House of Leights (Secret Keepers #3)(54)

He turned away from me then and I struggled to get air into my lungs. That boy knocked all of my senses out.

Jasmin nodded decisively. “Yes, you are right, son. We have no need to rush. We are just so happy and excited for you both.”

She reached out and placed her hand across my shoulders, long slender fingers wrapping around lightly. “Welcome to our family, Maya.”

I was overwhelmed, and scared of saying the wrong thing, but I felt like I needed to be honest. “Thank you. Your kindness and acceptance mean a lot. I can’t even tell you how much. I know I’m probably not the person you expected your son to end up with – being human and all – but I promise I will do my best to never let Chase down. The bonding … it’s the best thing that’s happened to me. Chase makes me feel … complete.”

No more searching endlessly. I was finally home.

She nudged her son out of the way and wrapped her arms around me. “I always wanted a daughter,” she said, her low accented voice soothing. “You are perfect. The Galinta would never choose someone unworthy.”

My heart felt like it would burst, and I had to bite my lip not to cry when she pulled away. She stepped back to her husband’s side, and Chase drew me closer to him. I could practically feel his happiness.

“You have done well, son,” his father said. “Your mother is right, Maya is worthy.”

Cue a raging blush from me and more emotions threatening to send tears down my cheeks.

“We need to go,” Chase said, looking between his parents. “Lexen is waiting on us to try and find the fourth keeper. We have to get to her before Laous does.”

Everything turned a little more serious then. Chila straightened and gave a low nod. “I am amassing our warriors. We will not stand on the sideline for this fight. Not any longer.”

I wanted to freak out about the word “warriors,” because it made me think of war, but Chase, grim-faced, just returned his father’s nod. “Yes, this is a good idea. We might have to call on them quickly. I will be in touch as soon as we know something.”

Jasmin looked upset but didn’t say anything more. We exchanged farewells and they stepped back into the trees again, their path closing behind them.

I let out a long, deep breath. Between Chase and his parents, I’d barely been able to get my lungs to work.

“So,” I said, swallowing hard, “your parents are so lovely … and kind of intimidating.”

Chase just laughed before he wrapped an arm around me. “You have nothing to worry about. They already adore you. I promise.”

Maybe it was better I didn’t have time to build the meeting up. The randomness of the last few minutes had meant it was an authentic first introduction, and it did feel like it went well.

“Ready to go now?” he asked, gesturing to the other path he’d opened. It was still there, waiting for us.

I nodded, and Chase kept his arm around me as we stepped out. I felt more than capable of walking on my own, but there was no way I was telling him that. He was touching me. I liked the touching.

“Do you and your father have short hair because of the overlord thing?” I asked him. The few other House of Leights members I’d seen all had long hair, which had me wondering.

Chase nodded. “Yes, overlord major and minor have their hair short to display our marks. Otherwise it’s customary for our people to grow their hair long. It’s a sign of age, which is a sign of wisdom.”

I got the feeling wisdom was something our people respected a great deal.

“Tell me about your life,” he said as he held a branch back for me. He was so much taller that everything hit him first. “I want to know who you are, the life you’ve lived.”

I paused, trying to think of something fun and interesting to say. After a few moments, I realized there was nothing. “I’ve been kind of lonely, really.” Pathetic, but it was the truth. “My parents love me, don’t get me wrong, but their jobs have dominated their time. So, I just drifted along. If it wasn’t for Brad, I’m not sure if I’d be as well-adjusted as I am. His parents also work for the government, so we kept each other company.”

“Brad…” He let the name trail off, and I worried we were about to have our first moment of jealousy and male dominance. I wouldn’t give up Brad, not even for Chase, so I really hoped he wouldn’t ask that of me.

“I’m very glad he was around.” His words took me by surprise. “It’s nice to see the bond you two have. It reminds me of my friendship with Lexen, Daniel, and Xander. The four of us have been through a lot together. We had to hide our friendship for many years because of bad blood between our houses, but we’re connected on a level which I don’t believe can be broken.”

In some ways, I felt like Chase might have been as lonely as I was. Moving nomadically all the time would have been really tough. I doubted he would have seen his friends much, especially if they were hiding their bond.

“I’m really happy you had the other guys,” I said, echoing his sentiment. “I believe humans … and Daelighters, I would guess … thrive in a close community. We need love and support. No person should be an island, you know.”

We’d had to move apart as we got further into the trees, so I reached out and took his hand. He automatically laced our fingers together. I loved the way he did that. “You won’t be lonely anymore,” he said, his voice sounding a little rougher than usual. “You have me. Our bond is from the fates, and you have the other secret keepers and their mates. The eight of us … it’s soul deep.”