House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(62)

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Dawn was stealing away the last of the darkness, which at least made it easier to stare out across the pocket of land we were in. I stumbled away from the wall, stepping around my friends—and all Lexen’s holes in the ground—and crossing to the small stream. When I reached the edge of the water, I just went on instinct.

“Legreto,” I mumbled, before I kicked off my shoes.

The moment I stepped into the water, a shock of energy hit me—which I hadn’t been expecting—and I fell to my knees. Water splashed up, soaking me thoroughly.

“Avalon,” Xander called, reaching the edge of the water in about an eighth of a second. “Are you oka—”

His words cut off when he entered the stream. More energy rocked through us both. I cried out as I was slammed forward, my hands stopping me from faceplanting against the rocky bottom of the shallow water.

“It’s in here,” I groaned, pushing myself up. Or attempting to. “Or something powerful is.”

Xander recovered much quicker, lifting me up to his side. My feet were off the ground but still dangling in the water, and the two of us together was enough, apparently, to start the ground shaking.

I was just freaking out that my theory was very wrong, when a fissure appeared just before us, extending about six feet long and two inches wide. A sparkle of blue glinted in the early morning light as a crystal slowly rose to the surface.

Xander didn’t let me go. He held me against him as he reached out and lifted the stone, bringing it toward us. Emotion clogged my throat, and I tried to swallow down the newly formed lump in there. The crystal was so beautiful, colored like the ocean, the blues and greens swirling into each other in an almost mesmerizing pattern.

“It looks like Hawaiian waters,” I choked out, my chest so tight that breathing was painful.

My hand reached for it before I could think the action through. The moment Xander and I were both touching it, a hot, almost sharp pain rocketed through my chest. My body suddenly felt so much larger … filled with life and energy and warmth.

Emotions hit me hard, so many that I couldn’t really filter through them to know what I was feeling.

“What just happened?” I asked, slowly, softly, attempting to swallow the lump in my throat.

I wasn’t the only one asking questions either—our friends were on the edge of the water, shouting at us.

“We bonded,” Xander said hoarsely. The voices died off—either everyone was in shock too or my ears had stopped working. “And not like the secret keepers and overlord bond we already share, but the bond that is a marriage in our world.”

He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of a Royale bonding like this without an overlord blessing the sanction. I was there with my sister....”

“Was it the crystal?” Lexen asked. I blinked in his direction, still trying to figure out what had just happened. I knew what Xander had said, but my mind wasn’t quite ready to accept it. “It contains the energy of ancient overlords, which is more than enough to cement a Royale bond.”

“Your—” I choked. “Your mother is going to kill you,” I managed to finish hoarsely.

Xander just lifted me higher, burying his face into my neck. “I don’t give a fuck,” he all but growled. “Even without the bond, there’s no way I could have let you go. I planned on challenging her for you. I won’t give this up without a fight … I can’t.”

What? Had he just…. What!

What had changed since we were in Royale half a day ago and he all but told me that he could only offer me a few years at best?

Xander let out a low laugh against my neck. “I know what you’re thinking, and I promise you … I mean every word. I might have told you that politics would hold us apart, and at the time I was sure I’d have to choose duty over love. I was prepared to do it as well, because my people mean a lot to me. But then I realized something very important … maybe the moment you swam into the sacred legreto, rainbow hues spreading around your beautiful face. I realized that without you I would not be the sort of leader my people need. You make me care. You make me a better Daelighter. I can’t lead without you.”

I felt too emotional to articulate my feelings, but I had to say something. “Xander, I … I won’t be the reason you fight with your family. The reason you might be forced to step away as overlord.”

The others started murmuring behind us, talking about finding the other crystals. They wandered off, probably to give us some privacy.

“Do you want this bond?” Xander asked me, his blue eyes killing me with their intensity.

I nodded before I even had a chance to really think about it. It was the truth. “More than anything,” I admitted. “It’s been killing me thinking about not having a chance to explore the connection between us. But even with our bond you still have to deal with your mother. She hates me. She’s never going to accept a human as your mate.”

“We will figure it out,” he said, kissing me hard. “But first, let’s deal with the stone and Laous.”

A ricochet of energy rocked him for a moment. We turned to find Callie and Daniel at the huge fire pit, flames dancing high above them, and a glint of crystal at the top of the flames.

“They found the Imperial crystal,” I said.