Jennifer Armentrout: Opposition

Daemon? I called out to him through the connection.

He disappeared from in front of me, moving too fast for even me to track.

“Kat!” Archer yelled. At the same time, I swore I heard my name echoing in my head in a deeper, smoother voice that caused my belly to flip and the strings attached to my heart to pull taut.

Warmth traveled across my back and I turned, coming face-to-face with dazzling emerald-colored eyes; skin that seemed to always be tan, no matter the time of year; broad, sweeping cheekbones; and unruly black hair that brushed equally dark eyebrows.

Full lips tipped up at the corners tightly.

It wasn’t Daemon.

A good head and a half taller, Dawson locked his eyes with mine. I thought I saw a flicker of remorse, but that could’ve simply been wishful thinking. Light rushed from behind his pupils, turning the entire orb of his eyes white. Static traveled across his cheeks, forming tiny fingers of electricity.

There was a flash of intense light, a shocking wave of heat that seemed to lift me off my feet, and then there was nothing.

{ Daemon }

The constant stream of voices in my true tongue, along with a dozen other human languages, caused a fierce throbbing in my temples. The words. The sentences. The threats. The promises. The goddamn nonstop chatter of my newly arrived oh-so-extended family members as they discovered something new to them, which was about every five freaking seconds.

Oh! A blender.

Oh! A car.

Oh! Humans sure do bleed a lot and break easily.

Hell, as soon as they opened their eyes, they were seeing something for the very first time, and while the awe as they tinkered with appliances or with human anatomy was a bit childlike, it was also a little on the demented side of things.

The newly arrived were the coldest sons of bitches I’d ever seen.

In the last forty-eight hours, literally thousands of my kind had come to Earth for the first time, and it was like one giant hive. We were all connected, one wavelength to another, little worker bees for the queen.

Whoever the hell that might be.

The connection was overwhelming at times, the needs and desires and wants of thousands all joined together in the forefront of every Luxen’s mind. Take over. Control. Rule. Dominate. Subjugate. The only time there was even a measure of relief was when I was in my human form. It seemed to dull the connection, dial it back, but not for everyone.

Striding across the polished wood floors of an atrium in a mansion that could house a militia and still have room for sleepovers, I saw my vision tint red when I spied my twin. He lounged against the wall, near a set of closed double doors. His chin was tilted down, brows furrowed in concentration as his fingers flew over the screen of a cell phone. When I was halfway across the brightly lit room that smelled like roses and the faint metallic scent of spilled blood, he lifted his head.

Dawson took a deep breath as I approached him. “Hey,” he said. “There you are. They—”

I snatched the phone from his hands, turned, and threw it as hard as I could. The little square object flew clear across the room and shattered against the opposite wall.

“What the hell, man?” Dawson exploded, hands flying up. “I was on level sixty-nine of Candy Crush , you bastard. Do you know how hard that—?”

After cocking back my arm, I slammed my fist into his jaw. He stumbled into the wall, raising a hand to his face. A sick sense of satisfaction twisted up my insides.

He raised his head, tilting it to the side. “Jesus.” He grunted as he lowered his hand. “I didn’t kill her. Obviously.”

My thoughts emptied like a bowl of water being tipped over as I drew in a shallow breath.

“I knew what I was doing, Daemon.” He glanced at the door, his voice lowering. “There was nothing else I could do.”

Launching forward, I gripped the collar of his shirt and lifted him up onto the tips of his boots. The reasons were not good enough. “You have never had any measure of control when it comes to using the Source. Why in the hell would it be different now?”

The pupils of his eyes started to glow white. He shoved his arms between mine, breaking the hold. “I had no other choice.”

“Yeah, whatever.” I stepped around him, forcing myself away from my brother before I threw him through a wall and in front of a tank.

Dawson turned, and I could feel his shrewd gaze on my back. “You need to get control of yourself, brother.”

I stopped in front of the closed doors and looked at him over my shoulder.

He shook his head. “I’m—”

“Don’t,” I warned.

Dawson’s eyes squeezed shut for a moment, and when they reopened, he was staring at the closed doors, nearly devastated. “How much longer?” he whispered.

Real fear punched me in the gut. It was too much. I knew his defenses were down and he had been put in a bad position. He didn’t have any other choice. “I don’t know, because . . .”

I didn’t have to elaborate. Understanding dawned on his face. “Dee . . .”

My eyes met and held his, and there was nothing else to be said. Facing forward, I pushed open the door, and the constant hum banging off my skull grew stronger as I entered the wide, circular office.

Newcomers were in the room, but it was the one in the seat with his back turned to me who mattered, the one we’d been drawn to the moment they’d shown up at the cabin.

He was sitting in a leather chair, watching a big flat screen on the wall. It was a local TV news station broadcasting images of downtown Coeur d’Alene. Totally different place than it had been three days ago. Smoke billowed from buildings. Fire covered the west like a burning sunset. The streets were a mess. Complete war zone.

“Look at them,” he said, his voice carrying a strange lilt as he navigated the new language. “Scurrying around on the ground aimlessly.”

Looked like half of the humans were looting an electronics store.

“They’re so helpless, unorganized. Inferior.” His laugh was deep, almost infectious. “This will be the easiest planet for us to dominate.”

It still amazed me that they’d been out there this whole time, generation after generation since the destruction of our planet, holed up in some godforsaken universe that was apparently not as comfy as Earth.

He shook his head, almost in wonder, as the screen flipped to images of tanks rolling into the city. He laughed again. “They can’t defend themselves.”

Another newcomer, a tall redhead dressed in a tight black skirt and pressed white shirt, cleared her throat. Her name was Sadi, which was fitting, because I referred to her as Sadi the sadist.

She didn’t seem to mind, because in the short time I had known her, the nickname was well earned, and the only other thing I did know about her was that her gaze was usually attached to my ass.

“Actually, they do have weapons,” she said.

“Not enough, my dear. This is happening in some of the largest cities in every state, in every country. Let them have their little weapons. We may lose a few, but those losses will not impact our initiative.” The chair wheeled around, and the muscles along my back tensed. The human form he’d chosen was that of a trim male in his early forties, with dark brown hair parted neatly and a wide, perfectly straight white smile.

He’d taken the form of the mayor of the city, and he liked to be called by the dead human’s name: Rolland Slone. Sort of weird. “Our goal will still be reached. Isn’t that right, Daemon Black?”

I met his stare. “I really don’t think they’ll be able to stop you.”

“Of course not.” His fingers steepled under his chin. “I hear you brought something with you?”