Origin (Lux 4)

He held my gaze for a moment, then swore as he stepped aside. I slid past him, my eyes going to the staircase.

“Dee’s asleep,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Daemon—”

“Where’s Beth?”

“Here,” came a soft voice from the dining room.

I turned around and, hell, it was like the girl materialized out of smoke and shadows. I’d forgotten how much of a tiny thing she was. Slim and elfin, with lots of brown hair and a pointy, stubborn little chin. She was a lot paler than I remembered.

“Hey there.” My beef wasn’t with her. I glanced back at my brother. “You think it’s wise to have her here?”

He went to her side, draping his arm over her shoulders. “We planned on leaving. Matthew was going to set us up in Pennsylvania, near South Mountain.”

I nodded. The mountain was rocking a decent amount of quartzite but no Luxen community that we knew of.

“But we didn’t want to leave right now,” Beth added quietly, her eyes darting around the room, not settling on anything in particular. She was dressed in one of Dawson’s T-shirts and a pair of Dee’s sweats. Both swallowed her whole. “It didn’t seem right. Someone should be here with Dee.”

“But it’s not really safe for you two,” I pointed out. “Matthew could stay with Dee.”

“We’re fine.” Dawson bent his head, pressing a kiss against Beth’s forehead before pinning me with a serious look. “You shouldn’t be out of the colony. We had you there to keep you safe. If the police see you or the—”

“The police aren’t going to see me.” That concern made sense. Since Kat and I were both presumed missing, or that we’d run away, my reappearance would raise a lot of questions. “Neither will Kat’s mom.”

He didn’t look convinced. “You’re not worried about the DOD?”

I said nothing.

He shook his head. “Shit.”

Beside him, Beth shifted her slight weight from one foot to the next. “You’re going after her, aren’t you?”

“The hell he is,” my brother cut in, and when I said nothing, he strung together so many curse words I was actually impressed. “Dammit, Daemon, out of everyone, I know what you’re feeling, but what you’re doing is insane. And seriously, how did you get out of the cabin?”

Striding forward, I brushed past him and headed for the kitchen. It was strange being back in here. Everything was the same—gray granite countertops, white appliances, the god-awful country decorations Dee had thrown up on the walls, and the heavy oak kitchen table.

I stared at the table. Like a mirage, Kat appeared, sitting on the edge. Deep pain sliced across my chest. God, I missed her, and it killed me not knowing what was really happening to her or what they were doing.

Then again, I had a good idea. I knew enough from what they’d done to Dawson and Beth, and that made me physically ill.

“Daemon?” He had followed me.

I turned from the table. “We don’t need to have this conversation, and I’m not in the mood to state the obvious. You know what I’m doing. It’s why you put me in the colony.”

“I don’t even understand how you got out. There was onyx all over that place.”

Each colony had cabins meant to keep Luxen who’d become dangerous to our kind or to humans and that the Elders didn’t want to take them to the human police.

“If there’s a will, there’s a way.” I smiled when his eyes narrowed.

“Daemon…”

“I’m here to get a few things, and then I’m gone.” I opened up the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Taking a swig, I faced him. We were the same height, so we met eye to eye. “I mean it. Don’t push me on this.”

He flinched, but his green eyes met mine. “There’s nothing I can say that’s going to change your mind?”

“Nope.”

He stepped back, rubbing his hand down his jaw. Behind him, Beth sat in the chair, her arms wrapped around her waist, her gaze going everywhere except toward us.

Dawson leaned against the counter. “You going to make me beat you into submission?”

Beth’s head jerked up, and I laughed. “I’d like to see you try, little brother.”

“Little brother,” he scoffed, but a faint smile pulled at his lips. Relief was evident on Beth’s face. “By how many seconds?” he asked.

“Enough.” I tossed the water bottle in the garbage.

Several moments passed, and then he said, “I’ll help you.”

“Hell no.” I folded my arms. “I don’t want your help. I don’t want any of you taking part in this.”

Determination set his jaw. “Bull. You helped us. It’s too dangerous to do it on your own. So if you’re going to be stubborn and ignore the fact that you kept me on a leash, which you are, I’m not going to let you do this by yourself.”

“I’m sorry I held you back. Now, knowing exactly how you felt, I would’ve stormed that damn place the very same night you came home. But I’m not going to let you help. Look at what happened when we were in this all together. I can’t be worried about you guys. I want you and Dee as far away as possible from this.”

“But—”

“I’m not going to argue with you.” I placed my hands on his shoulders and squeezed. “I know you want to help. I appreciate that. But if you really want to help, don’t try to stop me.”