House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(69)

“Slow down,” he warned me. “Qenita might seem domesticated, but I assure you she’s anything but. The draygones are wild, magnificent beasts. I’m honored to call her a friend.” He started leading me closer to where Qenita had her head resting. Most of her massive body was out of the room, her wings slowly flapping to keep her from dropping lower.

Lexen stopped near her right eye. “This is Emma,” he said, placing his free hand onto her snout. “She’s my friend.”

He eyed me and I chuckled, low, so as not to startle Qenita and get eaten by accident. “Bet you never thought you’d say that about a human,” I murmured, leaning in close to him.

Before he could voice whatever smartass reply was coming, Qenita sent out a ring of icy moisture; it swirled in the air, crashing against my chest. The sudden blast of cold filled my veins and I gasped a few times.

Lexen laughed. “She likes you.”

I rubbed my hand across my collarbone, trying to bring some warmth back. “Hate to see what she does if she doesn’t like someone,” I grumbled.

“Usually she smashes them with her tail,” was his prompt reply.

I almost took a step back, but I didn’t want either of them to realize how much of a scaredy human I was right now. Being this close to a dragon, it was the way I felt when I went to the zoo and stared into the eyes of the lions and tigers. There was something so predatory in their gazes; the lazy way they watched told me they knew exactly what I was doing, cataloguing every one of my movements, waiting for the right moment to attack. Yep, it was that feeling, just times a thousand.

With Lexen at my back, Qenita didn’t feel like a threat, but I also wasn’t going to be comfortable in her presence anytime soon. I was relieved and disappointed when Lexen released my hand, pressing both of his palms into her long snout and leaning in close to whisper to her. As the breezes picked up around us, we backed away and she flapped harder, wiggling out of the room. Lexen and I watched as her huge body gracefully soared away.

Everything in my body was thrumming. I felt alive in a way I could never remember feeling.

A real dragon.

I opened and closed my mouth, blurting out, “Most human guys have a dog, maybe two. A snake if they are particularly daredevil. You have a dragon as a … a friend.” I could never call Qenita a pet. She was about as far from a pet as any being could be.

“I’m not human, Emma Walters. Do you need a demonstration?”

Before I could tell him I definitely didn’t need a demonstration, twin balls of fire rose from his hands. The heat was immediate and intense and I took a step back, ending up on the small balcony area. A balcony without a railing, because it was clearly used as landing pad for a dragon.

The fire winked out in an instant and Lexen reached out for me before I could fall to my death. He hauled me inside and left me to stand there like a clumsy idiot while he shut those sliding doors.

“Guess I know why you like your showers so hot,” I said. “You’re like fire … and Qenita is ice?”

He nodded just as there was a hard knock on the door, followed by another almost immediately. The door was then slammed open and a harried-looking Jero rushed inside. “Emma is not in her roo—”

His words died off when he caught sight of me standing there shivering in the cool air. I shook off some of my chill, narrowing my eyes on him. “Good job on the name.”

He relaxed, his signature smirk crossing his face. He seemed so much more approachable not wearing his normal suit. There was no denying it, Jero was intimidating dressed in all of his finery. Without his suit there was a little more vulnerability about him, and I liked seeing that part of him. Of all the Darkens. They had let me into their inner sanctum. I was one of the lucky few to see the real beings.

As I strolled a little closer to Jero, I tilted my head to the side and smiled broadly. “Looks like someone was worried about me. You even remembered my name. Come on, Jero, admit it, you like humans.”

He chuckled, reaching out and ruffling my hair. “Never said I didn’t. Lex here is the one who thinks he’s allergic to humanity.”

The man in question didn’t agree or disagree with that statement. He just pointed at the door and told us both to get out. Apparently it was time for us to dress, grab some food, and make it to the meeting of the houses. I was nervous. Soon I would meet this council and find out everything. Find out about my guardians.

Find out if my life was going to end all over again.





15





Star loaned me clothes. Ambra handed all of us delicious crunchy bread rolls filled with a creamy cheese-like spread, and then we were ready to go. Setting out from the overlord’s home, back through Silver City, it was a long progression, Daelighters joining behind us as we travelled.

The Darkens were dressed far more formally than they had been the day before. Roland and Lexen, who led the way, wore floor-length maroon robes covered in silver symbols like those in their hair. The robes had hoods – which were down at the moment. They had jewels embedded in their hair, almost like a small crown, intertwining among the dark strands. They also wore a sword-shaped weapon down their spine, in a sheath.

I tried not to take that as a bad sign. It was just part of their uniform, right?

Jero and Marsil wore robes as well, theirs blue, with only a few swirling symbols. Ambra and Star looked stunning, like true royalty. They were decked out in formal gowns, floor length. The material was a shimmering maroon, in the same shade as the overlord’s.