Daniel nodded before he slammed a hard look onto a nearby Daelighter who was inching closer to hear our conversation. With a squeak, the shaved-headed male turned tail and dashed away.
Daniel turned back to me. “Lexen takes a half-man, half-beast form. He’s pretty much indestructible when he is morphed.”
Shut. The. Hell. Up.Was he serious?
“Would he have any idea where the one who hid the stone went?” I asked, somewhat breathlessly. My question made sense, right? It takes a dragon person to find another dragon person.
Daniel didn’t seem as convinced. “I have no idea. Lexen has never spent much time developing that side of himself. He’s the first Draygo to also be born overlord minor, so he’s been rather busy.”
Everyone started to disperse after that, until eventually there were only a few scattered beings left on the platform. Escaping Lexen again, Emma made a run for me. I was really starting to like her. She felt like a kindred spirit, and it was such a foreign feeling … having an ally – this had to be the only reason for the bursts of warmth and happiness pressing into my chest.
Who knew dying would be the best thing that ever happened to me.
The thought was so insane that I actually shook my head.Really, Callie? The best thing?I needed therapy.
“Are you coming back to Astoria now?” Emma’s words sounded like a demand directed at Daniel.
He shook his head. “Callie needs to return to the underworld for a short period first, to recharge. We’ll be back in the morning. In time for school.”
Emma’s face fell and she turned to me. “I’m so sorry about what happened to you. Shit, this really sucks!”
Lexen, who had strolled over to his girl, ran a hand across her shoulders. “We will figure something out to help Callie. There has to be a way so that she has some freedom from Daniel.”
Emma got this weird dreamy look on her face then. “This is just like Hades and Persephone. Which maybe means it will all work out for the best.”
She winked at me. Two blank faces from the men, but I got her reference exactly, and had to laugh. “You’re right. I’ve now tied half my life to Daniel and an alien underworld.”
I’d always kind of thought Lucifer had an evil, hot, scary appeal. Daniel rocked that same dark vibe, just with less of the crazy – despite his insistence that Imperial House was not the most stable. Like I said, I knew crazy, and it wasn’t him.
“You need to study up on your Greek mythology, Lex.” Emma narrowed her eyes on him. “Told you that having one history class on the ‘founding houses of Starslight Prep’ was a little limiting.”
He shrugged. “Human stuff is not exactly top of my lists of interes…” He trailed off at the look on Emma’s face. The grin which pulled at the corner of his mouth turned his good looks into something scorching. “Except for you, mate.”
Mate.Like a soulmate. Damn, Emma. Lucky she was so awesome, otherwise I might hate her. Just a little.
We were one of the few groups left on the platform now, and both of the overlords were getting really odd looks. “Why don’t you four just come out with the friendship?” I suggested, looking between them. They were standing as far apart as they could, while still being able to hear the other speak. “You said that there was nothing really holding you back but habit. I think now is the time.”
“Yeah,” Emma chimed in, being the great ally she was. “The council has far bigger things to worry about, and I think some unity could be good for the four houses.”
“I agree.” That statement came from Chase. He’d wandered over, leaving the remaining members of House of Leights.
Before anyone could say another word, we were joined by another overlord. He had blond hair, with dark marks visible on one side. He was also rocking a broad, tanned chest, with water peppered across it, and a cool confidence.
“I’m adding my agreement to this,” he said, and I knew then that this was Xander, from House of Royale.
My eyes met Daniel’s, searching out those inner thoughts. For some reason his mind fascinated me, not in a zombie, I-want-to-eat-your-brains way, but more … what was he thinking now?
I decided to push: “Is there any reason for you to keep your bond secret? What could happen if you allowed the world to know that you four are brothers, friends, allies?”
The gold deepened in the rings of his light brown eyes. “I actually don’t know. As I said, when we were kids we had no power. We were afraid our parents would separate us if they found out.”
“So we snuck around,” Lexen added.
Emma stepped into her mate’s huge chest, wrapping her arms around him. He got this look on his face when she did. It was a nice look.
“You’re now adults,” Emma said to him, before turning around to us. Lexen pulled her back, so she was pressed right to his front. “You thought that being mated to a human would cause a huge problem, and so far it hasn’t. Daniel is already overlord, no one to stop him in House of Imperial. Roland is not going to be angry about it, I don’t care what you think.”
She looked at Xander and Chase. “What about you two? Will your family be okay with it?”
