House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(12)

“Like the knowledge will appear in her mind? Or the network will kick in and show us the way?” Maya pressed.

Chase shrugged. “No way to tell, and I could be completely off track, but I’ve always wondered how exactly the network managed to tie four humans together who were all born at different times. I know your births had to be within the same year, but that doesn’t seem like a close enough connection.”

Xander crossed his arms, leaning back into the wall. “My understanding of it is that the secret keepers are a chain. With each birth, another link was added. The final link is Avalon, and she is the one with the lock attached to her. The lock and the key. Staying in the same year of birth was probably just so the chain was completed relatively quickly to satisfy the treaty terms.”

His intelligence didn’t surprise me, and I liked the way he called me by my full name. For some stupid reason.

Chase nodded. “That makes sense. When the others get back, we can decide on the best route home. We need to figure out the map straight away.”

I cleared my throat, because it almost felt like they’d forgotten I was here. “I’m not sure how I feel about leaving Earth....”

I trailed off because that statement pretty much said it all.

Before anyone could reply, the elevator behind us whirred, followed by a clunk. I took a step back when a new group filed through the metal doors. There was no way for me to tell who they were. I didn’t recognize any of them, and I felt uneasy again.

An auburn-haired girl broke away from the crowd and pretty much sprinted for me. Well, she took two steps, tripped over something on the floor, and sprawled across the ground.

“Shit!” she cursed as she pushed herself up with two hands. “This is why I don’t run,” she moaned. Before she could pull herself all the way up, a huge dude scooped her into his arms.

I let my eyes rest on the guy. He was definitely a Daelighter. Dark-haired, flashing dark eyes, symbols on his head just like Chase and Xander. One of the overlord minors, I would guess.

He was gorgeous and intimidating, but he held the girl in his arms with great care.

“Emma, babe, you really have to stop falling down. You’re giving me anxiety.”

Emma and this overlord were clearly in love. He held her like she was precious, cradling her close, his gaze locked on hers. She had one hand resting against his face as he moved closer to us.

Behind them was another pair. The chick was tall and blond, the guy shaved-headed and menacing, and they too were in love. He had a hand on her back; she was leaning into him.

I took another step back, my eyes darting between the three secret keepers and their mates.

“Ava?” Maya was off Chase’s lap now. She took a step closer to me. “Is everything okay? Come and meet Emma and Lexen, and Callie and Daniel.”

She waved me over, but I took another step back.

“You’re all couples?” I asked, trying to keep the upset from my tone. “How?” Why hadn’t they told me that part before now?

The love in the room was overflowing everywhere, but I didn’t understand how it could be possible. It made me question the strong warmth in my chest whenever I looked at Xander. What was going on here?

Emma, back on her feet now, crossed the last few steps to stand before me. She was smiling brightly, although there looked to be a flash of worry in her eyes as well. “It’s so nice to meet you,” she started. “I’ve been waiting such a long time for the four of us to be together.”

I swallowed roughly, trying to find some moisture. “I....” God, what the hell was I going to say? This was just getting too weird for me. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”

Because I was hyperaware of Xander, I noticed him stand. He was out of his chair and before me in a heartbeat.

“Stop panicking,” he said bluntly. “Yes, the secret keepers and the overlords are connected. The eight of us are part of fate’s plan, but that doesn’t mean you and I have to follow the trend. My world is not for you. There would be no way for you to survive. All you have to focus on is finding the stone. Once we do that, the council is going to figure out another way to hide it. They’re going to try and break the link you four have to it. This should all be over then.”

Callie, the blond secret keeper, gasped. “I didn’t know that was the plan.”

“We got word last night,” Daniel said. “The new treaty is in the works now. The humans have agreed that this way of hiding the stone does not work. There will be no more secret keepers once this is all over.”

They continued to talk over each other, discussing everything that was going on, but I could not get past what Xander had just said. There was a fated bond between the secret keepers and the overlords, one that had created these strong relationships I was seeing. But he didn’t want to even acknowledge that with me. I was not for him. Not for his world.

Not for his world.

He hadn’t moved, still standing before me, those ocean eyes locked on me.

“Excuse me,” I said coldly, pushing past him. I needed to get out of here before I screamed or cried. The emotional crying thing was a real bitch when I was trying to hide how much his dismissive words had hurt me.

Why the hell had they hurt me? I didn’t know him or care about him, but rejection was always a bitch.

He didn’t move. “Get the fuck out of my way,” I said, keeping my voice toneless. The curse word should be enough for him. “I need some space.”