A wan smile turned her lips up. “Do you have any idea what’s going on out there? I don’t think anything will ever be fine again, Luc.”
“I don’t care about that right now,” he said in typical Luc fashion. “Remember what I told you about that new drug?”
“Oh, Luc.” She wrapped bony, pale hands around his wrists. “I think we’re beyond the point of anything working—”
“Don’t say that.” Strength and determination poured into his voice. “It will work. It has to work. Or I’ll kick its ass.”
The girl didn’t look convinced, but her smile spread as she leaned forward, sliding her arms around Luc’s waist.
Luc closed his eyes, and his lips parted as he let out a slow breath. “Why don’t you go in there and get some rest, Nadia.” He drew back, smiling down at the top of her head. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of, and then I’ll be back. Okay?”
I so knew he was totally aware of me, and yet I didn’t feel bad for eavesdropping, considering how many times he’d peeped on us.
She glanced over to where I stood, her curious gaze starting at my toes, and when she reached my face, recognition flared in her big eyes. She hesitated for a moment, and then ghosted into the room.
Luc closed the door behind him and faced me. Once more I was struck by the wisdom in his odd purple eyes and the set of his face, as if he was much, much older than he appeared.
“Who is she?” I asked.
“You heard me say her name.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I glanced at the closed door. “I remember her. She was at the club, dancing on the stage.”
He cocked his head to the side. “I’ve killed people for just looking at her, and you want to know who she is?”
Luc could do that in the blink of an eye, and he could also make me squawk like a chicken if he wanted to, but I wanted to know who this girl was to him, and I seriously doubted he would mess with me. Or at least I hoped not.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he strolled up to me. “After everything you’ve seen and heard, you really want me to tell you about her?”
I crossed my arms. “Right now, I would like to think about anything other than what I just saw and heard.”
He was silent for a long moment as he studied me, and then he leaned a shoulder against the wall. “Nadia just got here from Maryland—Hagerstown, to be exact. I called in some favors when I got to this base.”
The kid had more favors owed to him than a gambler had debt. “Of course.”
A slight grin appeared. “I’ve known Nadia for a couple of years, met her when I first visited the Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. She was a runaway—abusive home, a father who would make you sick.”
The moment those words formed, the worst-case scenario took form.
“What you’re thinking doesn’t even touch what really went on,” Luc said, voice hard. “Don’t worry. He got his just deserts in a very slow and painful way.”
My heart skipped a beat at the cold, grim smile that appeared on his face. I didn’t even need to ask what he did. I knew.
“She was young and living on the streets when I met her, so I took her in. Paris wasn’t too keen on it. She’s human after all, but there’s something . . . Well, Nadia is special.” A far-off look crept onto his expression.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
Luc let out a dry laugh. “No. I’d never be that lucky.”
My brows rose, and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking it. He was in love with her.
If Luc picked up on the thought, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Two and a half years ago, she started getting bruises all over her, would end up worn out easily, and couldn’t keep any food down. It’s a cancer of the blood, a label with too many words that don’t matter.” His eyes narrowed. “It’s fatal.”
I closed my eyes. “Luc, I’m . . . I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said, and when I looked at him again, he was staring right back at me. “Your father died—a lot of people die from cancer. I get that. But Nadia won’t.”
“She’s why you wanted the Prometheus serum.” From the moment I saw her, I’d been putting two and two together. “Luc, they said it didn’t work for—”
“It works on some diseases and some cancers. They didn’t get a chance to roll the drug through every sickness out there,” he interrupted, and I snapped my mouth shut. “As messed-up as Daedalus was, they did do a few good things. And hopefully, this will be another karma point for them.”
I wanted it to be the case. I didn’t know the girl, but after losing someone to cancer and losing all contact with my mom, I knew how hard loss was. It never went away, but stayed with you like a faint shadow that was thicker some days than others.
“I hope it works,” I said finally.
He gave a curt nod. A moment passed and then he said, “So you guys want to use the Arum to fight the Luxen?”
I blinked. “Does it ever get old being a know-it-all?”
Luc chuckled. “Not one single time.”
My look turned bland.
“Using the Arum is one hell of a Hail Mary, you know that, right?”
I sighed. “It is. Archer said he knew someone who was owed a favor. I’m going to take a wild guess and say it was you.”
He laughed again as he tipped his head back against the wall, looking like a teen boy lounging outside of a classroom. “Yeah, one of the Arum does owe me a favor.” A winsome grin appeared. “And his name would be Hunter.”