suffocate all light in the universe, not realizing for one to exist so must the other. Many Luxen feel that every time an Arum is killed, a light in the universe fades away. It's the only thing I remember about Mom."
"And your parents died in this war?" I asked, then immediately regretted doing so. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that." Dee stopped washing the dishes. "No, it's okay. You should know, but it shouldn't scare you."
I didn't know how their parents' deaths could scare me, but I had begun to feel alarmed by what I might find out.
"There are Arum here. The government thinks they're Luxen. We have to keep it that way or there's a chance the DOD could learn of our powers through the Arum." Dee faced me, placing her hands on the edge of the sink. "And now, you're like a beacon to them." Appetite gone, I pushed my plate away. "Is there any way to get the trace off?"
"It will fade over time." Dee forced a smile.
"Until then it would be good to stick around us, especially Daemon."
Goodie goodie gumdrops. But it could be worse. "Okay, so it fades...eventually. I can deal with that if that's my only problem."
"It's not," she said. "We need to make sure the government doesn't know that you know the truth. Their job is to make sure we don't expose ourselves. Can you imagine if the human population knew we existed?" Images of rioting and looting flickered in my head, which was how we reacted to everything we didn't understand.
"And they will do anything to make sure we stay secret." Dee's eyes locked onto mine. "You can never tell anyone, Katy."
"I wouldn't. I would never do that." The words rushed from me. "I would never betray any of you like that." And I meant it. Dee was like a sister to me. And Daemon was...well, he was whatever, but I would never betray them.
Not after they trusted me with something so amazing. "I won't tell anyone." Dee knelt beside me and she placed her hand on mine. "I trust you, but we can't let the DOD find out about you, because if they ever did, then you'd disappear."
Chapter 18
"Katy, you've been so quiet today. What's on your mind?"
I winced, wishing my mother wasn't so good at reading me. "I'm just tired." I forced a smile for her benefit.
"Are you sure that all?"
Guilt ate at me. I rarely spent time with my mother, and I wished I hadn't been distracted.
"I'm sorry, Mom. I guess I am a little out of it today."
She started washing our dinner dishes.
"How are things with Daemon and Dee?" We'd made it all day without talking about them. "They're doing great. I think I may go watch a movie with them later." She smiled. "Are you going with both of them?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Mom, please."
"Honey, I'm your mother. I do have a right to ask."
"I'm not sure, really. I don't even know if we are going. It was just an idea." I grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl and took a bite.
"What are you doing with your evening, Mom?" She tried to look nonchalant. "I'm going out and having coffee with Mr. Michaels tonight."
"Mr. Michaels? And who is he?" I asked between bites. "Wait. Is he that fine-looking doctor at the hospital?"
"Yes, the one and only."
"Is this a date?" I leaned against the counter, grinning around the apple. "Go Mom." My mother blushed - actually blushed. "It's just coffee. Not a date."
That explained why she kept picking out dresses today, going as far as making me choose at least two of the pretty things from her closet.
"Well, I hope you have fun on your not a date, but sounds like a date." Smiling, she chattered on about her evening plans and then about a patient she had yesterday. Before she left to get ready, she brought me a couple of dresses she'd found in the back of her closet. "Well, if you go out tonight, why don't you wear one of these?
You'll look pretty in them. They always looked too young for me to wear." My nose scrunched.
"Mom, I'm not the one who has a date tonight." She scoffed. "I don't either."
"Whatever!" I yelled as she raced up the stairs.
It didn't take her long to get ready and leave.
Since it wasn't technically a date, she was meeting him at a little diner in town. I hoped she had a good time; she deserved to