I withdrew my hand a fraction of an inch. YOU WILL take me to her.

The Luxen shuddered and a gurgling sound rose in his throat. “It’ll be too… late. She’s already good as dead.”

My heart stopped, literally fucking stopped at those words, and then I rose, bringing the Luxen with me as I shifted into my human form. “For your sake and everyone you ever cared about, you better hope that’s not the case.”

Chapter 29

I floated through the darkness, void of pain or any conscious thoughts until a sharp tingle invaded the blissful oblivion. It started in my toes and traveled up my legs and torso, spreading to my arms, and by then the tingle had turned into a deep throbbing.

My awareness came back to me in pieces. My cheek was pressed against something cool and damp, as was my entire body.

Cement? Made sense as it was hard and unyielding.

Every part of my body ached as I forced my eyes open and took in the unfamiliar surroundings. A dim light flickered above, casting long shadows over the exposed wood in the walls. I was in a room, maybe a warehouse? I didn’t know for sure.

But I wasn’t dead.

And I knew that I would probably wish I were dead very soon, because that meant the Luxen had me.

Panic unfurled in the pit of my stomach, suffocating like thick smog. My chest wheezed on the next choking breath I took. A cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

All kinds of crazy stuff flooded my thoughts— torture, alien probes, death by panic attack. Christ, the possibilities were endless, and each one had my pulse pounding, but I couldn’t afford to lose it. I needed to get up, to get out of wherever I was before it was too late—and nothing was scarier than too late.

Drawing in several deep breaths, I slid my hands along the floor and pushed with arms that shook so badly I wondered if there was permanent nerve damage.

“You’re awake. Good. I don’t have all night.”

My heart turned over heavily at the sound of the smooth, cultured voice. I’d heard it before, never in person, but on the TV and local news countless times.

Senator Vanderson.

There was a deep chuckle, as if he could hear my racing thoughts. I sat up, wincing at the sharp spike of pain radiating from my temples.

“What did…?”

“What did we do to you?”

His voice sounded closer.

“You were hit with the Source. Not enough to kill you, of course, but I imagine the feeling could only be compared to getting hit with an extremely high-powered Taser.”

I lifted my head and my vision swam for a moment before clearing.

Senator Vanderson stood only a few feet away, legs widespread and arms at his side. He wore a tailored, dark gray suit, and for some reason, I focused on the red hanky in his suit pocket before dragging my eyes upward.

The senator was an extraordinarily handsome man. I’d always thought that had helped him in the polls.

He looked like something straight out of the YACHT CLUB OF THE Month magazine, complete with light brown hair, grayed at the temples, and vibrant, clear blue eyes.

Right now, he was smiling like he had in many interviews. Before, I hadn’t noticed how practiced the smile was or how cold it came across. I did now.

I struggled to get the words out. “Where am I?”

He knelt down, one lip curling in disgust as his knee brushed the dirtied floor. “Does it matter? Let me answer that for you. It doesn’t. No one will find you here. No one will come.”

I thought of Hunter and his name burned through me. “Hunter will come for me.”

Senator Vanderson tipped his head back and laughed. “Do you really think an Arum will risk his life for you? An Arum is only concerned with what benefits him, honey.”

“He’s not like other Arum.”

“An Arum is an Arum when it comes down to it,”

the senator replied. “He would’ve had to go through my best men, and even if he put the effort into it, which is doubtful, he would’ve needed to make them talk and that won’t have happened. He’s not coming.”

“You’re wrong.” I slid my legs away from him.

“You’re so wrong.”

“You put so much faith in an Arum? Repulsive,” he sneered, his face suddenly inches from mine. “The Arum are nothing more than what a human would call a parasite. They are not worth the filthy floor you lie upon.”

Anger rose so swiftly it nearly choked me. “Do you think you’re better than them?” I tossed back.

“You’re not. You’re worse —”

His hand shot out so fast I didn’t have a chance to stop the blow.

Pain exploded along the side of my face as the crack of his hand against my cheek echoed through the warehouse. Eyes watering, I gasped at the metallic taste pooling inside my mouth.

Senator Vanderson grasped my chin in a painful grip, forcing my head back to meet his brilliant stare. “Don’t you dare compare us to them.

Ever. They are not even on the same scale as us, and neither are humans.

We are not at the top of the food chain, Miss Cross. We own the food chain.” He let go and stood. Yanking the hanky out of his pocket, he wiped his hand off and then tossed the scrap of silk to the side. “See, that’s the problem with humans.

Your kind has no common sense or ability to recognize your superiors.

Your whole race consists of nothing but followers, and you always align yourselves with the weakest link. You’re more pathetic than the Arum at their lowest moment, when their entire race knelt before us and begged for their lives.”

I pressed my palm against my aching jaw. The pain, anger, and fear were a bad combination, but mix that in with the bone-deep knowledge that I was going to die, it was all a dangerous grouping. My filters were absent from this party. “I’m pretty sure you’re also at the top of the arrogance chain, too.”

The senator smirked.

“We just know our place, Miss Cross. You may deem it arrogance, but in reality it is just superiority.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the slip of paper. My stomach sunk.

“Your friend has proved to be a problem long after her untimely death.”

The fury propelled by Mel’s loss raged through me. “You bastard. You had her killed.”

“So?” His brows rose as he unfolded the letter. “It’s just one human life and from the looks of hers, it wasn’t even a drop in the bucket.”

Sickened, I stared at him. “A life is a life.”

“No. It is not. That’s another funny thing about humans. They think all lives are equal.”

He laughed, and the sound was repeated from behind me. The hair rose on the back of my neck as I realized for the first time we weren’t alone. “Lives are not equal, Miss Cross.

Some are more important than others and some do not matter at all.”

“You’re wrong.”

“And you bore me with your protests.” He scanned the letter and another near perfect smirk appeared. “I knew that your friend overheard more than what you told the Department of Defense. My sons told me what they had spoken about. Foolish as they were, I knew you’d prove to be even more so. I just had to wait.”

The soft whisper of movement behind me drew my attention and I stiffened.

Two hands landed on my shoulders and a second later I was standing on my numb feet.

I twisted to get out of the hold, but the grip tightened. Fingers dug in through my shirt and flesh, and I clamped my mouth shut, but a whimper escaped.

“I figured you’d be back to exact your revenge.”

Senator Vanderson walked toward us, holding the letter between two elegant fingers.

“If anything, humans are ridiculously predictable…and stupid, but I am curious. What exactly did you think to accomplish by retrieving this letter?”

Out of nowhere, a calm acceptance washed over me like a rolling wave. I knew I wasn’t walking away from this. There was nothing I could do to get away from them—they were faster, stronger, and deadlier.

I was going to die.

But that didn’t mean I had to make this easy for him.

Senator Vanderson laughed softly. “Now you’re quiet?

Interesting.”

He stopped in front of me. I pulled away, but the Luxen held me in place as the senator trailed the edge of the paper down my cheek.

“You’re a very pretty woman, Miss Cross.

Although our women are infinitely more attractive,”

he continued, moving the letter to the other side of my face. “I’m sure there are many of my men who would love to spend their night entertaining themselves with you.”

My stomach roiled at the implication, made worse when the Luxen behind me leaned in and slipped his hands down my arms. “I’d gladly take him up on the offer,” the Luxen said, and then chuckled when I shuddered. “After all, she’s so defensive of the Arum.

Perhaps she’s been fucking him?”

Senator Vanderson arched a brow. “Revolting.”

“And what do you say about humans who sleep with Luxen?” I challenged.

“Blessed,” he replied with a half smile.

“They’re blessed.”

In any other situation I would’ve laughed, but I was scared out of my freaking mind.

It took everything to stand there and not collapse.

“Were you planning on turning this letter over to the Department of Defense?”

Senator Vanderson’s eyes widened.

“You were, weren’t you? How quaint.

Did you think they’d give you shelter at that point?

Did you think they’d do anything other than silence you?”

My heart was racing so fast I couldn’t answer if I wanted to.

Senator Vanderson tsk ed softly. “Let’s say you did turn this letter over and they learned about our little Project Eagle. Do you really think they’d let you live with such knowledge?

You could go to the press and cause a panic. They would’ve silenced you, and then what do you think they’d do to us? Oh, they may try to round us up and keep us under their thumb, but they’d fail. There are tens of thousands of us here and they could never stop us, but there are hundreds of thousands waiting out there.” He tipped his head up and smiled broadly.

“Your government couldn’t do a thing against us.”

He shrugged. “But that’s neither here nor there, is it? This letter will go nowhere. You’ll be dead soon and, well, use your imagination for the rest.”

This was it. I could feel it in every cell. Were they going to kill me quickly or drag it out? My muscles tensed.

Senator Vanderson held the letter up. There wasn’t so much a flicker of flame, but just a soft white glow over the tips of his two fingers. Heat warmed my face and the frail slip of paper wilted and then caved into itself, leaving nothing but ashes within seconds.

The letter was gone—the proof that the Luxen were conspiring against the government and mankind destroyed. The knowledge was in my head, but who’d believe me? And that was if I did make it out of here.

Which was highly unlikely.

And I knew Senator Vanderson was right— Hunter had been right. If I brought that info to the government, they’d kill me just to ensure I didn’t run my mouth to the press and incite panic.