House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(57)

My lack of sleep was also catching up to me, the slightest of tension headaches pounding in my temples. I should have expected this though. This entire little excursion into another world was a huge deal. I’d avoided strong emotions for almost a year now, because feeling anything was painful, so today was definitely going to affect me.

Despite my fatigue, I was still cataloguing and learning as much as I could. Fascinatingly enough, this city was set out in the same block formation like big cities back home. There were even signs – not that I could read them as they were not in English, but I recognized them all the same.

“Are you okay?” Star asked, no doubt noticing my sudden quietness. Not five minutes earlier I’d been going on and on about how amazing this place was, so my silence now was kind of obvious.

“Just … tired.” That was mostly the truth.

She was opening her mouth to reply when Lexen said something and the rest of the other Darken students hurried off to find their families. We were pretty far into the city now, and it was hard to not feel overwhelmed by the shimmering silver surrounding us.

Star ignored her brothers, focusing on me. “Come on, let’s get you to our home. There should be some time to rest. I expect the council meeting won’t be until tomorrow.”

Lexen joined us then, seeming more relaxed now that he wasn’t wearing his leader hat. “We don’t know the timeframe yet,” he reminded his sister. He stood taller, looking right at home among the opulence of this world.

I would never have guessed from what I saw of him on Earth, but here it was abundantly clear: Lexen was trained and groomed to lead. The way he took charge, carried himself, spoke to the other Darken members…

I kind of missed his bastard side. He had been real. Here … I got the mask. I wasn’t sure I liked it. Nothing to do with you, my inner voice tried to remind me, but it didn’t change my feelings.

Our group was silent as we continued through the town. A lot of inhabitants were scurrying around, still surprising me with how similar our species were. The Daelighters were like Hollywood-spec humans, tall and beautiful.

I got a few glances from the locals, but my companions were the ones receiving the majority of attention. Also salutes – or a version similar enough that I was going with it. Lexen got bowed to. A lot. The Daelighters who crossed his path would place both of their palms flat on their forehead, one hand overlapping the other, and then they would bow very low to him.

Lexen would return the gesture with a simple head nod.

This process continued on and on. I was so fascinated that I missed the rest of the town. By the time I noticed my surroundings again we had reached their home. Well, the large gates outside it, carved from a different material, one which looked more like the outside of this mountain: a smoky, opal-colored crystal.

Lexen pressed his hand to the gate – the entire property was fenced – and said something in their language. The barrier opened immediately and we all stepped inside. I was surprised by the lack of security, especially after the overkill in Astoria.

“Does everyone speak English here?” I asked as we stepped inside, the crystal barrier silently closing behind us.

“Ever since the first signing of the treaty,” Lexen said, disarming me with his full attention again.

“Does anyone on Earth know … your language?” How intertwined were our worlds? How could no one know about this?

“Dray,” Lexen filled in the blank. “All houses use the original language of the Draygo people. There are a few representatives on Earth that understand it, but since, for the most part, we’re not known about by humans, there’s no reason for them to learn.”

I kind of wanted to learn it, but no doubt my mouth and vocal cords would struggle to form the melodic Dray words. I couldn’t sing for crap, and it sounded musical to me.

Lexen was the first to walk again, leading us along a path toward a white building.

Okay, building was a vast understatement. It was more like a resort, widely spread, square-shaped, with towering wings and lots of windows. The details were hazy from this distance, so I focused instead on the gardens surrounding us on either side. There were so many plants, huge trees, flower-filled garden beds. It could have been cluttered, having so much crammed in, but it just seemed cozy and tranquil. The scents … they were almost overwhelming, their sweet natural perfume filling the air.

It seemed a miracle to see an area so lush and natural on the inside of a mountain, but considering I flew here on a dragon carpet, anything was possible. The energy of the dragons kept things powered here. The warmth and light from that burning dragon fire, so high above us, did have a sun feel to it.

It took a long time to reach their home. Unlike a lot of the other structures under here, it was not made of the silver-diamond stone. It looked like … I reached for my necklace, pulling it free from where it had been tucked in my shirt. I rarely took it off, not even for tortu … gym class.

“What is this stone?” I asked, my voice low. “The one your house is made of?”

Star’s hand zipped out and grabbed my pendant, bringing it closer and almost strangling me in the process. “How do you have starslight stone? It’s a rare mineral which falls from our sky—”

She looked to her brothers for help.

“Like a meteorite, falling from space,” Marsil filled in for her. “This stone is not natural to our land, but we collect it every time it falls from above. It has a strong natural energy and can be used to power many things.”