The Brightest Night (Origin 3)

We continued on in silence, and after only a handful of steps, a prickly shiver coursed its way down my spine, pulling me from my thoughts. Scoping out the quiet street, I couldn’t shake the sudden awareness of being watched.

I felt eyes on me, on us. Dozens of them, and it wasn’t paranoia induced by the nearly identical single-story homes with quiet porches and empty driveways. Even the trees lining the streets appeared to be free of birds, and the silence, the emptiness was creepy.

I knew beyond a doubt that even though the decades-old cars I’d seen that morning were now gone—cars made before electric ignitions and internal computer systems—some of those homes were occupied.

People were watching us.

As we made our way onto the street of the house we were staying in, the feeling heightened. I zeroed in on the faded brick home with a canopied carport. The breeze caught the fabric, lifting to briefly reveal outdoor wicker couches and chairs. A water bottle sat on a low table, next to an impressive, towering stack of books. The whole setup looked so normal, like something I’d see at home back in Columbia, Maryland.

The normalcy of it all sent another pang through my chest, and I could almost picture Zoe, Heidi, and James sitting on those brilliant, bright blue cushions, munching on junk food while pretending to study.

The image was part memory, part fantasy, because we didn’t have a carport and Columbia wasn’t home anymore. I didn’t know if the four of us would ever be together again.

Steps slowing, my gaze flicked to the porch. Curtains blocked the sun, so I couldn’t see anything beyond that, but I stopped.

I stopped the same moment Luc had, feeling a weird sensation along the back of my neck, as if fingers had grazed the skin there. Lifting my hand, I slipped my fingers under my hair and rubbed at the skin.

The heavy curtains parted, and either Daemon or Dawson appeared on the porch. The dark-haired, emerald-green-eyed Luxen were identical, but as he descended the short set of steps, I knew it was Daemon. His hair was a little shorter than his brother’s, face and body a fraction broader. That wasn’t enough to truly tell them apart, but I’d always been able to after a few moments.

Which was weird.

My stomach grumbled again, and I dropped my hand from my neck to my stomach, rubbing it as if that would somehow help.

“You have been waiting all morning for me to walk by.” Luc gave a slow grin. “Haven’t you?”

Daemon strode down the flagstone sidewalk. “I’ve just missed you that much.”

“Not surprised.”

The Luxen nodded in my direction, and I gave him an awkward half wave, knowing full well that he wasn’t currently a fan of mine. “How was your meeting with Eaton?” Daemon asked of Luc.

“Enlightening,” was the response, and I almost laughed. Only Luc could sum up what we learned this morning in one word. “He dropped some pretty big news on us. Wondering if you’ve known all along.”

My chest squeezed. I hadn’t thought of that until now. What if Daemon knew about Dasher and hadn’t given us a heads-up?

Oh, things were about to get ugly if that was the case.

“I’m going to need a little more detail before I can answer that.” Daemon folded his arms.

Luc glanced at me, and I could read the question in his eyes. I even fancied that I could hear him saying, It’s up to her. If Daemon didn’t know about Dasher, Luc was giving me the choice of letting the rabid cat out of the bag.

There really wasn’t a choice to be made. Daemon needed to know who we were dealing with.

“Eaton told us who’s running the Poseidon Project, and guess who’s pretty much in control of the Daedalus now.” Tucking the hair the wind had tossed across my face back with my free hand, I braced myself for whatever reaction Daemon might have. “It’s Jason Dasher.”

Daemon went so still he could’ve been mistaken for a statue, but then he blinked and looked to Luc.

“Yeah, I thought he was dead, too,” Luc answered, his hand a warm weight around mine. “Sylvia healed him after I left.”

“How could you not know he was alive?” Daemon rang with disbelief as the pupils of his eyes turned white. “You seem to know everything else, even the stupid crap, but somehow, something as big as this, you had no idea?”

Irritation pricked at my skin like a swarm of fire ants, and I responded before Luc had a chance. “He had no idea, because they had their thoughts shielded while he was with them and my mo—” I started to correct myself, but the woman was my mother. “My mom had to have buried the truth so deep that Luc couldn’t get to it. From what Eaton told us, she and Jason would’ve been extremely skilled at blocking their thoughts since they’d helped create the Origins, but you probably already know that little factoid, and I sincerely doubt you think Luc would keep something like that from everyone.”