House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(30)

I paid closer attention to them now. All of us did. Emma especially, leaving the background, stepping right up to take a seat across from them. She leaned forward, eyes wide.

“You both look so young,” she exclaimed. “But you’re almost a hundred years old?”

Jet nodded, a wry grin tilting up his lips. “I aged normally to twenty, but from then on I have barely changed,” he said, his voice a rich timbre.

Unbelievable. I mean, they’d told me about the aging thing—very briefly—but being confronted with it like this … it was a lot to take in. Life could be really hard at times. I wasn’t sure I was ready for hundreds of years of that. Maybe if I found that home I was searching for though, it wouldn’t seem so bad.

“Which house were you born in?” Maya asked, taking the seat next to Emma.

“House of Leights,” Shirley said.

“House of Imperial for me,” Jet added.

Maya’s face lit up. “Do you feel connected to nature?” she asked the woman, leaning much closer. “Since the moment I learned to communicate with the trees, I’ve been so energized and rejuvenated by nature.”

Shirley’s eyebrows drew slowly together, and she shook her head. “No, I’ve honestly never felt anything like that. Outside of aging slowly, there have been no other effects from being born in Overworld.”

The silence felt heavy then, and I wasn’t sure what everyone else was thinking, but I was surprised. I was very different to the average human. It was the reason I’d always thought I was a mutant.

Everyone turned to Jet, and he shrugged. “I’m with Shirley. I’ve never shown any signs of being different to a regular human, outside of the aging.”

“Do you feel a connection to each other?” I asked, because I would never forget that moment the four of us girls touched.

Shirley and Jet exchanged a look and my mouth almost fell open when they both shook their heads. “No, not really,” Shirley said, sounding unsure. “I’ve never met Jet before today, and I have to say, so far there is no special bond springing up for me.”

“Same,” he agreed.

Emma lurched half out of her chair, eyes locked on Roland and Lexen. “Why are we different?” she demanded to know. “The original secret keepers are nothing like us. We have a bond to each other. It’s a tangible thing. And … the way we are all soul-mated with overlords of the four houses—”

“Except me,” I cut in.

Xander grumbled under his breath, and Emma paused before shooting me a half grin.

“Yes, except Ava and Xander … allegedly.” She winked at me and I stuck my tongue out but didn’t say another word. I couldn’t deny there was an attraction between me and the Royale asshole, so her theory did stand.

“So why are we different?” Maya finished.

Shirley and Jet shrugged. “I have no idea,” he said.

Chase let out a low breath, and we all turned to find a contemplative look on his face. “I’ve always thought that the energy of the secret keepers had an ancient feel to it. It reminds me of the ancient overlords.”

“How do you even know what these overlords’ energy feels like?” Maya asked. “Are they still around? I mean, I assumed that some of them … died off.”

Chase nodded. “The ancients died long ago. Most of our people eventually choose to end the longevity. No one wants to live forever.”

I didn’t even want to know how they ended it. Hopefully it wasn’t like sacrificing themselves on their blades or something similar.

“So … how do you know the energy?” Emma pushed.

“All overlords are blessed at birth with crystals from the ancients,” Roland said in his quiet, commanding voice. “It is said that in the beginning there was only one house. House of Daelighter. Four overlords ruled the lands together and controlled the full network. Each of them had a crystal excavated from their favorite part of Overworld. They molded them onto the top of long staffs, and each piece was infused with their energy.”

“This worked for a long time, and there was peace,” Chase added quietly. “But, over time, different Daelighters started to take different gifts from the lands … the network. Nature segregated them. And then they segregated themselves.”

“There was jealousy and fighting,” Roland said. “Everyone wanted something that another had. The ones with the same gifts banded together and formed their own little groups. Eventually, they had to split the four lands, the four peoples, each going to where their gifts were strongest.”

“We’ve been divided ever since,” Xander added, sounding less cynical than he usually did. “A land divided will eventually fall.”

“We’re working together now,” Roland declared. “For the first time in many, many years, we are putting all differences aside. All four houses working together as one.”

Something didn’t make sense to me though. “How did the four overlord minors manage to become such good friends?” I asked, hoping this question wasn’t a huge faux pas. “I mean, if the four houses have an inbuilt standoffishness with each other, then how are Lexen, Daniel, Chase, and Xander besties?”

Xander snorted under his breath. “Besties? Seriously, human … never refer to us as besties again.”