Origin (Lux #4)(83)
I shook my head. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Daedalus has people everywhere.”
“Your mom found the laptop Daemon bought you. I had to tell her that he got it for you. Anyway, she knew you’d never run away without a laptop.”
I gave a short laugh. “That sounds about right.”
She squeezed my hand again. “Your mom is doing okay, though, all things considered. She’s really strong, Katy.”
“I know.” I looked at her then. “But she doesn’t deserve this. I can’t stand the idea of her not knowing what happened to me.”
She nodded. “I’ve spent a lot of time with her, just hanging out and helping with the house until we left. I even kept your garden weeded. I thought that could somehow make up for everything we dragged you into.”
“Thank you.” I moved so I was facing her. “I mean that. Thank you for spending time with her and helping her out, but you guys didn’t drag me into anything. Okay? None of this is your fault or Daemon’s.”
Her eyes glistened, and she said in a small voice, “You really mean that?”
“Of course!” Shock rippled through me. “Dee, you guys didn’t do anything wrong. This is all on Daedalus. That’s who I blame. They are responsible. No one else.”
“I’ve just been so upset. I’m happy to know that you don’t feel that way. Ash said you probably hated me—hated us.”
“Ash is a douche.”
Dee laughed outright. “She can be sometimes.”
I sighed. “I just wish there was something we could do other than just run.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Her knee bounced as she let go of my hand and tugged her ponytail down. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
She bit down on her lower lip. “How bad was it?”
I tensed. The one question I didn’t want to be asked, but Dee waited, her expression so earnest that I had to say something. “Some days were better than others.”
“I can imagine,” she said softly. “Beth talked about it once. She said they would hurt her.”
Thinking about my back, I pressed my lips together. “They do that. They did and said a lot of things.”
She paled and several moments passed. “While we were heading here, Luc said that you…that Blake is dead. Is that true?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. Archer must’ve told him. “Blake’s dead.” I stood, tugging my hair back. “This isn’t something I want to talk about—not any of the stuff that happened there. I’m sorry. I know you’re just concerned. But it’s not something I want to think about. It screws with my head.”
“Okay. But if you ever do, you know I’m here for you, right?” I nodded, and Dee fixed a bright smile across her face. “So let’s move on to better stuff. Like that fine-looking specimen of a man who came in with you—the one with the military cut?”
“Archer?”
“Yes. He’s hot. And I’d spell that H-A-W-T.”
I busted out laughing, and once I did I couldn’t stop. Tears tracked down my face while she watched, perplexed. “What?” she demanded.
“I’m sorry.” I wiped at my face with my fingers and plopped back down beside her. “It’s just that I’m positive Daemon would stroke out if he heard that.”
She scowled. “Daemon would stroke out if I showed interest in any kind.”
“Well, Archer is different,” I started slowly.
“Why? Because he’s older? He can’t be that much older, and besides, he’s obviously a good guy. He risked his life to help you guys. But there is something different that I’m picking up on from him. Probably it’s the whole military vibe.”
I figured it was time to drop the bomb. “Archer isn’t human, Dee.”
Her frown deepened. “So he’s a hybrid? Makes sense.”
“Uh, no. He’s, well, he’s something different. He’s what they call an origin—he’s a kid of a Luxen and a hybrid.”
After that sunk in, she shrugged. “So? I’m an alien. I’m not judgmental.”
I smiled at that, glad she was showing interest in a guy after Adam. “Well, there’s one more thing. I’d be careful of what you think around him.”
“Why?”
“The origins have some freaky abilities,” I explained, watching her eyes widen into saucers. “He can read your mind without you even knowing.”
Dee’s face went from pale to bright cherry. “Oh God.”
“What?”
She smacked her hands over her face. “Well, the whole time we were downstairs, I was so picturing him naked.”
…
After changing into an old terry-cloth tube dress that passed the show-no-scars test, I joined Dee and everyone downstairs. A massive dinner of extravagant levels followed, consisting of juicy fruits I didn’t even know existed, tangy and sweet meats, and a salad that filled the biggest bowl I’d ever seen. I ate more than I’d thought humanly possible, even some of the grilled meat off Daemon’s plate. Bethany had joined us, and she had hugged me the moment we crossed paths. Other than looking utterly worn out, she seemed fine, and her appetite rivaled my own.