Glancing over at my house, I blew out an aggravated breath through my nose. Would it be such a terrible thing if I just, I don’t know, just burned the damn house down? I mean, I wouldn’t let those…those humans inside burn or anything. I wasn’t that terrible. But no house, no problem.

Seemed simple to me.

The last thing I needed was another problem—the last thing any of us needed.

A light was on in one of the bedrooms upstairs despite the fact that it was late. It was her bedroom. Only a handful of minutes ago, I’d seen the outline of her pass in front of the windows. Sadly, she was completely clothed.

That disappointment took creeper status to a whole new level.

The girl was a problem, a big one, but I had all the working guy parts, which sometimes zeroed out the whole problem thing.

Having someone move next door, someone who was our age, was just too risky. This girl had only been here two days, but it was just a matter of time before Dee saw her. She’d already asked me a couple of times if I’d seen the new neighbors, if I knew who they were. I’d shrugged and said probably just an old couple retiring to the country to ward off her initial enthusiasm, but I knew Dee’s excitable personality would be impossible to contain for long.

Speaking of the hyper devil…

“Daemon,” a voice whispered from the shadows of my front porch. “What in the world are you doing out here?”

Debating on whether or not burning down a house next time they head to the store is a reasonable response to getting new neighbors?

Yeah, I was gonna keep that one to myself.

Sighing, I pivoted around and headed toward the porch. Gravel crunched under my boots. My sister was leaning against the railing, staring at the house next door, a curious expression pinching her face as a soft breeze tossed her long, dark hair around her.

It took unbelievable effort to walk at a normal speed as I joined Dee. Normally, it wasn’t something I even attempted when I was home since I could move fast as light, but with the new neighbors, I needed to get back in the habit of appearing…well, human.

“I was out patrolling.” I cocked a hip against the railing, my back to the house as if it didn’t exist.

Dee raised a brow as she glanced up at me. Bright emerald eyes, the same color as mine, were filled with skepticism. “It didn’t look like that.”

“Really?” I crossed my arms.

“Yeah.” Her gaze flicked over my shoulder. “It looked like you were standing outside that house, watching it.”

“Uh-huh.”

Her brows knitted. “So, someone has moved in there?”

Dee had been over at the Thompsons’ house the last couple of days, which was a freaking blessing even though the idea of her being there with another alien our age, Adam, overnight did not make me a happy camper. But it worked out. She had no idea who had moved in next door, and knowing her, a human girl of her age would be like discovering an abandoned puppy.

When I didn’t answer, she sighed heavily. “Okay. Am I supposed to guess?”

“Yeah, some people moved in next door.”

Her eyes widened as she whipped back around and leaned out over the railing, eyeing the house as if she could see through it. While our abilities were pretty awesome, we didn’t have X-ray vision. “Oh my, they’re not Luxen. They’re humans.”

Obviously she would’ve sensed if they were of our kind. “Yep. They’re human.”

She shook her head slightly. “But why? Do they know about us?”

I thought of the girl struggling to carry the boxes inside the other day. “I’m gonna go with a no.”

“That’s so weird. Why would the DOD let them move in there?” she asked, and then immediately added, “Who cares? I hope they’re nice.”

My eyes drifted shut. Of course Dee wouldn’t be worried about it, not even after what happened to Dawson. All she cared about was if they were nice. It didn’t even occur to her, not for one second, the kind of danger the close proximity of a human posed to us. Not my sister. She was all unicorns puking rainbows.

“Did you see who they were?” she asked, excitement crowding her voice.

“No,” I lied, opening my eyes.

Her lips pursed as she drew back from the railing, clapping her hands, and turned to me. We were almost the same height, and I could see delight sparkling in her eyes. “I hope it’s a hot guy.”

I clenched my jaw.

She giggled. “Oh! Maybe it’s a girl, like, my age. That would be awesome.”

Oh God.

“It would make this summer so much better, especially since Ash is being a you-know-what,” she went on.

“No. I don’t know what.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play innocent, you jerk. You know exactly why she’s as cuddly as a honey badger right now. She thought you two would be spending all summer together doing—”

“Each other?” I suggested slyly.

“Oh, gross! Seriously. I wasn’t going there.” She shuddered, and I barely hid my grin as I wondered if Ash had admitted that the doing-each-other part still happened although not in a while. Not often, but it did. “She was complaining about not going wherever you promised to take her this summer.”

I had no idea what Dee was talking about.

“Anyway, I really hope whoever is next door is cool.” Like a hamster on a wheel, Dee’s mind kept on cycling. “Maybe I’ll stop over—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, Dee. You don’t know who they are or what they’re like. Stay away from them.”

She placed her hands on her hips as her eyes narrowed. “How will we know what kind of people they are by staying away from them?”

“I’ll check them out.”

“I don’t particularly trust your judgment of humans, Daemon.” Her stare turned into a glare.

“And I don’t trust yours. Just like I never trusted Dawson’s.”

Dee took a step back as she drew in a deep, slow breath. The anger faded out of her expression. “Okay, I understand. I get why—”

“Let’s not go there. Not tonight,” I said, sighing as I lifted my hand and scrunched my fingers through my hair, making the ends stick up. I needed a haircut. “It’s late and I need to make another round before I call it a night.”

“Another round?” Her voice had dropped to a whisper. “Do you think…any of the Arum are nearby?”

I shook my head, not wanting her to worry, but the truth was they were always nearby and they were our only natural predator—our enemies from the time when our true planet existed. Like us, they weren’t from this Earth. They were, in many ways, the exact opposite of us in appearance and abilities. But we didn’t kill like they did. Oh no. They derived their use of the Source from feeding off the Luxen they killed. They were like parasites on steroids.

The Elders used to tell us that when the universe was formed, it was filled with the purest light, making those who lived in the shadows—the Arum—envious. They’d become jealous and determined to suffocate all the light. That was how the war started between our two planets.

And our parents died in that war, when our home was destroyed.

The Arum had followed us here, using atmospheric displays to travel to Earth without detection. Whenever there was a meteorite shower or a rash of falling stars, I was on edge. The Arum usually followed such occurrences.

Fighting them wasn’t easy. We could either take them out with the Source directly or with obsidian—sharpened into a blade, it was deadly to the Arum, especially after they’d fed. It fractured light. Getting ahold of it wasn’t easy, either, but I tried to always keep one on me, usually attached to my ankle. So did Dee.

Never knew when you’d need it.

“I just want to be careful,” I said finally.

“You’re always careful.”

I smiled tightly.

She hesitated and then sprang forward. Stretching up on the tips of her toes, she kissed my cheek. “You can be a demanding jerkface, but I love you. Just wanted you to know.”