The Brightest Night (Origin #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,198

the center. All the unsalvageable cars have been moved to the side. It really should only take us two minutes tops.”

“Sounds good to me,” Emery said, the breeze lifting the strands of hair on one side of her head.

I stared out over the field. It was a clear night, and the moonlight cast enough light that between it and the new-and-improved eyeballs, I wasn’t worried about running into a tree. My gaze tracked to one of the darker, thicker shadows that seemed to loom over the rest of the skyscrapers. The tower.

“Any questions?” Daemon asked.

Luc raised his hand.

I reached for it, because I had a feeling it would be utterly irrelevant, but I wasn’t fast enough.

“Yes, Luc.”

“Are you sure you’re against me getting Adam a llama?” Luc asked. “Like, really sure?”

Daemon sighed. “Yes. I’m sure.”

“Life ruiner,” he muttered, lowering his hand.

I couldn’t help it. A giggle snuck free.

“Don’t laugh,” Daemon said. “It just encourages him.”

Biting down on my lip, I managed to stop the next one from slipping free.

“Any actual important questions?” Daemon asked.

Grayson started to raise his hand.

“Yes, Grayson, all kids are dirty, and they all smell funny,” Daemon said before Grayson got the question out there.

Emery snorted-laughed from where she stood.

“Thanks for the heads-up, but that wasn’t my question,” Grayson drawled. “I was going to ask what is the plan in case Morton shows up and pushes back while the kids are still there? I’m thinking we don’t want to fry him in front of a bunch of impressionable youngsters who are already terrified of us.”

Impressionable youngsters?

Grayson had a good point, though. “We don’t want to do anything to him while they’re around,” I said as I tightened my ponytail. “I could freeze him until we get the kids out.”

“Yeah, you’ve gotten really good at that.” Daemon stared pointedly at me.

I gave an awkward smile.

“Sounds like a plan,” Luc said, reaching over and tugging my hair. “No matter what, we all stay together. The same goes for you two.” That was directed at Emery and Zoe. “Don’t separate when you’re taking the kids out.”

Everyone nodded, and it was time. Daemon slipped under the opening he’d created. Zoe and Emery followed, and as I stepped forward to do the same, Luc caught my hand, stopping me. I turned back.

Before I had a chance to speak, Luc kissed me, and it was sweet and slow, like we had all the time in the world. And I wished we did, because when he deepened the kiss, I wanted more. But we didn’t have time, and there would be a later where we would.

Luc pulled back, his hand sliding from mine, and when he nodded, I took a breath and then slipped through the fence, the touch of his lips against mine lingering. Grayson was the last through, and then Daemon, Emery, and Grayson slipped into their true forms.

It didn’t matter how many times I saw it, my breath still caught. Light spilled from them onto the ground. Daemon’s burned more brightly, and it was hard to look at him without my eyes watering. My gaze shifted to Emery and then Grayson. It still wasn’t pleasant to look directly at them, but if I looked close enough, I could see them behind the light, their skin soft and almost translucent. They looked like ethereal beings, raw and beautiful.

Then they were running, moving so fast they looked like lightning arcing across the ground. I glanced over at Zoe and Luc, and then I was racing across the field, keeping track of where Daemon was going.

Who needed a flashlight when they were around?

Wind picked up with my speed, tugging at my shirt and hair. Under my feet, the ground was uneven and rocky and the reeds reached my thighs, but the faster I went, the less my feet seemed to touch the ground.

Catching up with the Luxen within seconds with Luc right behind me and Grayson keeping pace, we moved farther down the highway, toward the quiet, looming city. The abandoned cars sat all along the shoulders, and the asphalt of the road had already begun to see the wear of lack of upkeep. Cracks had formed, and potholes riddled the whole way. Up ahead, the building that seemed as tall as a mountain grew closer and closer. Only a few minutes later, Luc held up a hand, and we slowed.

“The exit is there,” he said, and I saw the sign for the road Daemon and Archer had mentioned earlier. It was cockeyed and