson was in his Luxen form and he wasn’t moving. I thought he was still alive, because he didn’t look like the others had in the club.

  With my head throbbing, I leaned forward and peered over the back of the chair. The Origin was still on the floor, but he wasn’t twitching anymore.

  “Mom!” Tears filled my eyes as I looked around the room. I thought about the gun I’d seen in the office, but I wasn’t sure I’d get to it in time. I had no idea how long the stun gun would keep the Origin down. I couldn’t remember what Luc had said. Minutes? More? Less?

  My hand tightened on the gun. I could use it again. Wouldn’t hurt.

  I was going to stun gun him into next year if that was what it took. Pushing to my feet, I whimpered as pain arced across my jaw. My stomach dropped.

  “Oh shit,” I whispered.

  The Origin was gone.

  Chills rolled down my spine as I took a step back. The fine hair on my arms lifted in startling awareness. I turned slowly.

  He was right there.

  “Now that was not nice, Nadia.”

  Surprise knocked me off-balance. He knew my name—my old name. Engaging the stun gun, I let out a battle cry that would have made Braveheart proud, and thrust it forward.

  Those few seconds cost me.

  The Origin caught my wrist and twisted. My fingers spasmed and the stun gun slipped from my grasp. My eyes widened, and he winked at me. “That is not going to happen again.”

  In the moment, I knew he wasn’t just going to break my arm this time. He wouldn’t stop there. He’d go through every bone before snuffing my life out. Horror choked me. I didn’t want to die. Not like this. Not now.

  I didn’t even know who I was or who I would become one day. I was just learning about myself—about friends and, oh God, Luc.

  And when the Origin finished with me, he’d move on to Mom. There was no way he’d let her live, and Luc … he would blame himself. I had no idea where we stood with each other, but I didn’t want that for him.

  I didn’t want that for any of us.

  Having no training, I reacted out of the pure instinct to survive. I kicked, catching him in the leg. The move surprised him, and he stepped back. I dipped down and made a desperate reach for the gun.

  A fist coiled into my hair, wrenching my head back. I cried out. The Origin dragged me toward the kitchen. Razor-sharp pain radiated down my neck as my feet slipped over the hardwood floor.

  He dragged me to my feet and then let go off my hair. The moment of reprieve was over before it had started. A hand curled around my throat. I was off the floor, dangling in air.

  It was the last breath I took. Just gone like that. Every cell was shocked and screamed out as precious oxygen was suddenly cut off. My heart stuttered in my chest and the panic made everything worse.

  “Let go of my daughter.”

  The Origin tilted his head just as my vision started to darken. “I can do that.”

  Flying. I was suddenly flying backward and breathing again. The breathing didn’t help, though. Just as soon as I got any amount of oxygen in my lungs, my lower back slammed into the dining table. The impact jarred me all the way down to the tips of my toes. My head smacked into the hanging light fixture, knocking it back. I fell forward, my knees cracking off the floor. Doubling over, I struggled to breathe through the waves of pain.

  A scream of pure rage erupted from Mom as blood trickled down the side of my head. I lifted my chin and saw her go full Luxen. She was swathed in intense, beautiful white light.

  The air crackled with power. I could feel it in my bones and tissue. She let loose, striking out—

  He was too fast.

  Shooting forward, he lashed out, swinging his arm. He caught her in the shoulder, and the bolt of pure energy smacked into the wall. Dust plumed, and Mom slammed into the couch, knocking it up into the air.

  I cried out as she went down, the couch flipping and landing on her. God, that couldn’t be good. I had to get up. I had to—

  He was there, his hand curling around my throat again. He lifted my head, forcing my gaze to his. This was it. This was—

  “No, I’m not going to kill you.” The ever-present, charming smile appeared. “But unfortunately, I am going to hurt you.”

  32

  Shivering in the cooler air, I forced my eyes to stay open. I couldn’t let them close. He got … impatient when I closed them. He’d think I wasn’t paying attention, and he … had problems with that. Issues.

  This guy had a lot of … issues.

  He was sitting on the grass a few feet from me, cross-legged, and I was where he’d deposited me, against a tree. He’d dragged me out of the house, and it had been a blur because he moved so incredibly fast, but I didn’t think we went that far. I was sure we were in the woods that surrounded the subdivision.

  I’d lost my shoes somewhere. I think on the road outside my house. One entire pant leg had been torn off all the way to my upper thigh, having snagged on a branch. Some of my skin had snagged too. That hadn’t stopped him. Neither did the moment the edge of my shirt got caught. My trembling hands held the shredded material together.

  I was trying not to think of my mom and what kind of condition she was in, because if I did, I’d lose whatever precious control I had, and I couldn’t afford that right now if I wanted to survive this.

  “He really has no idea who I am?” he asked, nose pinched. “At all?”

  “No,” I whispered, wincing. Talking made my face throb.

  The Origin exhaled loudly. “Well, that’s a blow to the ego. I shouldn’t be surprised, though.” He tilted his head back and stared up at the stars peeking through the bare branches. “He forgot about us more than once, but he won’t forget again.”

  My head had taken a few knocks. Probably a few too many, because sometimes it felt like the ground was swaying under me, but I was starting to put things together.

  “Why … why are you doing this?” I ignored the lancing pain along my jaw. “Why did you kill those people?”

  “I already told you why.”

  “But that family … and Andy—”

  He frowned. “I didn’t kill them. I’m kind of offended that you think I run around aimlessly killing people.”

  I opened my mouth, but I was unsure of how to respond to that, but why would he lie? He’d easily admitted to Colleen’s and Amanda’s murders.

  “By the way, what should I call you? Evie? Nadia? Evelyn?” He paused, and I saw the pupils of his eyes burn white. “Peaches?”

  I swallowed hard and croaked out, “Evie.”

  “Hmm. Interesting.”

  A tremor coursed down my arms. “You met me when I was—”

  “When you were a young girl, dying of a disease? Yes. I met you very briefly. You came into the room I was placed in—we all were placed in—and you read to us.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Remember? I see.” He leaned forward, and I tensed. He could be soft-spoken and friendly, charming, even, but he was like a cobra striking. “I’ll remember for the both of us. You read Where the Wild Things Are after the world began to fall apart. We liked you.”

  “It … it doesn’t make sense.”

  His placed one hand on the ground by my foot. “What doesn’t, Evie?”

  “You’re … one of them. One of those kids—” I gasped as his hand shot out and wrapped around my ankle.

  “So, he did talk about us?” Interest filled his voice. He squeezed hard. “Evie?”

  “Yes,” I said breathlessly, hands spasming around the ragged material of my shirt.

  His hand slid up, fingers digging into the raw skin of my calf. “Tell me what he said?”

  “It’s not possible
,” I repeated, trembling as the pain arced up my leg. “You can’t be one of them.”

  “Why? Because he killed us all?” He laughed. “Or because I don’t look like you’d expect a ten-year-old to look?”

  I stared at him.

  That smile didn’t fade. “We were all dark stars, but Luc … he was the darkest. Do you know what I mean?”

  I didn’t.

  But then he looked to the side. His lips parted. “Finally.” His gaze swung back to me. “Told you he’d find us. After all, eventually that blond Luxen wouldn’t check in, and Luc … Well, he’s not stupid.”

  Slowly, he lifted his hand from my leg and then rose with a fluid grace that was shockingly familiar. He turned, standing in front of me.

  There was a weird part of me that knew when Luc drew close. I have no idea how I knew, but I did. There was relief. There was also stark terror.

  I saw Luc prowl through the cluster of trees, catching a glimpse of him before the Origin in front of me shifted, blocking my view. My heart stuttered in my chest as I glanced around for a weapon of some sort. There were rocks. They wouldn’t do much, but they would be something.

  The Origin’s hands moved to his sides, and I swore he trembled.

  “Let me see her,” Luc demanded, his voice barely recognizable. It was coldly furious.

  The Origin stiffened as if steel had been poured down his spine. “It’s always, always been about her. Some things never change. Fine.” He stepped aside. “Whatever. She’s still alive.”

  I saw him, and I couldn’t explain the raw emotion expanding in my chest. There’d been many, many moments I thought I’d never see him again. Or my mother. Or my friends, but he stood there, shoulders straight and legs spread wide as if he were some kind of avenging angel about to lay waste to a world of sinners and saints.

  Luc’s gaze flickered over me, from my dirt-caked feet to the mess that was my face. There was a tightening to his jaw, a hardening to his churning eyes. He took a step toward me.

  “Don’t,” the Origin said. “Don’t make me do something you’ll regret.”

  Luc halted, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. “I already regret so much.” The black shirt he wore strained at the shoulders. “I should’ve known.”