The Brightest Night (Origin 3)

Realizing Luc wasn’t going to be swayed, I quieted, and then I thought of Nate. My stomach dropped. That food wouldn’t have lasted four days. “Has Nate come by?”

Luc’s brow puckered. “The kid? I don’t think so, but I imagined if he did and saw me or anyone else here, he probably headed in the other direction.”

That would make sense. I sighed, hoping if that was the case, he’d come back.

Luc rose from the bed, and I’d never seen him so wrinkly. He’d changed since the last time I’d seen him, having switched out jeans for a pair of black cotton jogger pants and a plain shirt, but it was clear he’d spent the last four days in those clothes.

I looked down at myself, brows raising when I saw that I was in a shirt—a black shirt. Unease blossomed in the pit of my stomach as I lifted a tingling arm and pushed the thin, yellow blanket down with fingers that alternated between numb and prickly.

The shirt featured a UFO sucking up a T. rex.

My heart skipped a beat. “This is your shirt?”

“One of the ones I had here. Zoe changed you,” he explained, reaching for a bottle of water on the nightstand. “She thought you’d be more comfortable, and it didn’t feel right for me to do it.”

My gaze lifted to his. How was I wearing the same shirt in a dream before I’d even seen it? Had I at some point woken long enough to have seen it and didn’t remember? That was possible, I supposed. But it was still bizarre.

“Thirsty?” Luc asked, and boy, was I ever. I nodded. “Do you think you can sit up?”

I thought about that, and then I nodded once more. Sitting up wasn’t nearly as hard as opening my eyes had been, so I figured that was progress in the right direction. Luc handed over the water, and with the first touch of liquid on my tongue, I started to guzzle it.

“I think it would be wise to slow down.” Luc gently tugged the bottle away from my mouth. “Slow sips until we get the all clear. Okay?”

Although my throat and mouth still felt like a desert, I took a dainty sip.

“I’m going to get the doctor.” He started for the door, but stopped, shoulders tensed. Watching him, I lowered the bottle to my lap. “I don’t want to leave.”

Pressure clamped down on my chest. “I’m here. I’m awake, and I’m okay—at least, I feel okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

Slowly, he turned back to me, brows knitted. His gaze met mine, and he didn’t speak. He just stared at me with those intense purple eyes until I started to squirm.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said, and a moment passed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.” I nodded for extra emphasis.

An emotion flickered across his face, widened his eyes for a fraction of a second, but it was gone before I could figure it out. “I’ll be right back.”

Luc made it to the door, and I’d just taken a tiny sip before I remembered. “Kat?” Water dripped down my chin. “Is she okay? The baby? Daemon?”

He turned back, the skin around his mouth tight. “She and the baby are fine, as is Daemon,” he answered, and sweet relief swept through me. They were okay. “They’re the happy parents of a healthy baby boy. They named him Adam.”16Dr. Vivien Hemenway arrived about ten minutes after I’d convinced Luc I was okay enough to walk to the bathroom without him following me inside. The moment I saw and heard her, I knew hers was the voice I’d heard on and off while I’d slept and that she was also human.

Maybe Grayson had been right and I was beginning to sense things the way Luxen and Origins did, because I just knew she wasn’t rocking any alien DNA. I felt nothing when I looked at her. No weird vibes, nor did I see any weird light shows. But if Grayson was right, why would that randomly start happening?

I didn’t have an answer as I remained quiet and watched the doctor do her thing. With brown hair pulled back in a haphazard ponytail and a face that held the kind of earthy beauty that reminded me of the pictures I’d seen of women in the ’60s and ’70s, she had an air of calm authority surrounding her that only a doctor could muster.

Perched on the edge of the bed, she’d already taken my pulse and temperature, looked in my ears and mouth, and was currently listening to my breathing—or maybe it was my heart. I had no clue. I was just supposed to take deep breaths while Luc watched from where he stood by the bed like a silent guardian, arms crossed and hips aligned with his shoulders.

Luc looked like he was ready to go into battle.