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“He’s older than he looks. He’s around thirty-eight.”
“Wow. He’s aging well.”
Daemon nodded. “He arrived at the same time we did, in the same area. I guess he thought he was responsible for us, being the oldest out of everyone.”
“Where did you guys…?” How in the world would I say this? Coming up empty, I winced. “Where did you all land?”
Reaching over, he picked a piece of lint off my thermal. “We landed near Skaros.”
“Skaros?” I scrunched up my face. “Uh, is that even on Earth?”
“Yes.” He smiled slightly. “It’s actually a small island near Greece. It’s known for this rocky region where a castle once stood. I’d like to go back one day. It’s kind of like our birthplace, I guess.”
“How many of you landed there?”
“A couple dozen, or at least that’s what Matthew has told us. I don’t remember anything from the begi
I couldn’t imagine what that must’ve been like for him and the others. To be so young, to be from a different world, and then to be thrust right into the hands of a foreign government had to be scary. “How did all of that go?”
He glanced at me. “Not very good, Kitten. We didn’t know that humans were aware of us. All we did know was there were Arum around, but the DOD came as a huge surprise to us. Apparently they knew about us from the moment we got here. They rounded up hundreds who had arrived in America.”
I twisted toward him, clutching the pillow to my chest. “What did they do with you guys?”
“They kept us in a facility out in New Mexico.”
“No shit.” My eyes went wide. “Is Area 51 the real deal?”
He eyed me, amusement creeping into his eyes.
“Wow.” I let that one sink in. All those crazies trying to get into the compound had good reason. “I thought the whole Area 51 thing had been around a while.”
“My family and friends arrived fifteen years ago, but that doesn’t mean the Luxen didn’t come before that.” He laughed at my expression. “Anyway, they kept us there for the first five years. They—the DOD—had been assimilating the Luxen for years. We learned a lot about humans during that time, and when we were…deemed ready to fully assimilate, they let us go. Usually with an older Luxen who could take care of us. Since Matthew had a relationship with us, we were placed with him.”
I did a quick calculation in my head. “But you guys would’ve been only ten years old. Did you live with Matthew until recently?”
“Believe it or not, we mature differently than humans. At ten I could’ve gone to college. We develop a lot faster, our brains and whatnot. I’m actually smarter than I act.” Another fleeting grin graced his face. “Matthew lived with us until we moved here. At fifteen, we were pretty much adults. The DOD set us up with a house and money.”
Well, that probably explained part of our national debt. “But what about people asking questions—looking for your parents?”
Daemon glanced at me sidelong. “There’s always an older Luxen we can pass off for our parent, or we can morph into an older version. The morphing thing we try to avoid because of the trace.”
Shaking my head, I settled back against the couch. Ru
Daemon was watching me in his intense way when I looked at him. “Do you want me to leave?”
There was the opening—my chance to tell him to go. “No. You don’t have to. I mean, I’m not doing anything and if you have nothing to do, you can stay or whatever…” Or I needed to just shut up.
His eyes held mine a moment, and a swelling developed in my chest, threatening to consume me whole. His gaze moved to my shiny red laptop sitting on the coffee table. “I see someone got something for her birthday.”
I gri
He scratched his cheek. “Yeah, I didn’t apologize for that, did I?”
“No.” I sighed. Back to awkward conversation. And not only that, I was remembering just how I’d lost my last laptop.
Daemon cleared his throat. “That’s never happened before, the whole blowing-stuff-up part.”
My cheeks heated as I stared at my laptop. “Same here.”
His gaze focused on the TV again. “It happened with Dawson, in a way. It was how Bethany found out.” There was a pause and I held my breath. He rarely talked about his brother. “He was making out with her and lost control. Turned full Luxen while kissing her.”
“Yikes. That had to be…”
“Awkward?”
“Yeah, awkward.”
Silence fell between us, and I couldn’t help but wonder if we were thinking the same thing. How it had felt to be kissing…touching. Skin uncomfortably hot, I searched for something safe to talk about. “Dee said you guys had moved a lot. How many different places?”
“We stayed in New York for a while, then we moved to South Dakota. And if you think nothing goes on here, you haven’t lived in South Dakota. Then we moved to Colorado before coming here. I was always the one who provoked the change in scenery. It’s like I was looking for something, but none of those places had it.”
“I bet New York was your favorite place.”
“Actually, it’s not.” A bit of his teeth showed in his slight smile. “It’s here.”
Surprised, I laughed. “West Virginia?”
“It’s not that bad. There are a lot of us here. More so than any other place. I have friends who I can be myself with—a whole community, really. That’s important.”
“I can understand that.” Clutching the pillow to my chest, I rested my head on it. “Do you think Dee is happy here? She makes it sound like she can’t leave. Like, ever.”
Daemon shifted, bringing his legs onto the couch. “Dee wants to pave her own way in life, and I can’t blame her for that.”
Paving her own way had ended up with her having sex with Adam. I wondered if she still had dreams of going to college overseas.
He stretched as if he were trying to rid himself of some sort of tension that had suddenly settled over him. I scooted away, giving him more room. “If you haven’t noticed yet, there are more males than females. So the females are paired off very quickly and protected above all.”
I made a face. “Paired off and mated? I understand it—you guys need to reproduce. But Dee can’t be forced to do that. It’s not fair. You should control your own lives.”
He glanced at me, deep shadows in his eyes. “But we don’t, Kitten.”
I shook my head. “It’s not right.”
“It’s not. Most Luxen don’t push for anything different. Dawson did. He loved Bethany.” Daemon exhaled raggedly. “We were against it. And I thought he was stupid for falling for a human. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“It was hard for him. Our group was upset with him, but Dawson…he was the strong one.” Daemon smiled as he shook his head. “He didn’t cave, and if the colony had discovered the truth, I don’t think they would’ve changed him.”
“Couldn’t he have left with her, snuck past the DOD? Maybe that’s what happened?”
“Dawson loved it here. He was big on hiking and outdoors. He was into the whole rustic-living thing.” Daemon glanced at me. “He’d never leave, especially without telling Dee or me. I know both of them are dead.” He smiled again. “You would’ve liked Dawson. Looked just like me but a much better guy. Not a douchebag, in other words.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I’m sure I would’ve, but you’re not bad.”
He arched a brow.
“Okay, you’re prone to moments of great dickdom, but you’re not bad.” I paused, holding the pillow tight. “Do you want to know what I honestly think?”
“Should I be worried?”
I laughed. “There’s a really nice guy under the jerk. I’ve seen glimpses of him. So while I probably want to beat the crap out of you most of the time, I really don’t think you’re a bad guy. You have a lot of responsibility.”