House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(42)



But here, Xander had literal power. He could control water. Command metal to open. He had warriors at his disposal, if previous conversations were anything to go on.

No wonder he wasn’t interested in anything long-term, despite the fact we might be fated to be together. He was probably looking for his equal … another Daelighter who would match him. I might be more skilled than a human, but I had nothing close to Xander.

The maudlin turn my thoughts had taken was pushed aside when we entered the village. It was structured much the same way all towns were, except for a few differences. Here, the houses were long and cylindrical, all different sizes. A lot of them were connected, spanning out in street-like formations.

“Think of them like telephone lines,” Xander explained, noticing my curiosity. “The lines of communication extend between all the chambers, and if you want to contact anyone, you can.”

“There’s no water inside the pods?” Emma asked as she swam a little closer to peer inside one of the round, opaque sections. Lexen stopped her before she pressed her face to it.

“You have the choice to drain or fill your pod,” Lexen explained, drawing Emma back into the group. “You’ll find that some here identify closer with the caramina side, and others with the land dwellers.”

I turned to find Emma nodding, her expression contemplative. “That makes sense. Genetics are interesting, the way they can vary so greatly.”

I could sleep in one of those. The thought hit me so hard that I actually jolted, knocking my hand out of Xander’s. He was right at my side in an instant. “What?” he demanded, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me closer. “What happened?”

I swallowed roughly. “These pods … I could sleep under the water.”

He relaxed, tucking away the fierce warrior that was hidden under the surface of his devil-may-care attitude. “Yes,” he said simply. He held me for a beat longer than I expected him to before he let go ... of everything except my hand.

We didn’t see our first inhabitant until we were deep into Spectra. A line of warriors swam past us at rapid speed, stopping only to salute and bow to their overlord minor. They bore a multitude of weapons, including razor-sharp spears.

There were a lot of sea creatures dashing about as well.

“We sleep on different schedules to most of Overworld,” Xander said when Callie asked where all the civilians were. “Right now, it’s very early morning here. The guard shift just changed, which is why they’re moving about.”

By the time we exited Spectra—it was a mile or so long, filled with hundreds of pods—my body was thrumming with the need to go fast. Xander must have felt the same way, because he said, “I’ve called for my cousin and sister to help us get to the overlord village. We don’t have time to waste.”

“That’s the waters where Ava was born?” Maya asked.

“Yes,” he said immediately. “There’s a direct current there from the mountains of Darken, from the sacred legreto. If anything will reveal the map, it’s this location.”

With my advanced underwater eyesight, I saw Xander’s family coming from a long way away. There were three of them, and the moment they came into sight, his entire demeanor changed. Anger filled his expression; his fists clenched tightly. I jerked my hand back because he was pulling on my scar tissue. That movement seemed to remind him of where he was. Sorry, he mouthed to me, and I nodded, because it was fine. It hadn’t really hurt.

The first one to reach us was his sister. I guessed that based only on the fact that she was the only chick. She was beautiful, like her brother. Same blond hair, only hers was in a braid to her waist, the strands shimmering with rainbow hues. Her top half was lithe, clad in a tight white wrap around her breasts. Her bottom half was the tail, water bubbling around it, hiding most detail from view.

She greeted her brother with a defeated expression, bowing her head low. He reached out and captured her chin, and in the same instant she had a bubble around her head as well, connecting her to our group.

“You never bow to me,” Xander said quietly. There was a pause then. “Why is he here, Dawn?”

I flinched as he said her name, a mixture of love and pain coating each syllable. She shrugged, pulling her face from his hand. “You know I have no choice.”

Xander shook his head. “You’re wrong. You always have a choice, and I will support you making the right decision.”

It was that moment Dawn seemed to realize that we could all hear their private conversation, and she straightened, her movements so graceful in the water that it was easy to forget she was actually swimming. “My apologies, you must all be ready to return to dry land … my parents have our pod ready for you … the legreto has been removed. We can be there in no time. If you are agreeable, my mate, Donovan, and cousin, Burton, will help you move faster.”

She pointed to each of the men who were hovering a few feet away. Xander greeted Burton with a nod, but it was clear he was pointedly ignoring the heavily-muscled mate of his sister. Donovan had strong features and flashing eyes, the sort of eyes that could give a girl nightmares if they were directed at her. The eyes of a predator. His dark hair was cropped close to his skull, his arms decorated in tatted art, as well as two armbands around each impressive bicep. He looked strong … arrogant … very sure of himself. He watched Dawn like she was a possession.

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