My imagination had been dead-on. “Oh my God…”
Daemon slammed his hand down on the table, causing Archer to move forward, hand going to his weapon. “You’re basically creating a race of test-tube babies, and if they’re not acceptable, you kill them?”
“I don’t expect you to understand,” Nancy replied evenly as she stood and moved behind her chair. She gripped the back. “The origins are the perfect species, but like with any race of being or creature, there are…duds. It happens. The positives and potential outweigh the nastier side.”
I shook my head. “What exactly is so positive about this?”
“Many of our origins have grown up and have assimilated into society. We have trained them so that they will reach the height of success. Each of them has been tailored from birth to assume a certain role. They will become doctors of unequaled abilities, researchers who will unlock the unknown, senators and politicians who are able to see the bigger picture and will bring about social change.” She paused and turned toward where Archer stood. “And some will become soldiers of unprecedented talent, joining the ranks of hybrids and humans, creating an army that will be unstoppable.”
Tiny hairs on the back of my neck rose as I slowly twisted in my chair. My eyes met Archer’s. His expression was emotionless. “Are you…?”
“Archer?” Nancy said, smiling.
Taking his hand off the handle of his gun, he reached up to his left eye with two fingers. He made a pinching motion and a colored contact lens popped out, revealing an iris that was shiny like an amethyst jewel.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Holy crapola…”
Daemon swore under his breath, and now it made sense why it was only Archer who guarded Daemon and me. If he was anything like Micah, he could handle whatever we threw at him.
“Well, aren’t you just a special snowflake,” Daemon murmured.
“That I am.” Archer’s lips quirked into a half grin. “It’s a secret. We wouldn’t want the other officers or soldiers to be uncomfortable around me.”
Which explained why he hadn’t gone all superhuman on Micah and had shot him with a tranq gun instead. A thousand questions rushed to the tip of my tongue, but I was struck silent by the implications of what and who he was.
Daemon folded his arms as he focused on Nancy again. “Interesting reveal and all, but I have a bigger question to ask you.”
She spread her arms wide in a welcoming way. “Go ahead.”
“How do you determine who brings the babies into the world?”
Oh God, my stomach tensed even more, and I bent over, clutching the end of the table.
“It’s simple, actually. Besides the in vitro, we look for Luxen and hybrids like you two.”
Chapter 14
Daemon
We had to get out of there. Sooner, not later. That was all I could think about.
When we were escorted back to our rooms, I looked at Archer a little more differently and a hell of lot more closely. The soldier had always seemed different, but I would’ve never guessed that he was something other than human. I had sensed nothing unusual from him, not a damn thing other than this off vibe, but I did notice that Kat seemed comfortable around him. Other than a few smartass responses, which I of all people couldn’t hold against him, he seemed like a pretty okay guy.
And frankly, I didn’t care what the hell he was. Knowing that he was something different only meant I needed to watch him more carefully. What did matter was the fact that they were breeding children here.
That disturbed the hell out of me, and it also angered me.
The moment the door was shut behind me, I headed for the bathroom. Kat had the same idea. A second later, her door opened, and she walked in, quietly shutting the door behind her.
Her face was pale. “I want to vomit.”
“Well, let me get out of the way, then.”
Her brows pinched. “Daemon, they…” She shook her head, eyes wide. “There are no words for this. It’s beyond anything I could’ve imagined.”
“Same here.” I leaned against the sink as she sat on the edge of the closed lid. “Dawson never mentioned anything like that to you, did he?”
She shook her head. Dawson rarely spoke about his time with Daedalus, and when he did, he usually told Kat. “No, but he said some of the things were insane. He was probably talking about this.”
Before I said any more, I shifted without warning to my true form. Sorry, I said when she winced. Luc had warned me that the things here would blow my mind. Speaking of which, notice anything about Archer’s and Micah’s eyes—and who has the same kind? Luc’s got the weird, blurred line effect going on, too. Hell, I should’ve known that kid wasn’t a normal hybrid. He’s an origin.
Kat ran her palms over her thighs. When she was nervous, she was always fidgeting. Normally I found it cute, but I hated the why behind it now. This is beyond us, she said. How many kids do you think they have? How many people are out there in the world, masquerading as normal humans?
Well, that’s no different than us pretending to be normal.
We’re not superhumans who can drop a person on the ground by curling our fists.
I was kind of envious of that ability. Yeah, too bad, because that would come in handy when someone is getting on your nerves.
Her hand shot out, smacking my leg. And what the heck was that? She—that evil woman in a pantsuit—didn’t mention anything about that.
Pretty much all women who wear pantsuits are evil.
Kat’s head tipped to the side. Okay. I do have to agree with that, but can we focus?