My eyes rolled upward. “Please don’t.”
“That sounds like a challenge, Fire Fae,” Exos replied, looking over him. “Let’s see how exhausted my spirit makes her tonight.”
“Ugh, seriously—”
“You’re on, Royal.” Titus smiled. “We can make a game of it—who can exhaust Claire more.”
My cheeks were officially inflamed. “Guys…”
“Sounds like a fun way to spend the rest of the week,” Exos agreed, his grin positively wicked. “You ready to join yet, Vox?”
Oh God…
The Air Fae merely shook his head. “I’m just here to teach.”
“Teach,” Titus repeated. “Right.”
“I am.”
“Uh-huh. Exos is just here to lay out commands. I’m here to light Claire on fire. And you’re going for professorship.” Titus shrugged. “Works for me.”
“You’re incorrigible,” I growled, shrugging out from under his arm. “And if you keep it up, I’ll be sleeping alone later.”
“Sure, sweetheart,” he said, snagging my waist and pulling me back to him. “Then you’ll just dream about us, but I assure you reality is better.”
Reality, I thought with a laugh. What a strange word. Because my reality? Yeah, it was nothing like my dreams, or even my fantasies.
No, this was better.
Even with the teasing, the sharing, the constant confusion, I wouldn’t trade my current existence for anything in the world.
Exos winked at me, either hearing my thoughts or seeing them in my expression. “See you in a bit, princess.”
It was as he disappeared from view that I pondered over his words.Call my brother…
Using what?I wondered. I hadn’t seen any phones in the Fae Kingdom. Probably some sort of tree or a bird.
“You ready to go home, sweetheart?” Titus asked, his arms tightening around me.
Home. I smiled. “Yeah.” I liked the sound of that. “With you.”And Exos.
My new world filled with odd mating rules, elements, and, most importantly, love.
A girl could get used to this life.
A girl like me.
Epilogue
Exos
Ididn’t want to leave Claire, but I needed to talk to my brother. Something about the setup felt off. Too easy. Too obvious. And the energy signatures felt tampered with and wrong somehow.
With quick steps, I ventured across campus toward the nearest communication tower. Fae didn’t have technology the way humans did. We used something simpler—our minds. But it required the right condition, hence the tower.
I took the stairs two at a time, the air calming with each step upward. So much energy on campus, all spiked by the mingling of elements. Moments like this, I missed the simplicity of the Spirit Kingdom.
The thought had my instincts itching again.
