“That doesn’t matter to me.”

“Really? Because I remember the Daemon who hated humans, hated what they’d done to his brother and brought onto his family,” Ethan replied. “I remember the Daemon I had such great hope in.”

“I was wrong to hate humans for what happened to Dawson. It wasn’t Beth’s fault or the fact that he fell in love with her. It was Daedalus.”

“An organization run completely by humans.”

I narrowed my eyes. All I could do was keep him talking, keep my brain blank from anything we planned. “Yeah, thanks for the clarification on that.”

He looked unmoved. “You can’t tell me that if your brother had never met that human girl, things would’ve been different. Same with you. Maybe even the whole world would’ve been different. After all, your actions in Vegas gave us the perfect opportunity.”

A muscle along my jaw started to pop. That human girl. I remembered him calling Kat that twice and I hadn’t really sensed the pure hatred then, just distaste, but I got it now. Oh yeah, I was really picking up on it now. “And guess what, Ethan?” I could feel Kat’s eyes on me. “I wouldn’t change a damn thing. Neither would Dawson. So chew on that.”

A flare of white light behind his purple eyes came and went. “What if I told you that your parents were alive when they arrived here?”

For a moment I didn’t think—couldn’t think. His words did not make sense.

“What?” Kat demanded.

Ethan didn’t even look her way. He was locked onto me like he was going to take me out to dinner later. “Your parents, Daemon. What if they came to Earth, but humans killed them? How would you feel about your precious human then? Or any human?”

Unable to stop myself from reacting to what he was saying, I sat back and stared at him. Again, I could feel Kat’s eyes on me, and I didn’t need to look deep to find the answer. “Yes. I would feel the same way.”

He stared at me curiously.

“Were . . . were they alive?” Kat asked.

“That doesn’t matter,” I snapped. And it was true. None of that mattered now. “This is bullshit. All of it.” My hands curled into fists atop the kitchen table. “What do you want, Ethan? Why this? You want to take over the world or something?”

“World domination?” Ethan chuckled. “That’s so cliché. So damn silly. I don’t give a damn about ruling this planet or any planet.”

I raised my brows.

“My parents were killed, Daemon. But you probably already realize that, since you know exactly what I am and I’m sure Nancy told you . . . Well, told you half of the truth.” Ethan folded his hands in his lap. “I was a part of the first group of Origins, before Nancy stepped in at a young and tender age to spearhead Daedalus.”

One of the first groups? Yeah, if what Nancy had said about them was true, the first group really didn’t have a great go at things.

“When they realized that my father had mutated my mother, they captured them. Started doing experiments. Whatever love those two might have had for each other was destroyed by the things they did to them and made them do, including my creation,” he explained without a drop of emotion. “I was a part of a limited group of Origins, and I grew up in a lab.”

“That sucks.”

That tight smile appeared. “You have no idea. I lived for years knowing that they could end my life if I did one thing wrong. Over and over, I watched other Origins, too young to really understand what they were, get taken away and never seen again. They were killed. And then I watched them murder my parents for an infraction that I committed.”

My hands, hell, my whole being itched to end this. “Like I said, that sucks, but I really don’t get why you’re telling me.”

“You don’t?” Ethan laughed, and for the first time, real emotion spread across his face. “I lived in Daedalus’s lab until I was old enough to be placed outside, into a controlled position. Not like some who were placed as senators or doctors. No. I was placed within the Luxen community, ordered to keep an eye on them.” He chuckled. “As if I would help them with anything. Or any Origin of my class would.”

“Class?”

“Yes. There’ve been roughly five classes. I was a part of the first. Your friend outside was in the second batch, and there have been three more.”

I was guessing that the last two were the ones including Luc and those freaking kids. “Are all the Origins from your group like you?”

“Like me,” he huffed, shaking his head. “You mean do they want what I want or are they no longer under the control of Daedalus? The answer is twofold. No Origin can truly be controlled by anyone. We are practically the closest things to gods.”

Wow, mouthed Kat.

“And those who are left of our class, which are few, want just what I do.”

Kat sat forward, sliding her hands off the table. “Few? There aren’t many left of your . . . uh, class?”

His gaze slid her way, and I didn’t like it. Not one freaking bit. “When you two escaped from Daedalus and Vegas happened, Daedalus began cleaning up—eradicating the Origins.”

Her brows pinched. “They said they started that when the Luxen arrived.”

“And you believe anything a human says? Of course you do, because that is what you are.” He sneered, his disgust evident, and he was really starting to piss me off. “They started cleaning house when you all decided to take down Vegas. All across the country, we dropped like flies, and it simply became time to end this.”