“Yes. She told me what you did. She could’ve killed you, Kat.”
“I know, but . . . I didn’t want you to have to fight your sister, to have to hurt her. I didn’t want you to have to ever make that choice and live with what happened.”
It made me love her more than I thought possible. I placed my hands on her knees and leaned in, pressing my lips against her forehead. “Thank you. That’s not enough, but thank you is the best I got.”
“You don’t even need to say that.” Kat rested her forehead against mine and whispered, “I love you.”
I moved up to sit beside her, wanting to pull her into my arms, but I resisted because I could tell she was hurting. “Where?”
She knew what I was asking. “I’m really okay.”
“You look like you’re in pain. Come on. You know I’m going to heal you. Don’t fight me on this.”
For a moment, she stared at me, and then she stuck out her tongue, which caused me to grin. “Pretty much everywhere, especially my ribs. She threw me through a wall.”
I breathed around the flash of anger, telling myself Dee hadn’t known better so I didn’t get all “rage face,” as Kat would say. Carefully, I touched her sides and let the healing begin. “Well, I need you back to perfection, because Dee’s probably going to hit you again.”
Kat winced. “Do I even want to know why?”
“Sit still,” I said. “I told her we got married. She’s happy, but she wants to punch you because she didn’t get to be a part of it.”
“Oh.” She laughed and then cringed. “Was she happy about it? I mean, was she okay?”
“Of course.” As the heat of my ability started making its way through Kat, her eyes drifted shut and her cheek ended up on my shoulder. I liked it. Kind of made me feel warm and fuzzy with her all cuddled up against me. “She’s thrilled, actually. Just wait until I tell her we plan on doing the big, real ceremony. She might not hit you then.”
When she laughed softly, this time it didn’t end with her wincing in pain. Moving my hand to cup her cheek, I took care of the bruises there. “She’s in there with Archer now,” I said.
Kat sighed. “He’s not a bad guy.”
“He’s an Origin.”
She rolled her eyes. “Archer may be an Origin, but he’s still a good guy, and he cares about her, Daemon. He really does, and he’s been worried about her this entire time.”
Ugh.
“You know he can protect her. And he’ll be good for her, so—”
“I’m letting them be. I know she needs him, especially right now when she’s . . . Well, she’s got a lot going on in her head that she’s dealing with.”
Kat’s eyes searched mine, and then she smiled broadly. The blood on her chin didn’t deter from the beauty of it, but I smoothed my thumb over the red, wiping it away. “Wow. I’m sort of proud of you, Daemon.”
“Don’t be too proud, because I still don’t like him.”
“You know what I think?” She lowered her voice as if she were sharing a secret. “I think you do like Archer, and you just don’t want to admit that you’re in the beginning stages of a bromance to end all bromances.”
I snorted. “Whatever.”
Kat laughed again, and silence stretched out between us as my gaze drifted over her face. I started to lean in, but the sound of a car rolling up the long driveway forced us apart. It was Lore’s car.
“Uh-oh,” I murmured.
Kat cringed. “We’ve destroyed his house.”
“It was an accident,” I said, standing and moving down a step just in case Lore got rightfully upset. “He’ll understand.”
In other words, I’d make him understand.
Lore rolled to a stop next to the Explorer, and Hunter and Serena were the first out of the car, carrying a couple of bags. They rounded the porch and came to a complete stop as they saw the doorway . . . missing the door.
Hunter glanced at me. “Do I even want to know?”
“Well . . .” I started slowly.
Sighing, Hunter turned around and caught his brother by the arm. Lore had gotten a good look at the front of his house—the missing door, busted-out windows—and he was just standing there.
“We had a little problem,” Kat began.
“What did you do to my house?” Lore asked. “We left you alone for an hour tops. Just an hour. Seriously.”
If he thought this was bad, wait until he saw the inside. But then he was storming up the steps, and I figured he’d be finding out real soon as he entered the house. I placed my hand on the small of Kat’s back as we followed him in.
“Holy . . .” Lore’s voice faded off into stunned silence.
Hunter gave a low whistle as he took it in. “Damn, guys, this is kind of impressive.”
My lips twitched, but I was smart enough to wipe the smile from my face when Lore spun on us. “Someone is going to clean this up, and it’s not going to be me.”
He was handling this surprisingly well, but I figured being an Arum and all, this wasn’t the first time his house looked like a wrecking ball had gone into it.
I leaned around Hunter, scanning the last room I’d left Dee in, but when I didn’t see her or Archer in there, I glanced at the spiral staircase.
My eyes narrowed. I was trying to be open and understanding and not a dick about them, but their asses better not be upstairs. My sudden change of heart was new to me and only went so far.
Hunter placed the bags on the floor, careful of the shattered glass as he eyed one of the bodies. “This is going to be messy.”
Serena pressed close to him as she surveyed the damage. “The fact that I’m not all that disturbed by this actually disturbs me more.”
A slow grin spread across Kat’s face as she turned to the woman. “I know the feeling.”
Before the bonding moment could go any further, Dee and Archer came from the general direction of the kitchen. My relief that they weren’t upstairs making it like bunnies was short-lived.
My sister’s face was pale, and she opened her mouth, but then she saw Hunter and Lore. Her eyes widened.
Archer wrapped a hand around her shoulder. “I told you the Arum were helping us.”
“I know, but it’s one thing hearing it versus seeing it with my own eyes,” she replied.
Lore frowned as he folded his arms. “You destroyed my house.”
Dee flushed. “I’m sorry. Really, I am! It’s a lovely house and I love all the plants and—”
“He gets that,” I interrupted before this broke down into one of Dee’s long-winded rambles. “What did you need to talk about?”
She glanced back at Archer, and then it all spilled out of her. Everything in one giant breath. “It’s Ethan—he’s an Origin and the whole colony knew it. He was working with a senator and a group of Luxen in Pennsylvania. He thinks if they can get the capital under control, they’ll have everything. He wants you and Dawson either brought in or taken out.”
Ethan Smith.
Elder extraordinaire.
The memory of the first time he’d met Kat rippled through my thoughts—the way he’d looked at her with barely contained distaste. He’d never been a big fan of humans, limiting interactions with them, and while I suspected Ethan was an Origin, it still rocked me. The Luxen we grew up with had been working to take out mankind for how long? Right under our noses from the beginning?
“I bet we know who that senator is,” Serena said, visibly pale.
“That doesn’t matter.” Hunter’s voice was hard. “Because that senator is no longer an issue, courtesy of me.”
“Why?” Kat asked. “Do you know why Ethan has done this?”
Hunter snorted. “World domination? After all, it’s in a Luxen’s blood to rule and dominate.”
I shot him a look.
“I don’t know,” Dee responded, twisting a large section of her hair between her hands. “But I got the feeling it was more than just that.”
“Well, hell . . .” I dropped my hand and glanced up at the ceiling.
“Archer told me about the Arum.” Excitement hummed in her voice. “You were right, Daemon. None of the invading Luxen has fought the Arum. They’ll be able to take those bastards out like nothing.”
Archer’s brow rose at her curse word.
“But Ethan has, right?” Kat stared down at her sneakers, expression tense. “And the colony back home and the one in Pennsylvania will know how to fight the Arum—they will sense them coming, and they will—”
“They will run,” Lore finished for her.
She closed her eyes, shoulders sinking in realization. “They will hide.”
In other words, our brilliant plan of using the Arum wasn’t so brilliant anymore. It had a big old hole in it a mile wide.
Hunter looked around the group. “If you asked me for my opinion—which you didn’t, but I’m going to give it to you anyway—I’d say don’t wait on Lotho to get up there. Take out this guy before they see you coming. Because if this Ethan is as smooth and smart as you all are saying, he’s going to run when the shit hits the fan. Then what? Lotho and crew might take out most of the Luxen, but if he’s still alive, that’s a huge problem.”
Archer nodded in agreement. “It would be like slapping a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound and hoping for the best.”
He was right—both of them were. I looked over at Kat, and our gazes collided. “Going after Ethan isn’t a part of the deal,” I said to her, and I really didn’t care what the rest of the group thought. I cared about what she thought. “We were to secure the Arum and then we can go back—hell, we could go anywhere. You know what Eaton promised us. We don’t have to do this.”
Her lips parted. “I know.”
“But . . .”
Kat drew in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “We don’t have to do this. But if Ethan hits the road before anyone gets there or if he escapes, then what? We’re done. So you know what? Let’s finish this.”