House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)

Might as well give him the dirty truth straight up front. That way he could retract his BFF statement. Instead of backing up as I expected, he wrapped an arm around me. I waited for the urge to wrench myself free, but for some reason it didn’t come.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Emma Walters. My family has more money than God, so we balance each other out. Although, since I decided to tell them I bat for the team who likes boys, things haven’t been so happy in the Witchard house. I’d rather be poor. Can I live with you?”

I snorted, my hand covering my mouth by instinct. “I’m not sure you’d like it all that much. I live on this weird gated street and they have security—” I was cut off as Ben let out a low hoot. “What?” I asked, blinking at him like he’d just lost his mind.

When he didn’t answer immediately I couldn’t help glance around, worried an elite was about to ambush me, but there didn’t seem to be any exceptionally tall and beautiful people in our vicinity.

“You live on Daelight?” His voice was just above a whisper, each word said slowly, announced with perfect clarity. Like he almost couldn’t believe what he was saying.

Throwing both hands in the air, I shrugged out of Ben’s hug and faced them both. “What’s up with this street? Honestly, the way this town acts, you’d think it was where the Queen of England resided.”

That would certainly explain the royal abode.

Cara leaned in closer. “Sooo much better than the Queen of England, girl. It’s the kings of Astoria.”

Clearly Cara had taken our history class before and was now another person putting Astoria and its history above an entire country. Before I could remark on that though, Ben joined her crazy-party-for-one: “All of the elite live there, those descended from the founding fathers. They make my family look destitute with their money and power. They literally run this school and the town.”

“The entire state,” Cara added. “I have heard they have an in-line to the president himself, and can get pretty much anything they want or need.”

For God’s sake, next thing they were going to tell me they peed gold and breathed fire, like magical, mythical creatures. “Look, even though I live on Daelight, I haven’t seen any elites. They live on the rich mansion side and we aren’t allowed to cross over there.”

Cara gave me a look, like the one she had given me on the bus when she mentioned the things she had to tell me later. “Be careful, Emma. They are very serious about their rules in that place. The stories…” She trailed off, shuddering a little.

I expected Ben to laugh also, but instead he also got strangely grave. “My family have these huge parties and sometimes they make an appearance. Don’t trust them.” He didn’t elaborate, but his warning was clear.

I forced out a strangled laugh. “Don’t worry, guys, I have no plans to play with the heavy hitters of Astoria. I can barely keep cereal in my house and shoes on my feet. My concerns trump my interest in them.”

Their twin looks of worry faded into something which resembled sadness, and since the last thing I wanted was anyone’s pity, I opened my mouth to change the subject. Before I could, though, the teacher arrived and ushered us into the classroom. This time I stayed close to my new friends, and was relieved to see that the same back corner was off limits here. That made it much easier for me to know to avoid that area in all classes. As I took a seat next to Ben, I realized that none of the elite were in this class yet, and I wondered if those seats were left empty even if no one came.

Right as the final bell rang, two unnaturally perfect specimens of humans entered the room and headed for the back corner. I recognized one. It was Lexen, the extra huge, extra intriguing part of the Darkens’ trio. With him was a petite brunette. She did not have the legs of the redhead, but she was probably even more beautiful, if that was possible. Long, silky hair as dark and glossy as a raven feather cascaded in thick waves to her mid-back. She had ivory skin, and full pink lips, which were pressed together hard as if she was fighting to hold back a scream. Her eyes, shaped to indicate a heritage somewhere in Asia, were almost as dark as the guy’s beside her.

Despite all the warnings, and my own internal annoyance at the way they acted in this school and town, I couldn’t help but let my gaze linger on Lexen. There was something in the way he held himself. It was fascinating, like a lion waiting patiently in the grass. There was no doubt they had their predator eyes locked on everything. Lexen was like that just sitting behind his desk – making it look ridiculously small I should add. Like the other elites I had seen, he carried no books or a laptop. Did none of them need to take notes? Probably they just paid for perfect grades.

Starlit darkness smashed into me then, our gazes holding for a few beats past comfortable, and I knew exactly how it felt to be prey. Through sheer force of will I managed to tear my gaze away from Lexen’s. Everything inside of me was screaming to stay off his – and all the elites’ – radars. To avoid drawing even a small amount of their attention. I had to be more careful.

Thankfully the rest of my morning classes passed without incident. By lunchtime I was starting to get a feel for my new school. I had even grown somewhat accustomed to being surrounded by the odd but convenient technology.

Cara was waiting at our lockers. We’d decided earlier we would walk to lunch together. We both dumped everything inside, and with our “poor people” cards clutched in our hands, we took the moving paths toward the cafeteria. The entire school ate lunch at the same time here, which was another first for me. In my last school we’d been split up between different years. Here … well, apparently here they liked to encourage school togetherness. As we stepped into the cafeteria, I understood why it worked so well.

“Holy freaking hell!” My words were a breathless whisper, eyes no doubt as large as saucers while I tried to take in the mammoth structure.

Cara chuckled. “Yeah, they like to impress here at Starslight. Got to make it comfortable for all the future presidential candidates they’re teaching.”

Comfortable was a slight understatement. This was pure luxury. Everything inside was white and shiny; the building was dome-shaped, the ceiling at least thirty feet above our heads. All of the walls and the entire ceiling were made from thick, octagonal windows that fit into each other, forming the structure. They allowed the room to be filled with light and warmth despite the usual inclement weather of Astoria. There were different levels, and sectioned off areas, and as we moved into the main path Cara steered me toward the center of the room, where there was a huge buffet.

“So … we’re allowed to choose from any food with a red tag. The students who aren’t on scholarships can choose from anything in this section, and the elite have their own separate section up there.” She pointed to a raised platform above us. It jutted out almost like a viewing stage across the entire domed room.

“Where do the seniors eat?” I looked around, trying to get the lay of the land, figure out the social cliques.

Cara, who was still focused on the upper elite platform, finally pulled her gaze away and returned it to me. “There is no separation by grade here, mostly just elite and the rest of us. Don’t sit in the elite section and you’ll be fine.”

I shrugged. Well, that should be easy enough.

The line wasn’t very long. The buffet wound for about twenty feet; students were filling their plates as they walked. When Cara and I reached the start of the shiny silver stand, she showed me where to scan my card, then a red tray drifted along a small conveyer belt to stop in front of me.