Текст книги "Opal"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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“What were you doing all day? Chasing Dawson?” I asked, letting the topic drop for now. When he nodded, I felt for him. “What was he doing?”

“He was just roaming around, but he was trying to shake me. I know he wanted to get back to that office building and if I hadn’t followed him, he would’ve. The only reason I feel safe leaving him alone right now is because Dee has him cornered.” He paused, looking away. His shoulders stiffened as if a terrible weight had settled on them. “Dawson

He’s going to get himself captured again.”

Armentrout, Jennifer L.

Opal ( A Lux Novel)

Chapter 5

Color me surprised when Daemon swung by early Saturday evening and wanted to go out. Like, brave snow-slick roads and do something normal. A date. As if we had the luxury of doing such a thing. And I couldn’t help but remember what he had said to me when I’d been in his bed and so ready to give him the go-ahead.

He’d wanted to do things right. Dates. Movies.

Dee was currently on Dawson-babysitting duty, and Daemon felt confident enough to leave her with him.

I dug out a pair of dark denim jeans and a red turtleneck. Taking a few extra minutes with my makeup, I then bounced down the stairs. It took me about a half an hour to weasel Daemon away from my mom.

Maybe I wouldn’t have to worry about her and Will. Maybe I needed to worry about her and Daemon. Cougar.

Once inside the comfy interior of Dolly, his SUV, he kicked on the heat and slid me a grin. “Okay. There are some rules about our date.”

My brows rose. “There are?”

“Yep.” He eased Dolly around and started down the driveway, careful to avoid the thick patches of black ice. “Rule number one is we don’t talk about anything DOD related.”

“Okay.” I bit down on my lip.

He glanced at me sideways, as if he knew I was fighting a stupid love-struck grin. “Rule number two is that we don’t talk about Dawson or Will. And number three, we focus on my awesomeness.”

Okay. No fighting my grin. It spread ear to ear. “I think I can deal with these rules.”

“You better, because there is punishment for breaking the rules.”

“And what kind of punishment would that be?”

He chuckled. “Probably the sort of punishment you’d enjoy.”

Warmth infused my cheeks and veins. I chose not to respond to that statement. Instead, I reached for the radio station at the same time Daemon did. Our fingers brushed and static raced down my arm, spreading to his flesh. I jerked back, and he laughed again, but the sound was husky and made the roomy SUV seem way too small.

Daemon settled on a rock station but kept the volume low. The trip to town was uneventful but fun

because nothing crazy happened. He picked out an Italian restaurant, and we were seated at a small table lit by flickering candles. I glanced around. None of the other tables had candles. They were covered with cheesy red-and-white-checkered mats.

But our wooden table was bare except for those candles and two wineglasses filled with water. Even the napkins looked like real linen.

Considering the possibilities as we were seated, my heart did a flip-flop. “Did you

?”

He propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward. Soft shadows danced over his face, highlighting the arch of his cheekbones and the curve of his lips. “Did I do what?”

“Arrange this?” I waved at the candles.

Daemon shrugged. “Maybe

”

I tucked my hair back, smiling. “Thank you. It’s very

”

“Awesome?”

I laughed. “Romantic-it’s very romantic. And awesome, too.”

“As long as you think it is awesome, then it was worth it.” He glanced up as the waitress arrived at our table. Her nametag read Rhonda.

When she turned to take Daemon’s order, her eyes glazed over-a common side effect of being around Mr. Awesome, I was learning. “And what about you, sweetie?”

“Spaghetti with meat sauce,” I said, closing the menu and handing it over.

Rhonda glanced at Daemon, and I think she might have sighed. “I’ll bring your breadsticks out immediately.”

After we were alone, I grinned at my date. “I think we’re going to get extra meatballs.”

He laughed. “Hey, I’m good for some things.”

“You’re good for a lot of things.” The moment that left my mouth, I blushed. Whoa. That could be perceived in many ways.

Surprisingly, Daemon let it slide and started teasing me about a book he’d seen in my bedroom. It was a romance novel. Typical barrel-chested alpha male cover model with sixteen-pack abs. By the time our heaping pile of breadsticks arrived, I’d almost convinced him that he’d be a perfect cover model for one of those books.

“I don’t wear leather pants,” he said, biting into the garlicky and buttery goodness.

And that was a damn shame. “Still. You have the look.”

He rolled his eyes. “You just like me for my body. Admit it.”

“Well, yeah

”

His lashes lifted and his eyes glittered like jewels. “I feel like man-candy.”

I busted out laughing. But then he asked a question I hadn’t expected. “What are you going to do about college?”

I blinked. College? Sitting back, my gaze dropped to the small flame. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not really possible unless I go to one near a buttload of quartz-”

“You just broke a rule,” he reminded me, lips forming a half smile.

I rolled my eyes. “What about you? What are you doing for college?”

He shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet.”

“You’re running out of time,” I said, sounding like Carissa, who loved to remind me of that every time we talked.

“Actually, we’ve both run out of time, unless we do a late acceptance.”

“Okay. Rule-breaking aside, how is it possible? Do online classes?” He shrugged again, and I sort of wanted to stab him in the eye with my fork. “Unless you know of a college that has

a suitable environment?”

Our meals arrived, staving off the conversation while the waitress grated cheese over Daemon’s plate. She eventually offered me some. And the moment she left, I pounced. “So, do you?”

Knife and fork in hand, he started cutting into a piece of lasagna the size of a truck. “The Flatirons.”

“The what-a-what?”

“The Flatirons is a mountain just outside of Boulder, Colorado.” He cut his meal into tiny bites. Daemon had such delicate eating habits, while I was slopping my spaghetti around my plate. “They are full of quartzite. Not as well-known or as visible as some places, but they are there, under several feet of sediment.”

“Okay.” I tried to eat my spaghetti in daintier bites. “What does that have to do with anything?”

He peered up through sooty lashes. “University of Colorado is about two miles from the Flatirons.”

“Oh.” I chewed slowly and then suddenly my appetite vanished. “Is

is that where you want to go to school?”

There was another shrug. “Colorado isn’t a bad place. I think you’d like it.”

Staring at him, I forgot about the food. Was he getting at what I thought he was getting at? I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, and I was too afraid to ask, because he could be suggesting that it was a place I’d like to visit versus living there

with him. And that would be super mortifying.

Hands cold, I set down my fork. What if Daemon did leave? For some reason I’d been operating on the assumption that he wouldn’t leave here. Ever. And I’d accepted, on a subconscious level, being stuck here, mainly because I really hadn’t considered finding another place that was protected from the Arum.

My gaze dropped to my plate. Had I accepted staying here because of Daemon? Was that right? He’s never said he loves you , an insidious and annoying voice whispered. Not even after you’ve said it.

Ah, the stupid voice had a point.

Out of nowhere, a breadstick tapped the tip of my nose. My head jerked up. Sprinkles of garlic salt rained down.

Daemon held the stick between two fingers, brows arched. “What were you just thinking about?”

I brushed off the crumbs. A pitching sensation filled my stomach, and I forced a smile. “I

I think Colorado sounds nice.”

Liar , said his expression, but he went back to his food. Strained silence descended between us, which was a first. I forced myself to enjoy the food, and the funniest thing happened. With Daemon’s light teasing and the conversation turning to different subjects, like his obsession with all things ghost-related, I was having fun again.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” I asked, chasing after the last of my noodles.

He cleared his plate, sat back, and sipped from his glass. “I think they exist.”

Surprise flickered through me. “Really? Huh. I thought you just watched those ghost shows for entertainment.”

“Well, I do. I like the one where the guy yells, ‘Dude! Bro!’ every five seconds.” He smiled when I laughed. “But in all seriousness, it can’t be impossible. Too many people have witnessed things that can’t be explained.”

“Like too many people witnessing aliens and UFOs.” I grinned.

“Exactly.” He set down his glass. “Except the UFOs are total bunk. Government’s responsible for all Unidentified Flying Objects.”

My mouth dropped open. Why was I even surprised?

Rhonda appeared with our check, and I was reluctant to leave. The whole date thing was a way too brief moment of normalcy both of us had been sorely lacking. As we headed to the front of the restaurant, I wanted to grab his hand and wrap my fingers around his, but I refrained. Daemon did a lot of crazy things in public, but hand-holding?

So didn’t seem up his alley.

There were a couple of kids from school seated by the door. Their eyes got all saucer-sized when they saw us. Considering Daemon and I had this hate-hate relationship for most of the year, I could understand their surprise.

It had started to flurry while we were inside and a thin coating of snow covered the parking lot and cars. The white stuff was still coming down. Stopping by the passenger side, I tipped my head back and opened my mouth, catching a tiny flake on the tip of my tongue.

Daemon’s eyes narrowed on me and the intensity in his gaze caused a nervous fluttering low in my stomach. An urge to go forward, cross the distance between us, hit me hard, but I couldn’t move. My feet were rooted to the ground and the air expelled from my lungs.

“What?” I whispered.

His lips parted. “I was thinking about a movie.”

“Okay.” I felt hot even though it snowed. “And?”

“But you’ve broken the rules, Kitten. Several times. You’re owed some punishment.”

My heart jumped. “I am a rule breaker.”

His lips tilted up on one corner. “You are.”

Moving lightning fast, Daemon was in front of me before I could say another word, cupping my cheeks, tilting my head back as he lowered his. Lips brushed against mine, sending a shiver down my spine. The initial touch was feather soft, heartbreakingly tender. Then the contact evolved with the second sweep of his lips and mine parted, welcoming him.

I really liked this form of punishment.

Daemon’s hands slid down to my hips, and he pulled me against him at the same time we were moving backward, stopping when my back pressed against the cool, damp metal of his car-hopefully his car. I doubted someone would want a couple doing what we were doing on their vehicle.

Because we were kissing, really kissing, and there wasn’t a centimeter of space between our bodies. My arms found their way around his neck, fingers sliding through silky locks covered in light snow. We fit everywhere it was important.

“Movie?” he murmured, kissing me again. “And then what, Kitten?”

I couldn’t think around how he tasted and felt. How my heart was jackhammering as his fingers slid under my turtleneck, splaying along my bare skin. And I wanted to be bare-completely and only with him, always him. He knew what the “and then what” was. Doing things right

and dear God, I wanted to do those right things right now.

Since I couldn’t get my mouth to work between his drugging kisses, I opted to do the show-not-tell thing, sliding my hands down to his jean-clad hips. Hooking my fingers in the belt hoop, I tugged him against me.

Daemon growled, and my pulse pounded. Yeah, he got it. His hand slid up, fingertips brushing against lace and—

His cell phone went off in his pocket, shrilling as loud as a fire alarm. I thought for a tiny instant he was going to ignore it, but he pulled back, panting. “One second.”

He kissed me quickly, keeping one hand where it was while he dug out his phone. I burrowed my face against his chest, breathing rapidly. He left my senses spinning in a delicious mess that was out of control.

When Daemon spoke, his voice was rough. “This better be really important-”

I felt him stiffen, his heart rate picking up, and I knew instantly something bad had happened. Pulling back, I peered up at him. “What?”

“Okay,” he said into the phone, his pupils becoming luminous. “Don’t worry, Dee. I’ll take care of it. I promise.”

Fear cooled the heat inside me. As Daemon lowered the phone, sliding it back into his pocket, my stomach dropped. “What?” I asked again.

Every single muscle in his body locked up. “It’s Dawson. He made a run for it.”

Armentrout, Jennifer L.

Opal ( A Lux Novel)

Chapter 6

I stared at Daemon, praying I’d misunderstood him, but the keen desperation and the hint of fury in his ultra-bright eyes told me I hadn’t.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“No. I completely understand.” I tucked my hair back. “What can I do?”

“I need to go,” he said, grabbing his keys from his pocket and placing them in my hand. “And I mean I need to go really fast. You should go home and stay there.” He then handed me his cell. “Keep that in the car. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Go home? “Daemon, I can help you. I can go-”

“Please.” He grasped my face again-his hands warm against my now-cool cheeks. He kissed me, part longing and part angry. Then he backed away. “Go home.”

And then he was gone, moving too fast for any human eye to track. I stood there for several moments. We’d had an hour, maybe two, before everything went to shit? My hands tightened around the keys. Sharp metal dug into my flesh.

A ruined date was the least of my problems.

“Dammit.” I spun and jogged around the SUV. Climbing in, I readjusted the seat from Godzilla setting to Normal so my feet could reach the pedals.

Go home.

Dawson would’ve gone to one of two places. Yesterday, Daemon had said Dawson tried to go to the office building, which was the last place he’d been kept. That would logically be his first place to check.

Go home and stay there.

I pulled out of the parking lot, gripping the steering wheel. If I went home and waited like a good little girl, I could curl up on the couch and read a book. Write a review and make some popcorn. Then when Daemon came back, as long as nothing horrific happened, I’d throw myself in his arms again.

Making a right instead of a left, I laughed out loud. The sound was throaty and low, courtesy of my screwed-up vocal chords and anxiety.

Screw going home. This wasn’t the 1950s. I wasn’t a fragile human being. And I sure as hell wasn’t the Katy Daemon had initially met. He was going to have to deal with it.

I gunned the engine, hoping the boys in blue were busy doing other things besides monitoring traffic tonight. There was no way I’d beat Daemon there, but if they ran into any trouble, I could run distraction or something. I could do something .

Halfway there, I caught a flash of white light out of the corner of my eye, deep within the wooden tree line crowding the highway. Then it came again-white tinged with red.

Slamming on the brakes, I swerved to the right as the back end of the SUV fishtailed until it came to an uneven stop along the shoulder. Pulse pounding, I flipped on the hazard lights and threw open the door. I bolted across the two-lane highway, half slipping until my feet hit the other shoulder and I gained traction. Tapping into the Source and whatever existed inside me, I picked up speed, running so fast that my feet barely touched the ground.

Low-hanging branches snagged at my hair. Sheets of snow fell as I dipped around a thick tree, disrupting once pristine land. To my left, there was a blur of brown racing away from me. Most likely a deer or, knowing my luck, a chupacabra.

A whitish-blue light flared up ahead, like a bolt of horizontal lightning. Definitely power of Luxen origin but not Daemon’s-his was reddish. It had to be Dawson or

I raced around a cluster of large rocks, kicking up snow as murderous icicles fell from elms, shattering into the ground around me. Flying through the maze of trees, I hung a sharp right—

There they were, two Luxen in full glowworm mode and they were

What the hell ? I skidded to a stop, gulping in air.

One was taller, pure white with edges dipped in red. The other was a slender, slower form with a bluish glow. The bigger one, which I knew was Daemon, had the other in what looked like a headlock. A glowing, human-shaped headlock I may’ve seen used in the WWE before.

I’d officially seen everything.

Assuming the other one was Dawson, Daemon’s brother was pretty scrappy, breaking loose and pushing Daemon back a foot. But Daemon wrapped his arms around the center of the light, raised it up in the air and body slamming it so hard that more icicles fell from the trees crowding us.

Dawson’s light pulsed and streaks of blue light rebounded off the trees, shooting back at the two, narrowly avoiding them. He tried to roll Daemon-at least that’s what it looked like-but Daemon had the upper hand.

I folded my arms, shivering. “You have got to be kidding me.”

The two alien hotheads froze, and I really wanted to walk up and kick them both. A second later, their lights flickered out. Daemon’s still-incandescent eyes met mine.

“I thought I told you to go home and stay there,” he said, voice thin with warning.

“And the last time I checked, you don’t get to tell me to go home and stay.” I took a step forward, ignoring the way his eyes brightened. “Look, I was worried. I thought I’d come and help.”

His lips pulled back. “And how would you have helped?”

“I think I did. I got you two idiots to stop fighting.”

He stared at me a moment longer and his look promised lots of trouble later. Maybe punishable trouble. Ah, scratch that. His look didn’t promise anything of the fun kind.

“Let me up, brother.”

Daemon looked down. “I don’t know. You’re probably going to run and make me chase you again.”

“You can’t stop me,” Dawson said, voice creepily apathetic.

Muscles bulged under Daemon’s sweater. “I can and I will. I’m not letting you do this to yourself. She-”

“She’s what? Not worth it?”

“She wouldn’t want you to do this,” Daemon seethed. “If the situation were flipped, you wouldn’t want her doing this.”

Dawson reared up, managing to get enough space between them so he could stand. On their feet, they shared wary stances. “If they had Katy-”

“Don’t go there.” Daemon’s hands curled into powerful fists.

His brother was unaffected. “If they had her, you’d be doing the same thing. Don’t lie.”

Daemon opened his mouth but said nothing. We all knew what he’d do and no one would stop him. And knowing that, how could we ever stop Dawson? We couldn’t.

I knew the exact moment that Daemon realized this, because he stepped back and thrust both hands through his windblown hair. Torn between doing what was right and what needed to be done.

Stepping forward, I swore I could feel the weight Daemon carried as if it were my own. “We can’t stop you. You’re right.”

Dawson jerked toward me, eyes a brilliant green. “Then let me go.”

“But we can’t do that, either.” I dared a peek at Daemon. Nothing could be gained from his expression. “Dee and your brother have spent the last year believing you were dead. That killed them. You have no idea.”

“You have no idea what I went through.” He lowered his gaze. “Okay, maybe you do a little. What was done to you is being done a thousand times over to Beth. I can’t just forget about her, even though I love my brother and sister.”

I heard Daemon’s sharp intake. It was the first time since Dawson’s return that he admitted any feelings for his family. I took it and ran with it. “And they know that. I know that. No one expects you to forget about Beth, but running off and getting yourself captured isn’t helping anyone.”

Wow. When did I become the voice of reason?

“What are the alternatives?” Dawson asked. His head tilted to the side-a mannerism so like his brother.

Here was the problem. Dawson wouldn’t stop. Deep down, Daemon knew and understood why and would do the same thing. It was hypocritical to the umpteenth degree to demand someone else do otherwise. There had to be a compromise.

And there was one. “Let us help you.”

“What?” Daemon demanded.

I ignored him. “You know rushing the DOD isn’t going to work. We need to find out where Beth is, if they are even keeping her here, and we need a plan to get to her. A really well-thought-out plan with low failure potential.”

Both brothers stared at me. I held my breath. This was it. There was no way Daemon could keep watch over his brother forever. And it wasn’t fair to assume that he could.

Dawson turned away, back straight. Several seconds passed as the wind whipped through the trees, spinning snow. “I can’t stand the idea of them having her. It hurts to breathe just thinking about it.”

“I know,” I whispered.

Moonlight sliced through the branches, carving Daemon’s face in a harsh light. He had gone quiet, but anger rolled off him. Did he really think he could keep going after Dawson? If so, then he was insane.

Finally Dawson nodded. “Okay.”

Sweet relief flooded me, making my legs feel weak. “But you have to promise to give us time.” Everything came down to time we had no ownership of. “You can’t get impatient and run off. You have to swear.”

He faced me and a shudder rolled through him, taking the fight out of him. As he stood there, tension uncoiled, and his arms fell to his sides limply. “I swear. Help me and I swear.”

“It’s a deal.”

There was a moment of silence, like the wilderness was soaking up his promise and my deal, committing it to memory. And then the three of us headed back to the SUV, the atmosphere silent and strained. My fingers were like Popsicles as I handed the keys over to Daemon.

Dawson climbed into the back, resting his head against the seat, eyes closed. I kept glancing at Daemon, expecting him to say something, anything, but he was focused on the road, his silence a ticking time bomb.

I peeked over the back of the seat. Behind thin slits, he was watching Daemon. “Hey. Dawson

?”

His gaze slid to mine. “Yeah?”

“Do you want to go back to school?” School would keep him busy while we figured out how in the hell to get to Beth. And it matched Daemon’s plan of pretending like we’d pulled one on the DOD while enabling us to keep an eye on Dawson just in case he reneged on his promise. “I mean, I’m sure you can. You could tell everyone you ran away. It happens.”

“People think he’s dead,” Daemon said.

“I’m sure some runaways all across the nation are believed to be dead and aren’t,” I reasoned.

Dawson appeared to consider that. “What do I tell them about Beth?”

“That’s a good question.” Challenge dripped from Daemon’s voice.

I stopped chewing on my finger. “That you both ran away, and you decided to come home. She didn’t.”

Leaning forward, Dawson rested his chin in the palms of his hands. “Better than sitting around thinking about everything.”

Damn straight. He’d go crazy if he did.

“He’d have to get registered for classes,” Daemon said, fingers tapping off the steering wheel. “I’ll talk to Matthew. See what we can do to get it taken care of.”

Thrilled Daemon was finally getting behind this, I settled back and smiled. Crisis averted. Now only if I could fix everything else so easily.

Dee was waiting on the front porch when we pulled into the driveway, Andrew standing sentry beside her. Dawson slid out of the backseat and approached his sister. Words were exchanged, too low for me to hear, and then they embraced each other.

That was an amazing kind of love. Different from what my parents had shared but still strong and unbreakable. No matter what crazy hell they put each other through.

“I thought I told you to go home.”

I hadn’t realized I was smiling until it faded at the sound of Daemon’s voice. I looked at him and felt my heart drop. Yeah, here was the trouble promised earlier. “I had to help.”

He looked out the windshield. “What would you have done if it wasn’t Dawson you came upon, but me fighting the DOD or whatever the hell the other group is?”

“Daedalus,” I said. “And if it were them, I would’ve still helped.”

“Yeah, and that’s what I have a problem with.” He got out of the SUV, leaving me staring at him.

Drawing in a frustrated breath, I climbed out. He was leaning against the bumper, arms folded over his chest. He didn’t look at me when I stopped beside him. “I know you’re upset because you worry about me, but I’m not going to be the girl who sits at home and waits for the hero to wipe out the villains.”

“This isn’t a book,” he snapped.

“Well, duh-”

“No. You don’t get it.” He turned to me, furious. “This isn’t a paranormal fantasy or whatever the hell it is you read. There is no set plot or clear idea of where any of this is going. The enemies aren’t obvious. There are no guaranteed happy endings and you-” He lowered his head so we were eye level. “You are not a superhero, no matter what the hell you can do.”

Wow. He’d really been stalking my blog. But not the point. “I know this isn’t a book, Daemon. I’m not stupid.”

“You’re not?” He laughed without humor. “Because being smart isn’t rushing off after me.”

“The same could be said about you!” My anger now matched his. “You ran off after Dawson without knowing what you were getting into.”

“No shit. But I can control the Source without trying. I know what I’m capable of. You don’t.”

“I know what I’m capable of.”

“Really?” he questioned. The tips of his cheeks flushed with fury. “If I’d been surrounded by human officers, would you have been able to take them down? And live with yourself after that?”

Anxiety blossomed in my stomach, its smoky tendrils wrapping themselves around me. When I was alone and it was quiet, the fact I’d been so willing to take a human life was all I thought about. “I’m prepared to do that.” My voice came out a whisper.

He took a step back, shaking his head. “Dammit, Kat, I don’t want you to experience that.” Raw emotion filled his expression. “Killing isn’t hard. It’s what comes afterward-the guilt. I don’t want you to deal with that. Don’t you understand? I don’t want you to have this kind of life.”

“But I already have this kind of life. All the hoping, wishing, and good intentions in the world aren’t going to change that.”

The truth appeared to infuriate him more. “That issue aside, what you promised Dawson was freaking unbelievable.”

“What?” My arms dropped to my sides.

“Help him find Beth? How in the hell are we supposed to do that?”

I shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out.”

“Oh, that’s good, Kat. We don’t know how to find her but we’ll help. Awesome plan.”

Heat rushed up my spine. Oh, this was grand. “You’re such a hypocrite! You told me yesterday we’d find out what Will was up to, but you have no idea how. The same thing with Daedalus!” He opened his mouth, but I knew I had him. “And you couldn’t lie to Dawson when he asked what you’d do if they had me. You’re not the only one who gets to make brash and stupid decisions.”

His mouth snapped shut. “That’s not the point.”

I cocked a brow. “Lame argument.”

Daemon shot forward, his voice harsh. “You had no right to make those kinds of promises to my brother. He’s not your family.”

I flinched, taking a step back. Being smacked would’ve felt better. The way I saw it, at least I talked Dawson off the cliff. Sure, promising to help find Beth wasn’t ideal, but it was better than him running off like a crackhead.

I tried to rein in my anger and disappointment, because I understood where a lot of his fury was coming from. Daemon didn’t want me to get hurt, and he was worried about his brother, but his inherent, near-obsessive need to be protective didn’t excuse his douchebaggery.

“Dawson is my problem, because he’s your problem,” I said. “We’re in this together.”

Daemon’s eyes met mine. “Not on everything, Kat. Sorry. That’s just the way it is.”

The back of my throat burned, and I blinked several times, refusing to shed tears even though my chest ached so badly. “If we’re not together on everything, then how can we really be together?” My voice cracked. “Because I don’t see how that’s possible.”

His eyes widened. “Kat-”

I shook my head, knowing where this conversation was heading. Unless he was willing to see me as something other than a fragile piece of china, we were doomed.

Walking away from Daemon was the hardest thing I’d done. Made worse by the fact he didn’t try to stop me, because that wasn’t his style, but deep down, in a place that spoke only the truth, I hadn’t expected him to. But I wanted him to. I needed him to.

And he didn’t.

Armentrout, Jennifer L.

Opal ( A Lux Novel)

Chapter 7

As expected, school resumed on Monday, and there was nothing worse than returning after an unexpected break and having all the teachers buzzing to make up for lost time. Add in the fact that Daemon and I hadn’t made up after our major blowout yet and, well, Mondays always sucked.

I dropped into my seat, pulling out my massive trig textbook.

Carissa eyed me over the rim of her burnt-orange glasses. New ones. Again. “You look absolutely thrilled to be back.”

“Whee,” I said unenthusiastically.

Sympathy marked her expression. “How

how is Dee? I’ve tried calling her a couple of times, but she hasn’t returned any of my calls.”

“Or mine,” Lesa added, sitting down in front of Carissa.

Lesa and Carissa had no idea that Adam hadn’t really died in a car accident, and we had to keep them in the dark. “She’s really not talking to anyone right now.” Well, besides Andrew, which was so bizarre I couldn’t even think about it.

Carissa sighed. “I wish they had the funeral for him here. I would’ve loved to pay my respects, you know?”

Apparently Luxen didn’t do funerals. So we’d made up some excuse about the funeral being out of town and only family could visit.