House of Leights (Secret Keepers, #3)(32)
Not a piece of meat in sight, though, which would probably annoy Brad to no end. Except, for once, his focus was not on food. Star, the football tamer, had all of his attention.
I filled my plate, and as I bit into my first strawberry, followed by another, and then more of the fruit, I wondered if maybe this was alien food. Because it tasted so good. Like my senses were firing, and I was enjoying this meal more than any I’d had in a long time.
“So, are we planning on leaving today for Overworld?” Callie asked, having finished her breakfast already. “I think we should try to find the last secret keeper as soon as possible. Laous is going to be coming after Maya; he probably already knows where she is.”
Daniel reached out, draping his arm across the back of her chair, pulling her closer. “We’re waiting for the council to get back to us. Last time we talked to them, they advised us to stay put for another day. They think they have a lead on Laous again.”
Emma snorted, before shaking her head. “The last lead went nowhere. Actually, it almost got us all killed, and it…” She broke off, before clearing her throat. “It did get Marsil killed. I don’t think the council has our best interests at heart.”
Lexen’s face shuttered then; his brother’s death was clearly too raw for him to even think about. But he did take the time to comfort his mate, holding her close to his chest, letting her bury her face against him. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Brad reach out and take Star’s hand. He gave it a quick squeeze before letting go, and I actually thought that a little of the despair lining Star’s features lessened. Her eyes were still drowning in sadness, though.
“We’ll leave at first light tomorrow,” Daniel decided. “The council has that long to deal with their sources. Not a moment more.”
No one else argued, and I was relieved to think that we’d be moving on to the next part of the plan tomorrow. Even if it did mean I would soon be taking a trip to another world.
The rest of the day was way more relaxing than I would have expected from a group being pursued by a homicidal maniac. For most of it, Emma was on the porch daybed, multiple novels spread out around her. After breakfast, I spent a few hours talking fantasy worlds with her. Callie joined in as well, and we switched it up to include favorite television shows and movies. Turned out all of us were into romance and fantasy – we had quite a lot in common.
After lunch, Emma started helping Callie with her reading, and because I didn’t want to be a distraction, I decided to do a little exploring. I wasn’t supposed to go far, but I felt an urge to step off the porch and move toward a pocket of trees close by. When no one called out to stop me, I grew braver, moving under the heavy canopy.
My eyes adjusted almost immediately, and this time, as I stepped between the giants, I let my hands brush across the rough bark and foliage. For once there was no fear of bugs. The normal discomfort I felt in nature was being eclipsed by a soul-deep peace.
When I was completely surrounded by wide trunks, my stomach started to flip and twirl. I slowed, only my head moving as I turned to find Chase.
“Up here.”
His low voice drifted through the trees, and I tilted my head to find him sprawled across on a thick branch, his back against the truck. “Whoa,” I murmured, blinking at how high up he was. He was like thirty feet in the air. “How are you going to get down from there?”
Without warning, he straightened and pushed off from the tree. A scream got caught in my throat as he dropped, my pulse pounding like a jackhammer in my veins. Chase landed with ease, barely making a sound as he straightened. “Not human, remember,” he said with a wink.
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to calm myself down. “I thought you were going to break your neck.”
Chase laughed, throwing his head back just slightly, giving me a glimpse of the dark skin at the base of his throat. My fingers twitched then, like they were going to just reach out and touch him. No! My damn body had a mind of its own at the moment.
Chase took a step closer to me, his laughter dying off to be replaced by an intense look, those green eyes mesmerizing. “Why did you come into the forest?” he asked, still watching me closely. “Yesterday you seemed almost … afraid of the trees.”
It was hard to put into words why I was in here, mostly because I didn’t really understand it myself. “I … don’t really know,” I said. “Ever since you showed me the essence of nature, I’ve been drawn here. It feels right.”
Just like standing with him did.
“It’s getting harder to fight,” I whispered, unsure if I was talking about the trees or Chase this time. Both, really.
He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, a shout rang loudly through the trees. “Maya!”
Startled, I stumbled forward, tripping over an exposed root just in front of my shoes. Chase caught me with ease, holding on for an extended moment before righting me again. The moment our bare skins touched, ripples of energy crossed my skin, bringing all of the hairs to attention on my arms.
Another shout distracted us both. “Maya Anne Lewis, where are you?”
My father seriously had the worst timing known to human and alien.
“I better go to him before he brings in the full force of the American government to search for me,” I murmured, wishing I could just stay in the darkness with Chase.