His eyes were closed, face relaxed. “When they came out of the woods, I could hear everything they were thinking, what they wanted. It was the same for Dawson and Dee. We were immediately connected. And at first, it was overwhelming. I wanted to go with them.” He paused, opening his eyes. Our gazes locked. “It was like I forgot everything except them. They became everything.”

I couldn’t even wrap my head around that. “Do you hear them now?”

“No. If anything, it’s a low hum way in the background.” He paused. “It’s not the first time something like that has happened. When a lot of us are around one another, it can get hard, because it’s like a million-way radio. It’s why we never liked being in the colony. When there are so many of us, we all are connected, almost like one being, and you’re influenced into things you don’t want. You’re not an individual. You’re a whole. I just didn’t know it could be as strong as it was when they came.”

“But you beat it,” I reminded him, because he sounded almost disappointed in himself.

“Because of what I felt for you. Same with Dawson, and obviously any other Luxen who is connected to someone else, but Dee . . .” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Those who came, they are different from the rest of us. I know that’s obvious now, but they . . . they’re so cold. No empathy or compassion.” A sigh shuddered through him. “I don’t remember my parents, but I can’t believe they were like this. I guess we aren’t like that because we’ve been around humans. That lack of compassion and empathy makes them dangerous, Kat. More than I think we even realize.”

As I smoothed my thumb along his jaw, he turned his head, placing a kiss on the center of my palm. “They have to have a weakness, though. Everything in the universe has a weakness.”

Daemon captured my hand, threading his fingers through mine. “In every colony, there is an Elder who pretty much rules over the group. I know that out of those who have arrived, there has to be one who is kind of like . . . like their sergeant. Their queen in a hive. Taking out that person won’t end this, but it will weaken them—the hold they have over other Luxen.”

Like Dee.

“Any idea who that is or where that person is?” I asked.

His lips kicked up on one side. “No. Rolland kept it pretty hidden, and now that makes sense. Because of Sadi, he knew better than to share that little piece of information. Damn Sadi. I had no idea she was an Origin, but I think she’s not the only one who’s been pretending and hiding out among the Luxen.”

I frowned. “Who else?”

“It’s something I never really noticed until I was leaving the colony, when I came for you. Strange thing is, I never trusted this guy. There was also something off about him, and he said some off-the-wall stuff when I left. Things that didn’t make sense then, and I didn’t really put anything together until Archer revealed what he was—you know, the eye coloring.” He rolled onto his back, exhaling slowly. “Ethan Smith.”

It took me a moment to remember who he was. “He’s the Elder from the colony back home?”

He nodded. “His eyes are just like Archer’s and Luc’s.”

“Holy crap,” I breathed. Sitting up, I folded my legs under me. “But if he is an Origin, and if the Origins somehow helped get the rest of the Luxen here, the question is why?”

Daemon’s gaze shifted to mine. “That’s the question of a lifetime, right? Why would some of the Origins be working with the Luxen?”

12

{ Daemon }

Kat looked like her brain hurt.

I couldn’t blame her. There was so much being thrown at us, I felt like I needed to be wearing catcher’s gear.

The whole thing about Ethan kept tossing around in my head as we lay in bed together, trying to get some sort of rest before Archer returned and most likely dumped even more messed-up news in our laps.

I could tell that even though Kat was quiet in my arms, she wasn’t sleeping. Like me, there was too much to dwell on. Thinking about Dee made me want to slam my face through a wall, so I’d rather figure out what the hell Ethan could have to do with the Luxen invasion.

The thing was, it truly was the million-dollar question. Why would the Origins and the Luxen work together? It was something I asked Archer after he showed back up with bags of clothes. When he tossed Kat a chocolate bar, I frowned, wondering just how much he picked up on.

Archer raised a brow at me. “Enough to know you picture knocking my head off my shoulders whenever we’re around each other.”

I smiled at that while Kat looked up from unwrapping her candy bar. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I said as I peered into one of the bags and found jeans in my size. That was weird on a disturbing level.

“Back to your question. About Origin and Luxen.” Archer propped himself against the desk and folded his arms. “I honestly have no idea what could be gained by that, other than the typical joining powerful forces for world domination and blah, blah.”

“That’s cliché,” I said.

“And too obvious,” he agreed.

I glanced over at Kat. The look on her face as she devoured the bar, as if she tasted heaven for the first time and was seconds away from having a mouth-gasm, made me wish Archer wasn’t in the room.

His smile went up a notch.

And it also made me wish he’d get the hell out of my head. “Did you know about Ethan?” I asked, refocusing.