House of Royale (Secret Keepers #4)(79)

I would never have imagined my player of a best friend would fall so hard and fast, but Star had him completely consumed. “I’m really happy for you,” I said, reaching out to grab his hand. He returned my squeeze, his face softening.

“I’m happy for you too, Maiz.”

He went back to his food and I let him be; the bell was going to ring soon. I found Chase leaned back in his chair, silently watching the table.

And me.

Our bond tingled within me; I could feel him in my chest.

“You know,” he said, reaching out to drag my chair closer to him. “If you want to go to college, I will support you all the way. I will be at college with you, and we will have all of the human experiences.”

I tilted my head up to him, desperate to kiss him. He said the sweetest, most considerate things. “I’m not sure it’s the right path,” I admitted. “Part of me wants the experience, but a larger part of me will miss our home. The Galinta. The other Leights. I think that returning to…” I lowered my voice considerably because some students were up here with us now. “Overworld … is the right thing for our future. Besides, I don’t age. I can go to college in fifty years if I feel like it.”

Chase captured my lips, giving me exactly what I wanted. “I love you so much, sayana. Thank you for my life.”

I could never find the right words to tell him how much I loved him. But I was determined to spend the rest of my life showing him. The same way he showed me every single day.





Bonus Scene





Emma





Why in the hell had I suggested we finish up the final weeks of school?

“Come on, you need to run faster than that. This is just the warm-up.”

I glared at the coach as I huffed past. If looks could kill, he’d be so close to death right now. “Exercise is not right,” I spluttered, shaking my head as my wobbly knees almost gave out. “It’s not natural.”

I finally lost the fight with my balance, but before I could hit the deck, strong familiar arms swept around my waist and held me up. “I got you, baby girl,” Lexen drawled, laughter in his voice.

I glared at him too, but only strong enough for a slight injury. “You still haven’t developed the ability to maim with your eyes,” he said, lips tilting up at the corners. “But I love your persistency.”

Dammit. Another unfair thing. Callie got a cool power. Why not me?

With a sigh, I admitted, “I’d probably only abuse it anyway. It’s for the best.”

Lexen actually laughed out loud. It was still my favorite sound in the world. I felt like I had achieved something great when I made him laugh. He must have noticed the way I was looking at him, because the amusement on his face faded away, to be replaced with an expression I knew very well. Fire started low in my body, and I was wondering if maybe I did have some sort of energy in there. How else could Lexen make me burn like this?

We had stopped running now. The rest of the class had gone on ahead with their torture, and the coach knew better than to question Lexen. So no one bothered us.

“Are you happy?” he asked me, hitting me from the left with that random question.

I swallowed hard, unsure if I should be upset. “Um … why are you asking me that?” I finally said. “Do I seem unhappy?”

Lexen shook his head. “No, not at all. But I was reading this book, and they said that you should always check in with those you love. That sometimes … sometimes humans put on a brave face.”

My lips twitched and I tried really hard not to smile. Lexen was a tough guy, scary, but there was this spot deep down that was so caring. I almost couldn’t believe some of the things he had done for me. He showed me that he loved me in a million ways. Reading psychology books on humans to try to understand me better was just one of the latest.

I stepped into him, the tips of our shoes bumping. Tilting my head back, I let all the love I had for him pour out of me. “I am happier than I ever thought I could be. Despite the losses, which still hurt, I am not broken, and that is because of you. You keep me together. You make me.”

It was a very un-modern thing to say, and I didn’t mean that I needed Lexen to be a better woman. Or that I needed Lexen to make me feel okay. I meant that we were two halves of the same whole. I would not be the Emma I was today without him.

“You make me as well,” he said. And that was the part that made it okay.

Together we were whole.