House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(91)

Our landing was soft, barely a jolt compared to the way he’d been smacking me around when he ran. I’d had my eyes closed for the drop, but opened them as soon as we hit the ground. The falling ash was gone; now it was all bright lights, warmth, fields of green, oceans in the distance, stunning little homes nestled in the hills.

“Redemption is pretty,” I said flatly.

Daniel took an extra look around, coming back to me. “Yes, if you make it this far, you will have peace.”

I felt like I was a thousand years old. I had been through a lot, too much, and I wasn’t sure I was going to survive losing Lexen too. Peace was not possible for me, not even if I lived here forever.

Daniel tilted his head back, staring up the edge toward the level of desires. For a second, hope sprang to life within me. I thought he was waiting for Lexen, but then there was an explosion. Dark ash burst across the sky in a puff of black, before it dissipated out into nothing.

“No!” I cried, hoarse and desperate. I grabbed Daniel’s shirt, digging my fingers into his skin as I pulled him toward me. “Lexen will be okay, right?”

There was no answer. I appreciated that he wasn’t going to lie to me, but as that sliver of hope disappeared I died a little more inside. Drawing on everything I had learned in the last eight months, I tucked the agony deep inside, pushing it down so far down I could no longer feel anything at all.

“So, what do we do now?” I sounded detached, which was exactly how I felt.

Daniel was watching me closely, those sad eyes dissecting me. I didn’t care. He could stare all he wanted; there was nothing more for him to see. I had been a mess for eight months, a mess who had started to see the light at the end of the tunnel of darkness. Only to now be right back to that same dark place.

“I’ll get us out of here. Stay close.” Daniel was as emotionless as me, and through my own desensitized brain I realized that he had just lost one of his best friends. Daniel might have had fewer people in the world than me to care about, and he’d just lost one of them.

A part of my heart thawed just enough so I could step forward and wrap my arms around him, taking both of us by surprise if his tense body was any indication. “I’m so goddamn sorry,” I whispered, choking up on the last word.

He remained tense, and I was just about to pull away, because awkward, when his arms came around me and he returned the hug with force. I was level with his chest, and I could hear the rapid race of his heart as he clutched me closer. His body shuddered a few times, as if he was fighting against the emotions consuming him.

Consuming us both. Overwhelming grief.

“Five minutes. I’ve been gone for five minutes and you’re already moving in on my girl.”

It took longer than it should for the voice I was hearing to register. Daniel and I pulled apart and a hoarse cry left me. Lexen was shirtless, his upper body looking like it was carved by the gods themselves, all rippling muscles and bronze skin. His wings were out, curving down around him.

“Lexen…” The disbelief in my voice was strong. I wasn’t sure if this world was creating him, or if he was really standing before me.

“How?” Daniel asked, taking a step toward his friend. “How the fuck are you alive?”

Lexen shrugged, his face turning haunted for a second, before wiping clean. “Apparently dragon lords cannot be reset. The moment Laous realized that, he took off, and I came after you two.” His wings and scales faded away in a brief lightshow, then he was back to regular Lexen. Minus a shirt still.

I ran for him as fast as my clumsy legs would carry me. I wasn’t even that close when I leapt at him, but luckily he had all the skills I lacked, stepping forward and scooping me up, pressing me close to his chest.

“I thought you were dead,” I sobbed, smacking him on the chest. “I thought you had left me … alone.”

He dropped his forehead down on mine. “I thought I was dead too. Your face was the last thing I saw. The Draygo in me has decided. I can’t let you go. It might be selfish as hell, but if you want to give this a shot with me, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you and I have our chance.”

I kissed him, cutting off whatever he had been about to say next. The pain from my bruises hurt for a beat, but the moment he took control, the moment his tongue stroked mine, mouth moving over my lips with a skill and precision that had my body turning to jelly, I forgot all about my injuries. His hands cupped under my butt as he hauled me further up his body, my legs wrapping around his waist as I pressed into him.

Lexen captured the moan that escaped from me with his mouth. The kiss was just getting to the point where I felt like I was about to self-combust when he pulled back. I huffed, breathing embarrassingly deep, meeting his star-lit eyes. “Realllyyy glad you didn’t die.”

Lexen dropped his head back slightly, laughter bursting from him. “Me too, little human. Me too.”

Daniel’s drawl distracted us. “Why is it that I always feel envious and slightly awkward when I’m around you two?”

Lexen set me on my feet, tucking me in close to his side, before holding out his other arm to Daniel. The pair did some sort of fist bump, half-hug bro thing.

“Thanks for getting her to safety,” Lexen said, turning serious.

“Thanks for not dying. That would have sucked.”

Daniel was the overlord of understatement too, apparently.