Origin (Lux 4)

Blood drained from the female Luxen’s face. “I-I don’t know what you m-mean.”

Daemon stood slowly and stepped forward. His brother was behind him. “What’s going on?”

Luc ignored him, lifting the frightened Luxen off the floor. “I’m going to give you five seconds to answer the question. One. Four—”

“I didn’t have a choice,” she gasped out, clutching the boy’s wrist.

My blood chilled.

Understanding rippled across the room, followed by horror. I moved closer to Beth, who was struggling to unwrap herself from the blanket.

“Wrong answer,” Luc said, voice low as he dropped Lyla. “You always have a choice. It’s the one thing that no one can strip from us.”

Luc moved so quickly that I doubted even Daemon could fully track what he did. His arm shot out. White swirled down his arm, exploding from his hand. A wave of heat and power flowed through the room, blowing the hair back from my face.

The energy smacked into Lyla’s chest, throwing her backward into the oil painting of the Vegas Strip. A look of shock crossed her face, and then there was nothing. Her eyes were blank as she slid down the wall, her legs tucking under her.

Oh my God… I stepped back, clamping my hand over my mouth.

There was a hole in Lyla’s chest. Smoke wafted out of it.

A second later, she blurred like bad reception, and then she was in her true form, the luminous glow fading until it revealed the translucent skin and network of dull veins.

“Care to explain why you just killed our host?” Daemon asked in a dangerously even voice.

Archer reappeared in the wide opening of the room, one hand clamped on the back of Matthew’s neck and a crushed phone in the other. Blood trickled out from Matthew’s nose, a deeper red with a blue tint to it.

Daemon and Dawson shot forward. “What the hell?” Daemon’s voice thundered through the house. “You have two seconds to answer that question before I tear this room apart with your ass.”

“Your friend here was making a phone call.” Archer’s tone was flat, so calm that a shudder worked its way through my muscles. “Tell them, Matthew, tell them who you were calling.”

There was no response from Matthew. He just stared at Daemon and Dawson.

Archer’s grip tightened, jerking Matthew’s head back. “The bastard was on the phone with Daedalus. He screwed us. Bad.”

Chapter 27

Katy

Daemon stepped back, actually physically recoiling from the accusation. “No.” His voice was hoarse. “No way.”

“I’m sorry,” Matthew said. “I couldn’t let this happen.”

“Let what happen?” Dee said. Her face was pale as her hands clenched at her sides.

Matthew didn’t take his eyes off Daemon. His voice, his entire being pleaded with Daemon to understand the unthinkable. “I can’t keep losing you all—you’re my family, and Adam is dead. He’s dead because of what Daedalus wants. You have to understand. It’s the last thing I wanted to go through again.”

A cold sensation raced through my veins. “Again?”

Matthew’s vibrant blue eyes slid toward me, and it was like the shutters were off. For the first time, I saw the distrust and the loathing in his stare. So potent and powerful, it reached across the room and latched onto me. “This is why we don’t mix with humans. Accidents happen, and it’s in our nature to save the ones we love. That’s why we don’t love humans. It leads to this! The moment one of us gets involved with a human, Daedalus is only a few steps behind.”

“Oh my God.” Dee clasped her hands over her mouth.

Paris tsked softly. “That is a terrible reason to betray those you consider family.”

“You wouldn’t understand!” Matthew struggled free from Archer’s grip. “If I have to sacrifice one to save everyone else, I will. I have done it. It has been for the best.”

I was dumbfounded. Struck absolutely stupid for a few seconds, but then I thought of that night Daemon and I had gone to Matthew after we saw the Arum go into the house with Nancy—the same night Matthew had confirmed that if Beth was alive, Dawson had to be.

There had been so much that Matthew had known that we never questioned. And the fact that he knew about this place and never mentioned it before? Horror rose in me as I stared at him.

Luc cocked his head to the side. “What did they offer you? Everyone would go free if you turned over just one of them? An equal exchange. A life for a handful of others?”

I was going to be sick.

“They wanted Daemon and Kat,” he said, his gaze sliding back to Daemon. “They promised that everyone else would walk away from this.”

“Are you insane?” shrieked Dee. “How is that helping anyone?”

“It will!” Matthew roared. “Why do you think they left Daemon and you alone? You two knew about Dawson’s relationship and that Bethany knew the truth about us. All of you were at risk. I had to do something.”

“No.” Beth’s quiet voice shook the room. “My uncle was the one who turned us—”

“Your uncle confirmed what was suspected,” Matthew spat. “When they came to me about you two, they gave me an option. If I told the truth about the extent of your relationship and what you knew, everyone else would be left alone.”

“You son of a bitch.” The edges of Daemon’s body started to blur. “You turned over Dawson to them? My brother?” Venom dripped from his words.