House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(55)

“We’re not going to turn our backs on him for one second,” Daniel whispered. “We even take shifts for sleeping, if anyone has to do that. Laous murdered my family to gain power. He killed his own damn brother. There’s nothing he won’t do to achieve his goals.”

We all nodded, and Daniel straightened, turning to Laous. “We accept that deal, as long as you promise nothing will happen to the humans if we cooperate.”

Laous smiled broadly. “Of course. I am a Daelighter of my word. I’ve never lied about my intentions. This would have been much easier if you’d just cooperated from the start.”

Emma growled, no doubt thinking that this started when he killed her parents. Lexen, reacting to his mate’s pain, let out a much louder growl. His eyes went a blinding white as he took a step forward. Laous actually flinched back, just a brief reaction that he quickly covered. But we’d all seen it.

“We have a private plane waiting for us,” Chase said.

Laous, once again wearing a confident expression, nodded. “I will be bringing a few of my people with me, so make sure there is room.”

We all had no idea what this special government-Daelighter aircraft was like, but we didn’t argue. They could squish in somewhere. Laous again murmured something to the man at his side, who then turned and hurried away, reappearing a few moments later with three others. The first was a very tall man, with a scarred face. Rao. This had to be Daniel’s brother.

Daniel took a step forward. I could already feel the heat pouring off him. “Rao stays here,” he declared.

Laous shook his head. “Oh no, my son will be coming with us. He’s disappointed me. His betrayal on Hawaii was not expected, and now he cannot be trusted to be away from me.”

Rao did not look up. He didn’t meet Daniel’s eyes—anyone’s eyes. The scars on his face looked quite raw. I’d been under the impression that the burns were old, but … unless the sort of burns he had didn’t really heal, his were fresh.

“Rao…?” Callie’s voice was low, filled with pain. “Has he been hurting you?”

The big man lifted his head just a touch and my eyes grew hot and damp. He looked shattered. Defeated. And somehow he’d still managed to reach out to Colita. Still tried to warn us so we had a plan in place.

“We have to get him back,” Callie said, almost panicked as she lurched forward. Flames burst to life around her, and only Daniel’s hand on her arm stopped her going right through the barrier to Laous.

I blinked a few times, watching the fire dance across her skin without burning her. Holy shit. I was pretty sure there were some things about this world I was never getting used to.

“We will save him,” Daniel said, his words bit out in quiet rasps. I wasn’t sure Laous could hear their conversation, but he looked pleased with himself anyway. Just seeing that he had caused unhappiness was enough for him.

Why were there so many evil people in the world? In all worlds, apparently? I mean, when did it become the norm to expect that your needs trumped millions of others? Who the fuck did this Laous think he was? My hair started to move around my body, like it did sometimes when I lost control of my emotions. Xander noticed straight away, reaching out to brush his hands across the long strands.

“Your hair is definitely a by-product of the ancient energy you carry,” he told me. “Very few Royales’ hair responds to emotions like that.”

If I had been a less mature person, I would have turned and stuck my tongue out at Lettie. See, not completely useless, powerless, and un-Royale.

“Time to go,” Lexen said, striding forward. He touched the barrier and a small opening appeared, large enough for each of us to exit single file. “The barrier stays in place,” he told Laous as we moved closer to him.

The overlord majors pressed close to the other side of the barrier, prepared to help their children if Laous tried anything. There was a heavy layer of tension in the air as we crossed closer, and not just from our side. One of his men started to fumble at his gun, half lifting it, but before he could point it at us, Chase shot out a long branch from his body and snatched it right out of the man’s hands.

Yes, a mutha-effing branch. Tree-shifter.

Noise broke out and Laous threw both of his arms in the air, fire crackling off his fingertips in long plumes. He was either having a lot of trouble controlling his energy, or he was trying to act tougher than he was, but he had power leaking everywhere.

“Enough,” he shouted. “I will be back with the stone very soon. Then the power and money we deserve will be ours. Until then, remain in position. Craig will be in charge while I’m gone. The line of command remains the same after that.”

The noise slowly died down. These men were very used to following orders. Craig reached out and grabbed onto Laous’s arm as we got closer. “Don’t betray us,” he said, his voice loud and clear. “We want what you have promised,” he said.

Laous nodded as he shook him off. “I’m a Daelighter of my word. I will share the power with you. Together, we will rule Earth.”

That surprised me, and I could see I wasn’t the only one. “You only want Earth?” Roland asked from where he was standing right behind the barrier.

Laous nodded. “Yes, the stone is extra powerful here, in a world without any network or true power of its own. This is where I will use it.”