House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(48)

“My father is opening the portal for us,” he said, his right hand casually sliding into his pocket. “Are you all ready to dive back into the legreto?”

Everyone nodded.

“Let’s go, then.” Xander turned, striding away without looking back. I fell in behind the others, following them out of the huge living area and into another long hallway. This one was darker.

“Where did Dawn go?” I whispered to Maya, who was just in front of me.

Her long dark hair whipped around as she tilted her head toward me. “She had to go home. To Donovan.”

My teeth clinked together and I ground them. She’d said she only had an hour, and from what Xander told me, any disobedience….

I refused to even think about it. Unfortunately, Xander’s sister didn’t have the same option.

There had to be a way to help her, I might not be able to fix my situation, but someone had to fix hers. Surely having parents as powerful as hers…. It was better if they knew. Maybe this one time, politics would not win.

I would have told them right then and there, but I was scared that I might make the situation even worse for her. But I would not forget her need. Sooner or later, something had to change for her.

“Avalon….”

The way he said my name brought me back to reality. I stumbled forward, realizing everyone else had gone. Xander had come back for me. “I need to put the breathing chamber around your face again,” he said, watching me closely.

“Oh, right.” I stepped closer to him. “I was just thinking … about Dawn.”

That fire flared in his eyes again. “She’s never far from my mind lately. I’m going to exhaust every political channel I can to help her, and if all of that fails, well … I might just have to take my chances with the beast.”

“Your parents have to be able to do something!”

Xander shook his head. “Dawn thinks she’s strong enough to handle it and has made it very clear to me that she doesn’t want anyone choosing between protecting her and protecting our people. The only reason I know is because I randomly stopped by her pod. She thought I was on Earth.”

“Please tell me you smacked him in the mouth,” I said harshly.

A wry grin tipped up one corner of Xander’s lips. “Broke his nose and fractured his jaw in three places. He couldn’t eat or speak for weeks, even with accelerated healing.” Xander let out a dark laugh. “I was worried at first that he’d take it out on Dawn, but she said he barely even cared. Violence means nothing to him, it’s just a normal way of life. He believes that his strength gives him the right to control my sister, to use that against her. And because Dawn is refusing my help, I’m in a shitty position. I don’t want to be as bad as him, taking her choices away from her—she’s one of the strongest caraminas I know—but she shouldn’t have to handle this on her own.”

“I’ll help you.” The words burst from me, filled with fire and conviction. Just like Xander, I couldn’t let this go. “Let’s deal with the secret keeper stuff first, then we’ll figure out what to do for Dawn.”

Xander captured my hand. “It’s nice to have someone other than my brothers at my back.”

I knew he meant the overlords. They were so important to Xander, and it was nice to be grouped with them. Even though I wanted to be so much more.

“Despite everything, I’m always here for you, Xander,” I said honestly. “We’ll always be friends, have a bond. No one can take that away from us.”

He cupped my face. Our eyes met and held for many long seconds before the bubble formed around my head, cutting him off from view.

When my vision was fully obscured, I allowed a single tear to trail down my cheek before I sucked in some deep breaths and got myself under control. Xander led me until we were back in the water.

The world on this side of the overlord pod was colorful, like it had been built on the edge of a reef. There was an abundance of brightly colored creatures as well, and I could imagine swimming through this area for hours. In fact, there were a lot of Royales doing just that as we moved past. They all saluted Xander before going back to their frolicking. I noticed that not all of them used their tails; there were plenty of legs around, kicking in lazy motions.

Callie let out a huge sigh that drew my attention. “I swam with them,” she said, “Best. Day. Ever!”

I laughed, because she wasn’t usually the chirpy and cute type.

“The stream is this way.” Xander said, moving to the front of the group. “You’ll know it when you see it.”

We sure as hell did.

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

My eyes were watering again, and this time it had nothing to do with Xander. This was pure emotion; the beauty before me almost hurt my eyes. The stream ran like a rainbow through the water, swishing and turning, the colors so vibrant that I felt as if I could run my hands through them and they’d be stained in bright hues.

“Xander, why have you never brought us here?” Chase asked. He sounded as awed as I felt. I was sensing that House of Leights, with their tree gods, might be into the more spiritual side of life.

“Because it’s sacred, and we are not allowed here except with express permission from the overlord,” Xander told him.

No one argued. When a firm hand pressed against my spine, ushering me forward, I sucked in a deep breath. “What should I do?” I whispered.