“And he’d really hand those kids over to her in the end?” he asked.
Archer lifted one shoulder. “Like I said, Luc is capable of anything, especially when it comes to getting what he wants. Lucky for all of us, he wants us alive.” He pushed off the doorframe. “There’s a lot more to discuss. So I’ll be back later.”
As he started to leave, something struck me, seizing me up. “Wait. Did you bring any of our stuff with you?”
He nodded. “I brought everything that appeared important, including those papers.”
Those papers. I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. The papers were our marriage certificate and fake IDs. Although the marriage wasn’t technically real, it was legit to Daemon and me.
“Thank you,” I said.
He nodded. With that, Archer stepped out and closed the door behind him. I strained to hear a lock turning, but when that didn’t happen, my shoulders sagged with relief.
Daemon turned to me. “You thought we’d be locked in here, didn’t you?”
My gaze traveled over his striking face, lingering on the faint shadows forming under his eyes. “I really don’t know what to think. I trust Archer and Luc, but I’ve trusted a lot of people and that turned out bad. I hope that doesn’t make me crazy.”
“I think trusting anyone makes us all a little crazy.”
I watched him move around the room, stopping in front of the dresser and inspecting what was inside, then moving to the desk. He raised a hand and rubbed his fingers through the mess of dark brown waves. Each step was filled with strain.
Knowing that his thoughts must be with his sister, I felt an ache in my chest for him. I knew how it felt to lose someone who was actually still around. Not an hour went by that I didn’t think of my mom. “We’ll get Dee back. I don’t know how yet, but we will.”
He slowly lowered his hand, but his shoulders tensed as he turned to me. “If we really are safe here, you’d leave this to go into a nest of vipers to get my sister out?”
“Do you really have to ask that question? You know I would.”
Daemon walked to where I sat. “I wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger.”
“I’m sure as hell not staying behind if you run off to go find her.”
One side of his lips kicked up, and it was amazing how a simple half smile could twist my insides. “I didn’t think you would, and I wouldn’t leave you here. Where I go, you go, and vice versa. You’re not getting rid of me for any length of time that easily.”
“Glad we actually agree on that.” Not too long ago, Daemon would’ve tried to shelter me, but I think he’d learned that didn’t work out very well.
This was the first time in days that we were together and could speak openly with each other, and as I watched him, I knew there was something beyond his sister on his mind. With as many things as we had to stress over, it would be like looking for an apple in a pile of apples.
“What?” I asked.
Our gazes collided and held, and I drew in an unsteady breath. Those emerald eyes, which were such a bright, unreal green, never failed to catch my attention. Daemon was beautiful in a way that didn’t seem possible, but that beauty ran deep, beyond the skin that really wasn’t his true form, and into the very core of his being. When I first met him, I hadn’t believed that. Now I knew better.
His thick lashes lowered. “Just thinking about what Nancy said about the serum—about us.”
“About us not being connected like we thought we were?”
“Yeah.”
“This is good, though.” I smiled when he looked up. I didn’t know what to think, other than that our lives really not being joined together had to be good news and that it didn’t change anything between us. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m ticked that Nancy lied to us, that she tested something so volatile on me, but it’s . . . it’s okay. I know I can kick some butt and tap into the Source, but you are stronger than me. I’m the weaker—”
“You’re not weak, Kitten. You’ve never been weak, before or after the mutation.”
“Thanks for that, but you know what I mean. Let’s be realistic. I’m a liability to an extent when it comes to fighting. I can only go for so long before I tucker out. You really don’t.”
“I get it.” He thrust his hands through his hair again, frowning.
I searched his face. “Then, what?”
“It’s just that . . .” Daemon knelt down in front of me, his brows knitting together. He reached out and draped his hands over my knees. “It’s just that since the moment I realized what healing you meant, or what I thought it meant, I never thought I’d face a day without you. That I’d never have to worry about going on if you weren’t there. And I’m not trying to make this into some kind of Romeo and Juliet bullshit, but now I know there’s a chance of that and it . . . it f**king terrifies me, Kat. It really does.”
I blinked back a sudden rush of tears as I cupped his cheeks. The slight stubble tickled my thumbs. “The idea of you not being there terrifies me, too.”
He leaned in and pressed his forehead against mine. “I know it’s good news, and I know it’s stupid. I should be more scared of dying in general than not, but—”
“I know.” I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against his. “Let’s just not die on each other, okay?”
Daemon’s chuckle teased my lips. “I like that plan.”