Opposition (Lux 5)

“That sucks.”

That tight smile appeared. “You have no idea. I lived for years knowing that they could end my life if I did one thing wrong. Over and over, I watched other Origins, too young to really understand what they were, get taken away and never seen again. They were killed. And then I watched them murder my parents for an infraction that I committed.”

My hands, hell, my whole being itched to end this. “Like I said, that sucks, but I really don’t get why you’re telling me.”

“You don’t?” Ethan laughed, and for the first time, real emotion spread across his face. “I lived in Daedalus’s lab until I was old enough to be placed outside, into a controlled position. Not like some who were placed as senators or doctors. No. I was placed within the Luxen community, ordered to keep an eye on them.” He chuckled. “As if I would help them with anything. Or any Origin of my class would.”

“Class?”

“Yes. There’ve been roughly five classes. I was a part of the first. Your friend outside was in the second batch, and there have been three more.”

I was guessing that the last two were the ones including Luc and those freaking kids. “Are all the Origins from your group like you?”

“Like me,” he huffed, shaking his head. “You mean do they want what I want or are they no longer under the control of Daedalus? The answer is twofold. No Origin can truly be controlled by anyone. We are practically the closest things to gods.”

Wow, mouthed Kat.

“And those who are left of our class, which are few, want just what I do.”

Kat sat forward, sliding her hands off the table. “Few? There aren’t many left of your . . . uh, class?”

His gaze slid her way, and I didn’t like it. Not one freaking bit. “When you two escaped from Daedalus and Vegas happened, Daedalus began cleaning up—eradicating the Origins.”

Her brows pinched. “They said they started that when the Luxen arrived.”

“And you believe anything a human says? Of course you do, because that is what you are.” He sneered, his disgust evident, and he was really starting to piss me off. “They started cleaning house when you all decided to take down Vegas. All across the country, we dropped like flies, and it simply became time to end this.”

“End this.” I was so beginning to see where this was heading. “You found a way to communicate with the Luxen who hadn’t been here.”

“We’d been working on a way, and let’s just say we opened the doors for them. It was perfect timing.” He spread his hands wide. “And here we are. Most of the Luxen, both here and those who’ve arrived recently, answer to me.” His smile went up a notch. “I can be very convincing.”

Kat stared at him. A second ticked by. “You hate humans.”

“Loathe them,” he confirmed. “They disgust me. They are weak and fragile. They are fickle and dangerous. They deserve everything that is coming to them. The Luxen want to rule them, and they will. They already are, and that’s fine by me. I don’t care what they do, as long as humans suffer and experience everything that I have.”

“All of this . . . all of this is because of what happened to you?” she asked, shaking her head slowly. Disbelief colored her tone. I didn’t blame her. I was also shocked.

Taking over the world was at least something to aspire to. This? This was just nasty hatred and revenge and . . . yeah, crazy. How he managed to get so many Luxen behind him was beyond my understanding. How could they not have seen through what he was? Though hell, I had never seen him for what he was.

“You’re doing this just because of what was done to you,” Kat repeated.

“And what they did to others of my kind.” His eyes flashed again. “And what they would’ve continued to do, even after dismantling Daedalus and their projects.”

“But there are people who would’ve never done anything like that. Who would’ve welcomed the Luxen,” she argued. “You can’t judge an entire race of beings on what a small percentage of people have done.”

“Already have,” he replied.

Jesus. There were no words for this.

“That’s insane!” Kat’s cheeks flushed with anger, and damn, she was right. “That’s worse than how the Luxen feel about the Arum and vice versa. That’s absolutely—”

Ethan moved faster than even I could track for a moment. One second he was sitting, and the next second he was right beside Kat, his fingers curled around her throat.

I shot up from my chair, knocking it over. My form began to shift. Let her go.

His grip tightened on her neck. “Take one step toward me. Shift or summon the Source, and I will snap her neck. Let’s see if you can heal her from that.”

My heart—dammit—my heart stopped in my chest as I stared at them. He had me by the throat because he had my whole world in his hands. I forced the shift to back off and said one word I thought I’d never utter to the bastard.

“Please.” I swallowed hard, but the words came out easier than I could’ve ever imagined. “Please don’t hurt her.”

Ethan sneered into her face. “You beg for a human who wouldn’t do the same for you?”

“I’d do anything for her.”

“And I would do . . . the same for him,” Kat gasped out, her hands curling inward in her lap. “And I would . . . never be as batshit crazy as you.”

“Kat,” I warned.

Ethan’s fingers tightened, and she jerked. “Excuse me?”