The Burning Shadow (Origin 2)

Kent rolled his dark eyes. “I wanted to run out and get water, but someone—Grayson—said we didn’t have time. It’s like no one understands my dreams and aspirations.”

“No one understands anything about you, Kent.”

I yelped as the door behind me suddenly opened. Zoe climbed in, startling me. “How…?”

“Our Uber driver Kent called.” She closed the door behind her. “Figured you guys could use an extra hand.”

“Luc’s been shot,” I told her as Grayson climbed into the front passenger seat. “Like, three times.”

“I can see.” She winced as she leaned around me. “Can’t believe you let yourself get shot. Again.”

“You guys are so sympathetic,” Luc muttered as Kent pulled away from the curb.

“Why do you all keep acting like this happens often?” I twisted toward Luc. “Does this happen often?” My voice pitched. “Do you get shot a lot?”

Luc fell quiet.

I turned to Zoe, who was studiously staring out the window. “Does he get shot a lot?”

“Don’t answer that,” Luc ordered.

“What?” I shrieked.

“You know, I just want to remind everyone in this vehicle what a bad idea I thought going into that house was,” Grayson announced. “But no one ever listens to me.”

“Is there a point to your statement, Grayson?” Luc asked.

“Not really.”

Half of Luc’s face was in the shadows, but I thought I saw a hint of a smile. “You didn’t have to come here.”

Shaking his head, Grayson turned around as we passed a set of headlights heading toward the subdivision. “Like I had a choice.”

“You can’t see me,” Luc said. “But I just rolled my eyes so hard that they fell out of the back of my head.”

“Can you two just not right now?” Zoe snapped, and I 100 percent agreed with her. “Pretty sure you look like you’re going to pass out, Luc.”

He did.

“Really?” Grayson twisted toward us. “I can heal you now, because I’m sure as hell not carrying you.”

“I think you should definitely heal him now,” I told Grayson.

He ignored me.

“I’m not going to pass out,” Luc grumbled. “I never pass out.”

“You’d better not, because you’re heavy,” Grayson muttered. “And that’s not how I want to close out my evening.”

“Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do,” Luc retorted.

“Like right now?” Grayson shot me a look.

“Well, now I want to pass out, just so you have to carry me.” Luc’s hand spasmed around mine.

“Zoe can carry you,” Grayson replied.

“Yeah, I could. Why? Because we Origins are nowhere near as whiny as Luxen.”

“You sound like you just realized that.” Luc’s chuckle ended in a wet-sounding cough. “Come on, everyone knows that. Luxen means … ‘over-entitled crybaby’ in Latin.”

“No,” Grayson said, peering into the back seat. “It doesn’t.”

Zoe snickered. “Actually, I think Luxen means ‘lack of personality’ in Latin.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Luc nodded.

“Hey, guys…” Kent had one hand on the steering wheel as the SUV picked up speed. “Behind us.”

I twisted in the seat at the same time Zoe and Luc did. The car that had passed us going the other way had pulled a U-turn and was catching up to us. High beams came on, causing me to wince.

“Here we go.” Luc tipped his head back and let out a wild laugh, the kind of laugh that might’ve been infectious in any other situation. “Things are about to get really interesting.”

Things were about to get interesting? Were all of them out of their minds? I was pretty sure that the answer was yes, and I had a really bad feeling about Luc’s laugh.

“Is it just one car?” Grayson asked.

Luc nodded. “Appears to be.”

The headlights were getting closer, and my head was suddenly filled with images of epic car chases that ended with flesh mangled with metal.

“You need to put your seat belt on.” Luc lurched forward, patting around the crease of the seat, looking for the belt.

I stared at him like he’d grown a hand in the center of his forehead and was flipping me off. “You’re worried about a seat belt?”

“Yes. I don’t want you to go through a windshield or something.” He couldn’t find the belt. There was a good chance I was sitting on it. “Can you move? I think it’s behind you or Zoe.”

As I leaned forward, Luc spoke directly in my ear. “We’ll be fine.”

Before I could respond, Grayson’s veins lit up. My breath caught. It didn’t matter how many times I saw a Luxen take their true form, it was still a shock to see them do it and be this close.

A white sheen filled the inside of the SUV as the light in his veins seeped into his skin, replacing bone and tissue. Heat flared as if the hot air had been kicked on, and I shrank back, pressing into the seat. The glow was so intense, like staring into the sun, and I had to shield my eyes. I had no idea how Kent was able to drive.