House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(64)

His grip tightened on me, that hand on my spine pulling me closer.

My chest heaved and I fought against the nausea rising within me. I really didn’t want to vomit on Lexen. “Someone murdered them. The fire … it wasn’t natural. Which of the houses can control fire?”

Darkness fell like a heavy sheen across his face. “Darken – but not all of us. I’m the only one at the moment who can control draygone fire, and I promise you it wasn’t me. Not to mention that sort of flame would have incinerated your house instantly.” Before I could assure him that I’d never suspected his family – they were far too nice – he continued, “The other house with ties to fire is Imperial. They control the land beneath. The underworld. Their domain is the land of death, and they can control the eternal fire.”

I blinked a few times, wrinkling my nose. “The underworld? Like hell?”

Lexen shook his head, the slightest of smiles curving his full lips, although he didn’t exactly look happy. “It’s not as you’re probably imagining. This is a land of judgment. Your soul will be judged at death, and depending on what is found, you can be reborn, or you go into the Cascading Justices. Where you end up after that is up to you.”

“How do the living go there?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around this place he was describing. My family was not religious, but I still understood the concept of heaven and hell. This underworld business was a little more outside of my knowledge base.

“Think of the Greek underworld,” Lexen started to explain. “River Styx and the ferryman. House of Imperial are the ferrymen. They hold the key to entering, and they can do so without having to die. They control the gates and the transporter. They use these powers to keep the souls from doing what they are not supposed to. Going where they are not allowed. From—”

“Escaping?” I supplied.

He nodded. “Yes, there are some who know they’re not going to fare well in the justices, so they try to escape.”

My body brushed against his and I realized how close we were lying together on the bed. Lexen had a shirt on, but I could still feel every one of his rigid chest muscles pressing into my chest. My nipples, which were only secured in this thin sleep shirt, were saluting the world and letting all of us know they were happy with their current position.

I couldn’t bring myself to pull away, choosing to remain wrapped all cozy-like in the darkness. “I was afraid to go to sleep.” My voice was a low whisper. “I knew the dream would—” All that emerged after that was a croak, so I swallowed roughly.

Lexen surprised me when he brushed one of my long strands of hair out of my face. “I tried to wake you.” The low rumble of his voice had my disloyal body reacting even further. “But there was no way to bring you out of the dream. You only calmed down when I climbed in and held you.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I was worried you would hurt yourself. You were thrashing around a lot.”

Rational thought dropped away and instinct took over. I wrapped my arms around him, needing to show how grateful I was. “Thank you. I don’t know why you’re the one who keeps getting stuck with me during these moments, but I promise I’m not normally this broken.” I pulled away before things got uncomfortable. “It’s just been a long week. I’m not handling it very well.”

He pressed his hand into my spine one more time, sending flashes of heat low in my body. I almost rocked forward to try and relieve the pressure building inside of me. I managed to stop myself only because he released me and swung his long legs over the side of the bed. I watched, unable to look away. When he was standing, he met my gaze. “You’re handling it better than most humans,” he said, sounding much more serious than he had before. “You’re actually making a pretty compelling case for the treaty at this point in time. Your government should thank you.”

I swallowed roughly, knowing he was going to leave, but unable to think of anything to say that might keep him here. “Well,” I began awkwardly, “thanks again. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He held out a hand and I stared at it stupidly, wondering what he wanted me to do. He didn’t move, standing there hand out before him. I tentatively reached out, placing my palm against his. When his fingers wrapped around mine, I was pulled up and off the bed in a flash, Lexen catching me when I would have fallen, before he set me on my feet.

He wrapped one arm around me. “Come on, I need sleep. I have to be overlord minor tomorrow. You’re coming with me. I can keep a closer eye on you if we’re in the same room.”

My rapid blinking probably made it look like I was having a seizure, but I couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying. “You have another bed in your room here too?” I wheezed out.

Lexen shook his head, starting to walk and half dragging me along with him. “No, we’re going to have to share. I’ll figure something out for tomorrow night.”

“Share!” I tried to ground to a halt, but he was much stronger than me. When he realized I wasn’t walking, he let me go. We faced each other in the hallway.

“Yes, we’re going to share. I don’t bite or snore. Even better, I don’t have dreams to scare the shit out of you, dragging you from a deep sleep.”

Ah, there he was, my … the arrogant alien. “Apologies, Overlord Minor, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”