Xander let out a low curse, followed by a deep breath before he rolled over and grabbed it. I noticed that he wasn’t one to let his phone go without checking it, just in case it was an emergency back home. Being on Earth made network contact harder, so their phones were always on.
The white sheets pooled around him, making his skin look an even darker bronze than usual. This was enough of a distraction that it took me a few moments to realize that he was still reading his phone quite seriously.
“Is everything okay back in Overworld?” I asked, drawing his attention to me.
He nodded as he lifted his head. “Everything is fine. Daniel is having his initiation ceremony today. He’s already overlord, or acting as overlord, but the official ceremony will give him complete control of his house and the justices. He’s asked if we can be there.”
“Is that not normal?”
Xander shook his head. “No, we’ve always kept that sort of thing quite separate. But … we’re changing the way our world is run now. We’re going to make sure that no one can divide us again.”
“Laous brought about something good after all,” I decided.
We were both silent, thinking about everything that had happened.
“He didn’t beat us,” I said out loud, needing to hear it. “We learned that the four houses are stronger together.”
Xander dropped his phone and then his hands were around my waist as he lifted me onto him. As I settled down against his body, my insides hummed.
“Do we have time?” I asked.
His eyes darkened. “Always.”
* * *
House of Imperial was underground,literally. We took a transporter to the top level of the justices, along with a lot of other Daelighters. All four houses would be here today, spread out across the incubation level.
Xander and I stood at the head of Royale. A select few of his people were there, and I was so happy to see Dawn among them. She had given me a hug and expressed her joy at my mateship with her brother.
Lettie wasn’t quite so happy, but since she mostly ignored me, I took that as a win. I knew I would have to keep an eye on Xander’s mother in the future—she was going to do everything she could to drive a wedge between Xander and me. Whatever her long term plan was though, I would not let her steal this life from me. She was in for a fight.
I was happy to see Emma and Lexen with House of Darken. Star was also there with a tall, good-looking guy. They were holding hands.
“That’s Brad,” Xander explained, noticing my stare. “He’s Maya’s best friend.”
Ah, this was the human best friend. He actually looked a lot like a Daelighter as he stood there hand in hand with a Darken princess. I mentioned that to Xander, and he nodded.
“He’s eating some of our food to extend his human life. He’s hybrid now.”
That’s what the secret keepers were as well. Humans changed by Daelighter energy.
“It’s nice to see Ambra is finally out again,” Xander said sadly. “Lexen’s mother has barely left her room since Marsil died.”
Lexen’s mother was ethereal and beautiful, but there was no hiding how pale and thin she looked. Jero, the other brother, stayed at her side, holding her hand. He looked strong and sure, standing tall. But a deep pain was etched across his face as well.
It was too great. The losses were too much.
Another group exited the incubation level and I had to stop myself from running to Maya. It felt like years since I’d seen them all, even though it had only been one night. I missed them.
“Who’s that with Maya?” I asked, seeing a tiny Asian woman and a large, robust man on either side of her. “Her parents?”
Xander nodded, his lips brushing against my ear. “Yes, they’re here as well now, staying with Maya in Daelight Crescent. They work for the human-Daelighter section of the government, so they’re used to our ways. It worked out pretty well.”
Maya appeared to have the best kind of family there was, the kind that loved and accepted unconditionally. House of Leights still fascinated me the most. I’d see a lot of them before, of course, but I was in love with their nature-based lifestyle. Living with their trees. And they were all gorgeous, in a supermodel, I-have-cheekbones-for-days kind of way.
Maya fit in perfectly, even if she was almost the shortest among them. Her mother was the only one I could see who was even smaller.
“It’s starting,” Xander told me, and I turned to face forward.
