House of Leights (Secret Keepers #3)(14)

I examined Peter, wondering if I’d seen him at the house before. His face wasn’t familiar, but there was no hiding he was government. From the well-fitted and expensive dark suit to the face completely devoid of all emotions, the high-up government officials always appeared the same: efficient, controlled, and sticklers for rules.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Lewis,” Peter said smoothly. “As your father said, I’m the director of this sector. We deal in Daelighter and Human relations.” He pressed his fingertips together in front of him like a steeple. “Sorry to drag you in here like this, Ms. Lewis, but there have been some breaches in our sector, so for your safety, there was no other option.”

Okay, then… “What exactly does Daelighter and Human relations refer to?”

I didn’t like the use of “human” in that title, because that made me think Daelighter was something non-human. There was a beat of silence. None of the other members of the team spoke either.

Peter straightened, his hands coming down to rest flat against the wood desk. “I can’t say anything until we get clearance on your friend. You have already been vetted, but we are waiting on Mr. Thornton.”

All eyes turned to Brad. His face was devoid of expression. He didn’t seem surprised by what was going on. Meanwhile I thought I was going to burst not knowing what this sector of the government dealt with. And how it all involved me.



Brad’s clearance took two hours. Apparently it had to be vetted by the Secretary of Defense or someone high up in the Oval Office. While we waited, I contacted Gracie, assuring her I was fine, and mentioned that my parents had gotten me and were taking me on their next trip. I could tell she thought this was strange, but after speaking with Mom and Dad, she seemed to accept it without too much fuss. My father suggested she take that holiday back home, with full pay, and for once she didn’t argue with us.

During the wait I also had a chance to change my clothes – my parents luckily had some of my stuff in their cars. I was now in jeans, a white shirt that hung long over my pants, and my Converse. Casual with style, as I called it.

By the time we retook our place around the long table, I was munching on a sandwich and feeling somewhat more normal. “I can’t believe you were so close to being taken,” my mom said for the tenth time, before she reached out and grasped my hand tightly. “We should never have let it go so long without filling you in. We just wanted you to have a normal life for as long as possible.”

Using my free hand, I shoved the last of the peanut butter bread in my mouth before leaning forward to hug her. “I know you were just looking out for me, and while it was really scary tonight, I’m happy to finally be learning more about your world…”

I was cut off when Peter breezed through the door announcing that Brad’s clearance was through. Within thirty seconds, the rest of the suits were back as well, all of them taking the same seats as before.

“This is going to be difficult for you to believe, what we have to tell you,” Peter started, his eyes locked on mine. “But … aliens are real.” He let that statement hang in the air for a beat. “They exist, and some of them walk among us on Earth.”

It felt like I stared at him for ten hours while I tried to process my thoughts. I was a big fan of sci-fi. It was my go-to in books and movies, and while the concept of aliens was something Brad and I had discussed ad nauseum, I wasn’t sure I’d ever actually believed they “walked among us.” Hearing him confirm it so bluntly, the very real fact that we were not alone, hit me hard in the chest. I braced myself against the table, knuckles white as I clutched the side.

I knew my parents were watching me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the director. “Sources are murky,” he continued, “on the date that Daelighters first started to explore our world, but we believe they have been coming here in peace for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.”

In peace. Two of the best words I’d heard in a long time. But … I’d been attacked. My father said we were in danger. Someone wasn’t in on the “peace” thing.

“In 1875 we formed a mutually-beneficial treaty with the Daelighters. They needed energy from Earth to power Overworld, their planet, and we needed something – a stone from their world – to calm Earth’s unstable weather. It was a crisis point for both of us.”

“That was over a hundred years ago,” I said slowly. “What has changed now? Why are we being attacked? Do they want their stone back?”

My mother made a small sound next to me, and I turned to find her staring down at her hands.

“Yes,” Peter replied, and it took me a beat to remember what he was answering.

“They want the stone back?” I breathed. “Why?”

He leaned closer to me, his dark eyes glinting in the illumination of the fluorescent lighting. “There is a rogue Daelighter, one who’s managed to amass power and followers. He’s the one leading this mission to get their stone back.”

“Can we just give it to them?” I asked. Yes, I was stating the obvious, but it was my opinion that sometimes the government liked to “win” for the sake of it. “Do we know our weather is going to spiral out of control again? It might have stabilized on its own.”

Surely they had a million scientists looking into this. I mean, it was the simplest and easiest of solutions.