The Burning Shadow

by Armentrout, Jennifer L.

  Piercing blue eyes met mine. “You’re a curse, you know that?” Grayson spat. “Heidi yesterday. Luc today. Who’s the lucky SOB going to be tomorrow?”

  I sucked in a shrill breath, unable to respond, because I was beginning to feel like a curse.

  “Shut up,” Luc groaned, “and get me out of here.”

  Grayson shook his head as he got an arm under Luc’s shoulders, helping him sit up and then stand. I rose, legs shaky as I let go of Luc’s hand. I turned to the bed—

  “Don’t,” Luc groaned. “Don’t look at her, Peaches. No good will come from that.”

  Luc was probably right. As I started to avert my gaze, I saw it on the carpet: the item the woman must’ve pulled out of the dresser. It was a small white zippered pouch about the size of a hardcover book. I grabbed it, and then I followed Luc and Grayson through the house and out the back door. The fact that Luc was upright was nothing short of a miracle.

  Thank God Kent was pulling up to the curb as we burst out from around the side of the house.

  Barely able to catch my breath, I looked back at April’s house. There was a sedan in the driveway that hadn’t been there before. Everything looked normal, but the neighbors had to have heard something.

  “Peaches,” Luc said, tone urgent.

  The back door of the SUV was open, and I climbed in, scooting over as Grayson helped Luc into the seat beside me. Immediately, I reached out to grab Luc’s hand.

  “How can I help?” I asked, placing the white pouch beside me.

  He rested his head back against the seat, jaw working. “Just be here.”

  “I can do that,” I promised, heart squeezing as the back of my throat burned. “I can definitely do that.”

  “Are you going to bleed all over the inside of this car?” Kent was leaning between the two front seats. “Because I’m, like, an Uber driver. Blood or vomit, I’m going to hit you with a fine.” Kent gave me a look. “Would you like water?”

  I stared back at him.

  “He likes to pretend that he’s an Uber driver sometimes.” Luc’s grin was weaker than normal. “And he doesn’t have water.”

  Kent rolled his dark eyes. “I wanted to run out and get water, but someone—Grayson—said we didn’t have time. It’s like no one understands my dreams and aspirations.”

  “No one understands anything about you, Kent.”

  I yelped as the door behind me suddenly opened. Zoe climbed in, startling me. “How…?”

  “Our Uber driver Kent called.” She closed the door behind her. “Figured you guys could use an extra hand.”

  “Luc’s been shot,” I told her as Grayson climbed into the front passenger seat. “Like, three times.”

  “I can see.” She winced as she leaned around me. “Can’t believe you let yourself get shot. Again.”

  “You guys are so sympathetic,” Luc muttered as Kent pulled away from the curb.

  “Why do you all keep acting like this happens often?” I twisted toward Luc. “Does this happen often?” My voice pitched. “Do you get shot a lot?”

  Luc fell quiet.

  I turned to Zoe, who was studiously staring out the window. “Does he get shot a lot?”

  “Don’t answer that,” Luc ordered.

  “What?” I shrieked.

  “You know, I just want to remind everyone in this vehicle what a bad idea I thought going into that house was,” Grayson announced. “But no one ever listens to me.”

  “Is there a point to your statement, Grayson?” Luc asked.

  “Not really.”

  Half of Luc’s face was in the shadows, but I thought I saw a hint of a smile. “You didn’t have to come here.”

  Shaking his head, Grayson turned around as we passed a set of headlights heading toward the subdivision. “Like I had a choice.”

  “You can’t see me,” Luc said. “But I just rolled my eyes so hard that they fell out of the back of my head.”

  “Can you two just not right now?” Zoe snapped, and I 100 percent agreed with her. “Pretty sure you look like you’re going to pass out, Luc.”

  He did.

  “Really?” Grayson twisted toward us. “I can heal you now, because I’m sure as hell not carrying you.”

  “I think you should definitely heal him now,” I told Grayson.

  He ignored me.

  “I’m not going to pass out,” Luc grumbled. “I never pass out.”

  “You’d better not, because you’re heavy,” Grayson muttered. “And that’s not how I want to close out my evening.”

  “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do,” Luc retorted.

  “Like right now?” Grayson shot me a look.

  “Well, now I want to pass out, just so you have to carry me.” Luc’s hand spasmed around mine.

  “Zoe can carry you,” Grayson replied.

  “Yeah, I could. Why? Because we Origins are nowhere near as whiny as Luxen.”

  “You sound like you just realized that.” Luc’s chuckle ended in a wet-sounding cough. “Come on, everyone knows that. Luxen means … ‘over-entitled crybaby’ in Latin.”

  “No,” Grayson said, peering into the back seat. “It doesn’t.”

  Zoe snickered. “Actually, I think Luxen means ‘lack of personality’ in Latin.”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right.” Luc nodded.

  “Hey, guys…” Kent had one hand on the steering wheel as the SUV picked up speed. “Behind us.”

  I twisted in the seat at the same time Zoe and Luc did. The car that had passed us going the other way had pulled a U-turn and was catching up to us. High beams came on, causing me to wince.

  “Here we go.” Luc tipped his head back and let out a wild laugh, the kind of laugh that might’ve been infectious in any other situation. “Things are about to get really interesting.”

  Things were about to get interesting? Were all of them out of their minds? I was pretty sure that the answer was yes, and I had a really bad feeling about Luc’s laugh.

  “Is it just one car?” Grayson asked.

  Luc nodded. “Appears to be.”

  The headlights were getting closer, and my head was suddenly filled with images of epic car chases that ended with flesh mangled with metal.

  “You need to put your seat belt on.” Luc lurched forward, patting around the crease of the seat, looking for the belt.

  I stared at him like he’d grown a hand in the center of his forehead and was flipping me off. “You’re worried about a seat belt?”

  “Yes. I don’t want you to go through a windshield or something.” He couldn’t find the belt. There was a good chance I was sitting on it. “Can you move? I think it’s behind you or Zoe.”

  As I leaned forward, Luc spoke directly in my ear. “We’ll be fine.”

  Before I could respond, Grayson’s veins lit up. My breath caught. It didn’t matter how many times I saw a Luxen take their true form, it was still a shock to see them do it and be this close.

  A white sheen filled the inside of the SUV as the light in his veins seeped into his skin, replacing bone and tissue. Heat flared as if the hot air had been kicked on, and I shrank back, pressing into the seat. The glow was so intense, like staring into the sun, and I had to shield my eyes. I had no idea how Kent was able to drive.

  Within moments, Grayson was encased in light, and he was beautiful—like I imagined an angel looked. All he was missing was the wings.

  “I think we need some music.” Kent hit a button on the steering wheel, and music blasted out of the speakers, startling me.

  Music? Now was a good time to turn on music? Was he for real?

  He was.

  At first, I didn’t recognize the fast tempo of the drums or the words. Maybe under difference circumstances, I would’ve, but it was just noise—loud noise that made everything feel more surreal, so much more out of control. My heart rate kicked into overdrive as the white pouch slid from the seat, landing near my feet.

  Tires screeched
as Kent slammed on the brakes, pitching me forward. I would’ve ended up on the dashboard if Luc hadn’t thrown his arm out, clotheslining me. He grunted as the music flowed, “Oh! I see a man in the back—as a matter of fact his eyes are as red as the sun. And the girl—”

  Zoe grabbed my flailing arm, pulling me back as the SUV suddenly careened, going up on two wheels as we spun in the middle of the road, skidding across asphalt.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God!” I yelled.

  “Seat belt!” Luc shouted.

  Grayson threw open the passenger door as the lyrics screamed, “And the man in the back said, ‘Everyone attack,’ and it turned into a ballroom blitz.”

  Grayson exploded from the vehicle, holding on to the swinging door. For a split second, I was sure he had to be roadkill, but then he shot past our SUV, a blur of light shaped like a human.

  “What’s he doing?” I shouted, twisting around as the SUV fishtailed, spinning like a top. My stomach heaved, and I smacked my hand over my mouth. Beside me, Luc hummed along with the music, his fingers tapping off his knee as the entire world spun, completely unaffected as he continued to look for my seat belt while bleeding from three bullet wounds.

  In his true form, Grayson appeared between the SUV and the car. His light pulsed, flaring with a reddish tint.

  The window beside Zoe shattered, spraying shards of glass everywhere—at my face, in my hair. Someone—Zoe or Luc—pushed on the back of my head.

  A bolt of light shot out from Grayson, hitting the front tires of the vehicle.

  Sparks flew out from under the front of the car, and it went completely airborne, flying right into the air as the speakers screamed.

  The car flew over the SUV, flipping like a cartwheel, hood over trunk. My mouth dropped open.

  The car slammed down on its roof on the other side of us, shaking our SUV.

  “I’m going to be sick,” I moaned, not fighting when my head was shoved down again. “I’m going to be so sick.”

  “And the girl in the corner said, ‘Boy, I want to warn you…’”

  I jumped as I heard Grayson slam the front passenger door shut.

  The SUV lurched into motion, tires spinning out as I was thrown up and back. My butt came off the seat as the SUV turned sharply. Zoe threw an arm out to brace herself, and I thought someone—maybe Luc—tried to catch me, but it was too late.

  My head smacked into the ceiling of the SUV. Pain exploded and powered down my spine, knocking the air out of my lungs as starbursts erupted behind my eyes. There was a flash of blinding white and then a quiet, blissful nothing.

  22

  I was surrounded by the scent of pine and citrus and enveloped in humming warmth, lying in plush, warm grass as the hot summer sun beat down on me—on us.

  I could stay here forever.

  Whatever you want.

  The memory dissipated like smoke at the sound of another voice. “You need to be careful, Luc.”

  Grayson. He was here, not in my memory, but here, and I was … lying next to Luc? Yes. I was curled up beside him, my head in the crook of his shoulder. How I ended up here was a weird blur.

  “I’m always careful,” Luc replied, his voice sounding weary but strong. Surprise flickered through me, because he’d been shot. Three times, and—

  Everything came rushing back. April’s house. Luc being shot. Weird bullets. Me … me killing the woman, and then the car chase. I’d hit my head, but I felt fine. Rested. Warm, even.

  Someone had healed me.

  “Yeah, I’m going to have to disagree with that statement,” Grayson responded. “You got shot three times, Luc. You were distracted because of—”

  “I may be lying on this bed, but if you blame her for this, I’m going to throw you through a wall. Not against one, but through one.” Luc’s voice was soft, too soft. “And that’s going to piss me off, because I like my apartment and really don’t want to get a wall replaced.”

  I did not doubt for one second that Luc could do exactly as he warned.

  That didn’t seem to stop Grayson. “I’d rather not be thrown through a wall, but that doesn’t change the fact that you were distracted because of her. What would you have done if I hadn’t been nearby to heal you?” he challenged, and fear coiled deep inside me. “If I hadn’t been able to heal her?”

  Wait. What? Grayson healed me? Did someone hold a gun to his head and make him do it?

  “And while we’re on the subject of healing her, why in the hell does she not have a trace yet again?” Grayson demanded. “She didn’t have one when you healed her broken arm or after things went down with that Origin. That’s not normal.”

  “What it is, is none of your business.”

  Grayson laughed, but it was cold. “What the hell is she, Luc? Because she’s not human.”

  Tension crept into my muscles. I was human. I just had some alien DNA in me, but Grayson didn’t know that.

  “It doesn’t matter if she’s a human or a freaking chupacabra. If I have to repeat myself one more time, you’re not going to like it.” There was a terse pause. “You feel me?”

  Grayson was silent for a moment. “Yeah, I feel you, Luc.”

  “Good.” Luc sighed. “Now get out of my face.”

  “Whatever, boss.”

  “Gray?” Luc called after a moment. “Thank you for taking care of us.”

  “Of course.” There wasn’t an ounce of sarcasm in his response. “I’ll let you know if Kent figures out what’s up with those bullets.”

  “Perfect,” Luc responded, and then I heard the door close. A moment passed. “You can stop pretending you’re asleep now.”

  I shot up so fast it was like I had springs under me, and I twisted toward him, my gaze soaking in every detail of him. The tone of his skin had improved. No longer ghastly pale, he stared back at me with heavily hooded eyes. My gaze dipped to his bare shoulders, and then I snatched the blanket, pulling it away and exposing his chest.

  My mouth gaped as shock roared through me even though I knew he was obviously healed. I still couldn’t believe what I saw beyond the dusting of brown hair. A bruise above the rosy-pink skin of his left nipple. Another faint bluish mark low in the center of his chest, and one purplish bruise on his right shoulder, near where my head had been resting.

  I moved without thinking.

  Clasping his cheeks, I brought my mouth to his, and every moment of fear and uncertainty poured into that kiss. There was nothing skilled about the way my lips pressed to his or the desperate way I sought his breath on my tongue. There was a panicked edge to the kiss, one that told me that even though I hadn’t allowed the thought of not being able to kiss him again to enter my head, it had been there.

  Luc broke contact, breathing heavily. “You keep kissing me like that and I’m going to end up engaging in activities I’m probably not physically fit for at the moment,” he drawled, his hands a light touch at my waist.

  I lifted up. “They’re just bruises. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised, but…” Gently, I placed my fingers near the bruise that was so close to his heart. “You were hurt.”

  “I’m okay.” He placed his hand over mine. “Just a little worn out. In a couple of hours, I’ll be as good as new.”

  I heard him. I did. And I saw that he was okay. I saw this with my own eyes, but I also kept seeing the blood trickling from his chest and his pale, drawn face. My lip trembled. “You could’ve died.”

  “Not that easily.”

  “That wasn’t easy.” I looked up at him, shaking my head. “You were bleeding, and you needed help. I’ve never seen you need help before.”

  Something flickered over his face. “I’m okay, Peaches. You don’t need to worry.”

  “But I am worrying!” I sat back, withdrawing my hand. “You were shot because I sneezed, and then everyone talks like you’ve been shot a dozen times and it’s no big deal.”

  “I wouldn’t say a dozen times.”

  “Luc!” I wanted to smack him. “I’m
being serious.”

  “So am I.” He turned his head toward me. “I’ve been shot three times. Twice when we were moving Luxen, and once when I turned my back to the wrong person. Contrary to what the others will say, it’s not something I make a habit of doing.”

  I gaped at him. “You do realize that most people go their entire lives without being even shot at, Luc?”

  “I’m not most people.” His lips hitched on one side.

  “This isn’t funny!” Shaking my head, I tried to swallow the rise of emotion clogging my throat. “Yesterday, it was Heidi. I thought I was going to lose her. Today, it was you, and I thought I was going to lose you. And I can’t do this without you.”

  The laziness vanished from his features as his gaze sharpened. “You’re not going to do this without me.”

  Stupid tears crowded the backs of my eyes. “What would’ve happened if her aim was a little better? A few centimeters to the left? Or if she—”

  Luc sat up swiftly with only a quick grimace. “Evie—”

  “You shouldn’t be sitting up!” I cried out. “You should be lying down and getting better and—”

  “I’m okay.” He clasped my cheeks in his warm hands. “I promise you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you.”

  “You can’t make that promise again! You told me you were never going to leave me, and you broke it!” The moment those words came out my mouth, I sucked in a shrill breath. A wave of dizziness swept over me.

  “What?” whispered Luc, his eyes searching mine as he held my face close to him. “What did you just say?”

  “I … I don’t know.” I screwed my eyes shut. “I don’t know why I said that. You didn’t make that promise to me before.”

  “But I did.”

  My eyes opened. “What?”

  “I promised that before I took you to the Dashers.” His thumbs slid over my cheeks. “I told you that I was never going to leave you.”

  “I … I don’t remember that,” I said, confused. “I mean, I said it, but I don’t remember it.”

  He nodded slowly as he slid a hand into my hair. “I didn’t break that promise, either. I stayed close. I never left you, but I could see where you would’ve thought that at the time.”