House of Royale (Secret Keepers Series Book 4)

by Jaymin Eve

  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.

  14

  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 thought 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.

&n
bsp; “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.

  She greeted her brother with a defeated expression, bowing her head low. He reached out and captured her chin, and in the same instant she had a bubble around her head as well, connecting her to our group.

  “You never bow to me,” Xander said quietly. There was a pause then. “Why is he here, Dawn?”

  I flinched as he said her name, a mixture of love and pain coating each syllable. She shrugged, pulling her face from his hand. “You know I have no choice.”

  Xander shook his head. “You’re wrong. You always have a choice, and I will support you making the right decision.”

  It was that moment Dawn seemed to realize that we could all hear their private conversation, and she straightened, her movements so graceful in the water that it was easy to forget she was actually swimming. “My apologies, you must all be ready to return to dry land … my parents have our pod ready for you … the legreto has been removed. We can be there in no time. If you are agreeable, my mate, Donovan, and cousin, Burton, will help you move faster.”

  She pointed to each of the men who were hovering a few feet away. Xander greeted Burton with a nod, but it was clear he was pointedly ignoring the heavily-muscled mate of his sister. Donovan had strong features and flashing eyes, the sort of eyes that could give a girl nightmares if they were directed at her. The eyes of a predator. His dark hair was cropped close to his skull, his arms decorated in tatted art, as well as two armbands around each impressive bicep. He looked strong … arrogant … very sure of himself. He watched Dawn like she was a possession.

  I didn’t like it.

  He looked at her the same way my old roommate had looked at me.

  My skin crawled at the thought of him touching me, but I didn’t want to cause a fuss. Hopefully I was a fast enough swimmer to not need help.

  Donovan flicked his tail, heading for Dawn, only to veer off at the last second toward me. His mouth opened and bubbles emerged—he was saying something. Xander had not connected him to our channels though, so I couldn’t hear anything.

  My self-protective instincts roared to life as he got even closer, my hands lifting to a defensive position by the time he reached me. Xander cut him off with one arm thrust between us.

  “No!” It was a snap of command from the overlord that had Donovan’s very dark eyes flashing.

  He said something again, bubbles flying around the water, and Xander, who was wedging his way between us, driving Donovan back, said with a growl, “Avalon is mine. You’re not even supposed to be here. We don’t need your kind of help.”

  Donovan’s calm expression faltered for a moment, the monster inside peeking out. I really wished we weren’t getting the one-sided conversation. I wanted to know what he was saying to rile Xander up so much. “You’re no hero to me,” Xander said shortly, before he turned his back. “My family owes you nothing more. You will do well to remember that.”

  “Leave it,” Dawn cried, and when I turned to her, my jaw clenched. She looked … broken, like she just couldn’t give anything more. “We made the deal. Now we must honor it.”

  Xander squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a moment. “I have been honoring it,” he said hoarsely. “I’ve done nothing but honor it, which is why he’s still alive. But … I have my hard limits, Dawn. You’re one of those. I won’t let him hurt you any longer.”

  She crumbled, and I could hear her soft sobs. “If it stops the beast,” she whispered, head still down, “then I can endure it. For our people.”

  Xander let out a roar so guttural that both fear and concern hit me simultaneously. Donovan crossed his arms, leaning back casually. Xander pointed a finger at him. “Leave now, or I will risk the beast. Don’t believe me … fucking try it.”

  Donovan just smiled, like he already knew he’d won. But he was close enough to me that I could see his eyes, and they held a new emotion, buried under his cockiness. Xander scared him.

  He turned, mouthing something over his shoulder before he disappeared into the waters around us. “We need to hurry,” Dawn said when he was gone. “He’s giving me an hour to get back to our pod, so let’s get your friends home.”

  Xander’s fists were opening and closing, over and over, and my craving to comfort him was strong. But … I was not his mate. He did not want that role filled by me, and I would have to respect his wishes on that.

  Lexen moved closer, one of his hands gliding through the water to land on his best friend’s shoulder. They had some kind of silent communication—I heard nothing, but their eyes were definitely talking—and Xander calmed slightly. He turned then, capturing my gaze. I tried the same silent conversation … Are you okay?

  He gritted his teeth, shaking his head once. I hated that I couldn’t ask him more without everyone else knowing. I’d just have to try again later. He got back to business quickly.

  “Okay, let’s group up. One Royale to two non-caramina. Avalon should be able to keep up on her own.”

  Xander linked arms with Emma and Lexen. Dawn took Maya and Chase. Burton ended up with Callie and Daniel. I noticed that bubbles were surrounding Xander’s legs as they morphed into his tail, and I prepared myself for some speed. Finally.

  When they took off, I released my inner water child, following close behind. My blood bubbled, my soul soared, my heart felt lighter as we dashed through the water. Sea creatures joined us in the same way they always did back home, and I marveled at how many were similar. There were gorgeous animals that moved like dolphins, long and sleek. They had very short rostrums and were a bright turquoise in color, blending into the water around them.

  A few others were of the scary variety, but I noticed Xander keeping an eye on things, sending out little blasts of red-tinged water if any got too close. We passed by a few more smaller towns as we went, filled with pods and coral gardens. It even looked like there were playgrounds for the young, built from a multitude of materials. It was literally like we’d stumbled into the set of a fantasy movie.

  But it was very real.

  When the next giant pod came into view, I noticed a definite increase in guards. They lined the entrance, which was again barred with huge gates.

  “Home,” Xander said simply as half a dozen weapon-wielding Royales rushed to open the gates for us.

  Once we were inside that perimeter, our pace slowed down. I was almost disappointed to slow, exhilarated from the race across the waters of Royale. The density should have made it harder to move forward at speed, but I’d adjusted
easily. I would even go so far as to say I moved even faster here than back in Hawaii. Home. The whisper of that word just wouldn’t leave me alone. I would always be torn between two worlds.

  On the bright side though, two homes wasn’t the worst thing to have in one’s life. No home would always win that prize for me.

  15

  Burton left us when we reached the front chamber of the biggest pod I’d seen since we’d dived into the waters of Royale. Dawn and Xander led us through an arched doorway and into the front sectioned-off area. With a whir, the door closed behind us, and there were gurgles as the water slowly drained away. Within a minute we were all standing, dry as we had been before we entered the water.

  It felt weird to be back on “land,” and my legs shook for a beat before my equilibrium returned. There was no movement in the pod, despite being under the water. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn we were on land.

  “Come on,” Dawn said, her voice more melodic when it wasn’t being filtered through the water. “Our parents are waiting for you.”

  Doors whooshed open, and we stepped into a long hallway. Art hung along the wood-paneled walls. Carpet covered the floor. “We never go underwater here,” she explained, leading the way. “This front section is always dry, but it’s best not to open any doors unless you’re sure of what is on the other side.”

  That was good information for the others, but personally I was already missing the water.

  The hallway opened up into a huge, gorgeously attired room. Definitely fit for royalty. The carpet was a very pale shade of green, and most of the furniture was white. Huge pieces of art adorned the walls between glass panels that showcased a view of the water around us. “It’s perfect,” I breathed.

  I’d thought I’d said it low enough that no one would hear, but across the room Xander’s head snapped up. His eyes were burning, and it was nearly impossible for me to tell what emotion that was. Arousal, anger, fear, worry … they were all tangled together.