Opposition (Lux, #5)(19)

“Is that so?” Quincy hesitated, and then he placed his hand above my chest, the same place I’d seen the Luxen touch in the supermarket.

A low rumble reverberated along my back, and I wasn’t sure if it was from Daemon or if it was me shaking so badly. The Luxen’s brows knitted in concentration, and then he glanced at Rolland.

“Nothing,” he said. “I cannot assimilate her DNA.”

My eyes widened in understanding. My God, I’d seen what had happened to the humans after their DNA had been assimilated at a rapid clip. He would’ve killed me! And Daemon, but at this point, I wanted to knee Daemon in the groin. Anger burned its way through me as I twisted in his grasp, trying to get free, because I needed space, but his grip tightened as furious tears stung my eyes.

“That’s an interesting development,” Rolland commented. “What else can you two do? We know that if one dies, the other does. She obviously has access to the Source. Is there anything else?”

“She won’t get sick. Like us.” Daemon’s words were short, to the point. “And she’s fast and strong.”

I sucked in a sharp breath as the blister of something ugly, of betrayal, curled around my heart.

“Remarkable.” Rolland clapped his hands as if we’d performed Swan Lake instead of just standing there in front of him.

“And that is all?” Sadi asked, looking wholly unimpressed.

“Yes,” Daemon answered, and my eyes widened, but I schooled my features blank.

I held my breath, but Dee didn’t disagree. Both of them had just blatantly lied by omission. There was more. When he was in his true form, Daemon and I could communicate the way he did with other Luxen. I didn’t know what to think about that, but hope sparked deep in my chest. My gaze darted to Dee, but she was staring at the wall as if there was something amazing going on there.

What was really happening here? There was more—

My thoughts careered off, crashing in a fiery glory as Quincy, who wasn’t even looking at me but was eyeballing Daemon, slid his hand down my chest, like right on my chest. Shock rippled through me, quickly followed by red-hot rage and bitter disgust. Every part of me recoiled.

Suddenly, I was sliding across the wood floor and bumping into an empty leather chair. Startled, I lifted my head and peered through the length of matted hair that had fallen across my face.

The two Luxen were locked in an epic stare-down, and across from me, Dee was no longer staring at the wall, but was focused on her brother. It was so quiet in the room that you could hear a fly hiccup.

And then Daemon exploded like a bottle rocket.



{ Daemon }

Wrath tasted like a pool of blood in the back of my mouth, and I was unable to see or think past it. There were a lot of things I could deal with, that I could force myself to tolerate and I could wait on. But him touching her like that not only crossed the line, it blew a freaking hole in it.

Shifting into my true form, I felt the immediate bombardment from others of my kind, their needs and wants, rising in a vicious cyclone, but my rage overwhelmed them. Catching Quincy the second before he could shift, I flung him into the far wall, but this time with a hell of a lot more effort than when I found him in her room.

Body say hello to wall.

He crashed into it without changing. Plaster cracked and gave way under the impact. White dust flew into the air. Quincy started to slide down the wall. That was the funny thing about the Luxen. They hadn’t realized yet just how weak they were in their human forms.

I was on him before he hit the floor.

Slamming my fist into his chin, I reveled in the cracking sound of his head knocking backward. Nowhere near done, I hauled him up and then practically put him through the wall, all the way to the supporting beams.

Then I let go.

Quincy went down, crumpled on the floor, flickering in and out like a squashed lightning bug. Shimmery blue liquid seeped out from behind his head, and as I stared down at him, debating on whether or not I wanted to throw him like a football through a nearby window, I realized just how quiet the room was.

Leaving Quincy, or whatever was left of him, I shifted out of my true form as I turned around. I might have maybe gone too far with that, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

Rolland arched a brow. “Well, then . . .”

Chest rising and falling sharply, I spared him a quick glance before turning to where she stood. Her hands were gripping the back of a chair as she stared at me, her gray eyes so big and so wide on her pale face.

Our gazes locked, and I could tell by the stricken look on her face that she wasn’t sure what to make of any of this. There was confusion and raw hurt and fury pouring from her, choking the air, choking me.

It took several moments to slow my roll. I got my breathing in check as I forced myself back to Rolland, meeting his curious stare. “I told him not to touch her before and that if he did, I would kill him. I’m not a liar.”

Sadi’s gaze flickered to where Quincy lay. “He’s not dead.”

“Yet,” I promised.

A look of anticipation, of pure eagerness, swept over Sadi’s face as she wet her bottom lip. “Why would you care if he touched her or not?”

There were a thousand endless reasons. “She belongs to me.” I could practically feel the daggers she was driving into my back, but I didn’t look at her. “No one else. It’s as simple as that.”