House of Leights (Secret Keepers, #3)(42)

“We left the others behind,” I bit out, not happy about being yanked out of Chase’s arms. And what he’d been saying … I needed to know more. I needed to hear everything. “What if Laous doubles back and captures them?” I’d turn myself over in a heartbeat. I would not leave Chase to die at Laous’ hands.

Emma sent a wonky smile in my direction. Our faces were close enough that I could see the glassiness of her blue eyes. “They’ll be okay. Not only are they formidable opponents that Laous will not want to take on, it seems that the helicopter is focused on following us. The boys will get away. I know it.”

That had better be true, because I needed to know what Chase meant about the trees choosing their mates, and … everything else. I needed to know it all. I refused to think that was the last time I’d feel my stomach jump when he was close by, the last time I drew comfort from his calm presence. I wanted more moments with him. Trees and all.

No one back home would believe this was me. After all of these years being an indoors, dirt-a-phobe chick, I was embracing nature, embracing everything that felt right.

This felt righter than anything else in my life ever had.

Lexen continued to power along, the darkness of his clouds covering us. “Are you sure you’re faster than a helicopter, Lexen Darken?” Callie asked bluntly. “Because I do not want to be eviscerated by some rotors.”

A low deep chuckle was his reply. He sounded confident, though, so that was something. “The hardest part will be making sure no humans see us,” he rumbled. “There are some things the human mind just cannot process. Which means I have to concentrate on keeping this cloud cover around us.”

We all shut up then, letting him focus. He was swift at first, but the longer we flew, the more he slowed. No doubt it was a huge burden for him, carrying all of us and expending energy to keep the clouds around us. At least the helicopter noises didn’t appear to be getting any closer. It was still behind us, though. Which for me was comforting. It meant that Chase was not in Laous’ hands right now.

“We’re over Astoria,” Lexen said, speaking for the first time in a while.

“This town is not going to think anything of dark clouds, at least,” Emma chuckled before sobering up. “Bloody place rains six days out of every seven.”

I couldn’t see the town; there was nothing but black mist under us, but I thought I caught a glimpse of the ocean. Lexen started to drop lower, and as he did the helicopter noise lessened and lessened. Each time we dropped another few feet, we seemed to drift further from those pursuing us. Eventually, the darkness around us eased up, and I could see a street below. “He’s turning around,” Emma cheered, her voice loud. “Because we’re over Daelight Crescent, right?”

Lexen heaved in a deep breath, nodding. “Yes,” he wheezed lightly. “Laous knows we’re stronger here, in our territory. Closer to the transporter.”

Daelight Crescent. I paid closer attention to the street that belonged to the Daelighters. It was pretty. There was no other way to describe it. It looked a lot like the gated street I grew up in – well-maintained rose bushes, perfect roads, mansions … whoa, hold the phone. They were not your average McMansions. More like castles. Lexen was almost on the road now, and I noted the thick white line that ran right down the center of it. As he dropped to a final stop, I released Emma, my arms aching from holding her for so long. Luckily, I’d been sharing the strain with Callie. Poor Lexen, though. He’d had no help.

Turning around, I paused when I saw the side of the road opposite the castles.

“What are they for?” I asked. Everyone turned to see what I was talking about. “They don’t really seem to, uh, fit in with this area.” Understatement of the year. These dwellings were about as far from the mansion side as it was possible to get. Maybe they were like … houses for their staff. Groundskeepers and such.

Emma cleared her throat, turning narrowed eyes on Lexen. He ran a hand across his face, and I noted that he had already changed back to his human form. “Part of the treaty is that humans and Daelighters must integrate,” Emma explained, eyeballing her mate. “They built the ‘poor side’ of Daelight Crescent so that humans would be part of their world, but also not cross over to this side. Apparently, poor people are used to obeying rules blindly.”

“For their own safety,” Lexen protested, only looking mildly contrite. “You all know firsthand the dangers in our world.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “I know you believe that, but there’s a reason you call us grubbers. You think you’re better than us.”

“Never,” he said fiercely. I took a step back because a fierce Lexen was a scary Lexen. “I might have been resentful toward my life here at first, but I have never thought humans were inferior. Just different.” He took her hand and she swallowed hard, her throat visibly moving. “I think humans are amazing, for the most part. I know I’m the lucky one to be part of your life.”

The anger faded from Emma’s face, and her eyes were shiny pools of blue as she blinked up at him. “You just seemed to hate us so much … it’s always worried me.”

Lexen wrapped his arms around her, holding Emma tightly to his chest. Her feet were no longer on the ground, and her eyes were closed as she let out a sigh. He continued to talk to her, his voice too low for me to hear.