House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)

I couldn’t afford to start acting like a snob. Literally couldn’t afford it.

Crossing the five steps to my room, I shut the door behind me. I quickly changed my underwear, putting the borrowed ones into my laundry basket. I’d wash them and give them back to Star whenever I was released from the kidnapping program I was currently in. I also grabbed my makeup bag, and using the mirror above my dresser added a bit of powder, mascara, and lipstick to try to brighten my drawn face. I looked stressed, my eyes surrounded by dark circles. My hair went into a bun; it would keep it out of my way for most of the day. And that was as good as it was getting today. I picked up my mom’s necklace, slipping it on over my head, feeling like I needed her support.

Snatching up my backpack from where I had thrown it last night, I checked inside to find my wallet and cards all accounted for. I slipped the provided dress shoes on, and then left to join Jero.

“You can’t live here,” was the first thing he said to me. “There’s no coffee maker. There’s no food in the cupboards.”

I shrugged. “We manage. I’m sure this is going to come as a surprise to you, but a coffee maker is not an actual requirement of survival. Oxygen, water, food, coffee maker … one of these things is not like the others.”

He narrowed his eyes on me, brow furrowing. “Are you sure? That doesn’t sound right to me.”

I chuckled, pushing him toward the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here. You don’t want to catch poor.”

He shuddered, like the very thought was horrifying.

Stepping outside, I locked the front door, ignoring Jero’s snort. I was going to lock up, no matter how crappy our stuff was. An SUV was idling out the front of the quiet street. I knew it well since I had watched it drive past for days. The dark tint now was a relief. I’d be hidden from prying eyes once I was inside.

Jero opened the front passenger door. I expected him to climb in, so I was already moving to the back. He caught my arm. “You’re in the front.”

I tripped over my feet as I tried to change direction. “Are you sure? I’m happy to get in back. I’d actually prefer it.”

“Get in the car, Emma.” The growled command came from the darkened interior.

With a sigh, I stepped around Jero, and grabbing the handle pulled myself into the seat. My bag was dropped on the floor and seatbelt clicked on before I allowed myself to relax into the plush leather. For once the sun was out and actually hot, but I still felt the chill coming from the driver’s side of the car. I didn’t glance Lexen’s way. Part of me was still annoyed that I’d cried on him last night. He was the absolute last person I wanted to show my vulnerabilities to.

Something landed on my lap, and since I had been so determinedly staring out the window I jumped about a foot. Glancing down, my heart beating slightly faster than normal, I gasped at the wrapped sandwich.

“You didn’t eat.”

My eyes moved to Lexen, and I had to stop myself from reaching out and touching him. “Thank you,” I whispered, my voice almost failing me.

He turned back to watch the road, but it almost felt like a little of the awkward between us was gone.

Star leaned forward, her face lit up. “Lexen got one of us into each of your classes! We’re going to keep an eye on you, you don’t have to worry.”

I smiled back, my fingers already busy unwrapping the food. “Have you ever been to school before?”

She actually bounced in her seat and my smile turned into a chuckle. “Never. I can’t wait. I watched a few movies about it last night.”

“It’s not really like the movies…” I started to say, but cut myself off. It wasn’t my place to burst her school bubble; she’d learn soon enough. And, really, what did I know? For the elite, it might be exactly like the movies, with them playing the role of the popular clique. “I’m really glad you’ll be in my classes,” I said instead.

Star surprised me by leaning forward and giving me a hug.

I didn’t even flinch. I relaxed into her embrace and let myself enjoy her warmth. It was funny. I had no idea where she was from, what race she was, or how she’d stepped through a doorway of light. But I liked her. I actually liked all of the Darkens. Except Lexen. He was staying under the category of asshole.

Who provided food. And occasional comfort.

On the drive to school I wolfed my sandwich down. It was delicious: fresh bread, chicken breast, sundried tomatoes, and some creamy pesto sauce.

That was it, it was decided … I wanted to be rich. Just for the food and clothes.

We passed one of the school buses and I wondered if Cara was on there. She was probably wondering where the hell I was. I had no idea how I was going to explain this to her today, showing up with the Darkens.

I decided to ask the ones used to keeping secrets.

Marsil answered first: “You can’t tell her the truth. Our council takes security very seriously. There are humans who know about us, of course – quite a lot, but it’s not general knowledge. They want to keep it that way.”

“How is that possible?” I asked, my thoughts from last night returning with full force. “In this day of technology, it’s hard to keep a small secret, let alone something of this scale.”

Jero let out one of those drawling laughs. “Trust me, there’s not a piece of technology we can’t manipulate. Any information to hit the net about us is destroyed before it can be viewed.”

And yet, somehow, things got through to Michael. Definitely a setup.

“So what do I tell my friends when they ask?” Because they were totally going to ask.

There was a beat of silence. “Tell them we met on Daelight Crescent, that we hit it off and are now best friends,” Star suggested, shrugging. “That’s true, as far as I’m concerned.”

I nodded. “They’re going to grill me hard about you four. The elite are a big topic of conversation among the lower class.”

“Lower class?” Star sounded astonished.

“We’ve been segregated,” I told her, my voice flat. “We even have different colored cards so that no one can miss it.” I whipped out my scholarship ID.

I heard her huff, and turned in my seat to see her glaring at Lexen. “That better not be your idea, Lex.”

He indulged her in one of his rare, slow smiles, and I almost died. Legit, it was touch and go there for a second as my heart went into some sort of tachycardia rhythm.

“Humans like to know their place. It gives them a sense of purpose to understand how everything works. There are only a few who don’t follow the path of the rest. We don’t segregate them. They do that all on their own.”

I translated that to “humans were sheep.” The school was probably run by humans, and these supernaturals reaped the benefits of their stupidity. We were always the makers of our own destruction. History showed that, over and over again.

Pulling into the parking lot now, I wished there was a way for me to sneak inside without the full attention that was going to come from a scholarship kid hanging with the elite. They had rules. I had broken one of them last night when I crossed the street, and now the entire balance was thrown off.

I was probably going to destroy the school somehow.

Lexen pulled into the same spot as yesterday. His spot, no doubt. Which, by the way, did not have his name written on it, but I would bet it was always free for him. When the car was off, he turned to address everyone: “Emma is our mission today. We do not let her out of our sight. One of us must be with her at all times. The council was adamant that we keep her safe until we find the guardians. Am I clear?”