The Darkest Star (Origin 1)

I followed his gaze. Something occurred to me. “You never had any of that, did you?”

“Had what?”

I leaned a little closer to him. “Friends you went to parties with. Dressing up for Halloween. Sleeping in for no reason. Changing your Facebook profile pic three times in an hour just because you could? Pictures? Memories?”

“Memories? I have memories. Some of them are . . . actually beautiful,” he confessed. “Those memories came after my time with the Daedalus.”

At once, I knew who he was talking about. “Your friend? What was her name? Nadia?”

His shoulders tensed.

“You miss her, don’t you?”

Luc laughed, but it was without humor. “With every single breath I take.”

Wow. My heart squeezed in my chest as curiosity filled me. “Were you two together?” The question sounded ridiculous, because if my father was involved in her death, that had to be more than four years ago. Luc would’ve only been fourteen and she would’ve been thirteen. Then again, I’d seen some super-intimate young ’uns before.

“Like, together?” He laughed again, and once more, there was little softness to the sound. “I never would’ve been that lucky.”

Aww. My shoulders slumped. That was sweet and kind of sad, all things considered. “Did you . . .” Wondering if I was pushing too hard, I dampened my lips. “Did you love her, Luc?”

His eyes closed, and that beautiful face was stricken. Utterly broken wide open as he reopened his eyes and said, “With every breath I take.”

The knot in my throat expanded, and I suddenly wanted to cry. He said take and not took. Even though she was gone, he was still in love with her. That was beautiful in the way only heartbreak could be.

Luc turned away from my pictures. Shadows clung to his gaze. “None of that matters now. You can’t go back. The past is the past. Nadia is . . . She’s gone. And so is the Daedalus, and soon there will be one less Origin to deal with.”

Pressure clamped down on my chest. “And it has to be you?”

“It has to be.” He let his head fall back. “Sometimes I wonder if everything we went through changed anything in the long run.”

“What do you mean?”

Luc didn’t answer, but he didn’t move back, either. Our faces were only several inches apart. Neither of us said anything.

A long moment passed, and I pulled back, running my hands down my face. Leaning against the headboard, I yawned. “My brain feels like it’s going to implode.”

“We wouldn’t want that to happen. It would be messy.”

I peeked over the tips of my fingers. “So, what are we going to do?”

He smoothed his hand over the comforter. “‘We’?”

“About psycho Origin guy?”

Drawing his bottom lip in between his teeth, he grinned a little. “We aren’t going to do anything. I will find him. I will take care of it.”

“And I’m just supposed to sit around and twiddle my thumbs?”

“Yeah.” He paused, his hand stilling. “Or you could sit around and read a book about Vikings claiming some fair maiden.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled. “I have to do something, Luc.”

He lay down on his back, resting his hands on his stomach. “What can you do, Peaches? Not trying to be jerk, but you can’t fight an Origin. You’re . . . you’re damn lucky you’re sitting here.”

My stomach took a tumble. “I know that, but there has to be something.”

He turned his head toward me. “That’s why you have the Taser. Just in case. But other than that, you’re going to stay as safe as possible.”

My eyes narrowed even as my heart started to kick around in my chest as the fear began to take hold again. I didn’t want to think about that Origin, even though I had to.

One side of his lips tipped up. “Deal with it.”

“You’re annoying.”

“It’s a special talent of mine.”

I cleared my throat as I peeked over at him. He was watching me from his super-comfy position on my bed. “So, the whole not glowing thing? Is that something I should be worried about?”

A shadow flickered over Luc’s face. “Honestly?”

My stomach dipped. “Honestly.”

“I don’t know. You’re human. You should have a trace.” He shifted onto his side, propping his chin up with his fist. “Maybe you’re an angel.”

I blinked. “Come again?”

His grin crept across his face. “Because it’s like you fell from heaven.”

The tips of my ears burned. “Did you . . . seriously just say that out loud?”

“I did.” He chuckled. “And I have more.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Get ready for them. No woman or man can resist these,” he said, biting down on that lip. A moment passed. “Life without you is like a broken pencil. Pointless.”

I had no words.

“Struck speechless. Can’t blame you. How about this one? Good thing I have my library card, because I’m so checking you out.”

“Oh my God.” I laughed. “That’s terrible.”