by Jaymin Eve
“You ready?” Xander said, appearing in the doorway.
“Yep.” I smiled, snapping the band around the ends. “I’m ready to go.”
We didn’t touch as we walked toward the bedroom door, but there was so much energy between us it almost felt like we were. Or maybe that was my nerves. For some stupid reason, I could be naked as the day I was born around him and not feel any unease, but now that our clothes were back on….
I had no idea where we stood when we weren’t sexing.
Before I had time for an existential crisis, Xander opened the door and we were out in the hallway. A group was standing near the end—our friends. As we got closer, I tried really hard to keep my expression neutral. “Sorry,” I blurted out, not sure where to look. “I must have been more tired than I thought. I really crashed after Xander let me use his amazing bath.”
There, that was normal, right? No one would be suspicious.
“No problem!” Maya said, smiling. “Chase had to drag me away from my family. It was so hard leaving them again, especially knowing that this part of our journey might be the most dangerous of all.”
That sobered everyone up.
I took a step closer to Callie. “You look great,” I said. “Are you feeling much better?”
She nodded. “Yep. So much better. Dan got me back in time, thankfully. I had to sleep for a few hours, but now I’m ready to go.”
She looked amazing, her skin golden and flushed with health. She wore all black, with a silver-studded belt holding her boyfriend jeans up. She ran her eyes across me. “I see Star put you in the secret keepers uniform.”
I chuckled because I’d thought the same thing. “It suits me perfectly. I prefer clothes that are lightweight and easy to remove for swimming. Shorts and T-shirt dresses are my favs.”
Maya’s eyes got really wide as she clapped her hands. “One day we’re all going shopping together. I love my casual clothes, don’t get me wrong, but I also love dressing up. Girls’ night!”
Callie grimaced, but she didn’t say anything. Something told me she wasn’t that big a fan of shopping.
“Are Emma and Lexen not back yet?” I heard Xander ask Daniel and Chase. His question drew our attention back to the boys.
Daniel shook his head. “No, but Lexen sent word that they were going to meet us in about ten minutes. So we should start moving.”
Everyone began to walk then, and I waited to fall in at the back of the group. Xander paused, settling in at my side. I didn’t miss the knowing looks Maya and Callie shot us. Xander was right, matchmaking was totally on their agenda, but they were fighting a losing battle. Xander was a Royale, and even though he said the overlord family had a stable family to ensure their bloodline remained clearly identified, he’d also told me on more than one occasion that that was not the future for us.
No long-term commitment.
We ended up back in the room with the huge dining table. It was empty when we arrived, so everyone took a seat to wait. “So, the next step of the plan is to go to House of Royale?” Callie asked, holding one finger up like she was counting down. “Figure out the map?” A second finger came up. “Then go and get the stone before Laous tracks us down?”
The guys all nodded. I started to feel really nervous that I was going to let them all down. That maybe the map wasn’t on my body like they hoped.
“I’ve never seen anything on my skin which could be used as a map or coordinates,” I told them. My eyes flashed to Xander’s for a split second and he gave a minute head shake. He hadn’t seen anything either, and he probably knew some parts of my body better than me at this point.
“She doesn’t even have any freckles,” Maya added.
I literally didn’t have a single freckle. The only marks that marred my skin were a few faded stretch marks on my thighs—thank you, puberty—and the scars on my hand.
Chase replied immediately. “I think it’s going to have something to do with the legreto you were born in, Ava. Likely you have to go back there again.”
Daniel nodded. “That would be the place the map was first placed on Ava, so it makes sense.”
Xander straightened, his eyes going faraway for a moment. I was about to ask him what was wrong when he said, “Lexen is almost back. He found out something about the Draygo.”
We all turned toward the main door, waiting for them to enter. But, instead of the two familiar faces we were expecting, a silver-haired woman burst through the door.
Daniel shot to his feet. “Colita! What are you doing here?”
I blinked as the woman—Colita, apparently—hurried forward, her long dress trailing after her. She wore something that looked like a combination of a summer dress and robes, layers of wispy material fluttering around her as she moved.
“I had a vision,” she cried, and collapsed.
13
Xander caught Colita just before she hit the table, lowering her down into the chair he had just vacated. Her eyes were half rolled back in her head, and I found myself rushing to her side. I lifted her hand and felt for a pulse, relief hitting me when there was a strong buzz under my fingers. It seemed a little fast, but for all I knew that was the normal speed here.
It was beating at least, and that was the most important part.
“Who is she?” I whispered to Xander. “Is this the Draygo?”
She didn’t look the same as Lexen, all of that scary energy. But maybe the females were different.
He shook his head, face drawn with worry. “No, Colita is a normal Daelighter. Kind of. She’s a seer, able to discern future events through dreams and visions.”
“She’s also my drenita,” Lexen rumbled as he hurried into the room.
Emma was right behind him and she caught my confused look. “His godmother,” she murmured, giving my arm a quick squeeze when she reached my side.
Xander moved back to allow Lexen to stand at his drenita’s side. The Darken overlord reached out and grasped Colita’s hand. Realizing I was still holding her other one, I gently set it down.
Lexen’s eyes shot to me, and I quickly mumbled, “Just feeling for a pulse—it’s strong but fast.”
Something white flitted across the dark of his eyes and I swallowed roughly. It disappeared just as quickly though, and most of the tension left the room when he gave me a slow head dip. “Thank you,” he said, voice octaves lower than normal.
He turned back to Colita. Her eyes were open and focused again. She sat up slowly, shaking her head. It took her only a moment to notice the multiple sets of eyes locked on her. She stumbled to her feet.
“Lexen,” she cried as he steadied her. “I saw Laous. In a dream. He is amassing an army. Astoria is filling with Gonzo and Daelighters as we speak.”
Xander slammed his fist against the table, and when he pulled his hand away I could have sworn there was an indent in the thick wood. “He’s smart. He knows he can wait us out. Eventually we’ll have to return to Earth, especially if we’re trying to find the stone.”
“What if we never did?” Callie suggested, crossing her arms over her chest. “He could wait there for hundreds of years. If we stay here, then no one will touch the stone and everything can go back to the way it was.”
Colita shook her head violently. “No! No, he won’t wait. He has taken the town hostage, all of the humans outside of those safe in Daelight Crescent right now. He’s trying to draw you out, and if you don’t come back soon, he’s going to start killing the humans. By the end of my vision, Astoria was awash in blood.”
Emma’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “No,” she whispered, her hand pressing to her chest. “All of those innocent people. We can’t let him do this.”
“What else did you see?” Lexen pressed Colita. “You don’t normally dream your visions … how did that happen?”
Her face crumbled as she released Lexen to massage her temples. “I … I don’t actually know. But … you’re right, I don’t usually dream my visions in this manner. It
also went on for much longer than I can generally hold a vision. If I had to guess, I’d say that someone was helping me see.”
Daniel drew our attention. “Rao is a dream seer. Could it be him?”
Colita looked confused for a beat, until recognition cleared that expression. “Rao … your brother who went missing? Your father declared him dead. I remember the farewell ceremony.”
Daniel nodded stiffly. “Yes, apparently he didn’t die. He was taken by Laous—he’s been using him in his cause ever since.”
“But we think he might have switched sides,” Callie added. “He has helped more than one of us.”
Colita nodded a few times, her eyes misty. “There was a man in my dream. He kept his face in the shadows, so I couldn’t see him clearly, but he was very big, with a dark aura.”
“That could be him,” Daniel said shortly. “He’s even bigger than me, and his face is burned. He was caught in the fires of the justices, and Laous was the one to find him, faking his death so that we would stop looking for him.”
There was an extended silence; I didn’t know most of the people they were talking about, but I could sense how serious this information was.
“How long do we have?” Callie asked, her voice devoid of emotion.
Colita squeezed her eyes closed tightly. “I can’t tell,” she said with a wavering voice. “The vision is not clear. It’s not … it’s not giving me enough information!”
Lexen pulled her close, hugging her tightly. “You’ve helped immensely,” he said, as he pulled back. “We know where Laous is now … we’re prepared.”
Colita straightened, purpose and determination filling her. The fear and panic that had been defining her features faded. “You won’t do it alone either.” Her voice thundered. “The council will rally the houses, and all of our warriors. While you’re off finding the location of the stone, we’ll be making sure that you can make it through Astoria.”
She kissed Lexen on both cheeks, as well as Emma, bade the rest of us farewell, and rushed from the room as quickly as she had arrived.
“Before we discuss this possible battle situation,” Maya cut in when Colita was gone. “What did you learn from the Draygo? Did you find him?”
Lexen and Emma moved closer, tightening our circle. When Lexen started to speak, it was in a hushed voice. “We didn’t find him, the one who was there when the secret keepers were born, the one who hid the stone. But we did chat with a relative of his.”
“Lexen had to go full-on dragon hybrid mode before any of them would talk to him,” Emma cut in, her voice wavering. “I mean, I thought Lex was scary when he dragoned out, but this group was … very animalistic.”
Lexen rumbled, acting very animalistic himself right then. “I shouldn’t have taken Emma. There was probably more information I could have gotten from them, but my instinct was to get Emma away from their threat. So I didn’t stick around. Thankfully, Qenita was there, keeping an eye on her for me.”
Emma pursed her lips, and we could all tell she had not been happy about being swept to the side by his dragon.
“There were a few there who knew of the Draygo I sought,” Lexen continued. “They said he moved to another sector in Overworld. I’m not sure I believe that, because it’s never been done before, but it would explain why no one has ever crossed paths with him.”
Chase let out a low breath. “So, dead lead, basically?”
Lexen shrugged. “Yes … and no. While we didn’t get the information about the starslight stone’s location, I did find out a little about the reason for our bond, which was one of the main questions I had for him. Turns out that when the first secret keepers were born here, the bond was done just through a basic energy sharing technique through the network. This connected the four in the chain, and they received Daelighter energy for longevity. The Draygo thought this would be enough. But they didn’t have as close a connection to Overworld as he hoped.”
“Why did they want them to have a close connection to Overworld?” I asked. “Was it important in the location of the stone?”
Lexen nodded. “Yes. While they had a connection to each other, and they had some of our energy, none of them would have actually led to the stone. They weren’t bonded to it. Or to Overworld. This wasn’t discovered until Callie’s father died.”
“So … what happened?” Daniel asked. “Why are our girls different?”
Emma picked up the story. “The Draygo used the actual stone with us, and this time, when he performed the birth ceremonies for the four of us, he did things differently. He not only placed the stone in the legreto we were born in—”
“But also the crystals of the ancient overlords,” Lexen added quickly. “He believed this was the way to tie the girls not only to the stone, but also to the four houses.”
Chase let out a surprised huff. “That’s why their energy feels like the ancients’. The Draygo basically tied each of the girls to the overlord family. To our energy.”
“And our bonds were formed,” Callie breathed. “Could it be as simple as that? The overlord energy you all possess recognizes the overlord energy we possess?”
Daniel pulled her into him, his eyes burning. “It makes you our perfect matches, and I have to say, fate chose very well.”
Callie snorted. “Always with the fate thing.”
I noticed she didn’t argue about the perfect match part, and I tried really hard not to look at Xander. It definitely explained why I felt so closely tied to the water, why I had the extra abilities that allowed me to be like House of Royale members.
We had ancient overlord energy from the crystals that had originally blessed each house. Our DNA, which at one point had been fully human, was now mutated.
“As much as this additional information is helpful,” Xander said. “It doesn’t change our current task. We need to continue on. As Colita said, we don’t have much time.”
“My parents already have our warriors ready,” Chase said smoothly. “The council will find no issue there.”
“A few of the leaders in House of Imperial have requested to not be involved,” Daniel said shortly. “Mostly because we never concern ourselves with anything other than our own issues. I informed them that this was going to change from now on. We will be united with the other four houses. So, Imperial will be there or they will find out how much power an overlord wields.”
Energy thundered from him, sounding like the roar of flames. The room also got a lot hotter until Callie placed a hand on his arm. She whispered something I couldn’t hear, and he immediately started to calm.
“Darken is definitely in,” Lexen said when the tension was gone. He shifted his focus to Xander. “Royale?”
Xander nodded. “Yep, you know we’d never leave our allies to fight without us. Colita will be able to quickly gather numbers. We’ve all been prepping for this for months now.”
“We just need to find the map first,” I reminded them, very aware that somewhere on my body—if Chase was right—there was a map of the starslight stone’s location. We weren’t going anywhere until we got that.
Xander lifted himself up from where he was resting against the long table. “Let’s get back to the center platform. That’s the best place for me to help you all be able to survive in Royale.”
Callie clapped her hands together. It was so unlike her normal calm demeanor that I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what happened.
“I have always wanted to be a mermaid,” she said, almost breathless. “This is a dream come true.”
You and me both, sister. You and me both.
Xander met my gaze then and I couldn’t help the broad smile that spread across my face.
“Are you ready to go home?” he asked, and I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that my chest tightened at his question. It felt … intimate. Maybe it was just that we’d been naked an hour ago, but home was such a huge concept, especially for someone who’d never really had one.
“I�
�m so ready,” I finally said. “I’ve been dreaming about a world where I could live under the water since I was old enough to swim.”
He held out a hand for me and I blinked at it. So much for keeping the relationship a secret. No one said anything though, and I didn’t hesitate to place my palm against his. We were going on an adventure and I had literally never been more ready.
By the time we took the transporter back to the main platform, I was jittering on the spot like I’d had ten energy drinks. The eight of us stood across the edge of the platform. Below us were the waters of Royale. It wasn’t like the ocean in Hawaii. There were no waves outside of the small movements from whatever was going on below. Far out, it looked like something broke the water line, rocks maybe—I couldn’t tell what it was from this distance.
My skin felt tight, like I’d been out of the water too long and it was starting to dry out. “The legreto here is a little different to water,” Xander explained as we all ditched our shoes and any extra pieces of clothing. “It has tiny bubbles throughout it that allows us to stay under indefinitely—we can filter the water and oxygen through our lungs. For the rest of you, though, you’re going to need a little extra help.”
He lowered his hands, and with barely a flick of his wrist, an entire plume of water shot up into the air, hovering at Xander’s side. He stepped up to Lexen, who remained relaxed, despite a torrent of water circling around him. Something told me the Darken overlord knew exactly what the extra help entailed.
“The key is to relax. Don’t fight it,” Xander said as he lifted his hands, placing them close to either side of Lexen’s head. He didn’t touch his friend, but there was not much space between them.
The water slowly trickled up in the gap between Lexen’s face and Xander’s hands, forming a bubble covering Lexen’s head entirely. When Xander stepped back, I realized I couldn’t see Lexen at all, his face obscured by the water swirling around his head.
“It’s like the exprendo channel,” Xander said as he moved toward Emma. “But this is an exo-exprendo bubble. They filter the oxygen in the water for you and are superstrong—woven more tightly so you can’t break through it easily. I don’t want you all to accidentally bust through it when we go deep.”