Obsidian

now.”

Gritting my teeth in preparation for the icy water, I was shocked to discover its temperature wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t icy cold anymore. Stepping all the way in now, I waded out to the rocks. “Any other cool talents?”

“I can make it so that you can’t even see me.”

I took his hand, and he pulled me out into the water and onto the rock, wet clothes and all. He let go, scooting back. Shivering, I welcomed the warmth of the sun-baked rock. “How can you do things without me seeing?” Leaning back on his elbows, he looked unaffected by the cold swim. “We’re made of light. We can manipulate the different spectrums around us, using them. It’s like we’re fracturing the light, if that makes any sense.”

“Not really.” I needed to pay more attention in science class.

“You’ve seen me turn into my natural state, right?” When I nodded, he went on. “And I sort of vibrate until I break apart into tiny particles of light. Well, I can selectively eliminate the light, which allows us to be transparent.” I pulled my knees to my chest. “That’s kind of amazing, Daemon.”

He smiled up at me, flashing a dimple in one cheek before he laid back on the rock, folding his hands behind his head. “I know you have questions. Ask them.”

I had so many questions I wasn’t sure which one to start with. “Do you guys believe in God?”

“He seems like a cool guy.”

I blinked, not sure whether to laugh at that or not. “Did you guys have a God?”

“I remember there was something like a church, but that’s all. The elders don’t talk about any religion,” he said. “Then again, we don’t see any elders.”

“What do you mean by ‘elders’?”

“The same thing you’d mean. An old person.”

I made a face at him.

He grinned. “Next question?”

“Why are you such an ass?” The words came out before I could think twice.

“Everyone has to excel at something, right?”

“Well, you’re doing a great job.”

His eyes opened, meeting mine for a second before closing. “You do dislike me, don’t you?”

I hesitated. “I don’t dislike you, Daemon. You’re hard to…like. It’s hard to figure you out.”

“So are you,” he said, eyes closed, face relaxed. “You’ve accepted the impossible. You’re kind to my sister and to me — even though I admit I’ve been a jerk to you. You could’ve run right out of the house yesterday and told the world about us, but you didn’t. And you don’t put up with any of my crap,” he added with a soft laugh. “I like that about you.” Whoa. Wait. “You like me?”

“Next question?” he said.

“Are you guys allowed to date people — humans?”

He shrugged. “Allowed is a strange word. Does it happen? Yes. Is it advised? No. So we can, but what would be the point? Not like we can have a lasting relationship when we have to hide what we are.”

“So, you guys are like us in other, uh, departments?”

Daemon sat up, arching a brow. “Come again?”

I felt my cheeks flush. “You know, like sex? I mean, you guys are all glowy and stuff. I don’t see how certain stuff would work.”

Daemon’s lips curled into a half smile, and that was the only warning he gave. Moving unbelievably fast, I was on my back and he was above me in a flash. “Are you asking if I’m attracted to human girls?” he asked. Dark, wet waves of hair fell forward. Tiny droplets of water fell off the ends, splashing against my cheek. “Or are you asking if I’m attracted to you?” Using his hands, he lowered himself slowly. There wasn’t an inch of space between our bodies. Air fled my lungs at the contact of his body against mine. He was male and ripped in all the places I was soft. Being this close to him was startling, causing an array of sensations to zing through me. I shivered. Not from the cold, but from how warm and wonderful he felt. I could feel every breath he took, and when he shifted his hips, my eyes went wide and I gasped.

Oh yeah, certain stuff was definitely working.

Daemon rolled off me, onto his back beside me. “Next question?” he asked, voice deep and thick.

I didn’t move. I stared wide-eyed at the blue skies. “You could’ve just told me, you know?” I looked at him. “You didn’t have to show me.”

“And what fun would there be in telling you?” He turned his head toward me. “Next question, Kitten?”

“Why do you call me that?”

“You remind me of a little fuzzy kitten, all claws and no bite.”

“Okay, that makes no sense.”

He shrugged.

I searched my scattered thoughts for another question. I had so many, but he’d totally blown my train of thought to smithereens. “Do you think there are more Arum around?”

Only the barest hint of emotion flitted across his face. He tipped his head back, studying me. “They are always around.”

“And they’re hunting you?”

“It’s the only thing they care about.” He returned to staring at the sky. “Without our powers, they are like… humans, but vicious and immoral. They’re into ultimate destruction and whatever.”

I swallowed hard. “Have you…fought a lot of them?”

“Yep.” He eased onto his side, using his hand to support his head. A lock of hair fell over his eye. “I’ve lost count of how many I’ve faced and killed. And with you lit up like you are, more will come.” My fingers itched to brush that strand of hair back. “Then why did you stop the truck?”

“Would you have preferred I let it pancake you?”

I didn’t even bother responding to that. “Why did you?”

A muscle popped in his jaw as his gaze drifted over my upturned face. “Honestly?”

“Yes.”

“Will it get me bonus points?” he asked softly.

Holding my breath, I reached up and brushed back the strand of hair. My fingers barely grazed his skin, but he sucked in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. I pulled my hand away, not sure why I’d done that. “Depends on how you answer the question.” Daemon’s eyes opened. The pupils were white, strangely beautiful. He eased down on his back again, his arm against mine. “Next question?”

I clasped my hands together, over my stomach. “Why does using your powers leave a trace?”

“Humans are like glow-in-the-dark T-shirts to us. When we use our abilities around you, you can’t help but absorb our light. Eventually, the glow will fade, but the more we do, the more energy we use, the brighter the trace. Dee blurring out doesn’t leave much of anything. The truck incident and when I scared the bear, that leaves a visible mark. Something more powerful, like healing someone, leaves a longer trace. A faint one, nothing big so I’m told, but it lingers longer for some reason.

“I should’ve been more careful around you,” he continued. “When I scared the bear I used a blast of light, which is kind of like a laser. It left a large enough trace on you for the Arum to see you.”

“You mean the night I was attacked?” I whispered, my voice hoarse.

“Yes.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Arum don’t come here a lot, because they don’t think any Luxen are here. The beta quartz in the Rocks throws off our energy signature, hides us. That’s one of the reasons why there are a lot of us here. But there must have been one coming through. He saw your trace and knew there had to be one of us nearby. It was my fault.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You weren’t the one who attacked me.”

“But I basically led him to you,” he said, voice tight.

At first I couldn’t speak. There was this horrible punched-in-the-gut type of feeling that spread to the tips of my fingers and down to my toes. I felt the blood drain out my face so fast it left me dizzy.

Suddenly, what that man had said made sense. Where are they? He’d been looking for them. “Where is he now? Is he still around? Is he going to come back? What—”

Daemon’s hand found mine and squeezed. “Kitten, calm down. You’re going to have a heart attack.”