by Jaymin Eve
Before I could grow even more pathetic, we hit some turbulence and the entire plane shook and rattled. My insides squeezed together, like my stomach was going to burst out of my body, and I gripped my armrests tightly. I had to close my eyes. I felt the panic rising; this was no time to freak out. Why the hell did people fly when it was so damn dangerous? We were hurtling toward the ground at like forty billion miles an hour, and if for some reason the pilot didn’t land it properly, we were all going to die.
It was a huge risk, seriously!
Warm hands gripped my face, and my eyes flew open instantly. “Xander!” I gasped, instinctively reaching for his forearms so I could hold on to him. “Get back to your seat, this is way too dangerous.”
Xander looked relaxed, even though his eyes were blazing at me. “You underestimate me, Avalon. Nothing can take me down.”
I had to snort out some laughter, even though I was still terrified he was about to be torn in half by the force of us landing. “Your arrogance knows no bounds. How did you even fit your head inside the door to this plane?”
He winked at me. “Arrogance is a human trait. I’m confident.”
I hated to disagree with him; arrogance was definitely a trait Daelighters had in spades. Although, I supposed there was a fine line between arrogance and confidence.
“Hold on,” the pilot announced, before the speaker cut off.
I tightened my grip on Xander, and he pressed in closer to me, like he was shielding me with his own body. “If you get hurt trying to protect me, I am going to kill you,” I warned him, pulling him even closer to me.
He buried his face into my neck, and my head went light and fuzzy. “Thank you,” I heard him whisper. “Thank you for showing me that there is more to Royale than what we are told to be.”
Don’t cry. For fuck’s sake, this guy was destroying me. How could this feeling be so painful and yet also so addictive?
I’d never loved anyone before, I knew that for a fact. Attraction and love were not the same thing. Usually one night was enough to get the attraction part out of my system. But Xander … no time would be long enough. No amount of sex would be enough to lessen my want for him.
The plane’s rattling cut off then, and for a second I wondered if we had landed and I’d missed it in all my Xander musing. No … it still felt like we were descending.
“They descended fast, but they’ll land silently,” Lexen said, from the other side of Emma. “Because we’re now in stealth mode.”
It was all so black ops. For a moment I wondered how the hell this was my life.
Xander leaned back a little; his gaze turned toward the front of the aircraft. “We’re almost down,” he whispered.
I understood why he was whispering; the lights were dimming and there was an air of secrecy washing over the cabin. Laous had his eyes open, and he looked focused. The bitch at his side was whispering something, but he just stared forward, determination in his gaze. Rao’s head was down, and his eyes appeared to be closed. I wasn’t sure if he was sleeping, or if he was just trying to escape reality.
When I couldn’t bear to witness any more of his grief, I turned away, only to find Daniel wearing the same expression, his eyes locked on his brother. Callie was stroking his arm over and over in an attempt to keep him calm. I wondered if Daniel had been like that for the entire flight. I hadn’t noticed, but I’d dozed on and off for parts and missed a lot.
The lights flickered out completely then, and Xander quickly unbuckled the front clasp on my harness, pulling me to my feet. “Stay close,” he whispered.
I did as I was told because there were only a few little lights up high, visibility was almost zero, and I wasn’t keen on being stuck in a dark cabin with Laous. He was all mild and calm right now, but I’d heard the stories. That man was dead on the inside. He’d killed people. He’d kidnapped my friends. He wanted to steal a powerful stone that was keeping my world alive so he could use it for his own personal power and gain.
I fought against the urge to turn around and take my chances at getting in one good throat punch. Seriously. I’d feel so much better. Xander captured my hand before I could put that plan into action, drawing me closer as if he sensed my sudden violent intentions. When we reached the exit, the pilot slid the door open, his face appearing in the half light from the moonlit land outside. He held a finger to his lips, urging us to be quiet, before he leaned in close. “I’ve dropped you a few hundred yards from your coordinates. We have word that there are locals living close by, but if you stay under the radar, you should be fine.”
He stepped back and let us leave. I glanced to the sky quickly, wondering if the other aircraft was closing in on us. Knowing backup was on the way, even if we had to do this next bit on our own, did help stem some of the icy nerves in my gut.
Lexen and Emma were first down the stairs. Laous brought up the rear … well, Rao was the actual last, his head still lowered as he followed silently.
My friends and I formed a tight circle at the bottom of the stairs. “The pilot said he will wait for us unless their cover is blown,” Chase said quietly. “If that’s the case, they’ll take off and disappear above until we need them.”
“Where exactly is the stone?” Laous interrupted our whispers, not even attempting to keep his voice down. He clearly didn’t care if we drew the attention of the locals.
There was an extended pause, and I wondered if maybe everyone was thinking about throat punching him now. “I’ll have to use my phone to track the coordinates,” Lexen said, swiping across the screen. He keyed something into it, and then stared for a moment.
“This way,” he said shortly.
The guys made sure the four of us girls were in the center, keeping Laous as far away as possible. Laous, with his people, strolled along behind us like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Despite the previous warning about the area we were in, there wasn’t anything in the vicinity that was a cause for alarm. The only details clear in the moonlit night were bushes and trees, and what looked like a huge jungle off in the distance. No signs of human life.
The Draygo who had hidden the stone went to a lot of trouble to put it somewhere that was isolated and would hopefully remain isolated for many hundreds of years, considering he had no idea how long the stone would be hidden with us as secret keepers for it.
“How much further?” Laous asked gruffly, a darker emotion bleeding into his words for the first time. He finally sounded frustrated.
Lexen looked at his phone again, moving the screen with his thumb. I wondered if he was deliberately drawing out the moment. Annoying Laous was one of life’s little pleasures.
“We’re getting close,” he eventually said.
Emma leaned toward me, and I lowered my head. “He’s checking in with Astoria,” she breathed into my ear. “We have to stall Laous until we know everyone is safe back there.”
“How much longer?” I asked, trying to be quiet, but failing because I was getting spooked.
Emma shrugged, pulling me down again. “They took out that front group who were without hostages. Our people have taken their place in the hope they’ll trick the other members of Gonzo scattered around. Roland managed to fry their comms, so it’s working so far. Some of the other houses have gotten Daelighters situated around Astoria. So far, we’re looking good.”
My eyes flicked to the side. Laous was about twenty feet away and a little back from us. “Didn’t he say he was keeping in touch?”
“Not sure how he could be,” Emma said. “All of the overlords are blocking the network, and 90 percent of the town is out of cell service. Roland left one small part so he could communicate with Lexen.”
And we hadn’t seen Laous, or any of his people, with a phone. So why was he so unconcerned? It was like he didn’t even care what was happening back in Astoria.
A thought occurred to me. What if he wanted the Daelighters to take out Gonzo and whoever else was helping him? The little I knew of
him, I’d never have guessed he was a guy who liked to share power. Getting rid of them would be in his best interest. Especially if he didn’t need their help any longer. Which had to mean that he was supremely confident he could get the stone from us now, even though he was vastly outnumbered.
But how?
“He’s up to something,” I whispered, keeping my voice down.
Emma nodded rapidly. “I think so as well,” she returned. “We just have to remain on guard, and make sure the stone does not come out of the ground until the town is secure. Then Laous will have nothing to use against us, and we are stronger than him.”
My worry didn’t abate even a fraction. It just didn’t make sense that he would bring only three of his people with him, one being Rao, who was clearly too beaten down to do anything.
We walked on in silence, all of us on high alert. The land grew steadily darker as the night wore on and the moon shifted across the sky. There were still no signs of human inhabitants, but the rustling in the bushes when we had to push through them made it clear animal life was still active in this area.
Lexen’s phone lit up and my attention went immediately to him. Emma gave my arm a squeeze and hurried to his side. I wondered if this was about Astoria and whatever was going on back there. “Stone is twenty yards away now,” Lexen said, loud enough for Laous to hear.
“About damned time,” Laous muttered. “I was afraid you were about to try and screw me out of this deal. And let me tell you, you definitely don’t want to do that.”
He tripped then, and it almost looked like a branch had slid across the ground where he’d been standing. Laous recovered quickly, his head darting around as he tried to figure out what he had fallen over. I saw Maya hide a smile, letting her head drop forward so her dark hair covered her face.
Chase.
I managed not to laugh, even though I really wanted to. It was the little things, seriously. We started to descend, the ground getting quite steep, and by the time Lexen stopped we were in a small gorge, a cliff face on one side and a creek on the other.
For the first time since we’d stepped into this land, there was evidence of humans: a fire pit, huge stones arranged in a circle with half-burned sticks inside. I could feel no heat from it though, and I hoped that meant this was just an occasional camping spot. There were also markings on the side of the wall. Emma went straight for them, her eyes alight.
“Amazing,” she whispered. “It’s like discovering hieroglyphics from an ancient tribe.”
She paused then, leaning closer. “Actually….”
I realized what she’d noticed, and I turned to Xander, lifting some of his blond hair so I could see the marks. He nodded. “Yes, they’re definitely Daelighter symbols.”
Laous regarded the wall, scowling. “Lucky you’re all so diligent in helping me with my task. I never would have found this location otherwise. There are a lot of wards here blocking the network energy, among other things.”
“Guess someone saw your evil ways coming a long time ago,” Callie said, staring daggers at him.
He moved in a flash, reached out to smack her in the face … or maybe grab her; it was hard to tell in the dark. Before he could touch her though, Daniel’s hand shot out and wrapped around Laous’s throat. He lifted the man with almost no effort, throwing him solidly back against the wall with the wardings.
Laous’s people—except Rao—immediately went into attack mode, lashing out with something that flashed brightly in the darkness. Lexen’s hand become a blur of white light; it looked like a path of ice followed the movement of his palm. He intercepted whatever had been thrown at us, sending it shooting off across the water that ran nearby.
“Stop,” Laous shouted, stumbling to his feet. “Let’s just get the damn stone.”
He eyeballed both of his people, sending them a silent message. The woman looked furious, but she backed up without another word, lowering her hands.
“So,” Emma said wryly, breaking the last of the tension. “Anyone bring a shovel?”
Lexen, still looking all muscled up and pissed off, shook his head before sending a half smile toward his mate. “Always underestimating me,” he grumbled, his voice very deep.
The white lights in his eyes were there again. They spread out across his body and down his arms. He grew larger but didn’t do the full shift. His hands started to change first, scales almost completely covering them, which hadn’t happened last time. His fingers curved into long, razor-sharp-looking talons.
“That’s a little more dragon than usual,” Emma said breathlessly, her eyes very wide.
He winked at her but didn’t speak. I wondered if the more dragon he went, the fewer human abilities he had. His phone slipped out of the clawed hand and would have hit the ground if Chase’s branch arm didn’t shoot out and capture it.
It really said a lot about my life recently that my friends were dragons and trees and I barely even blinked when it happened.
“A little closer to the river,” Chase told Lexen, examining the screen.
Lexen took two steps forward, his longer legs crossing the distance to the river in no time.
Chase nodded. “Start there.”
The moonlight didn’t show us a lot of details, but I could certainly hear Lexen tearing up the ground with ease. “What’s the time?” I whispered to Xander. “Is it nearing dawn?”
“Maybe forty minutes until, judging by the feel in air,” he replied, his voice a whisper across my neck.
That low tone immediately brought me back to our afternoon together. He’d whispered words across my skin the entire time we were together. Xander was very open and free with compliments, and at no time had any of them felt fake or cheesy. I had felt beautiful with him, sexy and desirable in a way I never had with any other man. Xander brought out a side in me I didn’t even know was there. Wanton. Needy. Sex-addicted, apparently.
Lexen looked to be about three feet deep now, digging very fast. “I’m not sure this is the right spot,” Callie said, leaning over the hole. “Shouldn’t the stone like … give off a lot of energy if it’s as powerful as rumor says?”
We all leaned in closer, and just like Callie, I didn’t notice a change in energy at all.
“Maybe the wardings block that?” Maya offered.
Lexen continued on for some time—at about ten feet down he gave up, jumping back onto the land in a single powerful leap.
“So, what do we do now?” Emma asked. “Should we just keep digging around here? Maybe the coordinates are a little off because the area has shifted in the years since the Draygo buried the stone?”
No one disagreed with her theory. Lexen moved to another section. For the next twenty minutes, Lexen dug one hole after another, but there was no sign of the stone.
Laous was also growing frustrated. “Do not make me go to war over this,” he said finally, after huffing around for five minutes, staring at the symbols on the wall. “I’m very close to the completion of my plan. I will not let anyone stand in my way.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Maya snapped, and I wasn’t the only one blinking at her. Maya was not really the swearing type. She seemed to be much calmer in general than the rest of us. Her and Chase both. “We’re all here because of you and your bullshit. You’re a selfish asshole, and while I am sympathetic to your childhood, that gives you no excuse for your actions.”
Flames licked up and down Laous’s arms, but he didn’t even seem to notice, his gaze locked on Maya. “I never should have told you that story,” he admitted roughly. “I never expected you to escape and be able to relay that to anyone else.”
Daniel opened his mouth but Laous cut him off before he could speak. “No, nephew, I do not have any interest in your thoughts on it. No one cared when I was locked in hell, and I will never be in that position again. There is only one way to assure that, only one power strong enough to mean I’ll never be truly powerless again. And you have five minutes to find it or I’m going to start killing hu
mans.”
No one immediately piped up and said that he no longer controlled Astoria, which made me wonder if maybe we weren’t 100 percent sure that he didn’t still have hostages there. Or somewhere else we didn’t know about.
Lexen moved to another section of land and started to dig again. His chest was heaving a little, and that was no surprise, considering he’d dug halfway to Australia by now. Needing to move, because I was starting to get sleepy again, I walked back toward the Daelighter symbols on the wall, making sure not to fall into any holes half-hidden in the darkness.
A shadow moved when I was close and I jumped. It was Rao, facing the wall, staring very intently at it, both hands pressed to the rock. I took a step closer, wondering what he was doing.
It looked like he was … tracing the symbols—this guy, who apparently saw the future, was very focused on those symbols. Should we have looked closer at what was written on the wall? Was there a clue there that we had missed?
I stopped about ten feet further along the cliff than Rao.
He didn’t lift his head or acknowledge me in any way, and I made sure to do the same, because drawing Laous’s attention felt like a bad move. I didn’t want this poor guy to suffer any more than he already had.
Rao was still tracing his fingers across the symbols. I reached out to do that same with the ones in front of me. They were scattered across the wall as far as I could see along the cliff, but there were a lot the same. Repeated over and over.
The marks felt familiar to me—no doubt because I’d seen them recently on the overlords’ skin and on the platform between all the houses. Xander’s energy hit me a moment before he stopped at my side.
“What do they mean?” I whispered, continuing to trace one particular pattern that I was most drawn to. It was etched in a deep red clay, baked onto the stone.
“This is legreto,” he said, his hand coming up to rest on top of mine, stopping my almost obsessing rubbing of the top part of the curved shape.
He lifted both of our hands, moving on to another symbol close by. “And this is caramina. The pair represents our people. Royales.”
