by Jaymin Eve
That was so unfairly cool. “I’d love to see their world. It’s a bit annoying that I need oxygen out of water to breathe.”
Chase laughed, the sort of full-on laugh that transformed his face – beautiful to breathtaking. How was it even remotely possible this man was bonded to me?
“There is a way you can visit,” he told me, leaning down closer. I had no idea if he had been planning on kissing me, but I wasn’t missing that opportunity. I launched myself forward, pressing our lips together. He wore an odd expression as I pulled back, and I was about to get all embarrassed and stuff because I was not one to usually take the initiative like that, but then he wrapped his free arm around me and pulled me closer. My feet left the branches so that he could reach my mouth easily.
The mark on my stomach tingled, sending trills of sensation down my body into all the other parts that really liked Chase. “I wish Laous was dead,” Chase growled as he pulled back. “The fact that I can’t just keep kissing you right now makes me very unhappy.”
“The world has picked a very inconvenient time to need saving,” I agreed, my lips barely moving away from his.
His look was regretful as he lowered me back down, holding on until I was finally steady on my feet. “You’d better never die,” I warned him. “If you make me addicted and then leave, I’m going to be super annoyed.”
He didn’t laugh as I expected he might. He lowered his head to drop a kiss against my forehead. “You’re stuck with me, sayana, for now and always.”
“Sayana?”
“There is no literal translation to English,” he said, after seeming to think for a moment. “It’s more of a feeling. Something akin to ‘adore.’”
My tear ducts felt very sensitive all of a sudden, and I wondered why that one word suddenly felt like so much – like everything. It wasn’t even the normal four-letter word that most people aspired to hear.
Adore.
This was so very new for us both, and I knew how strong my feelings already were, but in that moment, adore was perfect.
Further conversation was cut off by a loud rustling in the trees. I ducked low; the noise was close and it sounded like there was more than one creature coming at me.
My heart stopped racing when my new friend flew into sight, the bear-owl. “Oh my God!” I exclaimed. “You’re okay. I wondered where you’d gotten to. I’m really glad you didn’t get squished.”
Chase wore a look of confusion, and when the bear-owl tried to fly closer, he stepped around me, blocking its path.
“What are you doing?” I asked, tapping him on the shoulder. “That’s my friend, it helped me find you.” Or at least tagged along for the ride.
The confusion he wore morphed into something like astonishment. “Maya,” he started slowly. “This is an oliconda. They’re one of the deadliest creatures in House of Leights. They’re strong, vicious, and can rip a Daelighter apart with their claws. Claws that secrete a very lethal poison.”
At first, I thought he was screwing with me, especially since he hadn’t thought twice about stepping between me and the oliconda. “Are you sure?” I finally asked. “I carried it on my shoulder for quite a while.”
He looked between me and the creature multiple times, then shook his head. Using this to my advantage, I slipped around him, and this time he let me. Holding out my arm to the oliconda, I smiled. It didn’t hesitate, spreading those broad wings and soaring across to me again. As the heavy weight landed, I let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks for coming back to me, Oli. You don’t mind if I call you Oli, right?” Oliconda was too much of a mouthful.
It squawked lightly, and then we both turned in Chase’s direction as he let out a rumbling sound, shaking his head. “I cannot believe what I’m seeing. Not in all of our history has anyone tied themselves to an Oliconda. In fact, usually the ones to see them do not live to tell the tale. Luckily, they tend to remain hidden, in the shadows. Otherwise, we’d be down a lot of members of my house.”
I shrugged. “This one seems okay. Maybe it’s different to the others?”
You’re different.
That voice in my head was not like the Galinta. It was a single feminine tone, and it took me more than a moment to realize it had come from Oli. It had to have; there was no one else it could be.
“You talked to me,” I said out loud. “You can talk!”
Yes, and I don’t mind if you call me Oli … I will also answer to Flet. If you ever need me, just call and I will come.
With that, Flet’s wings spread again, and then she took off.
Once it was gone, Chase wrapped his arms tightly around me, his breathing fast and ragged. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he grumbled. “I was afraid to try and interfere, in case that upset the oliconda and it attacked. But allowing it that close to you went against every one of my protective instincts.”
Patting his shoulder, I had to chuckle. “You definitely don’t have to worry about that particular oli. She spoke in my mind, said her name was Flet, and that I could call on her if I ever needed.”
He shook his head a few times. “I don’t know what you are, Maya, but you seem to fit into this world better than most Daelighters. Your energy feels ancient … like the original overlords. You were meant to call this world home.”
He set me gently to my feet and I regarded him for a moment. “Why would that be?” I had a thought then. “Do you think the last secret keepers had the same sort of balance and energy with each other?” We already knew none of them bonded to overlords.
Chase lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug. “I have no idea. If we get a chance, it wouldn’t hurt to speak with one of the three still alive. Maybe they’ll have information for us. Something they have learned in the last hundred plus years.”
That was a good idea, but I doubted we’d have the time to do that. Our pace picked up then for the rest of the journey, and I mentally thanked the Galinta more than once for their water. My ankle barely even smarted at all, and that was solely because of their healing. Still, by the time we reached the end of the trees, I was exhausted. It felt like a million years ago that we had set out from the house in the forest. Two million years since I first saw Chase at the party. How could so much have happened in such a short amount of time? How could I have changed to the point where I barely felt like the same person anymore? It was impossible, and yet here we were.
“You need food and water,” Chase said, pressing his hands to the branches blocking our path. “You’re tired.”
He was observant; it made me feel cared about. “I’m ready to do whatever needs to be done,” I replied, “but if I can get food before we start, that would be great.”
As we stepped out onto the platform, we found everyone gathered and waiting. I ran straight to my best friend and he growled at me. “Can you please stop disappearing on me! Star and I did everything we could to find you. Thank God Lexen got a message through the network to her, because I was about to panic.”
I hugged him as hard as I could, so happy to see he was okay. “Sorry,” I said as I pulled back. “You weren’t here when I got back, but my parents said you were okay, so I went after Chase.”
I knew Chase was standing close to my back. That feeling in my tummy was almost permanent now, especially with the tethering between us.
“We’re bonded,” I told my parents and Brad, who were all looking at me. “It’s something that was chosen for us by the Galinta, and … fate.” The three wore expressions that told me they didn’t know if they were supposed to be happy or concerned. I let my happiness free, smiling broadly. “Chase fills that restless part of my soul which has always searched for its home.”
“Maya is my home,” Chase agreed.
Yeah, we were the cliché couple who had known each other for mere days and were already declaring our everlasting love for each other. But when you looked at it another way, there was nothing cliché or normal about us. We were born to greater things than just a regular life, and I wa
s going to embrace every second of it.
Smiles broke out across my parents’ faces. My dad stepped forward to shake Chase’s hand, his welcome to the family. I expected Brad to make some sort of disparaging remark, but he just stared off into the main group of Daelighters and murmured, “I think I understand what you’re saying.”
I followed his line of sight to a flash of dark hair and laughter. Star. I knew I’d seen something between those two. I really hoped Brad wasn’t setting himself up for heartache. For all we knew, Star was in love with someone else. Or at least betrothed.
I’d have to talk to him about it later. Maybe Chase would have some insider knowledge, so I could feel less concerned that my friend was about to suffer his first heartbreak. Not that he didn’t deserve to know how it felt all the times he’d crushed women with his lack of caring, but he was my best friend. I didn’t want him to hurt.
“Now that everyone is back, let’s move out.” Lexen’s voice was loud enough to be heard by all. “If we get the tracking just right in the network, we should be able to find the fourth. I’ve also called in Jero, my brother, to assist us, because I’m not sure how easily we could lose control.”
Turning to where he pointed, I found a somber, gorgeous, dark-haired male. He looked like Lexen, just a little shorter, with fuller lips and a faded scar on the side of his face. He gave us all a nod but didn’t join in with any discussion. Emma crossed over and wrapped her arms around him, and Jero squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a moment while they hugged, before he pulled back and re-crossed his arms over his broad chest.
I wondered if he was naturally reticent, or if maybe he’d shut the world out since his brother’s death. I knew all of the Darken siblings were suffering. I could see the pain in their eyes. But Jero looked broken.
“It’s so unfair that they haven’t had time to grieve,” I whispered to Chase.
The skin around his eyes tightened, and while I had no idea what he was thinking, there was definitely something stormy brewing in those green depths. “Laous needs to suffer for that, more than anything else he’s done. Marsil was a good guy. He didn’t deserve what happened. His family is so close as well. This will devastate them forever.”
“I heard their mom hasn’t left her room since it happened,” Callie murmured. She’d drifted closer. “I keep picturing the moment in my head … when he died … all of the blood. I can’t bury the images…” She broke off in a rough sob, and Daniel enclosed her tightly in his arms.
She buried her face in his chest, taking a few moments to pull herself together. When she finally lifted her head, her eyes were red and her cheeks flushed, but she had stopped sobbing. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood there like a moron, trying not to cry myself in sympathy.
Before it turned into a huge tear-fest, Lexen ushered us toward the transporter and I actually flinched as I realized I’d have to travel through it again. Chase noticed. “I will not let you go,” he promised, taking my hand. “There’s more than enough of us to get everyone to House of Darken safely.”
I believed him, and I had faith that if I got lost, I’d find my way out again. So, with a few deep breaths for confidence, I placed my hand in his, and then we were stepping back into the world of darkness.
Chapter 17
House of Darken was so freaking pretty. Legit. Like Switzerland but slightly more rugged. It was natural, no obvious towns or cities. Similar to House of Leights, but with far less in the way of trees. Its landscape was mainly mountains and valleys. Snow and trickling streams flowed through passes. The Daelighters explained that they had very strict rules in Overworld about messing with nature. Earth’s technologies, for the most part, were not allowed here. No cars. No cell phones. Daelighters communicated through the network, or via a postage system that was delivered to the platform between the lands.
Despite those small inconveniences, I really liked their way of living. It made me feel comfortable in my skin. Although, I would miss organic sheets. The transporter had taken us right into Lexen’s home, a beautiful dwelling made of a marble-like stone. Even more crazy, his castle was inside of a cave that had been completely carved into a city. Yep. A freaking mountain city, everything chiseled from the rocks. We stopped long enough for sandwiches, which were filled with a creamy cheese-like spread, and then we were heading closer to the network.
A lot of locals watched us as we walked through the city, most of them half-bowing with their hands pressed to their heads when they saw the Darken siblings. Probably, that’s what I should have done when I met Chase’s parents.
The bowing was a huge reminder that I was now bonded and friends with royalty. Chase just winked at me, a crooked grin in place, and I felt better about it. It was all worth it to have someone like him in my life. Once we were through the city, we took a path out of the mountain and down into the valley below it.
“You know, you could have stayed behind and rested,” I told my parents, who were marching right beside me.
My father just shot me the “look,” the one he reserved for the times I broke the rules. “Maya, little one, you know that’s not going to happen. We need to be here in case you run into any danger.”
My mother gave a deep head nod, as always, on the same side as her husband. I learned about teamwork from my parents; they always supported each other.
With a sigh, I turned back to face the way we were walking – fairly important when trailing down a mountain path. There was nothing my parents could do to help in this situation; neither of them had magical powers. But I liked that they were here. Despite all of the ups and downs, I’d spent more continuous time with them over the last few days than I had in the last few months. Maybe this would bring us closer now that they could share this world with me.
“Will you guys continue to work for the government agency?” I asked, curious about how much might change for them now. Everything had changed for me, but maybe they’d go back to their normal lives.
In some ways they had been preparing me well to live without them, but I still wouldn’t like it.
My parents exchanged a look before they both turned back to me. “We’ll go wherever you are,” my mom said in her gentle way. “If you stay here in Overworld, in House of Leights with Chase, then that is where we will stay as well.”
That response actually stunned me. It showed me the real truth of what they’d been saying to me all along. They’d taken the government jobs as a means of keeping me safe. I was their first priority.
Turning to observe Chase’s profile, I realized that I hadn’t given much thought to where we would live. I mean … I wasn’t sure I was ready for the whole “move in together” thing yet. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be separated from him.
“You’re bonded, that’s like marriage to the Daelighters,” my father added, reading my expression. “It would be normal for you to stay with Chase now.”
“I … yes, you’re right. It’s just fast, you know.”
Chase wrapped an arm around me and I calmed. “Maya is going to finish school, and then decide about college,” he told them. “Because she has to be protected, she’ll have to transfer to Daelighter territory. But she doesn’t have to make any other life-changing decisions.” He brushed a hand along my spine and heat trailed after it. “I have a home in Daelight Crescent. All of the overlord families do. You’re welcome to use it any time you want.”
My breathing was even, and when we stepped into the valley floor I threw my arms around him. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for being patient with me.”
He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “I will always wait for you to be ready. Being a team means considering all players.”
“I would prefer to stay on Earth,” my mom said, surprising me. “At least for another few years. So I’m glad that’s an option.”
Brad huffed. “I’m going to start looking for colleges in Oregon,” he declared. “No way is everyone livin
g over here having fun without me.”
My dad gave him a solid back pat, which didn’t seem to bother my beefed-up best friend. “I’ll talk to your parents,” he said to Brad. “They might be okay with you finishing up the school year with Maya in Astoria.”
Brad and I locked eyes, excitement bubbling within me. That would be amazing. Surely they wouldn’t care; they were barely home at all. Before we could celebrate the possibility of staying together, Lexen burst our bubble, bringing us all back to the reality of this situation.
“This is our last chance,” he started. “If Laous gets to the starslight stone before us, he will be very powerful. He will destroy the treaty, and possibly both worlds. Failure is not an option.”
There was a flapping sound, and all eyes turned toward the sky. All eyes except Lexen’s, because apparently he didn’t need to see a dragon lazily soaring through the air toward us.
Jesus, take the wheel. What was happening?
The creature was a brilliant white that almost hurt my eyes to stare directly at, and massive, like three elephants in length and width. Its head looked to be bigger than my entire body.
“What’s Qenita doing here?” Emma asked, shielding her eyes so she could stare up at her. “Do we need her?”
Lexen turned, a smile pushing up his lips as he stared at the majestic beast in the sky. “She’s bringing Xander. He’s been dealing with some unrest in House of Royale. They’re having trouble with his sister and her new partner, so he wasn’t able to get away until now.”
I was interested in finally meeting the last of the overlord quartet – and the possible mate of the fourth secret keeper. If he could ever stop playing the field long enough to fall for her, of course. After my experience with Chase, I was pretty sure fate was stronger and cleverer than this Xander. He had no hope.
I’d worry about the Royale overlord after he landed, though. Until then, I was all about the dragon. Because … uh … dragons. A creature, until this very moment, that had been reserved for television and movies.