by Jaymin Eve
“This worked for a long time, and there was peace,” Chase added quietly. “But, over time, different Daelighters started to take different gifts from the lands … the network. Nature segregated them. And then they segregated themselves.”
“There was jealousy and fighting,” Roland said. “Everyone wanted something that another had. The ones with the same gifts banded together and formed their own little groups. Eventually, they had to split the four lands, the four peoples, each going to where their gifts were strongest.”
“We’ve been divided ever since,” Xander added, sounding less cynical than he usually did. “A land divided will eventually fall.”
“We’re working together now,” Roland declared. “For the first time in many, many years, we are putting all differences aside. All four houses working together as one.”
Something didn’t make sense to me though. “How did the four overlord minors manage to become such good friends?” I asked, hoping this question wasn’t a huge faux pas. “I mean, if the four houses have an inbuilt standoffishness with each other, then how are Lexen, Daniel, Chase, and Xander besties?”
Xander snorted under his breath. “Besties? Seriously, human … never refer to us as besties again.”
I tilted my head to the side and faked a broad smile. “Seriously, alien … would you prefer BFFs?”
His lips tilted up, and I worked really hard to push down the memories of our kiss. Of how soft his full lips were. Of the way my body was craving our first moments together. His grin grew and I had to turn away. I was already in too deep.
Focus on the physical. I could not let emotions enter the equation.
Lexen, ignoring Xander, answered my question. “We have been friends from a very young age. There was just this … bond between us from the start.”
“It was instant,” Chase agreed.
Roland let out a low chuckle. “They thought they hid it from us, but we all knew they snuck around to meet each other. With the exception of previous Imperial overlords, we all agreed it was a great way to start returning unity to our land.”
Lexen made a rough sound of disbelief. “You knew?” he asked, shifting forward. “And approved?”
Roland nodded at his son. “I’ve always known, but it was safer for you all to keep it hidden. So … even though it pained us as parents, we never advised you to bring it out into the world. Not until you were all capable of defending yourselves. Defending this brotherhood.”
I could see that the three overlord minors in the room were honestly astonished by this. Emma and Maya looked surprised as well. I had no opinion on it, because I’d never really known any of this information until now. The original secret keepers were quietly observing and didn’t say anything. It kind of felt like they knew even less than me about the politics of this world. I was going to assume they’d always just lived as humans, with no reason to know about Overworld outside of the basics.
Xander stood a little straighter, understanding crossing his face. “I dismissed a lot of Emma’s theories about our ‘fated” existence simply because it’s not in my nature to accept the thought of being controlled, even by a higher power. But … only an idiot would deny it any longer. Even the simple fact that I feel protective toward Avalon tells me that this is beyond a simple right-time, right-place circumstance. The overlords and secret keepers are bonded, and now … now I want to know how they managed this. Because…” He gestured to Jet and Shirley at the table. “The previous secret keepers did not have any sort of bond. They were not closely connected to the houses. So why now?”
My breath had caught in my throat the moment he said he felt protective toward me. I didn’t really know how to process that. Attracted was one thing. That was purely hormonal. But protective … that spoke of something deeper.
Dammit. Damn him to hell. He was not allowed to bring anything deeper into it. I didn’t want to feel anything for him. Because the ending was always going to be the same: Xander and me separate.
“We have to find the Draygo who blessed each of the secret keepers’ births,” Lexen said, speaking almost to himself. “He’s the one who also hid the starslight stone. I don’t think anyone but that Draygo can give us answers.”
“How will you find him?” Emma asked. “You said no one has heard from that particular Draygo for eighteen years.”
Eighteen years? That was a long time to fall completely off the radar.
“How is this Draygo avoiding the network?” Maya asked, resting her face on her hands. “Wouldn’t someone that powerful be easy enough to find?”
Chase reached out and rubbed her back, his movements gentle and rhythmic. Her eyes got all blissed out and she probably missed it when he said, “There are ways to hide yourself if you don’t want to be found. Sort of like a do not disturb on a cell phone. This particular Draygo is on a permanent DND.”
Lexen studied the table in front of him, his darkly handsome face contemplative. Finally he said, “I wonder if Qenita could find him. The draygones are able to tap into energy beyond anything Daelighters can touch. The Draygo are somewhere between the two—Qenita has a lot more power than I do.”
Emma was on her feet in a heartbeat. “Ask her! Now! We have no time to waste.”
I swallowed hard. “When you say draygone … you mean…?”
Because it had sounded a lot like dragon-with-an-accent. I knew this was an alien world … but….
Maya and Emma both turned sparkling eyes and broad smiles on me. “Oh yeah, you know it, girl. Dragons!” Emma chirped.
“Motha-freaking-dragons,” Maya added.
Well, I’d be damned. They had dragons here. “Is the myth on Earth taken from Overworld?”
Emma and Maya both nodded. Chase answered. “We’re not totally sure, but there is a high possibility it was from stories passed on by Daelighters that crossed to Earth in the early days. Long before there was any treaty.”
“That’s cool,” I said softly. “It’s kind of nice to know there is an extensive history between our people. And no wars.”
I had no problem with peaceful invasions by aliens, that was for sure.
Lexen rose to his feet and reached down to lift Emma from her chair. “Em and I will speak with Qenita. If she thinks she knows the location of the Draygo, then we’ll take off to find him straight away.” He turned to Chase and Xander. “I’ll let you both know through the network. Keep an eye on the girls. Keep them safe. We’ll be back soon.”
Emma rushed to give Maya a hug first, then she threw her arms around me. “You’ll be safe with Xander and Chase,” she murmured in my ear. “See you soon.”
I squeezed her a little tighter, lowering my head so that no one saw the pain in my eyes. I didn’t like her going off without me. It was bad enough that Callie was not with us. I had this insane urge to keep our group together; splitting up felt like a bad idea. Maybe it was the fact that I’d only just found them. More than that, it was a feeling deep in my soul.
Splitting up would be the destruction of us all. Only together could we defeat Laous.
11
There was a moment of silence when Emma and Lexen left. Then Jet said, “I think it’s time we returned as well. Sorry we weren’t more help to you all.”
Shirley nodded, getting to her feet. “Outside of the fact that I’ve barely aged since I was twenty, there isn’t much about Overworld I’m familiar with. Once the line of secret keepers was broken and I didn’t even have to check in, I didn’t have any other contact.”
Roland shook both of their hands. “Thank you for giving us the information you did. You helped more than you think. I’ll escort you both back to Earth now.”
We all shook their hands, then they started toward the main door. Roland stopped and turned back to us. “You’re all welcome to stay here as long as you want. My wife…. She’s not dealing very well with our son’s death. But Star can show you to a room. Might be a good idea to wash up and get some sleep while you can. We know Laous will
be planning his next move. It’s not in his nature to give up.” He walked away, before pausing at the door and turning back once more. “Oh, and Maya, your family and Brad are in the west wing. Star is pretty familiar with their suite. She’ll take you there as well.”
Maya’s face lit up like a kid at Christmas. “I have missed them so much,” she almost cried, her eyes shiny.
Roland nodded. “They have missed you terribly as well.” With a final wave, he was gone, ushering Jet and Shirley with him.
Doors banged open then on the opposite side of the room to where Roland had just left. “I’m back,” Star cried, rushing through. “Sorry for taking so long. I got stuck helping Jero go through some new security measures he’s implementing.”
Her hands were filled with bags, jumping about haphazardly as she crossed to us. She dumped all of them into Xander’s hands. “Can you take care of Ava for me? Your normal room is ready to go.” She swung around to Maya. “Brad is annoying the ever-living hell out of me. He knows you’re back and is demanding you visit him ASAP.”
Maya smirked. “Same old arrogant best friend. I’ve actually missed his bossy ass.”
Star shook her head, a smile breaking out even as she fought to contain it. “He’s certainly entertaining.”
There was the slightest of pink tinges to her cheeks, and I hazarded a guess that Star might find Brad annoying for more than one reason. Just like I did Xander.
“Will you be okay?” Maya asked, turning to me. “I know you’ve just entered an alien world, and this is all probably very overwhelming.”
“And everyone has bailed on you,” Chase finished for her.
I nodded in jagged, rapid movements. “Oh, totally. I’m fine. Xander knows what’s going on. You go and catch up with your family. Take as much time with them as you can.”
She let out a happy squeak, gave me a tight hug, and pointed a finger at Xander. “Don’t be an asshole,” she told him shortly before turning and nudging Chase and Star out of the room.
“Come on,” Xander said, heading in the opposite direction. He didn’t look back to see if I was following, and I spent most of my time glaring at his broad shoulders, almost missing the stunning house we were moving through. I had no idea what the city was like outside of this castle, but I imagined it was lush and rich, with green rolling hills like those I’d seen on the platform.
The inside—I noticed when I tore my eyes from Xander—was very light and open, with pale cream walls and lots of thick rugs and plants. The air was warm; it was light and breezy, almost like spring on Earth.
“How big is the city outside of this castle?” I asked Xander, wanting to fill the silence. “Are we out in one of the valleys between the mountains?”
He looked over his shoulder. “We’re inside a mountain. Everything in this city is carved from stone. I believe there are tens of thousands of Darkens in this particular city.”
I blinked; a chuckle escaped. “You’re messing with me, right? Inside of a mountain? Like dwarves?”
All I could think of was a fantasy movie I had seen years ago where the dwarves lived deep in the mountains, carving everything out of the stone. It made me feel claustrophobic. All of that mountain above us.
Xander didn’t chuckle at my statement though, and my feet ground to a halt.
“A m-mountain?” I stuttered. I was an outside, water person. I couldn’t be in a mountain or cave or anything that like. It was like the plane all over again. I felt embarrassed to keep having these moments, but I couldn’t seem to help my body’s responses.
Salt water and sunshine flitted across my senses and I closed my eyes. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice very close to my ear. I could smell him. Feel his energy. The tendrils of panic started to lessen. “My room here has a very deep bathing pool. You will feel better when you’re in the water.”
He continued to talk to me, his voice remaining in that same low, soothing tempo, and eventually I was able to open my eyes and straighten. I bumped into him, not realizing just how close he was. Our eyes met and I sucked in a breath. His were the darkest blue I’d ever seen. They almost looked black.
“Thank you,” I breathed, not moving away because I physically couldn’t force myself to.
He nodded a few times. “You’re going to have to learn to deal with the sensory deprivation better.”
He didn’t say it meanly, but it still sparked annoyance within me. “It’s been like a day, maybe two, since you plucked me out of the ocean. I’m currently standing on an alien world. I think I’m dealing about as well as one could be expected to in the circumstances.”
He tilted his head to the side then, like I had reminded him of something. “Right,” he finally said, focusing on me again. “You are right. You’re actually handling this better than the majority of Royales would. I forget … that you’re mostly human.”
He swung away from me and I almost sagged.
Just attraction. It’s just attraction.
The mantra ran through my head as I started to move again, following Xander the rest of the way along the hall. We ended up on a floor of bedrooms, from what I could see through their open doors. Xander stopped at one about halfway along. “This is where I usually stay.” He gestured for me to step forward. “You should stick with me, Avalon. As I said, I have the largest bath, and I’m also the only one who can calm you down. You respond to Royale energy.”
Another spark of annoyance, but I didn’t disagree.
Xander dropped the bags Star had put in his arms on the bed, and I saw a few different items, along with some Converse, tumble out.
There was only one bed in here, but it was huge—like two king-sized beds put together. I tried to focus on that so I didn’t have to focus on the one thing really drawing my attention … the male across from me.
It didn’t help that my body was on fire, my skin so sensitive that just my clothing moving across it was almost painful. Painful but good. I was trying to think of what I should say when hands wrapped around my waist, picking me up and pulling me back against a hard chest. Xander’s lips were on my neck before I caught my breath, and then I forgot everything except him.
He held me like that for many long moments, my back plastered to him, his lips exploring whatever bare skin he could find. I was a blissed-out, turned-on mess by the time he spun me around and lifted me higher. Through instinct and need, my legs wrapped around his waist, my body arching into his. I wanted to be closer. I wanted to be naked.
I really wanted him to be naked.
Lifting my head, I kissed him hard. He let out a low groan as our tongues tangled together. The taste of him was so fucking good … better than I ever anticipated.
“You’re still sure,” he murmured against my mouth, “that you can handle a sex-only relationship?”
If I hadn’t been able to see the softness in his eyes and hear the true concern in his voice, I might have been pissed at his question. But it was clear that he was genuinely checking in with me.
‘I’m sure,” I whispered back, wondering if maybe, just maybe, I was lying to everyone in this room. Because Xander was an enigma begging to be unraveled. And I shouldn’t be this curious about someone who was only a booty call.
I couldn’t stop, though, even if I wanted to. I’d just have to be strong enough to let him go when he walked away. I’d lost things I cared about before. I could do it again.
“I’m sure,” I repeated, stronger this time because he was still watching me closely, dissecting my expression.
Before he could pry further, I tilted my upper body back and ripped my shirt off, leaving just my bra and a lot of bare skin. Xander’s throat moved as he let his eyes trail across my body. “I’m ready, Xander Royale,” I said. My voice had a distinct purr in it, which was not like me, but I had pretty much lost control of myself at this point.
Whatever concern he’d been holding faded then and he took control again. Kissing me hard, he walked us back toward the bed, dropping d
own with me still in his arms. He lowered himself back, slowly, using some sort of impressive core strength. I mean, how freaking strong was this guy? I was thin, but not exactly light. You couldn’t be six feet tall with swimmers’ muscles and weigh nothing. But Xander lifted me and moved me around like I was featherlight.
There were just too many attractive things about him, which was no doubt why my needy hormones had kicked in. Except his personality. Couldn’t forget what an asshole he could be. Hopefully that would be enough to stop me ever really falling for him.
When he was flat on his back, I shifted so I was straddling him, clenching at the hard length of him under me. “Shirt off,” I ordered. “And pants.”
Xander grinned, a wicked sort of smile, and I forced myself not to react. “I like a bossy woman in the bedroom.”
Sweet. Baby. Jesus.
He lifted himself half up and reached back to pull his shirt over his head. My breath caught as his chest came into clear view. I’d seen him in the water before, but at the time I’d been trying not to pay too much attention to the broad, bronze, ripped lines of his body. He was so well-muscled; bulky only where he should be, and lean carved lines in other areas. I had to swallow hard to clear my throat. I repeat: sweet baby Jesus.
The overlord marks extended down his neck just a little, but his chest was bare, and I took my time running both hands across the smooth skin. He was like me, not a lot of body hair, but there was still enough for me to trace.
I’d been so consumed with his amazing chest—what could I say, I was definitely a pecs and abs sort of girl—that I’d missed the fact he’d managed to get his pants off without dislodging me. He wore boxer briefs underneath, and as I let my eyes roam across the muscled length of his thighs, I wondered if I might have been a little hasty in choosing my favorite parts.
Xander was fucking incredible. Damn him.
He distracted me when he lifted me up with one hand, somehow removing my pants with the other so I was now clad only in bra and underwear. Xander took his time, just as I had done, to explore my body.