House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)

Tilting my head back, I gritted my teeth. “Maybe you shouldn’t have killed the only people who would have been able to help you.”

“You know, grubber. There is no way you don’t know, and you have pushed my patience too far.”

He might not have been able to kill me because he needed this information I apparently possessed, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hurt me. His arm drew back again, his other hand wrapping around my throat. He hit me and agony exploded behind my cheek. My face went numb on that side immediately. He drew back and hit me again, same cheek, same blinding pain.

I tasted blood in my mouth as he swung for a third strike. Before it could land, something crashed into the side of him, sending him flying across the white land. I wriggled to the side, trying to put some distance between me and Laous.

Huge black wings caught my attention and I let out a low cry. Lexen. He was okay, and he had somehow found me. Daniel appeared at my side. “Emma, fuck, I am so sorry. My brother … died in the cascades … this is my fault.”

I tried to answer him, but it was difficult to make my jaw work. So I simply shook my head multiple times. Not your fault, I told him with my eyes. This was all on Laous, that … fucker.

Daniel fitted both of his hands under my arms, lifting me to my feet. The moment I was standing, blood rushed to my pounding head; everything went dark around the edges and I swayed on my feet.

“Rough day?” Daniel tried to joke, whilst carrying me in the opposite direction of where Lexen and Laous were now trading blows. The Darken overlord was much larger than the Imperial, his blows seeming to inflict a crap-ton of damage whenever he landed one. But Lexen was also very drained of energy, so I had no idea how long he could keep this up.

“No,” I garbled out. “Stay … Lex.”

Daniel ignored me, picking me up and dragging me further away. I started to fight him, before nausea had me gagging and almost vomiting right down his shirt. Which would have served him right.

No matter how hard I fought, Daniel didn’t move an inch. “Lexen is going to be fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “He could destroy Laous with his eyes closed, two hands tied behind his back, and one foot removed. Lexen could take out all four overlords and not even break a sweat. He’s the only one the four houses fear. He’s the draygone lord.”

“I d-d-don’t … care.”

Goddammit, this was not the time for my face to be beaten in and swelling rapidly. I really needed my words right now. The ground started to shake as Daniel moved me further away. We were almost to the edge of the field. I could only just make out Lexen in the distance. All of a sudden we stopped. Daniel let out a low curse.

“He wouldn’t,” I heard him say, disbelief in his voice. “Laous has lost his goddamn mind.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, until I noticed that the white snow was changing again, this time to a black substance. Some landed on my arm, leaving behind an ashy smudge.

“What’s he doing?” I asked, panic allowing me to fight through the pain and speak semi-clearly.

“He’s going to purge the justices,” Daniel bit out. “Which means every being on it will be wiped out. Like a fresh start … a reset, if you will.”

“We have to help Lexen,” I yelled, flinching at the sharp stabbing in my face.

Daniel shook his head. “The reset is an ultimate power. Overlord power. There is nothing I can do to stop it. We would not make it to Lexen in time.”

“What happens to all the beings in the purge?”

“They are reborn, back to the incubation level. They will have no memories of their previous life.”

I knew my eyes were so wide that my eyeballs could have fallen right out with no resistance. “We can’t leave!” I screamed at him.

“I’m sorry, badass. Lexen would want me to get you out. We’re close enough to make it.”

“Daniel, I will never forgive you. We cannot leave Lexen!” I tried, pleading, with just a hint of bite. “I mean, are you even sure? Why would Laous reset himself?”

He lifted me with ease and sprinted. The ash was falling faster, swirling around us, and just like the snowy blizzard from before, almost all visibility was cut off. “Overlord majors are never reset,” Daniel shouted.

I screamed and kicked out, flailing my arms at the same time. I refused to do this. Laous would not reset me if he needed whatever information he thought I held. Which meant he knew Daniel was close enough to get me to safety.

This was all about Lexen, about taking him out of the equation. Daniel moved so fast my head was literally smacking into his shoulder as he ran. The darkness increased until it was all I could see. Then we were flying. I’d done this enough times recently to know that Daniel had just jumped off the edge of the last justice. We were heading toward redemption, and I was wishing with all of my heart that I could somehow go back the way I’d just come.

Our landing was soft, barely a jolt compared to the way he’d been smacking me around when he ran. I’d had my eyes closed for the drop, but opened them as soon as we hit the ground. The falling ash was gone; now it was all bright lights, warmth, fields of green, oceans in the distance, stunning little homes nestled in the hills.

“Redemption is pretty,” I said flatly.

Daniel took an extra look around, coming back to me. “Yes, if you make it this far, you will have peace.”

I felt like I was a thousand years old. I had been through a lot, too much, and I wasn’t sure I was going to survive losing Lexen too. Peace was not possible for me, not even if I lived here forever.

Daniel tilted his head back, staring up the edge toward the level of desires. For a second, hope sprang to life within me. I thought he was waiting for Lexen, but then there was an explosion. Dark ash burst across the sky in a puff of black, before it dissipated out into nothing.

“No!” I cried, hoarse and desperate. I grabbed Daniel’s shirt, digging my fingers into his skin as I pulled him toward me. “Lexen will be okay, right?”

There was no answer. I appreciated that he wasn’t going to lie to me, but as that sliver of hope disappeared I died a little more inside. Drawing on everything I had learned in the last eight months, I tucked the agony deep inside, pushing it down so far down I could no longer feel anything at all.

“So, what do we do now?” I sounded detached, which was exactly how I felt.

Daniel was watching me closely, those sad eyes dissecting me. I didn’t care. He could stare all he wanted; there was nothing more for him to see. I had been a mess for eight months, a mess who had started to see the light at the end of the tunnel of darkness. Only to now be right back to that same dark place.

“I’ll get us out of here. Stay close.” Daniel was as emotionless as me, and through my own desensitized brain I realized that he had just lost one of his best friends. Daniel might have had fewer people in the world than me to care about, and he’d just lost one of them.

A part of my heart thawed just enough so I could step forward and wrap my arms around him, taking both of us by surprise if his tense body was any indication. “I’m so goddamn sorry,” I whispered, choking up on the last word.

He remained tense, and I was just about to pull away, because awkward, when his arms came around me and he returned the hug with force. I was level with his chest, and I could hear the rapid race of his heart as he clutched me closer. His body shuddered a few times, as if he was fighting against the emotions consuming him.

Consuming us both. Overwhelming grief.

“Five minutes. I’ve been gone for five minutes and you’re already moving in on my girl.”

It took longer than it should for the voice I was hearing to register. Daniel and I pulled apart and a hoarse cry left me. Lexen was shirtless, his upper body looking like it was carved by the gods themselves, all rippling muscles and bronze skin. His wings were out, curving down around him.