House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(81)

He shrugged. “Lexen is my best friend. He’s been with me through more shit than I could even explain. I will always have his back. Family first, you know.”

My throat went all funny as I tried to ask my next question. “Is Lexen … all the Darkens, are they okay?”

Daniel nodded, which sent shots of relief through me. “They’re fine, searching for you. Lexen…” I was desperate for him to finish that sentence, but he cut himself off, handing me a clear pouch that looked to contain water.

“It’s legreto,” he told me, the word rolling off his tongue. “It will help restore your energy, speed up the healing.”

I eyed him closely, lifting the spout to my lips and tipping it back. I had no choice except to trust him. On my own I was dead. And right now I needed to rehydrate more than anything.

“I cleaned and stitched your wounds,” he continued. “I can’t do much more to help you because using my powers will alert Laous. Overlords are connected, and for now we’re staying off the grid. Off the network.”

As more of the cool liquid slid down my throat, I sighed. It was sweeter than water, almost like it had been flavored with fruit. Before I knew it, I had emptied his pouch.

“Crap, sorry,” I said, holding it out to him. “I didn’t realize I was drinking so much.”

Daniel just waved me away, those rich cinnamon eyes flashing as he watched me. “That was all for you. I’m well aware of Laous’ penchant to starve and dehydrate his prisoners. Makes them more pliable.”

“How are you related to Laous?” I asked, unable to see one thing about that crazy asshole in Daniel.

Daniel’s face took on a dark expression, giving him what I had dubbed “the Lexen look.” “He is my uncle. He killed my father and took the overlord major position, even though it should have rightfully gone to me. Laous’ marks were not inborn, they were placed there through a marking ceremony. This can happen if there are no naturally-born overlords, but since I was alive, it should never have gone down like that.”

That urge to hug him came over me again. He was a plethora of contradictions, clearly a bad boy on the outside, but his eyes … shit, they spoke to me on a level of pain that I’d rarely seen in another.

Sensing both of us needed some relief from the unexpectedly heavy topic we’d found ourselves in, I changed the subject. “I really appreciate the rescue—”

“Not rescued yet,” he interrupted. “I only got you out of Shaken Ridge. There’s still five more justices, and the next is my least favorite. Flames of Ether.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. The land of fire – no doubt that explained why it was so hot. We were close.

“I need to get out of here and make sure my guardians are okay, because Laous will think I escaped. And he will punish them.” There was no way for me to know if they’d received any help from the Darkens yet, so my worry was very real.

“He’s going to suspect his man did something with you, so we have some time while he deals with him.”

A slight relief, but still not much. “When did you know I was here?” I asked.

“As soon as you were taken … Lexen lost his mind. While his family tried to calm him down and use diplomatic channels to find you, I came straight here. If there is something underhanded going on, Laous is usually involved.”

Wishing death on someone was not a common thing for me, but the Imperial overlord was the exception. He was pure insanity. He needed to die.

“Lexen never brought a female to any of our meetings before,” Daniel said; immediately I was paying attention. Of course I was; it was information about Lexen. “You were different. We all saw it, and I won’t let my friend lose someone important to him.”

I sucked in a hard breath, those words having a strong and dramatic effect on my body, on my heart. “I miss him.” The very soft words escaped before I could stop them.

Daniel stared at me, probably unsure how to reply to that. I shook my head, trying to knock some sense into myself, but all that happened was a fierce headache slapped me with a wave of pain.

Even though I tried not to cringe, I still crumpled forward, hand pressed to forehead. “You need to rest,” Daniel said.

I shook my head, more gingerly this time. “No, I can’t rest until I’m out of here. We should go.”

It was his turn to shake his head now. “I’m waiting on a package, so best make yourself comfortable.”

His tone brooked no argument, so I sank to the ground, sprawling out, head cradled on my right bicep. “I’m just going to rest for a minute,” I murmured to the now silent Daelighter. “Wake me as soon as you’re ready to go.”

I held his gaze until he inclined his head, and then I closed my eyes, seeking respite from the head pain. Exhaustion pulled me under almost immediately. It was a relief to escape reality for a short time.

Sometime later, low rumbles of conversation broke through my unconscious state. As I struggled back to the land of awake, the words became clearer.

“You got here much quicker than I expected.” Daniel sounded surprised, but also kind of relieved.

“I was already in House of Imperial,” came the short reply. That voice, the smooth husky accented voice, was enough to set my heart rate off.

There was a brief pause, before Daniel groaned. “Fuck … Lex, what did you do?”