by Jaymin Eve
Lexen pulled her close, hugging her tightly. “You’ve helped immensely,” he said, as he pulled back. “We know where Laous is now … we’re prepared.”
Colita straightened, purpose and determination filling her. The fear and panic that had been defining her features faded. “You won’t do it alone either.” Her voice thundered. “The council will rally the houses, and all of our warriors. While you’re off finding the location of the stone, we’ll be making sure that you can make it through Astoria.”
She kissed Lexen on both cheeks, as well as Emma, bade the rest of us farewell, and rushed from the room as quickly as she had arrived.
“Before we discuss this possible battle situation,” Maya cut in when Colita was gone. “What did you learn from the Draygo? Did you find him?”
Lexen and Emma moved closer, tightening our circle. When Lexen started to speak, it was in a hushed voice. “We didn’t find him, the one who was there when the secret keepers were born, the one who hid the stone. But we did chat with a relative of his.”
“Lexen had to go full-on dragon hybrid mode before any of them would talk to him,” Emma cut in, her voice wavering. “I mean, I thought Lex was scary when he dragoned out, but this group was … very animalistic.”
Lexen rumbled, acting very animalistic himself right then. “I shouldn’t have taken Emma. There was probably more information I could have gotten from them, but my instinct was to get Emma away from their threat. So I didn’t stick around. Thankfully, Qenita was there, keeping an eye on her for me.”
Emma pursed her lips, and we could all tell she had not been happy about being swept to the side by his dragon.
“There were a few there who knew of the Draygo I sought,” Lexen continued. “They said he moved to another sector in Overworld. I’m not sure I believe that, because it’s never been done before, but it would explain why no one has ever crossed paths with him.”
Chase let out a low breath. “So, dead lead, basically?”
Lexen shrugged. “Yes … and no. While we didn’t get the information about the starslight stone’s location, I did find out a little about the reason for our bond, which was one of the main questions I had for him. Turns out that when the first secret keepers were born here, the bond was done just through a basic energy sharing technique through the network. This connected the four in the chain, and they received Daelighter energy for longevity. The Draygo thought this would be enough. But they didn’t have as close a connection to Overworld as he hoped.”
“Why did they want them to have a close connection to Overworld?” I asked. “Was it important in the location of the stone?”
Lexen nodded. “Yes. While they had a connection to each other, and they had some of our energy, none of them would have actually led to the stone. They weren’t bonded to it. Or to Overworld. This wasn’t discovered until Callie’s father died.”
“So … what happened?” Daniel asked. “Why are our girls different?”
Emma picked up the story. “The Draygo used the actual stone with us, and this time, when he performed the birth ceremonies for the four of us, he did things differently. He not only placed the stone in the legreto we were born in—”
“But also the crystals of the ancient overlords,” Lexen added quickly. “He believed this was the way to tie the girls not only to the stone, but also to the four houses.”
Chase let out a surprised huff. “That’s why their energy feels like the ancients’. The Draygo basically tied each of the girls to the overlord family. To our energy.”
“And our bonds were formed,” Callie breathed. “Could it be as simple as that? The overlord energy you all possess recognizes the overlord energy we possess?”
Daniel pulled her into him, his eyes burning. “It makes you our perfect matches, and I have to say, fate chose very well.”
Callie snorted. “Always with the fate thing.”
I noticed she didn’t argue about the perfect match part, and I tried really hard not to look at Xander. It definitely explained why I felt so closely tied to the water, why I had the extra abilities that allowed me to be like House of Royale members.
We had ancient overlord energy from the crystals that had originally blessed each house. Our DNA, which at one point had been fully human, was now mutated.
“As much as this additional information is helpful,” Xander said. “It doesn’t change our current task. We need to continue on. As Colita said, we don’t have much time.”
“My parents already have our warriors ready,” Chase said smoothly. “The council will find no issue there.”
“A few of the leaders in House of Imperial have requested to not be involved,” Daniel said shortly. “Mostly because we never concern ourselves with anything other than our own issues. I informed them that this was going to change from now on. We will be united with the other four houses. So, Imperial will be there or they will find out how much power an overlord wields.”
Energy thundered from him, sounding like the roar of flames. The room also got a lot hotter until Callie placed a hand on his arm. She whispered something I couldn’t hear, and he immediately started to calm.
“Darken is definitely in,” Lexen said when the tension was gone. He shifted his focus to Xander. “Royale?”
Xander nodded. “Yep, you know we’d never leave our allies to fight without us. Colita will be able to quickly gather numbers. We’ve all been prepping for this for months now.”
“We just need to find the map first,” I reminded them, very aware that somewhere on my body—if Chase was right—there was a map of the starslight stone’s location. We weren’t going anywhere until we got that.
Xander lifted himself up from where he was resting against the long table. “Let’s get back to the center platform. That’s the best place for me to help you all be able to survive in Royale.”
Callie clapped her hands together. It was so unlike her normal calm demeanor that I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what happened.
“I have always wanted to be a mermaid,” she said, almost breathless. “This is a dream come true.”
You and me both, sister. You and me both.
Xander met my gaze then and I couldn’t help the broad smile that spread across my face.
“Are you ready to go home?” he asked, and I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that my chest tightened at his question. It felt … intimate. Maybe it was just that we’d been naked an hour ago, but home was such a huge concept, especially for someone who’d never really had one.
“I’m so ready,” I finally said. “I’ve been dreaming about a world where I could live under the water since I was old enough to swim.”
He held out a hand for me and I blinked at it. So much for keeping the relationship a secret. No one said anything though, and I didn’t hesitate to place my palm against his. We were going on an adventure and I had literally never been more ready.
By the time we took the transporter back to the main platform, I was jittering on the spot like I’d had ten energy drinks. The eight of us stood across the edge of the platform. Below us were the waters of Royale. It wasn’t like the ocean in Hawaii. There were no waves outside of the small movements from whatever was going on below. Far out, it looked like something broke the water line, rocks maybe—I couldn’t tell what it was from this distance.
My skin felt tight, like I’d been out of the water too long and it was starting to dry out. “The legreto here is a little different to water,” Xander explained as we all ditched our shoes and any extra pieces of clothing. “It has tiny bubbles throughout it that allows us to stay under indefinitely—we can filter the water and oxygen through our lungs. For the rest of you, though, you’re going to need a little extra help.”
He lowered his hands, and with barely a flick of his wrist, an entire plume of water shot up into the air, hovering at Xander’s side. He stepped up to Lexen, who remained relaxed, despite a torrent of water circling around him. Something told me th
e Darken overlord knew exactly what the extra help entailed.
“The key is to relax. Don’t fight it,” Xander said as he lifted his hands, placing them close to either side of Lexen’s head. He didn’t touch his friend, but there was not much space between them.
The water slowly trickled up in the gap between Lexen’s face and Xander’s hands, forming a bubble covering Lexen’s head entirely. When Xander stepped back, I realized I couldn’t see Lexen at all, his face obscured by the water swirling around his head.
“It’s like the exprendo channel,” Xander said as he moved toward Emma. “But this is an exo-exprendo bubble. They filter the oxygen in the water for you and are superstrong—woven more tightly so you can’t break through it easily. I don’t want you all to accidentally bust through it when we go deep.”
Emma looked nervous, swallowing roughly, but she didn’t stop him.
By the time Xander had gone down the row, the water he’d drawn from the House of Royale was almost gone. I was the last one. He paused in front of me, his expression intense. “They can’t see or hear us clearly right now,” he murmured.
He leaned in closer, and I closed my eyes as his lips gently brushed across mine. “Are you ready?” he murmured against my mouth.
“Yes,” I said with urgency. “I’ve been ready for this since I was born.”
He nodded. “Yes, you have.”
He stepped back, his hands cupping my face briefly, before he pulled them back to allow the cool water to wash over my cheeks. There was a decent gap between the bubble and my head, and I immediately understood what he meant about limited vision and hearing. When fully covered, I could only make out some shadows and muffled sounds.
I was just wondering how we knew to go in the water, when my feet were swept out from under me and I found myself being tossed into the air. I would have screamed, but it was over too quickly, water closing over my feet as I sank below.
The moment my head went under, the bubble turned translucent. “I’ve linked the bubbles,” Xander said, his voice echoing, “so we can chat to each other. The water takes your message, so it’s a little slower than normal speech. Be patient.”
“Best freaking day ever,” Callie exclaimed a beat later. “This is a dream come true.”
Daniel’s low chuckle reached us all, and I realized that we would all have far less privacy than normal. We were going to hear everything everyone said, even if it was whispered. I’d have to remember that.
“Is everyone a strong swimmer?” Xander asked abruptly. “I should have asked that earlier. I tend to forget that not everyone is born swimming.”
“I’m not,” Callie replied.
“I have her,” Daniel said a moment later. “I’ll keep her safe.”
“Everyone else okay?” I asked, prepared to help if needed.
There was a bunch of yeses, and it was hard to differentiate them, but no one had said no, so it didn’t really matter.
“Stay close to me,” Xander said as he turned in the water, facing away from the platform and the wall that descended into the depths below. “There are predators in these legretos, and while we have an accord with them, they’re still hunters.”
He’d mentioned the meglam being like a shark, and while I’d love to see one, I also really hoped we didn’t. They sounded scarier than the sharks I was used to.
We all moved toward him, my heart doing happy little twirls in my chest as we swam further into the well-lit world. Being back in the water was the best feeling ever. As we got deeper, the light did not wane. It was almost like the water itself was filled with light.
“This is incredible,” Callie said, her voice bursting with emotion. “I’m actually swimming.”
She sounded like she was going to cry, which made me want to cry. What an incredible experience for her, especially since the molecular structure of the water here appeared to make swimming easier than normal. When I stopped moving, for example, I didn’t sink. I could stay in the same spot with little to no effort. These were the best waters for inexperienced swimmers.
“There are multiple pods and villages under here,” Xander said as we continued deeper into his world. “The first one we will cross through is Spectra. This is our gateway sector, where the strongest reside. The first barrier to outsiders.”
My swimming picked up pace. I was desperate to see the first village in Royale. Xander reached out and captured my hand just as I was about to dash past him. “Slow,” he said. “You’re not going to miss anything.”
I expected him to let me go then, but he didn’t. We just swam together, hand in hand.
And it was really freaking nice.
“You kept your legs,” I noted, very aware that everyone could hear us.
A moment later his chuckle echoed through my bubble. “Yeah, I don’t really need the speed or strength of the tail at the moment.”
My next words died on my tongue as the outer boundary of Spectra came into view.
Chapter 15
The first barrier was literally a barrier. The iron-looking fence with spikes across the top extended out on either side. It went deeper than I could see and ran right up to the top of the water. I was pretty sure this was the break in the smooth water line that I’d seen from above.
“No one enters our villages without permission,” Xander explained as he turned to lead us along the bars. “This barrier extends far into the sky, even though you can’t see it.”
Ah, it must be invisible above or something. Very clever.
I found myself examining it closer as we moved along it. It should have been ugly, such a dark, modern piece clashing with the beautiful fantasy setting. But it wasn’t—the iron was mostly covered in what looked like coral and seaweed, creating colorful art. No two panels looked the same.
I was so enthralled by what I was seeing, I missed the gate until we were pretty much right at it. When Xander touched his hands to the center of the panels, they slid back along the lines of the barrier and allowed us entry.
“Overlords get all the special powers,” he joked.
It was in that very moment, as he drew me along with him, my hand still firmly encased by his much larger one, that the scope of who he truly was hit me. Sure, the concept of him being a prince and ruling a land was not lost on me. I’d understood it from the first moment I heard of his lineage. And as a human living not-under-a-rock, I’d seen the royal couples on television multiple times. They were important people, I got that, even though they were mostly just figureheads.
But here, Xander had literal power. He could control water. Command metal to open. He had warriors at his disposal, if previous conversations were anything to go on.
No wonder he wasn’t interested in anything long-term, despite the fact we might be fated to be together. He was probably looking for his equal … another Daelighter who would match him. I might be more skilled than a human, but I had nothing close to Xander.
The maudlin turn my thoughts had taken was pushed aside when we entered the village. It was structured much the same way all towns were, except for a few differences. Here, the houses were long and cylindrical, all different sizes. A lot of them were connected, spanning out in street-like formations.
“Think of them like telephone lines,” Xander explained, noticing my curiosity. “The lines of communication extend between all the chambers, and if you want to contact anyone, you can.”
“There’s no water inside the pods?” Emma asked as she swam a little closer to peer inside one of the round, opaque sections. Lexen stopped her before she pressed her face to it.
“You have the choice to drain or fill your pod,” Lexen explained, drawing Emma back into the group. “You’ll find that some here identify closer with the caramina side, and others with the land dwellers.”
I turned to find Emma nodding, her expression contemplative. “That makes sense. Genetics are interesting, the way they can vary so greatly.”
I could sleep in one of those. The though
t hit me so hard that I actually jolted, knocking my hand out of Xander’s. He was right at my side in an instant. “What?” he demanded, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me closer. “What happened?”
I swallowed roughly. “These pods … I could sleep under the water.”
He relaxed, tucking away the fierce warrior that was hidden under the surface of his devil-may-care attitude. “Yes,” he said simply. He held me for a beat longer than I expected him to before he let go ... of everything except my hand.
We didn’t see our first inhabitant until we were deep into Spectra. A line of warriors swam past us at rapid speed, stopping only to salute and bow to their overlord minor. They bore a multitude of weapons, including razor-sharp spears.
There were a lot of sea creatures dashing about as well.
“We sleep on different schedules to most of Overworld,” Xander said when Callie asked where all the civilians were. “Right now, it’s very early morning here. The guard shift just changed, which is why they’re moving about.”
By the time we exited Spectra—it was a mile or so long, filled with hundreds of pods—my body was thrumming with the need to go fast. Xander must have felt the same way, because he said, “I’ve called for my cousin and sister to help us get to the overlord village. We don’t have time to waste.”
“That’s the waters where Ava was born?” Maya asked.
“Yes,” he said immediately. “There’s a direct current there from the mountains of Darken, from the sacred legreto. If anything will reveal the map, it’s this location.”
With my advanced underwater eyesight, I saw Xander’s family coming from a long way away. There were three of them, and the moment they came into sight, his entire demeanor changed. Anger filled his expression; his fists clenched tightly. I jerked my hand back because he was pulling on my scar tissue. That movement seemed to remind him of where he was. Sorry, he mouthed to me, and I nodded, because it was fine. It hadn’t really hurt.
The first one to reach us was his sister. I guessed that based only on the fact that she was the only chick. She was beautiful, like her brother. Same blond hair, only hers was in a braid to her waist, the strands shimmering with rainbow hues. Her top half was lithe, clad in a tight white wrap around her breasts. Her bottom half was the tail, water bubbling around it, hiding most detail from view.
