All that guilt over being unable to recall how his voice sounded when I’d believed him to be my father had been wasted energy. The reason why was because I’d never heard his voice as Evie. I’d only heard Dasher’s voice as Nadia.
Luc’s arm tightened around me, pulling me back until my entire side pressed against his chest. “Is it possible there are more Trojans?”
“Not counting her?” Eaton jerked his chin at me.
A shudder rolled through me. “Don’t count me. I’m different from them.”
The general’s stare made me wonder for how long. “And not counting those activating now? There were at least a hundred fully trained that I knew of, but that was several years ago. Could be more now, but even if there aren’t, that’s a significant number. May not sound like a lot to you, but to put it into perspective, that’s a hundred of you, Luc.”
“There is only one me.” There was no teasing quality to his tone or arrogance. It was the truth. There was no one like him.
A faint smile appeared on Eaton’s face. “But there are at least a hundred capable of doing what she did and countless more who will be able to. Dasher will amass a small army, and what they’re doing out in the Yard isn’t going to make a difference. They’ll be nothing more than cannon fodder.”
“Ye of little faith,” Luc murmured, his thumb moving once more along my hip.
“None of this has anything to do with faith.” Eaton snorted as he scanned the room, his eyes narrowing on a carton. “Why don’t you be useful, Luc, and summon me one of those beers?”
“I think you’ve had enough for the entire day.”
He made another dismissive sound. “At this point, there is no such thing as enough.”
I lifted a brow, deciding to ignore that. “You said that Luc was the Darkest Star and I was the Burning Shadow. They were code names for us.” When he nodded, I continued, “What is the Brightest Night?”
“Dasher never explained what that stood for, and I did a hell of a lot of digging but never could get any clarification. All I can assume is that it’s the end goal.”
“World domination?” Luc huffed out a dry laugh. “He’s got big aspirations with his itty-bitty army of self-destructive super-soldiers.”
I blinked.
Frowning at Luc, Eaton shifted again on the cushion. “Hasn’t the Daedalus always had lofty goals? You’d know. After all, other than the Trojans, you are their most coveted creation.”
That reminded me of another thing I couldn’t quite understand. “You said they used me to get to Luc, as some way to possibly gain the upper hand and reel him back in, but I don’t get it. If they want to eradicate Luxen, hybrids, and Origins because they can fight back, why would they want Luc alive? Or…” My heart turned over heavily. “Or they want him dead and I totally misinterpreted all of that.”
“I don’t think you did, Peaches. They want me.” Luc dropped his chin to my shoulder. “Can you blame them?”
“Yes.”
That got a cackle from the otherwise stoic general.
“Ouch,” Luc murmured, but a moment later, I felt the brush of his lips against the side of my neck. A quick kiss that sent a wave of shivers racing to all the interesting bits. I wiggled a little in return, and Luc’s arm tightened, stilling me. Over my shoulder, I caught his narrowed glare, and I grinned. “Behave,” he mouthed silently.
“With the Trojans,” Eaton went on. “I don’t know why they’d want Luc alive.” A pause. “No offense.”
“Offense taken.”
Eaton looked like he couldn’t care less. “If I were Dasher, I’d have a bounty so high on your head that the risk of certain death could be overlooked. You’re a threat, a real one, but they want you.” He looked between us. “So, that should be moderately concerning.”
“Moderately?” I repeated. “I’d say that would be highly concerning.”
“What it means is they have plans for me.” Luc couldn’t sound more bored than if he were watching a documentary about being placed on hold. “The Daedalus always has plans for me, and look how all their previous ones panned out.”
Leaning back, I stared at him. “You are one of the few things that can stop them. Keeping you alive means they have even bigger plans than before. You’re not at all concerned?”
Thick lashes lifted, revealing glimmering amethyst eyes. “I’m not remotely concerned. Their plans are always bigger than the ones before, and every single one of them involves controlling me. They’ve never been able to do that, and there’s not a single thing they can do that would accomplish that.”
“There’s not?” Eaton asked quietly as he looked pointedly at me.
Tracking along the same line of thinking, my stomach sank to my toes. “They already have in a way. They got you to walk away and stay out of my life. They used me to do that.”
“That’s different.” Luc held my stare. “And they will never get their hands on you again to be able to use you as a tool to control me. Never again.” He repeated those two words as if they’d be etched in stone. “So, I’m not concerned.”
“Concerned or not, at the end of the day, they want both of you,” Eaton pointed out.
I dragged my gaze from Luc. “They can’t have us.”
The general shrugged. “You know, we’ve done everything to keep Zone 3 as safe from the Daedalus as possible. The wall is constantly patrolled; so are the city limits. We shut down the walking tunnels under the city and blew the entry points. That’s enough for now, but if anyone were smart, everyone here, including both of you, would scatter to the four corners of the earth. Find a nice hole to hide in as long as they can, and scratch out some sort of life until no one can hide anymore.”
I couldn’t believe he had said that. Anger had been a slow burn from the moment he started talking, but now it rose to the surface, prickly over my skin like a heat rash.
“That’s what I should’ve done, but I didn’t. Look where I am now.”
A pink flush crept across his weathered cheeks. “I tried to stop Dasher. I went to everyone above me, and I was warned to mind my own business each time, but I didn’t listen.” He shuffled to his feet. “I kept pushing, and you know what I got in return? I lost everything. I’m not talking about my career or my house. I lost”—he swiped his hand through the air—“everything.”
My foot stilled, stomach sinking.
Luc leaned in, his lips brushing the curve of my ear. “His wife. His son.”
“What?” I whispered, chest squeezing.
Eaton’s shoulders moved with heavy, rapid breath. “They warned me to let it go, and when I didn’t, they came for me, but they got them instead.”
A knot lodged in my throat as I stared at him, having no idea what to say.
He sat on the edge of the couch. “I want to see Dasher and all of them punished in ways that would most likely disturb you. I’m helping the people the best I can, but I know what we’re up against.”
My right foot started tapping again. “I’m sorry about your family. I really am.”