by Jaymin Eve
The caramina symbol looked like a continuation of the legreto symbol, flowing lines reaching for each other between the two. Like … they should be joined, not separate.
“What symbols are for the other houses?” I asked. “Do they all have specific symbols like Royale?”
Xander nodded, lifting his hands up to a dark ocher pair. “This is Leights. They have the Galinta’s symbols.” He traced the first, then moved to another close by. “This one is to symbolize their bond to the tree gods.”
They had two symbols as well, and just like Royale they were intersected with each other. Two parts forming one whole.
“That is Imperial,” a deep voice said from close by. I turned to find Daniel pointing toward the wall. Two symbols were there, their color in shades of blue. One was a flame, the other like a swirling staircase. “The justices and our energy from below.”
“Which leaves Darken,” I murmured, my eyes resting on the final two symbols in this part of the wall. “Theirs looks like a mountain, and the other is slashes of lightning.”
I noticed something, when I leaned back to see all eight marks together. “Your symbols … there’s symmetry here. Like what we have in our group,” I whispered. “Eight marks, eight of us. Each symbol blends into the next, and doesn’t it look to all of you like the eight of these could link together to form a single image?” I kept seeing the lines and swirls linking to each other, and it all looked similar to me.
Xander and Daniel wore confused expressions as they stepped closer, and then further back to see the entire wall.
“The eight are not supposed to be one,” Daniel said, tilting his head. “Our houses are not that closely bound.”
“But they were,” I reminded them. “You said the original overlords were leaders of a single house. House of Daelighter.”
“Could this be a part of our history lost?” Xander murmured. He pulled his focus from the wall, searching the ground, leaning down to forage through the stones and dirt. When he rose, he held a white piece of rock. He placed it on the wall, close to where the symbols were, and began to sketch. He started with House of Royale, and this time he drew them all close together, joining the lines instead of leaving gaps.
“There,” I said, pointing to where I thought Imperial should go.
He looked for a second, and then nodded. A few times it didn’t fit, but once the first five were in place, the rest became very clear.
By the time he was finished, the others had drifted over to us—except Lexen, who was still digging, and Laous, who was not leaving the dragon dude’s side.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Daniel said, staring.
The symbols did all fit together, and no one had noticed before now because the houses normally had very little to do with each other. They did not draw their marks together.
“I think this is the reason we can’t find the stone,” I told them. “The Draygo clearly knew there was no safer security measure than forcing the four houses to work together. That only the eight of us, who are bonded for the first time in their history, would be able to do it.”
Maya was bouncing on her toes. “Like the secret keepers led to the location, but all houses are needed to find the stone.”
“How though?” Chase asked, his hand resting on the rock wall. “I can’t feel any energy. What do we do with the symbol now?”
“What if we needed those crystals?” I asked. “The ones with energy from the ancients?” From the time the four houses were joined as one.
Xander shook his head. “No one has seen them in years, not since…”
“We were born?” I guessed.
He blinked a few times, nodding. “Actually … yes. Shit. I’m not sure anyone put that information together, because of the year timespan between your births. I remember seeing the crystal as a child. Mother used to keep it in a special glass on the mantel.”
Chase nodded. “Ours was embedded in an old Galinta, sitting in the center of our land. Stories say it’s the first. I haven’t visited there since I was very young … the stone could definitely be gone.”
“They’re here,” I decided, bursts of excitement filling me. “We need to find the crystals first, and then we’ll find the starslight.”
I don’t know how I knew that, but everything inside of me was urging me to follow this path. We just had to figure out where the crystals were.
20
Dawn was stealing away the last of the darkness, which at least made it easier to stare out across the pocket of land we were in. I stumbled away from the wall, stepping around my friends—and all Lexen’s holes in the ground—and crossing to the small stream. When I reached the edge of the water, I just went on instinct.
“Legreto,” I mumbled, before I kicked off my shoes.
The moment I stepped into the water, a shock of energy hit me—which I hadn’t been expecting—and I fell to my knees. Water splashed up, soaking me thoroughly.
“Avalon,” Xander called, reaching the edge of the water in about an eighth of a second. “Are you oka—”
His words cut off when he entered the stream. More energy rocked through us both. I cried out as I was slammed forward, my hands stopping me from faceplanting against the rocky bottom of the shallow water.
“It’s in here,” I groaned, pushing myself up. Or attempting to. “Or something powerful is.”
Xander recovered much quicker, lifting me up to his side. My feet were off the ground but still dangling in the water, and the two of us together was enough, apparently, to start the ground shaking.
I was just freaking out that my theory was very wrong, when a fissure appeared just before us, extending about six feet long and two inches wide. A sparkle of blue glinted in the early morning light as a crystal slowly rose to the surface.
Xander didn’t let me go. He held me against him as he reached out and lifted the stone, bringing it toward us. Emotion clogged my throat, and I tried to swallow down the newly formed lump in there. The crystal was so beautiful, colored like the ocean, the blues and greens swirling into each other in an almost mesmerizing pattern.
“It looks like Hawaiian waters,” I choked out, my chest so tight that breathing was painful.
My hand reached for it before I could think the action through. The moment Xander and I were both touching it, a hot, almost sharp pain rocketed through my chest. My body suddenly felt so much larger … filled with life and energy and warmth.
Emotions hit me hard, so many that I couldn’t really filter through them to know what I was feeling.
“What just happened?” I asked, slowly, softly, attempting to swallow the lump in my throat.
I wasn’t the only one asking questions either—our friends were on the edge of the water, shouting at us.
“We bonded,” Xander said hoarsely. The voices died off—either everyone was in shock too or my ears had stopped working. “And not like the secret keepers and overlord bond we already share, but the bond that is a marriage in our world.”
He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of a Royale bonding like this without an overlord blessing the sanction. I was there with my sister....”
“Was it the crystal?” Lexen asked. I blinked in his direction, still trying to figure out what had just happened. I knew what Xander had said, but my mind wasn’t quite ready to accept it. “It contains the energy of ancient overlords, which is more than enough to cement a Royale bond.”
“Your—” I choked. “Your mother is going to kill you,” I managed to finish hoarsely.
Xander just lifted me higher, burying his face into my neck. “I don’t give a fuck,” he all but growled. “Even without the bond, there’s no way I could have let you go. I planned on challenging her for you. I won’t give this up without a fight … I can’t.”
What? Had he just…. What!
What had changed since we were in Royale half a day ago and he all but told me that he could only offer me a few years at best?
Xander let out a low l
augh against my neck. “I know what you’re thinking, and I promise you … I mean every word. I might have told you that politics would hold us apart, and at the time I was sure I’d have to choose duty over love. I was prepared to do it as well, because my people mean a lot to me. But then I realized something very important … maybe the moment you swam into the sacred legreto, rainbow hues spreading around your beautiful face. I realized that without you I would not be the sort of leader my people need. You make me care. You make me a better Daelighter. I can’t lead without you.”
I felt too emotional to articulate my feelings, but I had to say something. “Xander, I … I won’t be the reason you fight with your family. The reason you might be forced to step away as overlord.”
The others started murmuring behind us, talking about finding the other crystals. They wandered off, probably to give us some privacy.
“Do you want this bond?” Xander asked me, his blue eyes killing me with their intensity.
I nodded before I even had a chance to really think about it. It was the truth. “More than anything,” I admitted. “It’s been killing me thinking about not having a chance to explore the connection between us. But even with our bond you still have to deal with your mother. She hates me. She’s never going to accept a human as your mate.”
“We will figure it out,” he said, kissing me hard. “But first, let’s deal with the stone and Laous.”
A ricochet of energy rocked him for a moment. We turned to find Callie and Daniel at the huge fire pit, flames dancing high above them, and a glint of crystal at the top of the flames.
“They found the Imperial crystal,” I said.
Xander did not let me go, wading us back toward the land. When we stepped up, I pulled my hand back. We held the crystal together.
“The fact you want to fight for us means everything to me,” I told him honestly. “If it doesn’t work out, if this is all I get with you, I don’t regret our short time together. Or this bond. I’m honored that fate decided to put you in my life.”
My voice cracked. I bit my lip to keep the tears from falling. “I’m pretty sure I’ve half loved you from the first time you arrogantly ordered me out of the water. You make me … feel.” The damp heat in my eyes was too much. I felt the moisture slide down my cheeks.
Xander finally let me down so he could cup my face with both hands. “You are perfect,” he told me. “I will fix this.”
Someone shouted before I could reply. We turned to find everyone near the wall of symbols, three crystals visible in their hands.
“We found them all,” Emma said.
“Now get my damn stone,” Laous roared from behind the group. Flames burst up, visible over Lexen’s head. “I have waited long enough. Find the starslight stone, and just know, I’m taking the crystals as well. Extra payment for keeping me waiting so long.”
“He’s losing it,” Xander murmured. “We don’t have a lot of mental illness in Overworld. The network keeps us all in balance, but for those who do travel down that path, it can be very dangerous. Especially for someone in the overlord bloodlines. The power inside of us becomes unpredictable. We can’t control it.”
That sounded scary. Didn’t we already have enough scary going on right now?
Focused again on our task, no one argued with Laous. We didn’t plan on letting him have any of the stones, but he didn’t need to know that. The eight of us moved toward the wall, each of us holding our crystals.
Flames erupted to the side of us and we swung around to find Laous completely on fire, his people on either side of him standing as close as they could get without burning. “Find my stone,” he said. There was no inflection in his voice at all, which made it scarier.
I exchanged a look with Xander. “Any idea what we do now?”
Callie, still watching Laous’s out of control fire closely, said, “Maybe something to do with the symbols?”
We were already near the wall, so I reached out and put my hand against it. Xander placed his next to mine. The others followed our actions. “We should touch as well,” Chase suggested, shuffling in closer from the side. Everyone moved so that our arms and bodies touched while our hands remained against the wall.
Energy, like we’d felt the first time the secret keepers had connected, flared to life between the eight of us. “Holy shite,” Maya gasped. “It’s strong.”
The stone in Xander’s hand started to vibrate. It sent out a low-pitched sound that appeared to be making the ground we stood on vibrate as well.
“The wall is changing,” Emma said in a rush.
Focusing all of my attention on the symbols, I noticed five small indents in the wall now, between our symbols, deep enough for us to insert our crystals. Xander and I didn’t wait. Laous’s fire was even bigger than before; he had run out of patience.
Lifting our joined hands we shoved our crystal into the rock, and even though the hole hadn’t looked that deep, the entire crystal disappeared completely. I tried not to freak out, hoping we’d just done the right thing.
The moment the Royale symbols started to swirl, the others hurried to do the same with their crystals.
“What’s the fifth hole for?” Callie asked, peering into it like it was a peephole.
No one said anything, all of us wondering what we’d missed, until Emma moved forward. Her hand reaching for the neckline of her shirt. She lifted out a chain with a stone on the end.
“You think…?” Callie asked, trailing off as Emma undid her chain and slipped the stone off. A wistful expression crossed her face as she placed this last piece of stone in the center of the others, and it too disappeared into the rock.
“That’s a piece of starslight,” Xander told me. “A piece from the very stone we’re looking for.”
“My parents gave it to me,” Emma added sadly.
The moment her stone disappeared, the ground rumbled strongly, and we all took a step back. Except for Laous, who was apparently beyond rational thought at this stage; even his minions were stepping back. I couldn’t even see Rao. Hopefully he had taken this chance to escape.
“Yes!” Laous shouted, and I turned to find the wall opening before us. Literally.
The gap was about two people wide. It extended all the way to the very top of the cliff face. Laous rushed forward, but he was slammed back at the entrance, almost like there was an invisible net over it.
Springing to his feet, he swung around on us. “More layers of security. I would really like to kill that Draygo now.”
“Looks like you need the secret keepers again,” Callie drawled. “Bet you’re glad you didn’t manage to kill me.” She shot him a sardonic grin. “You owe Daniel some flowers.”
Laous regarded her with his dead, hooded eyes. “Get me my stone and I’ll send you an entire garden.”
Callie narrowed her eyes on him but didn’t choose to engage again.
“Let’s do this,” I said in a rush, moving forward. I was ready for it all to be over.
Xander wouldn’t let me go first, of course, and we had a silent argument. Finally, I conceded, because he was a stubborn bastard. “Don’t get used to it, though,” I hissed as he gently moved me back. “We do this shit together.”
He just grinned at me, happy to have gotten his own way, only to find that he bounced right out of the entrance as well. I snorted with laughter, and his grin turned into a furrowed brow. “Let me try,” I suggested.
Stepping toward the entrance, I held my breath, waiting for my face to smash into whatever invisible barrier was there. Except I sailed right through, into the narrow and dark cave beyond.
“Secret keepers only,” I said as I spun around. My brow furrowed as I looked at the worried expressions of the overlords. I wasn’t sure why they were so stressed. It was far worse knowing we were leaving them out here with Laous, who I was still sure was up to something.
Emma, Callie, and Maya started forward and I held my hand up to them. “Wait! Why don’t I just go and get the st
one by myself. No need to risk all of us.”
Xander growled loud enough that a bunch of birds lifted from nearby trees. “Get your ass out of there, Avalon. You have no power to defend yourself.”
Before I could say anything, Callie shook Daniel off and took the leap across the entrance, standing with me. “I have power,” she said. “I will keep both of us safe.”
Emma and Maya rushed forward as well, and neither Lexen nor Chase stopped them. Lexen even stepped up to Xander’s side, slapping his friend on the shoulder. “This is something the girls have to do alone,” he said. “Our mates are strong and capable. They would not be fit to rule at our sides if they weren’t. We have to trust them.”
Xander relaxed minutely, even though his chest was still heaving. “In and out,” he said to me. “Do not waste any time in there. For all we know the cave could collapse the moment the stone is taken.”
I nodded, my eyes drinking him in like it might be the last time I ever saw him. Then, with a deep breath, I turned and stepped into the cave.
My girls right by my side.
It was time to end this.
21
Callie’s hand slipped into mine and I held on tightly. Only two of us could move through the cave at the same time, and I was glad that she’d taken the initiative.
“I’m grateful that you’re all here with me,” Emma said, from close behind. “This feels right. A fitting ending to this last four months of my life.”
Maya coughed. “Please don’t say ending. I’m not ready for it to be an ending yet. I still haven’t done one tenth of the things I want to do. I still haven’t had sex, for freak’s sake.”
I chuckled. “Well, you definitely have to do that before you die. Especially since Chase is sooo damn fine.”
She laughed with me, and I was glad she didn’t get jealous. It wasn’t like it was a secret. All the overlords were superhot, but Xander was the only one I wanted. He was mine.
“He is gorgeous,” she said with a sigh. “Sometimes he catches me just staring at him like a complete sap.”
