House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(62)

“Thanks … for everything,” I said again, stepping inside. My heart sank as I stared at the bed, knowing that my dreams would be haunted tonight. I was too close to the tragedy again, to my parents’ deaths. To these new revelations about them being born in Overworld and possible secret keepers. There was no way I was getting any sleep tonight.

But I would bite my tongue off before showing any more weakness this day. So I gave Lexen a wave, and as he turned away I shut the door.

Leaning back against the door, I let out a deep sigh, straightening to explore the room. That would kill some time. Hopefully their sleeping hours were shorter here than on Earth. Maybe I wouldn’t have to keep myself occupied for long.





14





There didn’t turn out to be much in the bedroom, just the bed, two side tables, and an empty armoire. A pretty white door, with ornate carvings of roses and symbols across it, led me into a bathroom with a huge round tub built into the floor. It was almost like a mini-pool, with tiled steps leading into it. Here is the perfect time killer. I hadn’t had a bath in almost a year. None of my rentals with the Finnegans had tubs, only showers.

It took me three attempts to figure out how to fill it; it turned out to be pretty simple once I got the hang of the levers that adjusted the hot and cold water flow. As I ran my hands across the surface of the rapidly filling tub, I understood what Jero had meant about their legreto not being quite the same as water. It was thicker, encasing my hand, and sticking there for longer than a water droplet would. When it dripped from my fingertips, it felt like they were left extra-clean as it absorbed whatever was on my skin.

Once the tub filled all the way up, I removed my clothes and stepped down. There were inbuilt seats along both sides, so I settled back into one, the liquid coating me almost to my neck. It cocooned me, sending warmth through my body and into my bones. It was like being surrounded by my favorite blanket while drinking hot cocoa at the same time.

Closing my eyes, I laid my head back to rest in a perfectly-shaped groove behind my seat. This was seriously the best thing I had ever experienced in my life. It could only be improved by something to wash my hair and shave my legs, since both were in desperate need.

“How’re you doing in there?”

I let out a scream, eyes flying open as I wrapped my arms across my chest. With a huff, I relaxed, realizing it was just Star. She was dressed in what looked like very comfortable sleep clothes: a pale pink pair of short shorts and tank-top.

“Sorry,” she giggled. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I thought you might need some toiletries.”

She gestured to a pile sitting on a small bench beside the bath. “These are to wash your hair,” she said as she picked up the two clear bottles, orange liquid inside swishing. She then dropped them and grabbed a long white tube and a small bristled brush. “Use these two to clean your teeth.” Next was a small dark tub. She tapped the lid. “The gel inside removes hair from your body. Just smooth it across, leave for about fifteen seconds, and wipe clean.”

She flashed me her broad smile, before shuffling all of those items closer to me.

I returned her smile, already reaching out for them. “You read my mind,” I exclaimed. “Thanks so much. I really appreciate you bringing these to me.”

“I also brought you something to sleep in.” Star lifted a set of clothes very similar to the ones she was wearing, but in black.

I blew her a kiss. “You’re the best, Star. I’m so glad we met.”

“I’m so glad we met too!” she exclaimed, surprising me with a hug. “It was the best day of my life.”

I snorted. “Thank you, but if we could have less naked hugging in the future, that would be great.”

“Oh!” she pulled back, droplets of wate … legreto flinging off her. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think.” There was no awkwardness as we laughed, and then she jumped to her feet. “I’ll leave you to your nightly routine now. See you in the morning.”

“See you in the morning,” I called after her as she scurried away.

I laughed again, thinking how weird this entire day had been. Weird, emotional, but kind of amazing.

Twenty minutes later I was clean, hairless – in the places I liked to be hairless – and dressed in Star’s clothes. The top had an inbuilt bra and I had new underwear, because apparently Star’s wardrobes on both worlds were filled with many items of clothing that she had never used before.

Weariness pressed on me, but I didn’t want to sleep, so I stared around for another distraction. A basket on the end of the bed caught my eye. Before I could reach out and touch the contents, there was a knock. With a shake of my head, I hurried over to open the door. On the other side were Jero and Marsil.

“Well, hello there, lollipop,” Jero said, leaning against the doorframe. Like Star, he looked to be dressed for bed. Unlike Star he was bare-chested, wearing just a pair of dark gray shorts.

I narrowed my eyes on him, trying not to stare at the wide expanse of skin he had on display. Jero was not as heavily muscled as Lexen, but he still had more than his fair share. Broad shoulders, tapering down to slim hips; the shorts looked to barely be staying up. His hair was damp, the scar visible as the strands were pushed back in messy disarray.

No wonder he could get away with treating women like crap; he was so pretty they probably didn’t even notice. Marsil was thankfully still dressed in the same clothes he’d been wearing earlier, which was a relief. I wasn’t sure I could take any more perfect chests.