by Jaymin Eve
Star threw her arms around me, letting out a happy cry. “They found you! Oh, my Heralda, I was so worried.” I returned her hug, allowing myself a moment to rejoice in the fact that there were people in my life to care about now.
When we pulled away, a beautiful guy with crystalline blue eyes, dark hair streaked with gold, and a scar on his face – which only made him more devilishly handsome – stepped in front of me. He wore a perfectly-fitted dark blue suit, open-collar shirt, and shiny dress shoes. He looked like a billionaire playboy, which was only cemented when he opened his mouth.
“Well, hello there, cupcake. Who do we have here?”
Emma snorted. “Her name is Callie, not that I expect you will use it.”
He winked at her before turning his attention back to me. He took my hand, holding it almost intimately. “Jero Darken at your service. I heard Daniel had tied himself to a delectable human, but I have to say, you should leave him immediately and join your soul to mine.”
With a chuckle and shake of my head, I removed my hand from his. “Perfectly happy being an Imperial. Thanks for the offer though, Darken.” Then I mimicked the wink he’d given Emma.
Jero threw his head back and laughed, before he straightened. “I really need to find a human of my own. You’re delightful.”
If Emma rolled her eyes any harder, they’d literally be in the back of her head. “How about step one: remember their names. Step two: stop flirting with everything that breathes. Time to stop hiding the worthy Daelighter you are.”
He just laughed again, crossing his arms. “I’m never changing for any woman, you know that.” He then spread his arms wide open. “Besides, the ladies love me just as I am.”
Emma and I exchanged a look, but before we could laugh in his face, the other guy stepped forward. He was a little shorter than Jero but still taller than me. His face was very masculine, not pretty like his brothers, but there was no denying their similarities. Lexen was a brooding prince, Jero was refined and suave, and this new guy was ruggedly handsome.
“I’m Marsil. It’s really nice to meet you, Callie.”
We shook hands and I marveled at how calm he was. His tone, stance, and manner of speaking was miles from the uber-confident Jero.
“They’re Lexen and Star’s brothers,” Emma explained, even though I’d already figured that out.
“You’re all going in this hunting party?” I asked, looking between them.
Everyone nodded, except Chase.
“You as well?” I said to Star.
She squared her shoulders. “Of course, I’m not letting my brothers go out there without me.”
“Actually…” Marsil interrupted her, “I was thinking that maybe you and I could stay here and help guard the secret keepers. It’s just as important a job, maybe more important. We know Laous has multiple Daelighters working for him, so it’s critical we don’t let him get his hands on the girls again.”
That reminded me of the skin-wearing weirdness, which I’d filled Lexen, Daniel, and Emma in on during our walk here. Who knew how many “suits” Laous had been growing. We’d all have to be careful of strangers.
Star let out a sigh. “I know you’re guilting me into staying.”
Marsil’s full lips twitched, but he shook his head. “I’m Lexen’s admiral major and should be protecting his back, but Father is going … along with all the other overlords. They’ll have plenty of power. It makes more sense for me to stay.”
“I second this notion,” Lexen boomed from his spot, worried gaze locked on his sister.
Star closed her eyes and scrunched her mouth up as she breathed in deeply. “Fine!” she snapped. “I know you’re overprotecting me again, but I do agree it’s important to keep the girls safe, so I’ll stay.”
She stormed away then, stopping to speak with another tall, dark-haired man, who was clearly the daddy of the Darken clan. He looked just like his sons. They all had that same handsome, scary vibe. I wondered what Daniel’s parents had looked like, if he took after his mom or dad.
I felt eyes on me and I twisted my head to the side. My heart jumped at the intensity on Daniel’s face, the sort of look he’d been shooting my way ever since he pulled me out of the tank. His eyes, which had always been sad, broken, and lost, seemed a little different now.
“You won’t lose me,” I murmured, leaning closer to him.
Daniel’s hands tangled in my messy hair, his thumbs caressing up and down my cheeks as we stared at each other. “Don’t get hurt or kidnapped again,” he finally said. “I won’t be able to control myself if you do. And I have a lot of power now that I am the overlord.”
“I’ll keep her safe,” Marsil told him.
Daniel briefly took his eyes off me to give Marsil a nod. “Thank you. If I’m not back soon, you’ll need to return Callie to House of Imperial. Her energy has to be recharged. Right now she’s fine, because we just came from there, and she has been with me, but I’m taking no chances with her.”
“It will be done. Don’t worry about it,” Marsil said.
I made a low, devastated sound. It slipped out before I could stop it. Daniel’s attention immediately returned to me. “You better come back to me,” I murmured fiercely.
“I love you” died on the tip of my tongue again, but I hoped he could see it in my eyes. I’d never said those three words to anyone before, so it felt huge to say them now. And also … it wasn’t the right time. He’d think I was saying it because we were all about to be torn apart again and put in a dangerous situation. Which was definitely not the truth. For now, I’d just have to hope my eyes were telling him how strong my feelings were.
“Come back to me,” I whispered again, and then there was a brief pause before he freed his fingers from my hair to cup my face. This time his kiss was gentle, and a burning started low in my body, but it was soon blazing like a thousand suns inside of me. We both kept it contained, not letting it creep onto our skin. When we pulled apart, my breathing was embarrassingly heavy.
“I have to go,” he said, sounding more than a little annoyed. Next to us, Lexen and Emma were saying their goodbyes, while Jero hugged his sister.
I didn’t like this. It reminded me of the old movies where the women and children sent their men off to war, movies where many of those men never returned. Sobs were building in my chest, but I would not fall apart. I knew Daniel was not doing this just for me – if that was the case, I would be handcuffing myself to him and probably hanging off his leg to make it extra difficult. But this was the same as when I had to walk out of the school … bigger than just one life. It was about saving the treaty that kept two worlds from being destroyed.
I grabbed onto his shirt, tightening my fingers in the soft material so I could pull him closer to me. “Be careful,” I said, wishing that the million other things in my head could be said as easily.
“I will.” He nodded to back up that statement. “If I get a chance, I’ll send a message to Marsil or Chase, but it’s quite hard to connect to Overworld from Earth. So don’t panic if you don’t hear from me.”
Yeah, right. The chances of me not panicking while he was gone were pretty much zero.
With a final brush against my cheek, Daniel turned to join Lexen and Jero. The three crossed to the main group going after Laous. Then they were gone in the transporter.
I almost lost control of my fire power as my worry immediately went into overdrive, but the thought of possibly hurting one of the people around me was enough to halt my flames and give me a sliver of control. I could be strong while Daniel was gone. I would be strong.
Chase stepped closer to us; I had to crane my neck to see his face clearly. He was at least as tall as Daniel, his face billboard advertisement material: perfect bone structure, dark exotic slant to his eyes – which were the color of shimmery green glass, flawless skin in a mix of dark and light … brown, with a slight shimmer.
I thought he was the most “otherworldly” of the four overlord best frien
ds … too beautifully exotic to be real.
“Are you ready to explore the land of Leights?” he asked, a smooth, accented lilt to his words. Holy gods, if I didn’t have Daniel to compare him to, I’d think Chase was the sexiest guy I’d ever seen. Okay, Lexen as well. There was no denying the four overlord best friends were total heartbreakers, but I preferred the one my soul was tied to. The darkness he carried didn’t bother me – it matched my own. The rugged beauty he wore so effortlessly had my body craving him. And more importantly, his care and consideration toward me … from pretty much the first moment we met … was why I considered myself truly blessed.
Come back to me, Daniel.
I was distracted from the heavy thoughts as Chase swung his head toward the land of trees, braids clinking together. I liked the way most of his hair was shorn except for those few longer pieces. It really suited him. His symbols were darker than his skin, but still in the same tone. And they glowed much more brightly.
“Welcome to the House of Leights,” he said, and I focused on the land of trees that spanned out into the distance. I couldn’t see the end. I couldn’t even make out one other landmark, just a single canopy of huge green and gold-tipped leaves. As we took a few more steps closer, I noticed the trunks were not brown but a solid gold. Flaky bark and gnarled whorls gave them a similar appearance to trees from home, but as we stopped right before a massive one – its trunk the width of a truck – I felt the unnatural energy.
I’d always been vitalized by nature, water especially, which was probably why I loved the ocean so much. House of Leights took the normal buzz of nature, multiplied it by a million … and then threw in a few cans of energy drink.
We were on the edge of the platform, huge trees in front of us towering way above our heads, so tall I had to lean right back to see the top. Star and Marsil remained a little behind, allowing Emma and I the first look. We were the newbies here.
Emma’s eyes were wide and filled with wonder and awe. I often forgot that she was an Earthling too. I wasn’t alone with these new experiences.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she murmured. “I never even realized they were so huge. I wish I’d walked over here sooner.”
Chase flashed almost perfect white teeth. Two on the bottom were slightly crooked, but it wasn’t even remotely a flaw. I was just being a picky bitch because he was too much of everything. Dude needed a flaw.
“You’ll have plenty of time now to become acquainted with my land, and if you treat her with respect, she will return the favor.”
This reminded me of what Daniel had said about the trees and Laous. I wanted to know what that meant, so I asked, hoping like heck I wasn’t stepping over the line. Thankfully, Chase didn’t seem offended. He smiled at me, while placing his hand firmly against the golden trunk closest to him. Almost immediately, a literal glow washed over his skin. I thought I saw his body shimmer and grow larger, but when I blinked again he looked like normal-sized Chase.
“They’re called Galinta,” he answered. “An ancient breed of tree folk. Here, the trees are not inanimate beings like yours on Earth. This is their land. We’re just lucky enough that they allow us to share it with them.”
Not inanimate? “They walk?” I asked slowly.
Chase nodded. “Yes, if they want to, they can walk and communicate. They’re ancient creatures, living here long before Daelighters existed on this world. Most of the time they rest, but … not always.”
Emma had a hand over her mouth. Then removed it to say: “This is why your power is connected to nature.” She turned to me. “Leights shift their shape, turning into beings that are very much like the trees here.”
Chase shrugged. “We’re nothing like the Galinta. They are so much more than we could ever hope to be.”
The respect and reverence in his voice, the glow the Galinta still shared with him, it was all very mystical and incredibly emotional to experience. Something inside my tight chest, where the darkness was hovering, waiting to pounce, eased. We were insignificant to these beings, but at the same time, being near them made me feel like I was more, that I could strive further and reach new heights.
Marsil and Star moved forward. “We need to cross into your land now,” Marsil told Chase. “It’s not safe for us to linger out in the open like this.”
Chase turned to the tree and placed his other hand onto it. “We ask for safe passage to the village of Charwin.”
There was a moment’s pause, then a rumble jolted me. At first I thought the platform was shaking, but it turned out to be the trees – Galinta – in front of us. They vibrated hard and fast, leaves drifting down. I fought against the urge to pick one up and see how it felt. Magic trees might possibly be the coolest thing I had seen in Overworld to date.
When I finally lowered my head from watching the leaves fall from above, I choked on my next breath. What in the…? Right in front of me was a large rounded pathway through the canopy.
The branches and boughs had shifted and bent themselves to form the path, which was level with the platform we were on. It was like those wooden bridges that hang over gorges, the ones with the planks and small gaps between each board. The boards in this case were tree branches, so we’d have to watch our steps, but it looked relatively safe.
“Well,” I said with a breathy gasp, “no wonder they think we’ll be safe from Laous here. No one gets in without the blessing of the trees.”
“Exactly.” Star clapped her hands. “I love this land. We only ever came here a few times when I was a child. But it was so much fun. Their houses are built—”
“No spoilers,” Marsil cut her off. “Let them discover it.”
She shut her mouth, a chuckle escaping from between her tightly-pressed lips. Emma and I exchanged a look, and I wondered if I looked as excited as she did. I certainly felt an unusual level of anticipation. I wondered if this was what it was like to be a kid at Christmas. You know, for people who didn’t have a mother like mine. She had refused to celebrate the holiday, calling it a waste of time and money.
“You okay?” Emma asked.
She must have caught my scowl. “Just thinking about my mom,” I admitted. “She’s been on my mind a lot.”
“Do you think she’s actually dead?” Emma’s voice was laced with new pain, and I knew this would be reminding her of the death of her own family.
I kind of nodded and shook my head, before letting it fall to rest on my chest. “Honestly, I don’t know. The part that worries me the most is that I’m upset, but … also okay. I think there might be something wrong with me.”
Like I was a sociopath masquerading as a normal person.
Emma grabbed my hand. Star, who had been listening in from the side, took my other hand. “From the little I know, your mom treated you terribly,” Emma said fiercely. “You might think you have to grieve just because she was your mom, but the truth is, she doesn’t deserve your sorrow.”
“You didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.” Star sounded so sure of this and it made me want to hug her. She thought I was a better person than I actually was.
“No, I didn’t want her to die,” I agreed. “But I did want to be away from her. I dreamed about escaping all the time. And … now I’m free, and it’s … great.”
Besides the almost dying and having my mind wiped part, I’d never actually been happier. Emotions were no longer a thing I would hide from. Numbness was safe, that was for sure, but it was not living.
“You’re a good person, Callie,” Emma said with real emotion. “Don’t take this guilt on. It’s not yours to own.”
Before I could reply with the heartfelt thanks she deserved, Chase stepped into the first part of the trees, startling the three of us. Both girls gave my hands a last squeeze, then released me so we could follow his path. There was enough space for us to walk side by side, but it seemed safer to go one at a time. I decided not to think about my mom anymore, focusing instead on where I was stepping.
&nb
sp; There was a thick canopy above us, which made it really dark. As this darkness grew, my nerves kicked in hard. Reaching out, I gently rubbed my hand across a nearby golden trunk. I was seeking something, reassurance, comfort, the knowledge that I was no longer stuck in my own head.
“Thank you for helping us,” I whispered randomly.
A low thrumming noise echoed through my mind and I almost fell over. I was pretty sure the sounds were words, in another language. The noise had the cadence and tempo of speech, each word filled with wind and melody and multiple voices. I must have squeaked, because Chase was at my side in a moment. He moved amongst these trees with more grace than I’d ever shown just walking on flat ground.
“Is everything okay, Callie?” he asked, green eyes darting around me, searching for a threat.
I patted his arm, my heart rate starting to slow after the shock of the trees talking to me. “Yes, everything is great. I just … I touched the tree and then there were words in my head. Not in English, though, so I guess it could have just been noise.”
“The Galinta spoke to you?” He sounded surprised.
I shrugged. “I … think so.” When he didn’t reply right away, I started to get worried. “Is that bad? Are they going to kill me now?”
Chase shook his head, no hesitation. “Definitely not, it’s a great honor actually. They used to greet all who walked through our land, but the last few decades this occurrence has grown rarer.”
Star nodded. “Yes, they did when I was a child. They sound so beautiful. Like a collective of wind and song.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what it was like.”
I felt calmer now, my fear of the darkness fading away under the knowledge that I had friends around me. And the Galinta. We started to walk again. Chase spent most of his time keeping Emma from falling to her death. That girl was seriously uncoordinated, and she complained the entire time about forced exercise and how it was the bane of her existence. I laughed more than once at her.
“I’m serious,” she told me, trying to stomp her foot, before twisting her ankle and almost dying again. “Gym class in school should be banned. Running for fun should be banned. Squats should be banned.”
