His expression turned bland. “I’d sure hope not. I might get jealous.”
“You’d get jealous if she hugged a tree,” Archer tossed out.
“Maybe.” Daemon coasted to a stop in a parking space behind the car. “I’m needy like that.”
I lost my urge not to roll my eyes as I opened the passenger door. “You both are ridiculous.”
As we climbed out of the SUV, three doors on the flashy car popped open. Curiosity pecked at me. I’d never really seen an Arum who wasn’t going to try to snack on my energy. So there was a certain level of novelty in really getting the chance to see and interact with one who hopefully wasn’t going to turn into yet another thing that would try to kill us. I focused on the tall form unfolding from the driver’s side.
Holy Arum . . .
The dark-haired man was as tall as Daemon but broader. The black shirt he wore stretched across the sort of shoulders and chest that reminded me of a boxer’s build. Just from that alone, he looked like he could do some damage. From what I could see of the sculpted jawline and profile, his skin was pale, like all Arum, but not a ghastly color. More like alabaster or porcelain. His eyes were hidden behind black shades. Wearing dark denim, he looked more like one of those guys in GQ magazine than a soulless alien version of the goat-sucking chupacabra.
An identical replica of him stepped out of the backseat of the car. Except he wore trousers and a button-down shirt he appeared to have grown tired of buttoning up. Hard, pale flesh peeked through.
Arum came in fours—three males and one female. I expected to see another brother or a sister, but what was standing next to the passenger door was neither.
It was a human woman.
I gaped at the motley crew. What the hell was a human woman doing with them? She turned to where we stood, and I got a good look at the blonde. She was pretty—really pretty—and I couldn’t figure out why she was here.
Then Daemon spoke. “What up, asshole?”
My jaw hit the ground.
“You really know how to greet people,” Archer muttered.
The Arum who had been behind the wheel inclined his head with a sigh. “You again.”
“You sound just as happy as I am to see you.” Daemon’s lips twisted into a mockery of a smile as he folded his arms. “Let’s just get one thing straight before we go any further. If you plan on screwing us over in any way, it will be the last thing you plan to do.”
Hunter smirked as he turned his head toward his brother. “Told you he’s a cuddly one.”
The other Arum leaned his arms on the roof of the car and a brow rose over the dark sunglasses he also wore. “Cuddly as a damn porcupine.”
Daemon raised a middle finger.
This was going well.
Even though Hunter was wearing sunglasses, I could feel his gaze suddenly shift onto me. “So I see you got your girl out of Daedalus.”
What the what?
“And I see that you still somehow have a human woman with you,” Daemon replied. “I feel like I need to ask her if she’s here against her own will.”
Hunter barked out a syllable of a laugh. “Are you, Serena?”
The blonde rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “No.”
“There’s your answer,” Hunter added.
“As amazingly well as this meet-and-greet is going, I think we should get to the point,” Archer suggested. “We were told you’d be willing to take us to wherever the Arum are.”
“I am.” Hunter folded his arms, mimicking Daemon. There was a beat of silence, and I swore I felt his gaze on me again. “Are you guys sure you want to do this?”
Oh, that didn’t sound good. I shifted my weight. “We have to do this.”
The sun finally disappeared behind thick clouds, and dusk rapidly spread over the parking lot. Hunter reached up, removing his sunglasses. The pale hue of his ice-blue eyes was unnerving as hell. “Have any of you ever heard of Lotho?”
“Other than he’s kind of like your little leader or something?” Daemon said. “No.”
“Little leader?” The other Arum ducked his chin and laughed. “More like a little crazy.”
“Or a lot crazy, Lore.”
“Lore?” I said, feeling stupid. “Wait. That’s your name? Lore.”
He flashed straight white teeth. “Wait until you meet our other brother, Sin.”
Sin? Lore? Wow, Hunter’s name really sort of stood out. I shook my head, because seriously, none of that was important. “What do you mean, Lotho is a little crazy?”
“Well. He’s a lot crazy,” Hunter said, leaning against the car as Serena came to stand beside him. “Personally, I think he’s a lunatic and a psychopath by human standards. I won’t let him anywhere near Serena. Hell, I wouldn’t let him anywhere near a pet cockroach if I had one.”
Oh. Wow.
Daemon frowned. “This sounds really fun.”
“And he’s also very powerful,” Hunter continued. “He feeds on Luxen like there’s a shortage of them, and he’s all decked out in opal. As in, it’s sewn into his skin.”
My eyes widened. “Ouch.”
“He hates humans,” Lore interjected. “But he hates Luxen more. And he’s not a big fan of Origins or hybrids, either.”
This whole thing was really beginning to suck.
“Sounds like this is going to be a great time,” Daemon said drily.
Hunter laughed, but it was a chilling sound. “The Arum are loyal to him. They’ll do whatever he wants, even if it means their deaths.”
“And you’re not?” Daemon asked.
“Hell to the no,” Hunter replied as he draped an awfully protective-looking arm over Serena’s shoulders and tugged her close. “Believe it or not, kid, I had no desire to make war with the Luxen before this whole crap went down. Now it seems like a necessity, but when it’s all said and done, I don’t give two shits what you, or any of your kind, are doing.” He paused, glancing down at the woman in his arms. “I got better things to focus on. So does Lore.”
Shock splashed across Daemon’s face, replicating what I felt inside. The way Hunter looked at Serena? Wow. He really was in love with a woman—a human woman.
Daemon stared at him a moment, and then he tipped his head back and laughed. “All right. I can respect that.”
Hunter didn’t respond for what felt like an eternity. “If you can get him to agree to help, then you’ll have one hell of an army. I’m just not sure you’re going to find Lotho to be very agreeable.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll worry about that.” Daemon cocked his head to the side while I seriously began to worry about that. “How many Arum does he have?”
“Thousands,” Hunter said, and it felt like the ground moved under my feet. “Ones who’ve stayed under the radar, and even those who’d been with Daedalus until the Luxen showed up.”
“And every one of them is with him now?” Archer scrubbed a hand over his crew cut, which was starting to grow out.
“Yep.” Lore drew out the word, grinning. “It’ll be like entering a cult. Be prepared.”
“It’s really weird.” Serena twisted her hair and tossed it over her shoulder as she spoke. “They all stare at you like they’re planning to eat you for dinner. The whole Arum thing is kind of freaky, to be honest.” She glanced at Hunter and then Lore. “No offense.”
Lore lifted his arm off the roof of the car with an easy smile. “None taken.”
“So, you guys ready to do this?” Hunter asked.
Not really, but I didn’t scream no when Daemon nodded. All I did was watch Hunter turn to Serena and clasp her cheeks with huge hands. The hold was so incredibly gentle, I was surprised an Arum was capable of it.
He lowered his head, kissed her, and she leaned into him as if it were second nature. I felt like a total ogre for staring, but I couldn’t look away. An Arum and a human. Wowee. It hit me then that they probably thought the same thing when they saw a Luxen and human together.