House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)

More students were entering, but no Lexen, so I leaned in closer. “I met them, last night on our street. Their sister has just arrived to start school. She was living … back with their other family. We hit it off, and they gave me a ride to school today.” The fact that most of that was true helped me keep to the story. I wasn’t the best liar.

Ben and Cara stared at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. It was like they had no idea how to process this information. Ben finally spluttered, “Touch this girl, she’s freaking blessed.” He then took me completely by surprise when he reached out and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me up and out of my seat into a bear hug. I knew from my brief time with Ben yesterday that he loved to give hugs, and again it didn’t bother me very much. I was getting hugs all over the place at the moment.

Was I actually starting to heal?

Before I could delve too deep into whatever was my next psychological step of healing, a shadow fell over us. Everything inside my body tightened – I knew exactly who it was.

“Put her down.” Lexen’s voice was a low caress across my nerves. There was an undercurrent there I didn’t understand, but the look on his face was calm.

Ben very slowly dropped me to my feet, holding both of his hands up in the air. “Just friends,” he said, eyes locked on the imposing supernatural standing close to us.

Lexen ignored him, turning to me. “You’re sitting with me.”

Some of my normal annoyance with him reared its head. I fought the urge to salute him. “Am I now? I didn’t realize that order had been given.”

I heard the gasps from all around us. Ben’s was the loudest as he dramatically slapped a hand across his mouth. Lexen’s attention flickered toward the many eyes on us. He leaned in closer. “Will you please sit near me?” Those words were forced out through clenched teeth.

I smiled brightly. “Much better. And, while I appreciate your offer, I think I’m going to stay with my friends.”

I had no idea why I wanted to piss him off; something inside of me liked to rile Lexen, and then keep riling him over and over. His lips brushed my ear as he moved even closer. “I know what you’re doing,” he murmured. “It’s not going to work.”

He spun then and with ease stepped between the desks to take a seat near the back. I realized that a few other elites had arrived; most I didn’t know. One of the Royales was there. I recognized the blond guy. Also the gorgeous, tiny brunette chick was already sitting. She was the girl I’d seen with Lexen yesterday; her almond-shaped eyes were locked on me. She did not look happy. I tried not to stare at the pair of them, especially as he tilted his body in her direction, his lips moving as they chatted.

I’d stood my ground for a reason, but there would be no point to that if I spent the entire time staring at him in class. Dropping back into my desk, I fought the urge to turn and check if he was looking at me.

I did feel eyes on me. Two set of eyes, to be exact. “What?” I finally said, a snort of laughter in my tone.

“Who are you?” Cara whisper-shouted. “The first day I met you on the bus, you barely spoke at all, and now … you just stood up to Lexen Darken. Lexen. Darken.”

She was getting louder and louder, so I quickly shushed her. “I just don’t like being told what to do.”

I sensed she wanted to ask me why he was even in a position to tell me what to do, but the teacher entered then and there was no more chance to talk. I struggled to pay attention in class, and as someone who prided herself on meticulous note taking, mostly because I was gunning for a scholarship, I was bothered by my lack of focus.

“We still have to join a group, or some sort of extra-curricular activity,” Cara reminded me as we were packing up our books.

I groaned. “Did you have any thoughts about which one?”

She shrugged as she threw her bag over one arm. “Drama? Debate? The newspaper? Prom committee?”

I visibly flinched at the last suggestion. Prom … I’d gone with my ex-boyfriend; it hadn’t really been my thing. The new shoes were nice, I supposed.

“Chess club? Mathletes?”

I shook my head. I liked math, but not every day after school. And I’d never played a game of chess in my life. I was a checkers girl. Checkers all the way.

Ben joined us. “I’m thinking about running for student body president.” He straightened his spine. “The top positions always go to the elites, but I figured it was worth a shot.”

I met his gaze. “Maybe I can try for student government too. Lesser positions are fine by me.”

There was a clearing of a throat, and a low laugh from my right side. I turned to find the exotic, dark-haired beauty standing there beside Lexen. She was the one who had laughed, so I locked my gaze on her. “Something funny?” I found myself asking, one eyebrow raised in her direction.

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t bother trying out for any of the leadership roles. They’re all reserved for…” She looked me over, wrinkling her nose. “Not people like you.”

I blinked a few times, shaking my head. I was about to reply with something highly creative and snipingly witty, but Lexen interrupted before I could: “You need to get to your next class. Jero will meet you there. Kotar is going to show you the way.”

I knew Cara and Ben were hanging on every word. No doubt their mouths would be wide open as they wondered why I suddenly had an elite escort everywhere. I didn’t look at them to find out. I glared at Lexen. “Kotar?” I asked, my eyes flicking to the girl at his side. Was he talking about the snobby bitch?

She let out a breathy sigh. “Come on. I don’t have all day to be a guide. Follow me.”

She turned and flounced across the room, her shiny black hair cascading around her as she headed for the door.

I narrowed my eyes on Lexen, squinting hard enough to hurt myself. “Why are you doing this? I can walk to class on my own.”

He just crossed his arms over his chest, staring me down with that formidable expression on his face.

“Okay, fine,” I groaned. I sucked in a deep fortifying breath and followed Kotar from the room. She was already halfway down the hall, so I hurried to catch up. She looked forward, paying me no attention at all. I had a bunch of questions brewing in my mind, like, which house was she from? How did she know Lexen? How well did she know Lexen?

But there was no way to ask those questions without sounding like a pathetic human, and she clearly already hated my kind.

What do I have to lose, then? Before I could suck up the guts to open my mouth, we arrived at history class. Kotar waved at the door, which was her only form of communication, before she continued walking. I watched her tiny form as it disappeared around the corner.

Well, that went well.

Entering the classroom, there were a few students seated already. Jero was in his section. Aria, the leggy redhead, was nowhere in sight. I noticed Derek, the glasses-clad guy I’d met at lunch yesterday, already sitting front and center, a bunch of textbooks open in front of him. That was one serious-about-his-studies dude. No doubt he would be valedictorian of our year.

“Princess, over here…” Jero’s loud call drew everyone’s attention. I headed straight toward him. I had no problem sitting with this particular Darken.

He draped an arm around me and there was barely a sliver of discomfort. I had mixed emotions about this step forward. I didn’t want to forget my parents – I would never be able to do that – but I wanted to hurt less. I’d survived, through some miracle. My psychiatrist told me I suffered from survivor’s guilt. I didn’t disagree. I had no idea why I had been the only one to make it out alive; we should have all gone as a family. But we hadn’t. I knew my parents would not want me to beat myself up over my stroke of … luck. I still wasn’t sure if it was good or bad luck that I had lived, but it was luck nonetheless.

“Ready to learn about my illustrious family?” Jero hadn’t removed his arm, and I got the distinct feeling he was leaving it there as a warning of some kind. Or maybe he was just a tactile kind of guy. He was certainly flirty enough.