by Jaymin Eve
Crazy guy. Creepy window peeper.
Those words should have been a distraction, along with the icy wind sweeping in through the now-open front door. But all I could see and smell and feel was Chase.
“What happened?” Emma’s frantic voice was enough to bring me back to the reality of our situation.
With more reluctance than I would like to admit to, I pulled away from Chase and turned to the two pajama-clad females standing across from me. Emma’s hair was wild, curls and frizz springing out in a million directions. Her eyes were only half-open despite the clarity and fear in her tone, and I knew she’d been pulled right from a dead sleep.
Callie, on the other hand, looked very put together, hair straight and brushed, eyes alert, expression hard.
“I came down for a snack, and while I was eating a shadow moved across the window,” I said in a rush. “I couldn’t let you all be murdered in your sleep, so I crept over and peeked out.” His face flashed across my mind and I almost let out a small whimper. “It was the creepiest face, just standing on the other side, peering in. He … he said ‘gotcha’ when he saw me.”
Chase’s expression turned stormy as he crossed his arms, and I tried really hard not to notice all of the muscles standing out. He wore a pair of shorts only, and the cold didn’t seem to be bothering him. Meanwhile I was covered in goosebumps – which had a little to do with the chill and a lot to do with him.
I mean … how did someone that tall build so much muscle? Brad would be jealous as anything. It took serious effort and dedication for him to keep his muscle mass up, and he wasn’t even as tall as Chase.
The fact that Laous was probably outside preparing to kidnap and kill us all, and I was in here obsessing over muscles, was a little worrying. Maybe it was the shock.
Yeah, that made sense.
Emma moved close to me, face drawn. “You were so brave! Thanks for giving us the heads-up. It has to be Laous … or one of his minions.”
“This was why I was so worried yesterday. I knew he’d find us fast,” Callie bit out. She looked pretty relaxed and casual, but I noticed her clenched fists. She was not as calm as she was portraying.
“What does Laous look like?” I asked.
“He’s built like a barrel, round middle, scrawny arms and legs,” Emma said with a snort of laughter.
Callie added some more description. “Creepy dark eyes and slicked-back dark hair. Has the same marks on his head as Daniel, but his are fake, of course.”
There had been a flash of red I’d seen on his head. I was pretty sure. Ah, crapfuckshit.
“I think it was him.” Real fear crept into my voice. “He found me in less than twenty-four hours. With that stone, he’s going to be able to find me no matter where I go. I can’t put you all in danger. I need to separate from you.”
“No!” Emma gasped, holding onto my forearm. “We’re a team, we’ll figure this out together. It’s not just you he wants, it’s all of us. He seems to think that we might still be needed for something in the end, something required to find or unlock the stone.”
Callie shook her head as well. “You don’t have to deal with this alone. Just because you’re next in line doesn’t mean this is your problem. Emma is right, we’re a team.”
I could feel Chase’s gaze on me. I wanted so badly to turn to him, but I didn’t. When the girls said we were a team, they meant the three of us. They might have their soul mates, but as of right now I did not.
“It feels as if I’ve known you two forever,” I said, my usual filters gone. “This entire situation is insane, but I believe what you’re saying. We’re a team. I feel a bond to you both, stronger than any I’ve ever had, even with friends I’ve known my entire life.”
Except for Brad.
“If you think about it, we’ve known each other since before we were born.” Callie’s eyes were very shiny. “I’ve never had a family, but from the moment I saw Emma … and now you, Maya, I’ve felt like I was home. I’m not letting go of it for anything.”
Emma nodded, her eyes also sprinkled with tears. “Sisters from another mister. The four of us are bonded. It’s a simple fact.”
Sometimes the simplest of facts are the ones that can change a life.
Lexen and Daniel returned to their very worried girlfriends, both of them looking windswept and pissed off. “Nothing,” Lexen growled. “He managed to give us the slip, but there was definitely an energy trail.”
Daniel nodded. “House of Imperial is easy for me to pick up, but then it just cut off. Like he managed to disappear into thin air.”
A sound broke through the early morning silence then, a weird whomping noise, and as it moved closer it grew more familiar. It wasn’t until my father rushed down the stairs, dressing gown flapping open over his sleep clothes, shouting: “Helicopter!” that I realized what it was.
Really should have clued in quicker, since we’d flown in one recently.
The Daelighter men and my dad all moved toward the front door. Emma and Callie pressed close to Lexen and Daniel. I hung back. Chase stayed near my side, but we didn’t touch.
“How the fuck did he get a helicopter?” Daniel was growling, his arms winding protectively around Callie.
“Your council said some members of our government are compromised,” my dad bit out. “Which means he’ll have access to all sorts of our technology. The breach is not in my immediate division, or it doesn’t seem to be. But there’s no doubt that branches of Daelighter relations have gone rogue.”
“He’s working with humans?” Emma snorted. “His entire aim was to separate Daelighters from the ‘grubbers,’ wasn’t it?”
Grubbers. Got to love a good old-fashioned insult.
“He’ll use any means to ensure he finds the damn stone,” Daniel said darkly. “My uncle is desperate, and deadly when cornered. He wants the power of the stone, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it. He’s already killed my father to put his entire plan into motion.”
No doubt I was gaping at him, at least for a beat before I managed to pull myself together. Laous was his uncle and he’d killed his father? The guy was a freaking lunatic. Poor Daniel.
“We have to move now,” Lexen said. He was out on the porch, face turned toward the fading thrum of a helicopter. “Take only what you need. The rest we’ll figure out when we get back home. It’s time to get back to House of Darken and see if we can find this fourth secret keeper before Laous. We have to make sure that stone is moved, and she’s hidden where no one will ever find her.”
No one argued. We all hurried back inside. As we moved toward the stairs, my father wrapped one arm around me. I could feel his worry in the extra tight squeeze. “I will fix this for you,” he promised me. “Now, go and wake Brad. You know he could sleep through an earthquake. I’ll get your mother.”
He went up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I was about to follow when my stomach did some flip-flops. I spun to find Chase standing at the base of the stairs.
“Are you okay?” His low, accented words sent trills of energy over my body. I was a puppet to this alien. It was like he held every string I possessed and could move me to his will.
Nope. All the nopes. I refused to puppet myself for a man. I needed to get this under control.
Crossing my arms, I took a step back. Chase’s eyes followed me, but he didn’t move, allowing me to keep my newfound need for personal space. “I’m … I have no idea. I’m definitely not fine, but I’ve had about forty-eight hours to adjust to this life. In that time I’ve been chased, almost kidnapped, took an elevator to a secret government agency, found out my parents work with aliens, found out that there were aliens period, flown in a helicopter…” I trailed off breathlessly.
The intensity in his glittery green gaze was too much. I wanted to squeeze my eyes closed, but instead I settled for dropping my gaze.
“You don’t have to pretend,” Chase said, and my head swung up, because for a second, I thought he was talking about m
e “faking” my disinterest. “It’s okay to say that you need a minute to wrap your head around it.” Okay, phew, he wasn’t talking about that. “Lexen and Daniel, they’re my best friends – have been since we were young – but if you let them, they will bulldoze you over. They push when it’s not always needed.”
There was a snort of amusement from behind us, and I turned to find Lexen in the doorway, bag slung over his shoulder. “We all have our strengths and weaknesses.” He raised an eyebrow. “Chase keeps too much inside. He’s not the easiest of Daelighters to read, but he’s solid. He will always have your back, and it’s impossible to bulldoze him over. So don’t let him talk shit like we’ve ever been able to force him into anything.”
I didn’t need Lexen to tell me that. There was something innately strong about Chase, as immovable as nature itself. Just like the trees, he would remain long after everything else was gone. I felt safer with him than I had with anyone in my life, and considering the short time I’d known him, that had to be magic.
“I’m really glad you’re all on my side in this war,” I told them both. “I’m looking forward to seeing the four of you together … whenever the last one shows up.”
I’d learned there were four of these muscled, gorgeous, overbearing overlords. The fourth, from House of Royale, was going to meet us in Overworld.
“Xander is like Chase,” Lexen said with a smirk. “You think they’re the laidback ones in the group, and for the most part they are, but if you rile them up, their wrath is the thing of legends.”
I was torn between wanting to see that and knowing it would probably scare the crap out of me. “Well, I better go and grab my things,” I finally said, reluctant to leave.
I forced myself not to look back as I walked up the stairs. Even though I could feel eyes burning a hole in my back. At the top of the landing I practically ran to the room I’d shared with Brad, slamming the door open. It hit the wall with a bang, but Brad just snored a few times, rolling over. I threw myself onto his bed, body-slamming him as hard as I could.
“Seriously, how could you sleep through that?” I asked, half across him, which was not always the best thing to do to a guy first thing in the morning. I quickly scurried off before he woke up fully.
“Piss off, Maiz,” he mumbled, throwing a pillow at me.
Standing beside his bed, I reached down and shook him. “Get your lazy ass up right now, we have a situation. The psycho Daelighter who’s trying to end the treaty was outside. I was face to face with him, so now we have to bail.”
To his credit, he managed to pull himself half up in the bed, blankets pooling around his lap. “What? He was here?” A few more rapid blinks and the dots connected in his brain. His gaze grew more focused. “Are you okay?”
With a nod, I moved to open the closet. There were two large canvas bags on the floor, probably what they brought our stuff in to begin with. I grabbed one and shoved in the spare clothes. I left out one set to wear, grabbing the bag of toiletries and dashing into the bathroom. It was empty, thankfully; I could hear my parents across the hall packing. There was no time for a shower, so I quickly got dressed in jeans and a black pullover sweater, brushed my teeth, and applied light makeup: mascara, bit of concealer, and some blush. I needed the armor today.
By the time I was back in our room, Brad had started to pack as well.
“I’ll meet you downstairs,” I said, dropping my PJs and the toiletries in my bag before hauling it over my shoulder.
He nodded. “Yep, I’ll be right down. Just got to brush my teeth.”
He was wearing the same basic outfit as me. His hoodie was gray, and he looked good for someone who’d been yanked out of bed in the early hours of the morning. I envied men and their ability to run fingers through their hair and give it a disheveled charm.
They didn’t know how lucky they were.
When I was almost out the door, he said, “You need to be more careful.”
I spun, not sure what he meant by that statement. Was this about Chase again? Lifting one eyebrow in his direction, I waited for him to continue.
“The deeper you get into this world, the harder it is going to be to get out. I can’t lose you. It’s team Brad and Maiz forever. You made a promise.”
He had a smile on his face, but there was an undercurrent of seriousness as well. I took an extra second to think about what I was going to say, mostly because my immediate reaction was anger. Teams supported each other, they didn’t hold one another back because they were scared. But I did understand where he was coming from. The friend he knew and loved was no longer the same. I had changed, my history had changed, and he could feel me slipping away.
I stepped closer to him, softening my expression. “Of course we’re a team, Brad. There will never be a friend in my life like you. But we’ve always known our paths would divert away from each other. Like if we went to different colleges. The key is to make sure we always find our way back.” I also felt it was time for us to bring a few new members into our team. But I didn’t mention that.
I left before he could say anything more. He no doubt was going to point out that living on different worlds was a far cry from different colleges, and right now, I wasn’t ready to hear that. By the time I got downstairs, almost everyone was waiting in the living area, including my parents. I gave my mom a hug before joining the main group. They all had the exact same bags as me over their shoulders, and the only one talking was Callie.
“Coffee. Me. Now.” A note of crazy entered her tone. “You can’t make me leave without it.”
Daniel smiled – all women needed to get themselves a man who smiled at them like that. He reached across to a small shelf in the kitchen and pulled down a travel mug. With a wink, he handed it to her. “Just how you like it.”
Callie screeched and leapt for it, her focus on the cup.
Emma let out a relieved, exaggerated sigh. “For a second there I thought they were going to make us travel with an uncaffeinated Callie.”
“Better to take our chances with Laous,” Lexen agreed.
Both of them laughed when Callie flipped them off. She then took a long sip of her coffee. Her expression turned dreamy and she cradled the mug with both hands like it was precious. “I’d respond, but I’m busy right now with something far more important,” she said smugly.
“It’s nice that you all haven’t let the stress kill your humor.” I snorted out a laugh. “Most people wouldn’t even be able to tell that we’re running for our lives.”
Emma shrugged and waved her hand toward me. “It’s laugh or cry, and Lexen says his dragon will disown him if he cries.”
“Dragon,” I murmured. “Not sure I’ll ever get used to that one.”
Brad was down the stairs now, and I was surprised to see Star cross from the door to greet him. The pair exchanged some words I couldn’t hear, and I had to blink a few times as she patted his arm. What was going on there? Seriously though, he better not break her heart, because something told me Lexen would break his entire body if he did. Or Star would. She seemed like she could take care of herself.
Lexen, Daniel, and Chase – who I was sort of avoiding, but also keeping an eye on because I couldn’t help myself – all moved toward the front door. Dad kept one arm wrapped tightly around Mom’s shoulders as he followed.
“We’re going to move out now,” Lexen told us. “I’ve had my father arrange transport and some decoy cars. We’re going to have to split up: the secret keepers are going to be in one car with the overlords, the second vehicle is for everyone else. We’ll be moving fast without delay, so as soon as I open these doors, you get your shoes on, and then you move. Do not speak until you’re in the car. Understood?”
Everyone nodded, and I caught an unhappy look on my father’s and Brad’s faces. My mom just untangled herself and moved in her gentle way toward me. “Stay safe, my little one.” She hugged me close, and I breathed in her familiar scent. She liked to wear rosewater.
�
��You too.” I sniffed. “Stay safe and I love you.”
My dad waited for a hug, stepping in after my mom pulled away. We exchanged words of love, as I did with Brad, and then it was time to go. Emma held a hand out to me and I hurried across to her. The heavy weight of my bag lifted off my shoulder and I spun to find Chase with it in his hands. “You’ll move faster without it,” he said simply, sliding it on the same arm as his bag.
I didn’t protest because there was no time, and he was right. Lexen also had Emma’s bag, but Callie still had her own. “I have control issues,” she said when she noticed me looking. “Daniel had no idea what he was getting himself into when he tied our souls together.”
Um, I’m sorry, what? She’d said that she was tied to Daniel and his land, but I never thought it was an actual, literal thing.
She waved at me, her eyes creasing with humor at my no doubt stunned expression. “Another story for another day. For now, all you need to know is that I have to be around him and House of Imperial for a certain amount of time, or my soul fades away. Too much time apart and I’ll die.”
“I own her soul,” Daniel added with a smirk, and she swatted him.
Emma leaned in close to me, her hand still holding mine. “They’re the real-life Hades and Persephone.” She let out a dreamy sigh, and a happy sort of feeling flipped in my chest.
I always had been a sucker for romance and a happily ever after. I just felt like life should follow the same path as the movies. You can go through lots of shit, bad times, grief, but eventually you got your happy ending. It was only fair.
Lexen opened the door then, distracting us all. Go time.
I almost broke his rule and laughed when I got out onto the porch. Because there were three pairs of black Converse sitting there, and it took us a minute to figure out which belonged to who. Luckily, all of us had different size feet. Callie had the biggest at size nine. Emma’s were eight, and mine were seven. Cascading, just like our heights.