House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(40)

I noticed she didn’t argue about the perfect match part, and I tried really hard not to look at Xander. It definitely explained why I felt so closely tied to the water, why I had the extra abilities that allowed me to be like House of Royale members.

We had ancient overlord energy from the crystals that had originally blessed each house. Our DNA, which at one point had been fully human, was now mutated.

“As much as this additional information is helpful,” Xander said. “It doesn’t change our current task. We need to continue on. As Colita said, we don’t have much time.”

“My parents already have our warriors ready,” Chase said smoothly. “The council will find no issue there.”

“A few of the leaders in House of Imperial have requested to not be involved,” Daniel said shortly. “Mostly because we never concern ourselves with anything other than our own issues. I informed them that this was going to change from now on. We will be united with the other four houses. So, Imperial will be there or they will find out how much power an overlord wields.”

Energy thundered from him, sounding like the roar of flames. The room also got a lot hotter until Callie placed a hand on his arm. She whispered something I couldn’t hear, and he immediately started to calm.

“Darken is definitely in,” Lexen said when the tension was gone. He shifted his focus to Xander. “Royale?”

Xander nodded. “Yep, you know we’d never leave our allies to fight without us. Colita will be able to quickly gather numbers. We’ve all been prepping for this for months now.”

“We just need to find the map first,” I reminded them, very aware that somewhere on my body—if Chase was right—there was a map of the starslight stone’s location. We weren’t going anywhere until we got that.

Xander lifted himself up from where he was resting against the long table. “Let’s get back to the center platform. That’s the best place for me to help you all be able to survive in Royale.”

Callie clapped her hands together. It was so unlike her normal calm demeanor that I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what happened.

“I have always wanted to be a mermaid,” she said, almost breathless. “This is a dream come true.”

You and me both, sister. You and me both.

Xander met my gaze then and I couldn’t help the broad smile that spread across my face.

“Are you ready to go home?” he asked, and I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that my chest tightened at his question. It felt … intimate. Maybe it was just that we’d been naked an hour ago, but home was such a huge concept, especially for someone who’d never really had one.

“I’m so ready,” I finally said. “I’ve been dreaming about a world where I could live under the water since I was old enough to swim.”

He held out a hand for me and I blinked at it. So much for keeping the relationship a secret. No one said anything though, and I didn’t hesitate to place my palm against his. We were going on an adventure and I had literally never been more ready.



By the time we took the transporter back to the main platform, I was jittering on the spot like I’d had ten energy drinks. The eight of us stood across the edge of the platform. Below us were the waters of Royale. It wasn’t like the ocean in Hawaii. There were no waves outside of the small movements from whatever was going on below. Far out, it looked like something broke the water line, rocks maybe—I couldn’t tell what it was from this distance.

My skin felt tight, like I’d been out of the water too long and it was starting to dry out. “The legreto here is a little different to water,” Xander explained as we all ditched our shoes and any extra pieces of clothing. “It has tiny bubbles throughout it that allows us to stay under indefinitely—we can filter the water and oxygen through our lungs. For the rest of you, though, you’re going to need a little extra help.”

He lowered his hands, and with barely a flick of his wrist, an entire plume of water shot up into the air, hovering at Xander’s side. He stepped up to Lexen, who remained relaxed, despite a torrent of water circling around him. Something told me the Darken overlord knew exactly what the extra help entailed.

“The key is to relax. Don’t fight it,” Xander said as he lifted his hands, placing them close to either side of Lexen’s head. He didn’t touch his friend, but there was not much space between them.

The water slowly trickled up in the gap between Lexen’s face and Xander’s hands, forming a bubble covering Lexen’s head entirely. When Xander stepped back, I realized I couldn’t see Lexen at all, his face obscured by the water swirling around his head.

“It’s like the exprendo channel,” Xander said as he moved toward Emma. “But this is an exo-exprendo bubble. They filter the oxygen in the water for you and are superstrong—woven more tightly so you can’t break through it easily. I don’t want you all to accidentally bust through it when we go deep.”

Emma looked nervous, swallowing roughly, but she didn’t stop him.

By the time Xander had gone down the row, the water he’d drawn from the House of Royale was almost gone. I was the last one. He paused in front of me, his expression intense. “They can’t see or hear us clearly right now,” he murmured.

He leaned in closer, and I closed my eyes as his lips gently brushed across mine. “Are you ready?” he murmured against my mouth.