“And what was that called?” Daemon asked. “Bullshit 101?”
Fear trickled into Steven’s gaze. “It’s not bullshit. None of this is. They had three serums. Some of you know them well. LH-11. Prometheus and Andromeda—Andromeda creates the Trojans.”
My hands fell to my sides. I tried to speak, but my throat closed off.
“No,” Luc said, snapping forward. He gripped the man’s shirt, lifting him and the chair off the floor. “You’re lying.”
“Why would I?” he cried out. “What point would that serve?”
I stared at Luc, wondering why he didn’t believe this man and then quickly realizing that he didn’t want to.
“He doesn’t have a reason to lie, Luc.” Archer turned to him. “What he is saying sounds unbelievable, but you and I both know the Daedalus was capable of just about anything.”
“He’s right,” Steven gritted out through clenched teeth. “We have been tracking down the Trojans, trying to get to them before they activate and take them out afterward, like we did in Kansas City and Boulder. Something is coming—something big. The ones we haven’t been able to capture have all but disappeared. We don’t know why, but we know it’s not to go live out their days on a farm. Whatever reason they were created for, it’s happening now.”
It seemed like Daemon was the first to figure it out, because he turned slowly, looking directly at me. “And that’s why you’re here?”
Luc dropped Steven and the chair landed with a thud. “Don’t say it,” he ordered, speaking the words so quietly I barely heard him.
Steven ignored him. “She’s a Trojan. You saw what she did out there. Have you ever seen anything like that? No, none of you have.”
I couldn’t speak.
“If you don’t believe me, I can prove it,” he interrupted, his wide gaze fastening on Daemon. “Try to shoot her.”
“What?” I exclaimed.
Archer cocked his head to the side. “I don’t think any of us are going to fall for that one.”
“You’re not listening to me!” Steven shouted. “If you try to shoot her, it won’t happen, even if she hasn’t been activated. What is inside her will protect her.”
“You guys were trying to shoot me in the head outside!” I yelled a sentence I never thought I’d have to.
“From behind,” Steven clarified. “If you can’t see it coming, you can’t stop it.”
Breathing heavily, I stared at him. “You can’t be telling the truth. I know I did some pretty badass and scary stuff out there, but I can’t magically stop bullets.”
“I can,” Luc said.
I looked over at him, brows raised.
“Do it.” Steven’s gaze swung around the room. “Do it, and you’ll see that I’m not lying.”
“No one is shooting Evie,” Luc said. “Sorry.”
“Well,” Daemon said. “If we do it and she stops the bullet, then we know he’s telling the truth.”
“Did you miss her go all Dark Phoenix out there?” Zoe demanded. “I really don’t think we need to risk shooting her to prove what he’s saying.”
Luc faced Daemon. “We’re not shooting Evie.”
“I’m just saying we could just maybe aim for her leg or something,” Daemon suggested quite helpfully. “That wouldn’t kill her if it turns out he’s full of crap, and she’ll probably kill him.”
My mouth dropped open. “There’s no reason to shoot me. I’m…”
As everyone around me fell into an argument over whether or not it was okay to shoot me, I thought about Mom, and my heart cracked wide open. What little hope I had left that she hadn’t been a part of what was done to me was gone. She had to have known—
“You need to take her out,” Steven said, breaking the silence. “You need to do it before it’s too late.”
Luc slowly turned around, facing everyone in the group. “No one is touching her. Does everyone understand that? Because I used up the last of my generosity not killing this man when he pulled a gun outside. That tank is on empty.”
No one responded. There were nods, a few long looks exchanged, and then Steven spoke once more.
“There will come a time when you will regret this.” Steven lifted his chin. “There will come a time when you will wish you’d put her down, and by then, it will be too late.”
That was the same thing Micah had said to us, and when I looked over at Luc, I knew he was thinking the same thing.
Micah had known.
He’d known what I was.* * *There was no more information Steven could provide, and when I walked out of the house, I wasn’t expecting that Steven was going to live much longer.
And he didn’t.
I knew he was gone when Grayson carried out Kent, who’d been wrapped in a blanket. Zoe followed the Luxen, and I closed my eyes, seeing Kent’s face.
I felt Luc’s presence without hearing him. I felt his warmth. “That shouldn’t have happened to Kent.”