The Brightest Night (Origin #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,13

after him, but while Luc was a threat to everyone else, he wasn’t to me. Never me. I had no idea how he’d make me view him as such.

And I had no idea how he could deal with doing that.

“Maybe we should have someone else work with me,” I suggested after a few moments. “Like Grayson?” The surliest Luxen known to man would be beside himself with glee at the opportunity. “He’d be thrilled to scare me or tick me off. He’d think of it as a reward.”

“Do you really think I’d allow anyone else to do what’s going to need to be done?” he asked.

My lips pursed.

“I’m fully aware of the fact I have a vicious protective streak when it comes to you.” Luc squeezed my hand. “The moment he goes at you, I’d have to kill him.”

Sliding him a long look, I tightened my grip on his hand. “Or you could, maybe, understand that he wouldn’t really be trying to hurt me and therefore not kill him?”

“I’d try and fail, Peaches. The same would go for Zoe or anyone else who meant you harm, even if I knew they truly didn’t want to hurt you.” He shrugged like what he’d said was no big deal. “Like I said, it’s a flaw of mine. At least I’m aware of that.”

“Yeah.” I drew the word out. “At least you’re aware.”

One side of his lips kicked. “Awareness saves lives.”

Having no idea what to say to that, I tried to come up with some other way. Grayson only seemed to have barely begun to tolerate me after learning I was Nadia, and by tolerate, I meant he was only about 20 percent less of a jerk to me. But I didn’t want to see him die.

I also didn’t want Luc to do something that would hurt him.

We continued on in silence, and after only a handful of steps, a prickly shiver coursed its way down my spine, pulling me from my thoughts. Scoping out the quiet street, I couldn’t shake the sudden awareness of being watched.

I felt eyes on me, on us. Dozens of them, and it wasn’t paranoia induced by the nearly identical single-story homes with quiet porches and empty driveways. Even the trees lining the streets appeared to be free of birds, and the silence, the emptiness was creepy.

I knew beyond a doubt that even though the decades-old cars I’d seen that morning were now gone—cars made before electric ignitions and internal computer systems—some of those homes were occupied.

People were watching us.

As we made our way onto the street of the house we were staying in, the feeling heightened. I zeroed in on the faded brick home with a canopied carport. The breeze caught the fabric, lifting to briefly reveal outdoor wicker couches and chairs. A water bottle sat on a low table, next to an impressive, towering stack of books. The whole setup looked so normal, like something I’d see at home back in Columbia, Maryland.

The normalcy of it all sent another pang through my chest, and I could almost picture Zoe, Heidi, and James sitting on those brilliant, bright blue cushions, munching on junk food while pretending to study.

The image was part memory, part fantasy, because we didn’t have a carport and Columbia wasn’t home anymore. I didn’t know if the four of us would ever be together again.

Steps slowing, my gaze flicked to the porch. Curtains blocked the sun, so I couldn’t see anything beyond that, but I stopped.

I stopped the same moment Luc had, feeling a weird sensation along the back of my neck, as if fingers had grazed the skin there. Lifting my hand, I slipped my fingers under my hair and rubbed at the skin.

The heavy curtains parted, and either Daemon or Dawson appeared on the porch. The dark-haired, emerald-green-eyed Luxen were identical, but as he descended the short set of steps, I knew it was Daemon. His hair was a little shorter than his brother’s, face and body a fraction broader. That wasn’t enough to truly tell them apart, but I’d always been able to after a few moments.

Which was weird.

My stomach grumbled again, and I dropped my hand from my neck to my stomach, rubbing it as if that would somehow help.

“You have been waiting all morning for me to walk by.” Luc gave a slow grin. “Haven’t you?”

Daemon strode down the flagstone sidewalk. “I’ve just missed you that much.”

“Not surprised.”

The Luxen nodded in my direction, and I gave him an awkward