The Burning Shadow (Origin 2)

“Evie.” Luc’s voice was quiet but strong.

Drawing in a deep breath, I nodded. “I’m okay. I’m ready.”

And then I stepped forward, hand in hand with Luc, into the unknown.40We entered a dark field that had once been a park. There was a swing set in the moonlight, the seats missing from the chains.

I don’t know why that was the first thing I noticed, and not the men armed with rifles. They weren’t paying much attention to us, and I quickly realized they were guards, obviously protecting the entrance to Zone 3.

We crested the hill, passing the park, and down below I saw rows of homes and a towering, sprawling city, completely dark.

A yellow glow flickered to life several yards ahead, followed by another and then another. Gas lamps casting light along the street. There were people waiting for us.

Daemon disappeared.

That was how fast he moved. He just vanished, and a heartbeat later, I heard a soft, feminine laugh.

“How are you?” I heard Daemon say, and then a plethora of questions came from him. “You feeling okay? No problems, right? You’re doing—”

“I’m perfect,” came the response. “Especially now. We missed you.”

Then Archer was gone. There was a squeak, and I squinted, seeing him lift someone up over his shoulder.

Dawson sighed. “Show-off.”

And then he was gone.

There was laughter, male and female, and then a peal of giggles that came from a child, and soft voices, intimate moments of reunions. Zoe slowed down, and I figured, like me, she wanted to give them space. The four of us took our time getting to them, with Grayson hanging way back.

A snapping sound caught my attention. Wind lifted up canopies that were stretched from a house, the fabric rippling.

“Holy alien babies,” a female said, and the gas lamp moved closer to her face, revealing a pretty young woman with brown hair and big eyes. “Is that the Luc? Has hell officially frozen over? Is there another alien invasion on the horizon?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” He squeezed my hand and then said to me in a lower voice, “Want to meet Kat?”

I did.

I watched Zoe walk over to where Dawson was standing with another woman. Luc let go of my hand as he moved forward silently, and then he dipped down, hugging someone much shorter than he was, than even I was. He murmured something, and I heard her laugh as he pulled back, straightening.

“Are you sure you aren’t having twins?” he asked.

“Good God, don’t say that, Luc,” Kat replied as I clasped my hands together. “Not exactly prepared for a two-for-one special.”

Luc laughed. “I’m sure Daemon is.”

“Actually…” Daemon trailed off. “The mere idea gives me a series of heart attacks.”

“Man up, Daemon; you could be getting ready to have triplets.”

“I’m so glad I came to get you,” he responded dryly. “So glad.”

I cracked a grin as Luc turned to me, and I saw that he was now holding what appeared to be a gas lantern. I inched forward.

“Kat, this is Evie,” he said, stressing my name like he always did when it was someone who knew me before.

Now that I was closer to them, I could see how pretty the young woman was … and also how pregnant she was. Like she looked as if she were due last week.

Daemon had moved to stand behind his wife, two hands resting on a very heavily swollen stomach.

“Hi.” I waved my hand awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

She smiled as she extended a hand, clasping mine warmly. “I’m thrilled to see you. Both of you.” She glanced at Luc and then at me. “Daemon said you don’t remember … meeting me, but I just want to say I’m glad to see you here.”

“Thank you. Same. I mean, I don’t remember you, but I’m glad to be here,” I rambled, sounding like an idiot as I dropped her hand. “I’m just going to stop talking now.”

Luc draped his arm over my shoulders as he bent down, whispering in my ear, “You’re doing fine.”

I wasn’t so sure about that.

But Kat was grinning at me—at us—and there was a secret to her grin when she said, “You know, Luc. I always knew it.”

“Shush,” he murmured, pressing a quick kiss below my ear.

Daemon whispered something to Kat, and her smile faltered as her gaze fixed on me. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “To hear about your mother. I know that doesn’t change anything or make it better, and I do know. I just want to say I’m sorry.”

The next breath I took was shaky. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Her smile was full of the kind of grief I knew came from firsthand experience.

“Hi!” a bubbly voice broke through, and I turned to my right.

I immediately recognized the stunning black-haired woman standing there beside Archer. “You’re Dee,” I blurted out.

She blinked. “I am.”

“You remember her?” Kat asked.