The Brightest Night (Origin #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,134

They found the bodies of four Luxen, which has to include the one Sarah was traveling with. So while there’s not a threat that this Luxen may have gone back to the Daedalus, it doesn’t tell us how she hooked up with him or why she turned on him.”

“Do you think maybe the Daedalus made a Luxen go with her and she was ordered to kill him before he could possibly warn others here? Because if that’s the case, it would be a huge risk once this Luxen got around others who could help him.” I spread my hand out over his chest, above his heart. “But then that would mean the Daedalus would know about the zones.”

“If the Daedalus were aware of who was here, they’d be storming those walls yesterday,” he replied dryly. “But they most definitely have to know that unregistered Luxen are being moved and hidden somewhere. They have to figure that we’ve disappeared into one of these places. Pairing Sarah with a Luxen they are controlling one way or another ups their chances of Sarah being trusted and allowed into at least one of the places that the Luxen are being held. Either she got incredibly lucky with ending up at the right place or she gained some inside knowledge that the contacts she went to worked with our zone.”

“Do the contacts know where the unregistered Luxen are being moved to?” I asked, thinking that would be one hell of a risk if so. I could easily imagine the Daedalus kidnapping family members of those who worked there to force the contacts to spill secrets.

“No. The zone is still secure.” Luc rubbed his chin over my head. “Daemon also had a message for us. Cekiah wants to see us first thing in the morning.”

27

Everyone is staring at me like I’m a freak.

Not everyone. Luc responded as he caught my hand, tugging me back and down where he sat, so I was perched on his knees. Kat isn’t staring at you.

My gaze flicked over a few familiar faces and a whole lot of unfamiliar ones. Vibrant Luxen gazes mingled with ordinary human ones stared back at me in open distrust. Being stared at by a bunch of legit aliens like I was the weird one to be wary of was quite unsettling.

Kat was sitting at the long, conference-style table, her chair pushed back as she gently rocked baby Adam.

That’s because she’s focused on the baby.

Luc folded an arm loosely around my waist. Daemon’s not staring at you.

That’s because he’s staring at his wife and son. Which was true. His dark head was bent as he touched the tiny, sock-covered feet.

Everyone is staring at you because you’re beautiful.

My lips twisted as my stomach grumbled. Luc and I had eaten breakfast about thirty minutes before, but I felt like I hadn’t touched food in a week, and that reminded me of how it had been right before I did the mini-coma thing. Which would be more concerning if I weren’t currently in front of what felt like a firing squad. Uh-huh.

And because you blew up a house with your mind.

I sighed. You’re not helping.

His answering chuckle tickled at my mind. Only Luc would be utterly unconcerned at the moment.

Cekiah cleared her throat, drawing my attention. Her braids were swept back from her face, piled into a fascinating, intricate design that made the dyed blue braids really pop. She didn’t sit at the head of the table. Actually, no one sat at the head. There weren’t even chairs there, which I thought made an interesting statement.

No one here was at the head of anything.

Cekiah’s eyes, a more honeyed color compared to Zouhour’s, were fixed on mine. “I hope you’ve fully recovered.”

I nodded. “I have. Thank you.”

Her gaze slid to the space beyond my shoulder. “I wish the same could be said about Jonas.”

“As do I,” Luc replied smoothly while I tensed.

“Jonas was a good man, and he was doing his job,” an older Luxen male said, his skin still mostly smooth with the exception of a few creases at the corner of his eyes.

“I’m sure he was an amazing person, Quinn, but he shot Evie.” Luc’s tone didn’t change. “Who he was before that no longer matters.”

Daemon looked up at that, and our gazes connected. What he had said to me one evening at Foretoken was all too easy to recall.

We aren’t the bad guys, but we aren’t the good guys, either.

Quinn’s jaw hardened. “No one plays judge or